I’ve been asked the question “what’s it like to do a PhD while being a parent?” many more times than I can count. It’s often followed by a nervous look around the room to check that no faculty members are within earshot and then a quiet “because I’m (thinking of) having a family soon and am worried about how it will affect my work”. It’s a nerve-wracking scenario but an increasingly common one as it takes longer to enter and complete an Economics PhD. I imagine that those who become parents in their ECR years may face some similar challenges.
In case it helps anyone, I’ve written some reflections on my own journey in the document linked below. Be warned that I really don’t hold back on the many difficult moments, but I did eventually figure out some ways to make it work and create a multi-dimensional (albeit chaotic) life that I value.
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Nilmini Herath 
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