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I was recently admitted in a PhD program, I haven't started any research yet and Intended to keep my full day job and try do a research while working.

I think my bosses are unaware of this for now but the thing is that I would like to brag about me doing a PhD by posting on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Doing a research will probably put some additional pressure on me and from a certain moment on, I will probably have some duties at the University which might obligate me to spend some time on campus. That will affect to some degree when I'm able to work an probably my performance.

Would it be safe for me to post and update profiles on Social and Professional Networks and do I need to officially inform my bosses first?

PS. My Job is something of a embedded programmer and the future research will be about image analysis and pattern recognition. I think the job I do and the research are not directly related but after all there are embedded devices running vision algorithms. I also think that my boss could agree to a more flexible working time.

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    Intended to keep my full day job and try do a research while working This sounds completely impossible.
    – MJeffryes
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 11:33
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    @MikeyMike Is your classmate's company unaware of his PhD studies?
    – MJeffryes
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 11:58
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    @MikeyMike I would guess that the company are making allowances in productivity and working hours which would not typically be afforded to someone who is working full time. I am saying that working full time and completing a PhD without the knowledge/cooperation of your employer is impossible.
    – MJeffryes
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 12:01
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    You might be violating both the terms of your employment and the terms of your PhD program.
    – Scott Seidman
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 15:47
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    Apart from the law-relevant issues already brought up, "bragging" on near-public social is never a good idea, and most certainly not in things which may create problems. Less said is better said.
    – Captain Emacs
    Commented Nov 5, 2016 at 12:28

2 Answers 2

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Of course you should!

Certain duties such as a committee meeting would require you to ask for a leave permission from your company. If you break it then, you'd be in trouble. In certain institutions, it is mandatory to provide an NoC (no objection certificate) from your company as part of the PhD admission process. You should've done it before, but the earlier you inform him, the better.

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  • Thank you for the answer, maybe it was a good idea to inform them earlier even before apllaying, and discussing actually if I could research an area that would be useful to them, but many factors came into play and what is done is done. Many things scare me and one of them is counting only on the scholarship to support myself and the government not recognizing a PhD research as working experience.
    – DNikolov
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 12:26
  • @DNikolov: "recognizing a PhD research as working experience", well that is another good question for Academia.SE. But just refer this post before you think about asking that one.
    – Ébe Isaac
    Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 12:30
  • I' ve wanted to say that altough not telling my boss abouth the PhD may not be nice, I didn' t find any evidence by now that this is against the law ( in my country )
    – DNikolov
    Commented Dec 4, 2016 at 9:25
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If the boss finds out later that you hide the whole scenario from him, he might get angry and if the boss sends a letter to the university that you're not allowed to study while working because their working schedule is not flexible enough, then you're doomed ;), you will just kicked out from the university or the university will ask you to prove that you'll be having free hours to study while working, so, you better inform your boss about the scenario.

P.S: To the people who ask if the university working for the boss: No, but, every university has a minimum study hours (self study hours apart from standard lectures which are held at the university) that should be spent by the student, if that requirement cannot be fulfilled by the student, his course becomes invalid, so, I just pointed out a major possibility, if the boss sends a letter, that the company doesn't allow him spare time to study (strict work schedule) then the university has the proof that he can't spend minimum compulsory self study time and then the student will be kicked out. Studying part time doesn't mean that you don't have to put minimum effort towards studies.

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    This answer doesn't make sense. Why would the university kick out the student if the OP's boss informed the university about the working. schedule? Do you think the university works for the boss?
    – Nobody
    Commented Nov 6, 2016 at 6:44
  • @scaaahu: I've edited the answer, in a way that'll suit you mostly ;)
    – Pretty_Girl
    Commented Nov 6, 2016 at 17:25
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    @Pretty_Girl, insulting people would not improve your chances of getting upvoted. Moreover, what you write in the first paragraph is unrealistic both from the boss' side and the university side.
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Commented Nov 6, 2016 at 18:02
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    While you are free to disagree with what other people write, and to explain why you disagree, you may not call them "dumb" for writing it. (Similarly, any name calling is against policy here - see the Be Nice policy that is required of all users.)
    – ff524
    Commented Nov 7, 2016 at 3:46

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