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AI2 Adapt Dev 52

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I was an engineering major in college. I found the \"liberal\" courses were very beneficial once I was in industry. In my opinion college does not just provide the (basic) skills needed for a specific job function. In reality it provides: 1. Proof that you can and will learn. 2. Provides basic skills in your chosen field. 3. Teaches you how to learn on your own. 4. Provides \"off major\" skills that allow you to successfully interact with those not in your field. And to better understand those who don't think like you. Cutting down on these \"social\" courses I believe would be detrimental to the students once they enter industry.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Wow I hate this! I’m bided because I’m a history PhD, but writing and critical thinking based classes were the classes I always found most valuable as an undergrad. You need to be able to communicate and think critically and analytically for pretty much every job, so why get rid of those requirements?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Let me go line by line and tell you what I think > Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. Super dumb, just the most idiotic thing. This is intended to reduce the ability to think critically and eloquate your positions. Or maybe even to formulate your own positions, or analyze anyone else's argument, or anything else that could constitute free thinking. > Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. See above, this is doubleplus ungood. > History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. Yes because people who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Since history is filled with people being exploited, this is great news for people who want to exploit other people! > Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. Here's the worst part. You miss out on all of the background and contextual knowledge that you should have. But they aren't reducing the cost. That would be unacceptable. I mean, sure, if they want to call themselves the \"Technical College of Alabama\" these all make reasonable changes. At least then people know what they are getting.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think that it is impossible to effectively teach someone something they don't want to learn. In an ideal world, I too would want every graduate to know math, to be scientifically literate, to understand and appreciate the humanities. But in practice, students memorize their way through most geneds and come out the other side with a poor understanding of the subject as well as a distaste for it. Ask your typical non-STEM college graduate how much they got from their mandatory math courses and see how effective you think they were. We may as well just not. The time is better spent working on something they care about.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It’s abhorrent. Everyone treats humanities as disposable when it includes really important things that are useful in life and in academia. I’ve seen grown adults to date that write unprofessionally so decreasing comp courses is only going to increase illiteracy and we will see a rise in adults who can’t rise to the challenge that many universities have in regards to writing and creating academic papers- especially in research oriented fields. What will happen to these students who want to go into graduate school and can’t even write academically/ professionally? There are adults to date that still can’t write professional work emails or job resumes/cover letters- these are skills that intersect in the real world aside from just university. History, Social and behavioral courses are also crucial. They are priming students to take jobs in STEM oriented fields but then wondering why we don’t have enough teachers, or mental health care professionals or anyone that is at least somewhat knowledgeable about these topics that have covered them in higher education. It’s shameful and disappointing because what good will it be to know statistics when you can’t write or structure an in-depth academic research paper that needs strong writing points- or what will happen when students need to conduct an in depth analysis on a topic but can’t comprehend additional cultural, political, historical or social nuances that often come with discussions that take place in social, cultural and behavioral courses??? (Not to mention humanities courses also includes foreign language which is also important because bilingualism is valued across many careers, ESP healthcare) I never learned about these topics until college- including crucial parts of our own country’s history that wasnt truthfully discussed in HS at all. With book banning happening across HS’s across the country, college literature and comp courses are even MORE crucial because that’s where students have the opportunity to read and discuss literature that is multi faceted in perspective rather than being limited to what local government thinks is “appropriate” for others to read. All this does is reinforce that STEM focus is valued over humanities when humanities inspires critical thinking and offers a more nuanced perspective about social and cultural issues. While STEM is important, we need humanities to ALSO help solve real world problems that can’t just be solved by mathematical or even scientific knowledge because some of society’s problems just can’t be approached in this way. I’m a liberal arts major and the amount of people I’ve seen treat this degree as if it’s not worth anything but then turn around and complain about how we don’t have enough teachers, therapists or about how people can’t even recite basic history about World War II or the rise of fascism throughout history is EXACTLY the problem. We could all do with a little more worldview besides just prioritizing statistics or physics in higher education. Given that a lot of people in some of these fields are NEEDED more than ever do come from humanities/ social science/ liberal arts backgrounds, I wish more people would choose to value these courses/degrees and prioritize them instead of choosing to decrease them and then wonder why we have a lot of ignorance plaguing society in regards to social, cultural and political issues.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think that it is impossible to effectively teach someone something they don't want to learn. In an ideal world, I too would want every graduate to know math, to be scientifically literate, to understand and appreciate the humanities. But in practice, students memorize their way through most geneds and come out the other side with a poor understanding of the subject as well as a distaste for it. Ask your typical non-STEM college graduate how much they got from their mandatory math courses and see how effective you think they were. We may as well just not. The time is better spent working on something they care about.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It’s abhorrent. Everyone treats humanities as disposable when it includes really important things that are useful in life and in academia. I’ve seen grown adults to date that write unprofessionally so decreasing comp courses is only going to increase illiteracy and we will see a rise in adults who can’t rise to the challenge that many universities have in regards to writing and creating academic papers- especially in research oriented fields. What will happen to these students who want to go into graduate school and can’t even write academically/ professionally? There are adults to date that still can’t write professional work emails or job resumes/cover letters- these are skills that intersect in the real world aside from just university. History, Social and behavioral courses are also crucial. They are priming students to take jobs in STEM oriented fields but then wondering why we don’t have enough teachers, or mental health care professionals or anyone that is at least somewhat knowledgeable about these topics that have covered them in higher education. It’s shameful and disappointing because what good will it be to know statistics when you can’t write or structure an in-depth academic research paper that needs strong writing points- or what will happen when students need to conduct an in depth analysis on a topic but can’t comprehend additional cultural, political, historical or social nuances that often come with discussions that take place in social, cultural and behavioral courses??? (Not to mention humanities courses also includes foreign language which is also important because bilingualism is valued across many careers, ESP healthcare) I never learned about these topics until college- including crucial parts of our own country’s history that wasnt truthfully discussed in HS at all. With book banning happening across HS’s across the country, college literature and comp courses are even MORE crucial because that’s where students have the opportunity to read and discuss literature that is multi faceted in perspective rather than being limited to what local government thinks is “appropriate” for others to read. All this does is reinforce that STEM focus is valued over humanities when humanities inspires critical thinking and offers a more nuanced perspective about social and cultural issues. While STEM is important, we need humanities to ALSO help solve real world problems that can’t just be solved by mathematical or even scientific knowledge because some of society’s problems just can’t be approached in this way. I’m a liberal arts major and the amount of people I’ve seen treat this degree as if it’s not worth anything but then turn around and complain about how we don’t have enough teachers, therapists or about how people can’t even recite basic history about World War II or the rise of fascism throughout history is EXACTLY the problem. We could all do with a little more worldview besides just prioritizing statistics or physics in higher education. Given that a lot of people in some of these fields are NEEDED more than ever do come from humanities/ social science/ liberal arts backgrounds, I wish more people would choose to value these courses/degrees and prioritize them instead of choosing to decrease them and then wonder why we have a lot of ignorance plaguing society in regards to social, cultural and political issues.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What are your views on reducing core curriculum requirements and eliminating required courses? I was speaking to a friend who works at the University of Alabama, and he told me about proposed changes to their core curriculum. You can read about them here Notable changes I found intriguing were: * Humanities, literature, and fine arts are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. Literature is no longer required as the other options can fully satisfy the requirement. * Writing courses (comp) are reduced from 6 to 3 hours meaning only one writing-focused course is required. * History and social/behavioral courses are reduced from 12 to 9 hours. The social/behavioral courses can fully satisfy the requirement, so no history course is required. * Overall reduction of core requirements from 53-55 hours to 37-38 hours. More hours will be added to major requirements. My friend said he and a lot of his colleagues are up in arms about it. He also mentioned that statistics will satisfy the core curriculum math requirement. I'm conflicted on my personal feelings on this. I like that students have more choice, but it feels like it's pushing the university experience to be more focused on \"job training\" rather than a liberal education. I'm an idealist though.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Wow I hate this! I’m bided because I’m a history PhD, but writing and critical thinking based classes were the classes I always found most valuable as an undergrad. You need to be able to communicate and think critically and analytically for pretty much every job, so why get rid of those requirements?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I climbed a lot, traveled internationally quite a bit, fell in love, got married, and had a kid. Don't underestimate the importance of actually having a life at this time. Also published in Nature as a first author so that was cool but honestly it isn't even in my top 10 experiences during my PhD.