What motivates PhD students who juggle jobs and family commitments to continue working on their dissertations? In Episode 20 of Doctor It!, we shine the spotlight on self-funded PhD candidates who are in full-time employment – a topic that is still rarely discussed in academia. Join our co-hosts Olga Malashkina and Beate Krapfenbauer as they speak to Ricarda Götz-Preisner, doctoral candidate in communication. Ricarda represents a marginalised group of doctoral researchers who do not follow the traditional academic path. She is a full-time employee, mother to a four-year-old daughter and carer for her family, as well as a committed doctoral candidate working on her dissertation project. Tune in to hear Ricarda discuss the challenges she faces, her goals and motivations, and how the skills she has developed in her professional life will help her reach the end of her PhD journey.

This episode was written and hosted by Beate Krapfenbauer and Olga Malashkina, recorded, produced and photographed by Christian Lendl. Special thanks to our guest Ricarda Götz-Preisner.

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