Planning a PhD in New Zealand with Family - Need Practical Advice

Hi everyone,

I’m considering applying for a PhD in New Zealand, probably for a 2027/2028 intake, and I’d really appreciate some realistic advice from current/recent PhD students, especially those living in NZ with a family.

A little about my background:

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science — CGPA 3.55/4.00
• Currently doing a part-time MSc by Research in Computer Science while working full-time
• Around 8 years of professional software engineering experience
• Currently working full-time as a Senior Software Engineer
• Main technical background: Java, Spring Boot, AWS, microservices, distributed systems and backend/cloud engineering
• Research interests: distributed systems, blockchain scalability, and AI/LLMs/GenAI
• IELTS target: 6.5–7.0

Research/publication profile:

• 1 × Q3 journal paper — 1st author
• 1 × Q1 journal paper — 1st author
• 1 × Q1 journal paper — 2nd author
• 1 × Q1 journal paper — under review (1st author)
• 1 × conference paper — 2nd author

I’m married and may have one child by the time I start. My long-term goal is PhD → return to the tech industry → build a career and settle in NZ.

I mainly want to understand:

1. With my profile, how realistic is getting a funded PhD/scholarship, and how does the process normally work?
2. During a full-time PhD, is it realistic to manage part-time work, especially IT/software work?
3. For a couple + one child, is the PhD stipend reasonably manageable?
4. How much savings buffer would you recommend before moving?

Any advice about scholarships, universities, family costs, jobs, or the overall PhD experience in NZ would be really appreciated.

Apologies if I’ve misunderstood anything, and thanks in advance for your advice!