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Most important thing is publications, for better or worse. It varies by field and lab, but try to get on papers as a co-author in addition to your first author papers. Cultivate relationships with your committee members. Remember most positions take 3 letters of recommendation, so start thinking who can write you a good letter and work on those relationships. Getting your own funding is a huge plus, with external federal funding being best but even internal grants are strong. Also, small things like travel grants for conferences look good, even if you are in a lab that can fund you. If you have interest in teaching, see if you institution has any teaching certificates. These are geared to teaching graduate students how to teach at the university level. Getting involved in professional organizations is probably more important than institutional organizations. See if there is a student council or something similar. Do good work and be a good citizen to your research group/department. That goes a long way!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I climbed a lot, traveled internationally quite a bit, fell in love, got married, and had a kid. Don't underestimate the importance of actually having a life at this time. Also published in Nature as a first author so that was cool but honestly it isn't even in my top 10 experiences during my PhD.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Enjoyed my life. I came to grad school (PhD program in engineering) 2 months after a long deployment to Afghanistan in a combat arms role. As such, grad school seemed like a vacation from previous hardships and I had a absolute blast doing research and taking advantage of everyday lifestyle (walking on a safe sidewalk to work, eating out, having some beers casually).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I climbed a lot, traveled internationally quite a bit, fell in love, got married, and had a kid. Don't underestimate the importance of actually having a life at this time. Also published in Nature as a first author so that was cool but honestly it isn't even in my top 10 experiences during my PhD.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Most important thing is publications, for better or worse. It varies by field and lab, but try to get on papers as a co-author in addition to your first author papers. Cultivate relationships with your committee members. Remember most positions take 3 letters of recommendation, so start thinking who can write you a good letter and work on those relationships. Getting your own funding is a huge plus, with external federal funding being best but even internal grants are strong. Also, small things like travel grants for conferences look good, even if you are in a lab that can fund you. If you have interest in teaching, see if you institution has any teaching certificates. These are geared to teaching graduate students how to teach at the university level. Getting involved in professional organizations is probably more important than institutional organizations. See if there is a student council or something similar. Do good work and be a good citizen to your research group/department. That goes a long way!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Enjoyed my life. I came to grad school (PhD program in engineering) 2 months after a long deployment to Afghanistan in a combat arms role. As such, grad school seemed like a vacation from previous hardships and I had a absolute blast doing research and taking advantage of everyday lifestyle (walking on a safe sidewalk to work, eating out, having some beers casually).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I got married and dropped out after my Master's degree. I decided I wouldn't take another 6 years of abuse. For me, that's what making the most of grad school looked like, and looking back it was absolutely the right decision.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I picked up at least a passing exposure to every technical skill or language I could argue was relevant to my work. I'm a nonbinary woman with a history BA who is now a cancer epidemiologist, so I really wanted to preempt any perception that I'm not that technical or more of a soft scientist. I'd found myself being pigeonholed that way before, so. Now I'm known throughout my school of public health as the grad student you try to hire if you need expert GIS work fast. Not for everyone but I work for a research center that is way more focused on health policy and health behavior than on anything connected to my research. I like it because it gets me in contact with faculty I wouldn't have met otherwise (some of whom hired me for the aforementioned GIS work) and gives me a more well-rounded perspective on the field of public health. Before I reached the dissertation phase, I took a lot of part-time research assistant jobs like that just because I found the work interesting. Speaking of fully taking advantage of my time here, I got student health insurance to cover my tubal ligation. The pandemic slowed me down but I'm going to see how much gender confirming health care and therapy I can get them to pay for next. (And trust me, when it comes to therapy, they owe me.) I take full advantage of the gym, discounted classes, and my library privileges for my own personal projects and interests. Basically, soak up the benefits of campus life, which either you are paying for or are part of your compensation. It doesn't have to be obvious how it will benefit your career, it just has to benefit you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Basics: Publish publish publish, abstracts (posters and oral presentations) and conferences. Best advice: Frequently meet/hang out with colleagues in your cohort/department and force yourself to meet with faculty as well. If they know your name and your work, they are very likely to share it with others that work elsewhere (benefits of this are immeasurable).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The answer will depend a lot on what your goals are. People are going to grad school for reasons beyond attempting a career as an R1 researcher these days, and for those \"alternative\" careers, publications will not be all that matters (though publications do help in essentially all careers that follow grad school). For instance, I knew I wanted to teach at a PUI after finishing my PhD. Because of this, I picked a school with a specialization in biology education and an advisor who promised me that I could do as much teaching as I wanted as long as I met her standards for productivity. I ended up taking a few classes in pedagogy, earned a tack-on \"teaching certificate\" with my degree, and by making it known in my department that I wanted to teach I was given a lecture course as instructor of record during my last year. That lecture course is the biggest reason I landed my current position at a small liberal arts college right out of my PhD. Another example: my office-mate in grad school wanted to work in industry and wanted to keep options open for science communication. He started science outreach programs, worked with multiple groups across the large university to get involved in as many opportunities for collaborative projects as he could, and he networked his butt off. He's now working in an industry position and keeps active in communication where he can. The biggest advice I would give: ***talk to people who have the job you want and especially listen to those who got those jobs within the last 5ish years***. Place all advice in the context of who is giving it to you. I mostly say that because R1 professors have rarely worked outside of R1 universities and thus often only really know how to get jobs the same way they did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Most important thing is publications, for better or worse. It varies by field and lab, but try to get on papers as a co-author in addition to your first author papers. Cultivate relationships with your committee members. Remember most positions take 3 letters of recommendation, so start thinking who can write you a good letter and work on those relationships. Getting your own funding is a huge plus, with external federal funding being best but even internal grants are strong. Also, small things like travel grants for conferences look good, even if you are in a lab that can fund you. If you have interest in teaching, see if you institution has any teaching certificates. These are geared to teaching graduate students how to teach at the university level. Getting involved in professional organizations is probably more important than institutional organizations. See if there is a student council or something similar. Do good work and be a good citizen to your research group/department. That goes a long way!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Enjoyed my life. I came to grad school (PhD program in engineering) 2 months after a long deployment to Afghanistan in a combat arms role. As such, grad school seemed like a vacation from previous hardships and I had a absolute blast doing research and taking advantage of everyday lifestyle (walking on a safe sidewalk to work, eating out, having some beers casually).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Most important thing is publications, for better or worse. It varies by field and lab, but try to get on papers as a co-author in addition to your first author papers. Cultivate relationships with your committee members. Remember most positions take 3 letters of recommendation, so start thinking who can write you a good letter and work on those relationships. Getting your own funding is a huge plus, with external federal funding being best but even internal grants are strong. Also, small things like travel grants for conferences look good, even if you are in a lab that can fund you. If you have interest in teaching, see if you institution has any teaching certificates. These are geared to teaching graduate students how to teach at the university level. Getting involved in professional organizations is probably more important than institutional organizations. See if there is a student council or something similar. Do good work and be a good citizen to your research group/department. That goes a long way!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I got married and dropped out after my Master's degree. I decided I wouldn't take another 6 years of abuse. For me, that's what making the most of grad school looked like, and looking back it was absolutely the right decision.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Standard disclaimer: N=1, ymmv. I decided I wanted an academic job so my advice is generally tailored to that. I'm not suggesting that academic jobs are better, only contextualizing why I made the decisions I did. ​ \\_\\_ I learned by doing cool projects and publishing the resultant papers instead of stressing about classroom performance. I wrote with friends and with people I admired. This helped me cultivate a network of people who I genuinely like, so the work was more fun and the network was stronger. Bonus: had a bunch of papers for job market season. I might have some of the worst grades in the program actually, but that never came up at an interview. I also took on leadership roles that initially I thought I couldn't handle. For example, I accepted the opportunity to organize a summer institute in my second year - despite feeling like I wasn't 'advanced' enough. I'm now on the 4th year of said institute and it (and the skills it teaches) have become a foundational part of my academic trajectory. It turns out I was advanced enough, I just didn't believe in myself enough. I also have given talks and guest lectures that made me a little nervous and have been glad I did it. In some fields (like mine) you can get away with barely presenting your work or barely teaching - but I put myself out there often enough that I got comfortable with speaking skills and talks. I think this really paid off on the job market and in the quality of my teaching/presenting. Now when something pops up that could be stressful like a conference I forgot about (story of the zoom era) or a big meeting - I'm not worried about those foundational skills and can apply my efforts elsewhere. Sometimes the best thing to do for your career is to just to do things that make you happy: I made friends in different fields not because of academic machinations - I just thought they were dope and wanted to be friends with them. I've