Five important financial moves for PhD students

"At a mellow surf spot near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Paige Hoel smiled to herself; as an oceanographer, she understood why the waves were breaking just so. Between 2014 and 2024, she had earned her undergraduate degree, a master's and a doctorate. But her passion for the field did not come without financial strain. "I spent my 20s pursuing this," says Hoel, who adds that her father lived on a "shoestring budget" during his own time as a PhD student."

"PhD candidates do not just commit to long hours and intense research, but also to the financial uncertainty that comes with low stipends relative to high costs of living, especially in urban locations. As a PhD student at the University of California, Hoel earned US$30,000-36,000 per year, along with the benefits of waived tuition, health care and a gym membership. The financial strain can persist into early-career training and result in a limited capacity to save and invest in the future."

""This is the time to plan and build a foundation for yourself, one that sticks," says Brian Skinner, a financial planner at Skinner Wealth Strategies in Milford, Connecticut. Specialists such as Skinner say that completing a PhD and feeling financially stable are not mutually exclusive. Here are five personal financial strategies for before, during and after a PhD programme that students and financial advisers say could help individuals to feel more secure."

PhD training commonly involves low stipends relative to local living costs, producing financial uncertainty and constrained ability to save during early-career stages. Example stipends at the University of California ranged from US$30,000–36,000 per year while providing waived tuition, health care and gym membership. Long training timelines can impose personal financial strain. Financial planners recommend identifying goals, creating a budget aligned to those goals, and allocating take-home pay to essentials, debt, and savings. Disciplined budgeting and targeted financial strategies before, during and after PhD programmes can improve financial stability and support long-term planning.

Read at Nature