@Kavita, I will address first the easier things.
You mentioned you are 36. I am 38, just left a Ph.D. program after the first semester because I hated every single aspect of it and I intend to apply for the other two at the end of this year. Moreover, one of the programs I am going to apply to has an enrolled student who applied when she was 40 years old. What I want to say is, that I can not assess your personal goals and how they balance with your age but when it comes to research, stay cool about your age. It’s not a matter of age, it’s a matter of experience and ability to contribute. If you are able to weave your experienced years into your job presentation, you are cool.
Now about your balance between job and research I gotta a couple of questions.
Considering your finances and the lifestyle you are able to bear, are you able to work part-time? If you can accommodate that, that could be an option.
Have you talked with your advisor/professors and your colleagues about your goals and the lack of job opportunities you are facing? As someone who was an international student during my master’s, I graduated in the middle of the pandemic, my cohort was only two other students in a very different career moment than I was and most of my professors were retired from the market and focused on teaching only. So I had no network from them and I went through tough moments trying to find a job position after graduation. My suggestion is to talk with them and see if they have any connections that could help you. Even if it is just for talking about the marketplace so you prepare yourself.
Are grants a reality in your field? They are not in mine because I am in an organizational behavior domain doing action research where it is very common for people to work as consultants, but maybe that is an option that could help you make ends meet all together with a part-time job position.
Overall, I will ask you to forgive me in advance because it is not my intention to startle you, given you are spending your energy in a position unrelated to your studies, and you are planning to finish your dissertation in 1.5 years, I am concerned if you will graduate with no experience related with what you want to work with. And please don’t get me wrong here!! I am only raising that question because I am right in the middle of this situation and I know that is very frustrating!! My recommendation is to call for all the help you can get from the experts in your field (professors and colleagues) and be able to make some changes in your lifestyle (sharing an apartment with someone maybe).
P.S.: I was just reading your post before posting mine and you mentioned you are not sure you will have many job options once you graduate. I am going to raise some tough questions here so here it goes… Considering what you want to do, and the changes you want to create through your career, is the Ph.D. the only way to do that? Is it worth it to go through all that you have been through and the future burden of writing the thesis? I know it is kind of unthinkable to make these kinds of questions at this point of your program but maybe it could be good to reflect on it. Because from what you have been describing, your degree is leading you nowhere. And please forgive me if I am making you feel sad or frustrated because it is not my intention.
My conclusion is that you either need to have a better understanding of your field and where are its job positions, and starting shifting your life style to accommodate the necessary change of course. Otherwise, your Ph.D. will just be a very expensive hobby.
”. But having a better understanding of that, other ideas came to my mind:
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