also attended conferences out of field because they sounded cool and they've been dope. I have stayed open and flexible to opportunities I hadn't considered, and for the most part, they've been lit and occasionally result in random academic products too. For example, a friend (from a random different department) and I have a passion for a niche topic and got hype to do a random bonus project on it just for fun and it ended up being a really good paper sort of by accident. We went from cheerfully ranting about it, to voluntarily researching it, to 'oh maybe we should write this up', to presenting it at conferences together, to sending it in for review. And we had fun the whole way. And it's awesome to see the mind-meld glory of you and your friends' work decorating your CV. This is where your mileage will vary, but I realized early on that the best fit academic job for me would be a place that was excited about people with many interests and interdisciplinary sorta stuff, so I was less worried about having a varied output portfolio. Sort of related: you could see this from my post history - but I have a hell of a lot of piercings, some in my face or other unusual visible places. I was advised on many occasions to remove them because people wouldn't approve in some of the more conservative spaces I work in (like court lol). I declined to do so. I know there are some people who passed on working with me because they didn't like the look, but after fully considering the pros/cons I decided to leave them and get some more. This is of course an N=1 thing and sort of different because piercings are usually a personal choice, but I'd say they were the most major source of academic bullying I got during grad school. But ultimately, I really like my piercings and would rather leave the academy with them intact then be part of the academy without them. It all worked out well and I felt all the places where I job talked/interviewed were surprised but cheerful about them. I also have a wonderful network of colleagues and advisors who either don't care or think they're cool. ​ \\_\\_ Bonus points for some skill development that is industry-relevant that is also sneakily productive. For example, I wanted to learn to code so I did some computational projects. Published the projects, had the skills in my back pocket in case I decided to exit the academy. I decided not to exit the academy and now have those coding skills to do more cool projects. Nice. I also did some consulting during gschool that blessed the bank account.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I picked up at least a passing exposure to every technical skill or language I could argue was relevant to my work. I'm a nonbinary woman with a history BA who is now a cancer epidemiologist, so I really wanted to preempt any perception that I'm not that technical or more of a soft scientist. I'd found myself being pigeonholed that way before, so. Now I'm known throughout my school of public health as the grad student you try to hire if you need expert GIS work fast. Not for everyone but I work for a research center that is way more focused on health policy and health behavior than on anything connected to my research. I like it because it gets me in contact with faculty I wouldn't have met otherwise (some of whom hired me for the aforementioned GIS work) and gives me a more well-rounded perspective on the field of public health. Before I reached the dissertation phase, I took a lot of part-time research assistant jobs like that just because I found the work interesting. Speaking of fully taking advantage of my time here, I got student health insurance to cover my tubal ligation. The pandemic slowed me down but I'm going to see how much gender confirming health care and therapy I can get them to pay for next. (And trust me, when it comes to therapy, they owe me.) I take full advantage of the gym, discounted classes, and my library privileges for my own personal projects and interests. Basically, soak up the benefits of campus life, which either you are paying for or are part of your compensation. It doesn't have to be obvious how it will benefit your career, it just has to benefit you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Standard disclaimer: N=1, ymmv. I decided I wanted an academic job so my advice is generally tailored to that. I'm not suggesting that academic jobs are better, only contextualizing why I made the decisions I did. ​ \\_\\_ I learned by doing cool projects and publishing the resultant papers instead of stressing about classroom performance. I wrote with friends and with people I admired. This helped me cultivate a network of people who I genuinely like, so the work was more fun and the network was stronger. Bonus: had a bunch of papers for job market season. I might have some of the worst grades in the program actually, but that never came up at an interview. I also took on leadership roles that initially I thought I couldn't handle. For example, I accepted the opportunity to organize a summer institute in my second year - despite feeling like I wasn't 'advanced' enough. I'm now on the 4th year of said institute and it (and the skills it teaches) have become a foundational part of my academic trajectory. It turns out I was advanced enough, I just didn't believe in myself enough. I also have given talks and guest lectures that made me a little nervous and have been glad I did it. In some fields (like mine) you can get away with barely presenting your work or barely teaching - but I put myself out there often enough that I got comfortable with speaking skills and talks. I think this really paid off on the job market and in the quality of my teaching/presenting. Now when something pops up that could be stressful like a conference I forgot about (story of the zoom era) or a big meeting - I'm not worried about those foundational skills and can apply my efforts elsewhere. Sometimes the best thing to do for your career is to just to do things that make you happy: I made friends in different fields not because of academic machinations - I just thought they were dope and wanted to be friends with them. I've also attended conferences out of field because they sounded cool and they've been dope. I have stayed open and flexible to opportunities I hadn't considered, and for the most part, they've been lit and occasionally result in random academic products too. For example, a friend (from a random different department) and I have a passion for a niche topic and got hype to do a random bonus project on it just for fun and it ended up being a really good paper sort of by accident. We went from cheerfully ranting about it, to voluntarily researching it, to 'oh maybe we should write this up', to presenting it at conferences together, to sending it in for review. And we had fun the whole way. And it's awesome to see the mind-meld glory of you and your friends' work decorating your CV. This is where your mileage will vary, but I realized early on that the best fit academic job for me would be a place that was excited about people with many interests and interdisciplinary sorta stuff, so I was less worried about having a varied output portfolio. Sort of related: you could see this from my post history - but I have a hell of a lot of piercings, some in my face or other unusual visible places. I was advised on many occasions to remove them because people wouldn't approve in some of the more conservative spaces I work in (like court lol). I declined to do so. I know there are some people who passed on working with me because they didn't like the look, but after fully considering the pros/cons I decided to leave them and get some more. This is of course an N=1 thing and sort of different because piercings are usually a personal choice, but I'd say they were the most major source of academic bullying I got during grad school. But ultimately, I really like my piercings and would rather leave the academy with them intact then be part of the academy without them. It all worked out well and I felt all the places where I job talked/interviewed were surprised but cheerful about them. I also have a wonderful network of colleagues and advisors who either don't care or think they're cool. ​ \\_\\_ Bonus points for some skill development that is industry-relevant that is also sneakily productive. For example, I wanted to learn to code so I did some computational projects. Published the projects, had the skills in my back pocket in case I decided to exit the academy. I decided not to exit the academy and now have those coding skills to do more cool projects. Nice. I also did some consulting during gschool that blessed the bank account.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Basics: Publish publish publish, abstracts (posters and oral presentations) and conferences. Best advice: Frequently meet/hang out with colleagues in your cohort/department and force yourself to meet with faculty as well. If they know your name and your work, they are very likely to share it with others that work elsewhere (benefits of this are immeasurable).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Standard disclaimer: N=1, ymmv. I decided I wanted an academic job so my advice is generally tailored to that. I'm not suggesting that academic jobs are better, only contextualizing why I made the decisions I did. ​ \\_\\_ I learned by doing cool projects and publishing the resultant papers instead of stressing about classroom performance. I wrote with friends and with people I admired. This helped me cultivate a network of people who I genuinely like, so the work was more fun and the network was stronger. Bonus: had a bunch of papers for job market season. I might have some of the worst grades in the program actually, but that never came up at an interview. I also took on leadership roles that initially I thought I couldn't handle. For example, I accepted the opportunity to organize a summer institute in my second year - despite feeling like I wasn't 'advanced' enough. I'm now on the 4th year of said institute and it (and the skills it teaches) have become a foundational part of my academic trajectory. It turns out I was advanced enough, I just didn't believe in myself enough. I also have given talks and guest lectures that made me a little nervous and have been glad I did it. In some fields (like mine) you can get away with barely presenting your work or barely teaching - but I put myself out there often enough that I got comfortable with speaking skills and talks. I think this really paid off on the job market and in the quality of my teaching/presenting. Now when something pops up that could be stressful like a conference I forgot about (story of the zoom era) or a big meeting - I'm not worried about those foundational skills and can apply my efforts elsewhere. Sometimes the best thing to do for your career is to just to do things that make you happy: I made friends in different fields not because of academic machinations - I just thought they were dope and wanted to be friends with them. I've also attended conferences out of field because they sounded cool and they've been dope. I have stayed open and flexible to opportunities I hadn't considered, and for the most part, they've been lit and occasionally result in random academic products too. For example, a friend (from a random different department) and I have a passion for a niche topic and got hype to do a random bonus project on it just for fun and it ended up being a really good paper sort of by accident. We went from cheerfully ranting about it, to voluntarily researching it, to 'oh maybe we should write this up', to presenting it at conferences together, to sending it in for review. And we had fun the whole way. And it's awesome to see the mind-meld glory of you and your friends' work decorating your CV. This is where your mileage will vary, but I realized early on that the best fit academic job for me would be a place that was excited about people with many interests and interdisciplinary sorta stuff, so I was less worried about having a varied output portfolio. Sort of related: you could see this from my post history - but I have a hell of a lot of piercings, some in my face or other unusual visible places. I was advised on many occasions to remove them because people wouldn't approve in some of the more conservative spaces I work in (like court lol). I declined to do so. I know there are some people who passed on working with me because they didn't like the look, but after fully considering the pros/cons I decided to leave them and get some more. This is of course an N=1 thing and sort of different because piercings are usually a personal choice, but I'd say they were the most major source of academic bullying I got during grad school. But ultimately, I really like my piercings and would rather leave the academy with them intact then be part of the academy without them. It all worked out well and I felt all the places where I job talked/interviewed were surprised but cheerful about them. I also have a wonderful network of colleagues and advisors who either don't care or think they're cool. ​ \\_\\_ Bonus points for some skill development that is industry-relevant that is also sneakily productive. For example, I wanted to learn to code so I did some computational projects. Published the projects, had the skills in my back pocket in case I decided to exit the academy. I decided not to exit the academy and now have those coding skills to do more cool projects. Nice. I also did some consulting during gschool that blessed the bank account.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I picked up at least a passing exposure to every technical skill or language I could argue was relevant to my work. I'm a nonbinary woman with a history BA who is now a cancer epidemiologist, so I really wanted to preempt any perception that I'm not that technical or more of a soft scientist. I'd found myself being pigeonholed that way before, so. Now I'm known throughout my school of public health as the grad student you try to hire if you need expert GIS work fast. Not for everyone but I work for a research center that is way more focused on health policy and health behavior than on anything connected to my research. I like it because it gets me in contact with faculty I wouldn't have met otherwise (some of whom hired me for the aforementioned GIS work) and gives me a more well-rounded perspective on the field of public health. Before I reached the dissertation phase, I took a lot of part-time research assistant jobs like that just because I found the work interesting. Speaking of fully taking advantage of my time here, I got student health insurance to cover my tubal ligation. The pandemic slowed me down but I'm going to see how much gender confirming health care and therapy I can get them to pay for next. (And trust me, when it comes to therapy, they owe me.) I take full advantage of the gym, discounted classes, and my library privileges for my own personal projects and interests. Basically, soak up the benefits of campus life, which either you are paying for or are part of your compensation. It doesn't have to be obvious how it will benefit your career, it just has to benefit you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Basics: Publish publish publish, abstracts (posters and oral presentations) and conferences. Best advice: Frequently meet/hang out with colleagues in your cohort/department and force yourself to meet with faculty as well. If they know your name and your work, they are very likely to share it with others that work elsewhere (benefits of this are immeasurable).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I picked up at least a passing exposure to every technical skill or language I could argue was relevant to my work. I'm a nonbinary woman with a history BA who is now a cancer epidemiologist, so I really wanted to preempt any perception that I'm not that technical or more of a soft scientist. I'd found myself being pigeonholed that way before, so. Now I'm known throughout my school of public health as the grad student you try to hire if you need expert GIS work fast. Not for everyone but I work for a research center that is way more focused on health policy and health behavior than on anything connected to my research. I like it because it gets me in contact with faculty I wouldn't have met otherwise (some of whom hired me for the aforementioned GIS work) and gives me a more well-rounded perspective on the field of public health. Before I reached the dissertation phase, I took a lot of part-time research assistant jobs like that just because I found the work interesting. Speaking of fully taking advantage of my time here, I got student health insurance to cover my tubal ligation. The pandemic slowed me down but I'm going to see how much gender confirming health care and therapy I can get them to pay for next. (And trust me, when it comes to therapy, they owe me.) I take full advantage of the gym, discounted classes, and my library privileges for my own personal projects and interests. Basically, soak up the benefits of campus life, which either you are paying for or are part of your compensation. It doesn't have to be obvious how it will benefit your career, it just has to benefit you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Basics: Publish publish publish, abstracts (posters and oral presentations) and conferences. Best advice: Frequently meet/hang out with colleagues in your cohort/department and force yourself to meet with faculty as well. If they know your name and your work, they are very likely to share it with others that work elsewhere (benefits of this are immeasurable).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1) Take time to learn marketable skills now, because you likely won't have time to later. As a Biologist, for me this meant programming, computing skills, GIS, etc. After exhausting the few classes in my department geared towards developing computing skills, I took more in the CS department. This has been a major advantage for me moving forward after graduate school, and I think would also help if I decided to leave academia. 2) Get involved in things. I got involved in some capacity in nearly every project in my (fairly large) lab group, which is now starting to pay off in terms of co-authored publications. It also helped me both in learning from senior colleagues and learning to help junior ones. 3) Don't work too much. I realize the above recommendations take time, but I think the best thing you can do is set aside days to enjoy life. Hobbies, fostering personal relationships, traveling (if you can afford it), etc.. Generally I think working 40 hours a week with enough breaks to feel energized and fulfilled is more productive than working 60 hours a week being burnt out.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "As someone else said, enjoy my life, and yes, publish. Speaking of publications, I used my time for developing my research program by not wasting an inordinate amount of time going down citation holes or reading reading reading. And when I read I try to read both as wide and as deep as possible quickly and intently. Otherwise I mainly gave my mind free rein to be curious and direct its attention wherever it led it and to force as much autodidacticism as possible. As a result I'm more confident as a researcher, I don't have impostor syndrome, and I know my research program is very much my own, that I have a niche. Not to boast but I'd go as far as to say that my work is more original than most other grad students' because of my approach. It's certainly not a typical approach to graduate school but it certainly paid off for me. Specialization is a plague and has never been anything else than a burden on my mental health.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "As someone else said, enjoy my life, and yes, publish. Speaking of publications, I used my time for developing my research program by not wasting an inordinate amount of time going down citation holes or reading reading reading. And when I read I try to read both as wide and as deep as possible quickly and intently. Otherwise I mainly gave my mind free rein to be curious and direct its attention wherever it led it and to force as much autodidacticism as possible. As a result I'm more confident as a researcher, I don't have impostor syndrome, and I know my research program is very much my own, that I have a niche. Not to boast but I'd go as far as to say that my work is more original than most other grad students' because of my approach. It's certainly not a typical approach to graduate school but it certainly paid off for me. Specialization is a plague and has never been anything else than a burden on my mental health.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "As someone else said, enjoy my life, and yes, publish. Speaking of publications, I used my time for developing my research program by not wasting an inordinate amount of time going down citation holes or reading reading reading. And when I read I try to read both as wide and as deep as possible quickly and intently. Otherwise I mainly gave my mind free rein to be curious and direct its attention wherever it led it and to force as much autodidacticism as possible. As a result I'm more confident as a researcher, I don't have impostor syndrome, and I know my research program is very much my own, that I have a niche. Not to boast but I'd go as far as to say that my work is more original than most other grad students' because of my approach. It's certainly not a typical approach to graduate school but it certainly paid off for me. Specialization is a plague and has never been anything else than a burden on my mental health.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I joined a graduate student council that organizes a lot of events in my third year of my PhD and the best part was meeting other grad students that I would not have met otherwise. I also got to work closely with research directors and learn about the strange world of university admin. I developed a lot of skills that my PhD research did not teach me and I think it has improved my research via teamwork and project leadership skills. Plus it was a lot of fun.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1) Take time to learn marketable skills now, because you likely won't have time to later. As a Biologist, for me this meant programming, computing skills, GIS, etc. After exhausting the few classes in my department geared towards developing computing skills, I took more in the CS department. This has been a major advantage for me moving forward after graduate school, and I think would also help if I decided to leave academia. 2) Get involved in things. I got involved in some capacity in nearly every project in my (fairly large) lab group, which is now starting to pay off in terms of co-authored publications. It also helped me both in learning from senior colleagues and learning to help junior ones. 3) Don't work too much. I realize the above recommendations take time, but I think the best thing you can do is set aside days to enjoy life. Hobbies, fostering personal relationships, traveling (if you can afford it), etc.. Generally I think working 40 hours a week with enough breaks to feel energized and fulfilled is more productive than working 60 hours a week being burnt out.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1) Take time to learn marketable skills now, because you likely won't have time to later. As a Biologist, for me this meant programming, computing skills, GIS, etc. After exhausting the few classes in my department geared towards developing computing skills, I took more in the CS department. This has been a major advantage for me moving forward after graduate school, and I think would also help if I decided to leave academia. 2) Get involved in things. I got involved in some capacity in nearly every project in my (fairly large) lab group, which is now starting to pay off in terms of co-authored publications. It also helped me both in learning from senior colleagues and learning to help junior ones. 3) Don't work too much. I realize the above recommendations take time, but I think the best thing you can do is set aside days to enjoy life. Hobbies, fostering personal relationships, traveling (if you can afford it), etc.. Generally I think working 40 hours a week with enough breaks to feel energized and fulfilled is more productive than working 60 hours a week being burnt out.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I joined a graduate student council that organizes a lot of events in my third year of my PhD and the best part was meeting other grad students that I would not have met otherwise. I also got to work closely with research directors and learn about the strange world of university admin. I developed a lot of skills that my PhD research did not teach me and I think it has improved my research via teamwork and project leadership skills. Plus it was a lot of fun.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Race road bikes and mountain bikes. It was a big scene, and helped keep me sane. And I met so many cool grad students outside of my program.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Race road bikes and mountain bikes. It was a big scene, and helped keep me sane. And I met so many cool grad students outside of my program.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I joined a graduate student council that organizes a lot of events in my third year of my PhD and the best part was meeting other grad students that I would not have met otherwise. I also got to work closely with research directors and learn about the strange world of university admin. I developed a lot of skills that my PhD research did not teach me and I think it has improved my research via teamwork and project leadership skills. Plus it was a lot of fun.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Great question! I did absolutely zilch in terms of things that would make me attractive on the job market. It still ended well, albeit via a circuitous route. So, if you didn't maximize your time in grad school, there may still be a path for you, even if it's a longer road (post-docs/etc.).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did most of the things you mentioned. I wanted to make sure I had a well-rounded resume.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Great question! I did absolutely zilch in terms of things that would make me attractive on the job market. It still ended well, albeit via a circuitous route. So, if you didn't maximize your time in grad school, there may still be a path for you, even if it's a longer road (post-docs/etc.).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What did you do during graduate school to fully take advantage of your time there? Hi everyone! I'm a STEM master's student in Canada and about a year into my degree. I couldn't really find a good discussion on the topic, so, like the title says, I'm curious to know about what you did during grad school that you felt help you stand out? Did you join a graduate council or a field-related organization? Did you teach yourself skills that aren't necessarily related to your work? Did you start an initiative of some sort? Apply for awards? I feel like I could be doing more, but with COVID, and working entirely remotely, it's hard to get new perspectives and ideas. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I joined a graduate student council that organizes a lot of events in my third year of my PhD and the best part was meeting other grad students that I would not have met otherwise. I also got to work closely with research directors and learn about the strange world of university admin. I developed a lot of skills that my PhD research did not teach me and I think it has improved my research via teamwork and project leadership skills. Plus it was a lot of fun.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "My postdoc ended in June. I got a temporary \"assistant research scientist\" position because the pandemic killed my in-progress interviews last spring. My background is neuroscience/computer science and I ended up getting a data analyst position in finance. For the most part, all you really have to say is that you realized that the academic track doesn't fit your life goals and that you want X (where X is something that the new position offers). This doubles as an explanation for why you're interested in the position they have available. My current position has nice set hours, an enjoyable work environment, and no looming make-or-break deadlines decided on in a completely arbitrary fashion. It's a lot less stressful, if perhaps not as stimulating. The pay is, unfortunately, on-par with my post-doc, however. That \\*should\\* change, but it's also important to consider that you may need to spend a year or two building skills to match what industry wants.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": ">How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, ~~little pay~~, and endless stress? Better work / life balance. Low pay is the postdoc. All roads lead to better pay. Everyone in industry understands that. No need to bring it up. When pay does come up, it will be with a recruiter or HR as they go over potential salary range. Do your homework to know what that will likely be ahead of time and that is the pay you discuss (if needed). >Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? Yep. Though the transition is different depending on if you are looking for a bench vs non-bench role. I've only now caught up to my fellow bench scientist colleagues salaries with comparable experience - took about five years in industry. Any ideas what you want to do in industry? I'm in genomics now. But not at the bench. I left the postdoc for similar reasons. Worked mainly with C. Elegans during that time. So don't feel like it limits you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You have a Ph.D. + postdoc in a computational discipline? Congrats, you are a rare specimen that finally satisfies those crazy LinkedIn Data Science job requirements... start applying. Don't mention the fish, state that you worked in computational genomics. You are hungry and highly qualified. They will grab you eventually. If it gets tricky do a course in web development. That will prime you up for recruiters.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I left my postdoc for an industry job back in January. Best decision I've ever made. Just start applying - I know networking is important, but I applied cold and ended up with a choice of offers. Don't focus on the \"I'm overqualified\" bit, because you're not. When you write your cover letters and interview, focus on those personality and work ethic traits you developed over the years. Put effort into that cover letter to convey those things and why you want to transition out of academia. My background was in cardiovascular inflammation, but I work with people from all sorts of backgrounds. In my experience, they're way more interested in your work ethic and passions than your actual set of skills (depending what you're looking for!). You'll find the right fit if you just start going for it. Best of luck!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You have a Ph.D. + postdoc in a computational discipline? Congrats, you are a rare specimen that finally satisfies those crazy LinkedIn Data Science job requirements... start applying. Don't mention the fish, state that you worked in computational genomics. You are hungry and highly qualified. They will grab you eventually. If it gets tricky do a course in web development. That will prime you up for recruiters.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": ">How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, ~~little pay~~, and endless stress? Better work / life balance. Low pay is the postdoc. All roads lead to better pay. Everyone in industry understands that. No need to bring it up. When pay does come up, it will be with a recruiter or HR as they go over potential salary range. Do your homework to know what that will likely be ahead of time and that is the pay you discuss (if needed). >Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? Yep. Though the transition is different depending on if you are looking for a bench vs non-bench role. I've only now caught up to my fellow bench scientist colleagues salaries with comparable experience - took about five years in industry. Any ideas what you want to do in industry? I'm in genomics now. But not at the bench. I left the postdoc for similar reasons. Worked mainly with C. Elegans during that time. So don't feel like it limits you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You have a Ph.D. + postdoc in a computational discipline? Congrats, you are a rare specimen that finally satisfies those crazy LinkedIn Data Science job requirements... start applying. Don't mention the fish, state that you worked in computational genomics. You are hungry and highly qualified. They will grab you eventually. If it gets tricky do a course in web development. That will prime you up for recruiters.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I went from postdoc, to startup, back to postdoc, now applying for professorships. Got a few industry job offers before 2nd postdoc as well. Your skills will translate well in industry, there are lots of people looking for basic bioinformaticians. I did frog genomics for example. You'll need to learn how to sell yourself to each company, generally you'll need to show you have the skills in Python, R, etc, and understand how to do the basic analyses needed. Sometimes that is population genetics (GATK or freebayes with a sample data set can teach you what you need), or just being able to do hardcore stats in R. Whatever your specialty is between those focus on jobs asking for those skills. ​ Don't say you hate academia, but you can say you wanted to apply your skills in a more practical manner, etc. Basically you can say you know you want to leave academia because you don't see a future there, but it has to be phrased as \"your company fits what I would like my career to go into\". This is part of learning to sell yourself, it didn't come to me easily but after failing a few times I got good at the interviews. That may seem a bit depressing, but I assure you its less failures before seeing success than I've had interviewing for TT positions.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I left my postdoc for an industry job back in January. Best decision I've ever made. Just start applying - I know networking is important, but I applied cold and ended up with a choice of offers. Don't focus on the \"I'm overqualified\" bit, because you're not. When you write your cover letters and interview, focus on those personality and work ethic traits you developed over the years. Put effort into that cover letter to convey those things and why you want to transition out of academia. My background was in cardiovascular inflammation, but I work with people from all sorts of backgrounds. In my experience, they're way more interested in your work ethic and passions than your actual set of skills (depending what you're looking for!). You'll find the right fit if you just start going for it. Best of luck!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": ">How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, ~~little pay~~, and endless stress? Better work / life balance. Low pay is the postdoc. All roads lead to better pay. Everyone in industry understands that. No need to bring it up. When pay does come up, it will be with a recruiter or HR as they go over potential salary range. Do your homework to know what that will likely be ahead of time and that is the pay you discuss (if needed). >Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? Yep. Though the transition is different depending on if you are looking for a bench vs non-bench role. I've only now caught up to my fellow bench scientist colleagues salaries with comparable experience - took about five years in industry. Any ideas what you want to do in industry? I'm in genomics now. But not at the bench. I left the postdoc for similar reasons. Worked mainly with C. Elegans during that time. So don't feel like it limits you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I left my postdoc for an industry job back in January. Best decision I've ever made. Just start applying - I know networking is important, but I applied cold and ended up with a choice of offers. Don't focus on the \"I'm overqualified\" bit, because you're not. When you write your cover letters and interview, focus on those personality and work ethic traits you developed over the years. Put effort into that cover letter to convey those things and why you want to transition out of academia. My background was in cardiovascular inflammation, but I work with people from all sorts of backgrounds. In my experience, they're way more interested in your work ethic and passions than your actual set of skills (depending what you're looking for!). You'll find the right fit if you just start going for it. Best of luck!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I went from postdoc, to startup, back to postdoc, now applying for professorships. Got a few industry job offers before 2nd postdoc as well. Your skills will translate well in industry, there are lots of people looking for basic bioinformaticians. I did frog genomics for example. You'll need to learn how to sell yourself to each company, generally you'll need to show you have the skills in Python, R, etc, and understand how to do the basic analyses needed. Sometimes that is population genetics (GATK or freebayes with a sample data set can teach you what you need), or just being able to do hardcore stats in R. Whatever your specialty is between those focus on jobs asking for those skills. ​ Don't say you hate academia, but you can say you wanted to apply your skills in a more practical manner, etc. Basically you can say you know you want to leave academia because you don't see a future there, but it has to be phrased as \"your company fits what I would like my career to go into\". This is part of learning to sell yourself, it didn't come to me easily but after failing a few times I got good at the interviews. That may seem a bit depressing, but I assure you its less failures before seeing success than I've had interviewing for TT positions.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Leaving academia is NORMAL. That’s what most people do. Start looking at job descriptions (just search “PhD” or other relevant words for your skill set in LinkedIn Jobs) to find out what you like.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "if you did genomics in anything you can apply it to any genomics subject. the tooling is common.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Leaving academia is NORMAL. That’s what most people do. Start looking at job descriptions (just search “PhD” or other relevant words for your skill set in LinkedIn Jobs) to find out what you like.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I did this. I went into industry after doing a year of a postdoc. My field is in the social sciences, and I transitioned into UX research in the technology industry. Before you can transition out successfully, you need to figure out what you want to transition *to*. It's not enough to just know you want to leave: what do you want to do? Since you know you want to leave, begin to safely scale back your work as much as you can so you can devote some cycles to investigating other job options for people in your field, with your background. There are some jobs that will directly use your skills in industry, particularly in national labs or government agency research, and some that will engage them more indirectly, like management/strategy consulting or data science. Consider joining a professional organization in your current city (or online) in fields in which you're interested; in my field, the equivalents are groups like UX Professionals Association and SIG-CHI. They sometimes will let you know about jobs before they are posted, and you can meet professionals in whatever field you're interested in and do informational interviews. Your undergrad or graduate university career center may still offer their services to alumni, so I'd check to see if they can do resume review or if they have an alumni job listserv (and if either of them are any good). Or the career services offices at your current institution might welcome postdocs at their events. Many large universities with graduate programs have non-academic career fairs and events for doctoral students.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Leaving academia is NORMAL. That’s what most people do. Start looking at job descriptions (just search “PhD” or other relevant words for your skill set in LinkedIn Jobs) to find out what you like.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Since you have a genomics background, let me ask: do you know analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics data? If you do, you are in good demand. There are so many jobs out there that require expertise in this area. You are not overqualified for those jobs.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Leaving academia is NORMAL. That’s what most people do. Start looking at job descriptions (just search “PhD” or other relevant words for your skill set in LinkedIn Jobs) to find out what you like.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "All of the ‘omics people I know are in either industry or government. By far the easiest way to transition is to look for a postdoc at the company you want. Do you want a contract research organization? Check out Eurofins or IFC or similar. Do you know what industry you’d be interested in? Many have postdoc positions to assist in the translation from academia. Or as many have said, apply directly as a senior scientist I or equivalent. I recommend reaching out to your university’s career center as well as picking up the “2hr Job Search.” You might also find resources from the national postdoctoral association and government entities like the NIH to have some helpful resources as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Everyone here is right when they say to focus on what you want, but if you don't know what you want, just start applying for jobs and then listen to your gut when you think about whether that job is something you actually want to do. Doing a PhD gives you a ton of general skills that are valuable in the workplace, but it also encourages tunnel vision about your specialty, so you really do need to take a step back and think about your knowledge in a broader context. Industry employers really don't care much about your PhD, and they sure as shit don't care about the specific topic. We have a guy right now causing all kinds of administrative issues because he didn't technically complete his degree but his employer doesn't care.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Since you have a genomics background, let me ask: do you know analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics data? If you do, you are in good demand. There are so many jobs out there that require expertise in this area. You are not overqualified for those jobs.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Everyone here is right when they say to focus on what you want, but if you don't know what you want, just start applying for jobs and then listen to your gut when you think about whether that job is something you actually want to do. Doing a PhD gives you a ton of general skills that are valuable in the workplace, but it also encourages tunnel vision about your specialty, so you really do need to take a step back and think about your knowledge in a broader context. Industry employers really don't care much about your PhD, and they sure as shit don't care about the specific topic. We have a guy right now causing all kinds of administrative issues because he didn't technically complete his degree but his employer doesn't care.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "All of the ‘omics people I know are in either industry or government. By far the easiest way to transition is to look for a postdoc at the company you want. Do you want a contract research organization? Check out Eurofins or IFC or similar. Do you know what industry you’d be interested in? Many have postdoc positions to assist in the translation from academia. Or as many have said, apply directly as a senior scientist I or equivalent. I recommend reaching out to your university’s career center as well as picking up the “2hr Job Search.” You might also find resources from the national postdoctoral association and government entities like the NIH to have some helpful resources as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You don't have to explain why you want to leave academia. The people hiring you have PhDs, too. They know why.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Since you have a genomics background, let me ask: do you know analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics data? If you do, you are in good demand. There are so many jobs out there that require expertise in this area. You are not overqualified for those jobs.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You don't have to explain why you want to leave academia. The people hiring you have PhDs, too. They know why.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Took a postdoc after PhD but I want out. How to transition successfully into industry? How do I approach jobs that might view me as over qualified? How do I explain why I want to transition out of academia without explicitly saying that I hate the career path, the long hours, little pay, and endless stress? Anyone successfully leave their postdoc for industry? My background is in genomics (worked with fish so not even humans or viruses or anything useful for medical/pharmacy fields). I just want out I can't do this anymore.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "All of the ‘omics people I know are in either industry or government. By far the easiest way to transition is to look for a postdoc at the company you want. Do you want a contract research organization? Check out Eurofins or IFC or similar. Do you know what industry you’d be interested in? Many have postdoc positions to assist in the translation from academia. Or as many have said, apply directly as a senior scientist I or equivalent. I recommend reaching out to your university’s career center as well as picking up the “2hr Job Search.” You might also find resources from the national postdoctoral association and government entities like the NIH to have some helpful resources as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Soft money positions can make a lot more. I know some soft money professors at UCLA make 500k+ because they pull in so many grants. Also, industries that pay a lot (e.g., econ, medicine) have some departments that pay their top-tier professors a lot because they want those professors, and those professors could get a lot of money working in industry. Competing offers are always the best way to raise salary.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "And the first page of top salaries is all coaches and executives…", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Soft money positions can make a lot more. I know some soft money professors at UCLA make 500k+ because they pull in so many grants. Also, industries that pay a lot (e.g., econ, medicine) have some departments that pay their top-tier professors a lot because they want those professors, and those professors could get a lot of money working in industry. Competing offers are always the best way to raise salary.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If you are given the designation of Distinguished professor or earn a chair or endowed seat that can come with $ on top of what was before. My boss at a public school in the Midwest was making >300k but was also running an entire research center as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Soft money positions can make a lot more. I know some soft money professors at UCLA make 500k+ because they pull in so many grants. Also, industries that pay a lot (e.g., econ, medicine) have some departments that pay their top-tier professors a lot because they want those professors, and those professors could get a lot of money working in industry. Competing offers are always the best way to raise salary.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1. Admin work. Deans and deanlets make more money. If you're a dean of a big-time program like a B-school, you will get paid a ton. At places like Purdue, many of the deans/deanlets are technically still 'faculty'. 2. Grants. These often get processed through the university, so the additional compensation from a grant often appears on these kinds of salary lists. 3. Endowed chairs/professorships of blabity blah. Usually funded by donors who can set parameters for salary and the kinds of people they want to fill the role. 4. Perceived market value. Universities will offer salary comparable to industry salaries to try and recruit/retain faculty. This is why faculty in business and some STEM fields have ridiculously high salaries compared with faculty in other departments. 5. Institution type. Purdue is an R1 that cares about their national/international ranking. Hence, they will pay to get faculty that they believe will improve their ranking. Although COL is low, West Lafayette Indiana isn't exactly a hoot and a half, so they presumably have to pay people generously to get them there and keep them. What you are seeing with these salaries is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. For every one of these half a million dollar professors, there are a dozen (if not more) adjuncts living near the poverty line.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Probably multiple sources of compensation. Anecdotally, one person tagged as faculty is actually an associate dean and director of a research center. Admin positions tend to be better compensated than baseline faculty. It looks like there are business/finance faculty, too, who get paid megabucks for the university to be a competitive option.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1. Admin work. Deans and deanlets make more money. If you're a dean of a big-time program like a B-school, you will get paid a ton. At places like Purdue, many of the deans/deanlets are technically still 'faculty'. 2. Grants. These often get processed through the university, so the additional compensation from a grant often appears on these kinds of salary lists. 3. Endowed chairs/professorships of blabity blah. Usually funded by donors who can set parameters for salary and the kinds of people they want to fill the role. 4. Perceived market value. Universities will offer salary comparable to industry salaries to try and recruit/retain faculty. This is why faculty in business and some STEM fields have ridiculously high salaries compared with faculty in other departments. 5. Institution type. Purdue is an R1 that cares about their national/international ranking. Hence, they will pay to get faculty that they believe will improve their ranking. Although COL is low, West Lafayette Indiana isn't exactly a hoot and a half, so they presumably have to pay people generously to get them there and keep them. What you are seeing with these salaries is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. For every one of these half a million dollar professors, there are a dozen (if not more) adjuncts living near the poverty line.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "And the first page of top salaries is all coaches and executives…", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1. Admin work. Deans and deanlets make more money. If you're a dean of a big-time program like a B-school, you will get paid a ton. At places like Purdue, many of the deans/deanlets are technically still 'faculty'. 2. Grants. These often get processed through the university, so the additional compensation from a grant often appears on these kinds of salary lists. 3. Endowed chairs/professorships of blabity blah. Usually funded by donors who can set parameters for salary and the kinds of people they want to fill the role. 4. Perceived market value. Universities will offer salary comparable to industry salaries to try and recruit/retain faculty. This is why faculty in business and some STEM fields have ridiculously high salaries compared with faculty in other departments. 5. Institution type. Purdue is an R1 that cares about their national/international ranking. Hence, they will pay to get faculty that they believe will improve their ranking. Although COL is low, West Lafayette Indiana isn't exactly a hoot and a half, so they presumably have to pay people generously to get them there and keep them. What you are seeing with these salaries is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. For every one of these half a million dollar professors, there are a dozen (if not more) adjuncts living near the poverty line.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If you are given the designation of Distinguished professor or earn a chair or endowed seat that can come with $ on top of what was before. My boss at a public school in the Midwest was making >300k but was also running an entire research center as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1. Admin work. Deans and deanlets make more money. If you're a dean of a big-time program like a B-school, you will get paid a ton. At places like Purdue, many of the deans/deanlets are technically still 'faculty'. 2. Grants. These often get processed through the university, so the additional compensation from a grant often appears on these kinds of salary lists. 3. Endowed chairs/professorships of blabity blah. Usually funded by donors who can set parameters for salary and the kinds of people they want to fill the role. 4. Perceived market value. Universities will offer salary comparable to industry salaries to try and recruit/retain faculty. This is why faculty in business and some STEM fields have ridiculously high salaries compared with faculty in other departments. 5. Institution type. Purdue is an R1 that cares about their national/international ranking. Hence, they will pay to get faculty that they believe will improve their ranking. Although COL is low, West Lafayette Indiana isn't exactly a hoot and a half, so they presumably have to pay people generously to get them there and keep them. What you are seeing with these salaries is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. For every one of these half a million dollar professors, there are a dozen (if not more) adjuncts living near the poverty line.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "1. Admin work. Deans and deanlets make more money. If you're a dean of a big-time program like a B-school, you will get paid a ton. At places like Purdue, many of the deans/deanlets are technically still 'faculty'. 2. Grants. These often get processed through the university, so the additional compensation from a grant often appears on these kinds of salary lists. 3. Endowed chairs/professorships of blabity blah. Usually funded by donors who can set parameters for salary and the kinds of people they want to fill the role. 4. Perceived market value. Universities will offer salary comparable to industry salaries to try and recruit/retain faculty. This is why faculty in business and some STEM fields have ridiculously high salaries compared with faculty in other departments. 5. Institution type. Purdue is an R1 that cares about their national/international ranking. Hence, they will pay to get faculty that they believe will improve their ranking. Although COL is low, West Lafayette Indiana isn't exactly a hoot and a half, so they presumably have to pay people generously to get them there and keep them. What you are seeing with these salaries is, of course, the exception rather than the rule. For every one of these half a million dollar professors, there are a dozen (if not more) adjuncts living near the poverty line.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Probably multiple sources of compensation. Anecdotally, one person tagged as faculty is actually an associate dean and director of a research center. Admin positions tend to be better compensated than baseline faculty. It looks like there are business/finance faculty, too, who get paid megabucks for the university to be a competitive option.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "And the first page of top salaries is all coaches and executives…", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Probably multiple sources of compensation. Anecdotally, one person tagged as faculty is actually an associate dean and director of a research center. Admin positions tend to be better compensated than baseline faculty. It looks like there are business/finance faculty, too, who get paid megabucks for the university to be a competitive option.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If you are given the designation of Distinguished professor or earn a chair or endowed seat that can come with $ on top of what was before. My boss at a public school in the Midwest was making >300k but was also running an entire research center as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Probably multiple sources of compensation. Anecdotally, one person tagged as faculty is actually an associate dean and director of a research center. Admin positions tend to be better compensated than baseline faculty. It looks like there are business/finance faculty, too, who get paid megabucks for the university to be a competitive option.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "And the first page of top salaries is all coaches and executives…", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If you are given the designation of Distinguished professor or earn a chair or endowed seat that can come with $ on top of what was before. My boss at a public school in the Midwest was making >300k but was also running an entire research center as well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I know of a few cases where faculty are/were paid *per student* for summer online courses and then marketed them so well they enrolled 500+ so ended up doubling or tripling their annual salaries. But more realistically, most faculty make <$100K so the individuals OP is seeing are outliers. The AAUP salary data is a great resource for details on the entire market.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Could be lots of ways, they may have consulting or spin off companies that get paid through the university, many universities have some sort of IP profit sharing scheme for stuff developed 'during the course of your employment' that strictly speaking the university could keep 100%", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I know of a few cases where faculty are/were paid *per student* for summer online courses and then marketed them so well they enrolled 500+ so ended up doubling or tripling their annual salaries. But more realistically, most faculty make <$100K so the individuals OP is seeing are outliers. The AAUP salary data is a great resource for details on the entire market.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don't know about other STEM areas, but in biomed, the school will triple your salary if you get into the national academy of sciences. If they don't, Duke will hire you away and make you chair. Also there are endowed chairs that can be either salary or lab supplies.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I know of a few cases where faculty are/were paid *per student* for summer online courses and then marketed them so well they enrolled 500+ so ended up doubling or tripling their annual salaries. But more realistically, most faculty make <$100K so the individuals OP is seeing are outliers. The AAUP salary data is a great resource for details on the entire market.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I know of a few cases where faculty are/were paid *per student* for summer online courses and then marketed them so well they enrolled 500+ so ended up doubling or tripling their annual salaries. But more realistically, most faculty make <$100K so the individuals OP is seeing are outliers. The AAUP salary data is a great resource for details on the entire market.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The ones I know, have multiple grants, started companies, or threatened to leave their university and the university gave them huge compensations", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don't know about other STEM areas, but in biomed, the school will triple your salary if you get into the national academy of sciences. If they don't, Duke will hire you away and make you chair. Also there are endowed chairs that can be either salary or lab supplies.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The ones I know, have multiple grants, started companies, or threatened to leave their university and the university gave them huge compensations", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "At Purdue, a lot of it is patents. The patent is often assigned to the university, and they pay out a share of proceeds to the faculty inventors. Edit: I think I was wrong about the discipline.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don’t know of any professors earning half a million. There are some administrators who do.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Grants. Not to mention the list will be incomplete, as a lot of STEM faculty will make a killing with consulting, but that typically doesn't show up on the records. And of course; I'd wager some of these are special positions and so the people with them aren't \"just\" professors.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "At Purdue, a lot of it is patents. The patent is often assigned to the university, and they pay out a share of proceeds to the faculty inventors. Edit: I think I was wrong about the discipline.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I went to Purdue for engineering, and the money some profs make is tied to how much money they bring to the university in the form of grants. I had an excellent prof who was tenured with purdue but he didn't bring as much money as some of the big shots. So they made his life miserable by giving 7:30 am classes especially in spring semesters and eventually, he was fed up and left. I know this cuz he said this to me in a Starbucks at 7 am lol, not too many people but still public. Also some of the research work is really out there and extremely cutting edge. I remember apple lost a law suit to one purdue prof some time ago. There is another high lawsuit going on with a silicon valley company. Yea basically if you are monetarily valuable to the school, you will be paid.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don’t know of any professors earning half a million. There are some administrators who do.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I went to Purdue for engineering, and the money some profs make is tied to how much money they bring to the university in the form of grants. I had an excellent prof who was tenured with purdue but he didn't bring as much money as some of the big shots. So they made his life miserable by giving 7:30 am classes especially in spring semesters and eventually, he was fed up and left. I know this cuz he said this to me in a Starbucks at 7 am lol, not too many people but still public. Also some of the research work is really out there and extremely cutting edge. I remember apple lost a law suit to one purdue prof some time ago. There is another high lawsuit going on with a silicon valley company. Yea basically if you are monetarily valuable to the school, you will be paid.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don’t know of any professors earning half a million. There are some administrators who do.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do some professors (in the US) earn half a million dollars? So information about compensation is public information. E.g., Purdue Salary Compensation I browsed through various departments (STEM specifically) and found that some professors absolutely make a killing. Is the grant funding included? If not, then how do they get so much money?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Something I haven't seen mentioned in here is that professors, being experts in their field, can make considerable money on the side being a consultant, expert witness, etc. Also, in STEM many established professors will collect a handful of their graduates to try and commercialize their research work, and there's potential profit to be made there, too. That wouldn't show up on the salary guide you've posted because of how the data was collected, and I don't know what kinds of income that would bring in... but still worth mentioning.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "> We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. Talking to a lawyer about a class-action OSHA suit could be done, several professors at my university are taking that approach. If you have a GA/TA/RA union, talk to them about it and potential collective bargaining.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Strike/teach online anyway! Tell your students, and ask them to write to the administrators to complain! Tell your faculty advisors that you won't teach unless [xyz] and have THEM complain to administrators! Note that all of these things carry some risk to your position depending on how vindictive the administration wants to be. There is safety in numbers, regardless of official union status (remember the original unions were all unauthorized - union power comes from striking and unity among workers, not authorization). Such is the nature of labor disputes. But if not now, when?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Unionise and strike.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Strike/teach online anyway! Tell your students, and ask them to write to the administrators to complain! Tell your faculty advisors that you won't teach unless [xyz] and have THEM complain to administrators! Note that all of these things carry some risk to your position depending on how vindictive the administration wants to be. There is safety in numbers, regardless of official union status (remember the original unions were all unauthorized - union power comes from striking and unity among workers, not authorization). Such is the nature of labor disputes. But if not now, when?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Unionise and strike.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "To add on to the advice here. The legal sides of things depends on which state you're in and whether or not you are a public or private university. However, as other have said, there is nothing stopping you from trying to get a group together to discuss working conditions. Practically, this will probably happen on a department level. Is it possible to have a zoom meeting w/ other grad students in your department? And then reach out to friends in other departments? This is daunting/easier said than done, but it is possible. Do you have a grad student association that has any clout? Sympathetic faculty? Getting the other TAs for your class and TAs in your department together is the first step-- best of luck and stay safe.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You need to unionize and go on strike. You need to organize and strike. That's it. That's all that will work. Nothing else will. Admin is *desperate*. They have bills. They have bonds that are in arrears and will default. *The administration absolutely will sacrifice your health if it means their jobs will live*. If they say \"you can't organize a union it's not allowed\" or \"it's illegal because of XYZ state legislation\" you say \"get fucked\" and organize anyway. You have the First Amendment and SCOTUS has been ironfuckingclad that this includes the right to organize.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "To add on to the advice here. The legal sides of things depends on which state you're in and whether or not you are a public or private university. However, as other have said, there is nothing stopping you from trying to get a group together to discuss working conditions. Practically, this will probably happen on a department level. Is it possible to have a zoom meeting w/ other grad students in your department? And then reach out to friends in other departments? This is daunting/easier said than done, but it is possible. Do you have a grad student association that has any clout? Sympathetic faculty? Getting the other TAs for your class and TAs in your department together is the first step-- best of luck and stay safe.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You need to unionize and go on strike. You need to organize and strike. That's it. That's all that will work. Nothing else will. Admin is *desperate*. They have bills. They have bonds that are in arrears and will default. *The administration absolutely will sacrifice your health if it means their jobs will live*. If they say \"you can't organize a union it's not allowed\" or \"it's illegal because of XYZ state legislation\" you say \"get fucked\" and organize anyway. You have the First Amendment and SCOTUS has been ironfuckingclad that this includes the right to organize.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m going to hesitantly second this advice. Chances are the GA population is teaching a majority of courses in some departments/colleges at minimum, and the possible loss of tuition revenue along with angering the undergrads themselves could be effective. It is worth noting, however, that some institutions have reacted very harshly to GA strikes in the past. I’d consult GA union leadership, but I’d also advise considering it from a personal perspective, as well. After all, it’s hard, but you could always transfer to another university.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You need to unionize and go on strike. You need to organize and strike. That's it. That's all that will work. Nothing else will. Admin is *desperate*. They have bills. They have bonds that are in arrears and will default. *The administration absolutely will sacrifice your health if it means their jobs will live*. If they say \"you can't organize a union it's not allowed\" or \"it's illegal because of XYZ state legislation\" you say \"get fucked\" and organize anyway. You have the First Amendment and SCOTUS has been ironfuckingclad that this includes the right to organize.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Unionize. Call AFT or UAW and get your contract!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You need to unionize and go on strike. You need to organize and strike. That's it. That's all that will work. Nothing else will. Admin is *desperate*. They have bills. They have bonds that are in arrears and will default. *The administration absolutely will sacrifice your health if it means their jobs will live*. If they say \"you can't organize a union it's not allowed\" or \"it's illegal because of XYZ state legislation\" you say \"get fucked\" and organize anyway. You have the First Amendment and SCOTUS has been ironfuckingclad that this includes the right to organize.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This was years ago protesting something very different, but at a school I was at, the graduate students held all classes outside as a visible protest. The classes were still taught and the GTAs were doing their job (malicious compliance). This was paired with a sit-in style protest at the president's office and op eds in the paper explaining what was going on. For something you can do to personally protect yourself, consider teaching your class as a flip classroom. Record the lectures and use class time for Q&A or working examples or whatever it is you do in class. If you don't take attendance, I bet the majority of students will not show up to the face-to-face part. If someone higher up says something to you, then you explain how you are using a very innovated form of teaching that has literature to back up its effectiveness.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Unionize. Call AFT or UAW and get your contract!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This was years ago protesting something very different, but at a school I was at, the graduate students held all classes outside as a visible protest. The classes were still taught and the GTAs were doing their job (malicious compliance). This was paired with a sit-in style protest at the president's office and op eds in the paper explaining what was going on. For something you can do to personally protect yourself, consider teaching your class as a flip classroom. Record the lectures and use class time for Q&A or working examples or whatever it is you do in class. If you don't take attendance, I bet the majority of students will not show up to the face-to-face part. If someone higher up says something to you, then you explain how you are using a very innovated form of teaching that has literature to back up its effectiveness.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The grad students at my university (me included) are beginning to unionize and are planning to go to the paper about how the administration has treated us. We started out organizing on Facebook. If you start there and get support, you can start having zoom calls and do an open dialogue about the mistreatment as well as next steps.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Contact your state Department of Labor (DoL) to help determine if teaching assistants are classified as employees at your institution. If so, and your institution is eligible for the FFCRA, then graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the leave benefits afforded employees under the act. At my institution, graduate teaching assistants are employees but graduate assistants and graduate research assistants are not, so you'll need to be specific when describing the groups about which you're asking. You may also need to search the DoL site to find a relevant contact because they are likely overwhelmed with unemployment claims currently.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I appreciate the positivity about unions but you need a backup plan. My university’s grad school union has been illegally ignored for the last 5 years. The pandemic hasn’t changed things.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How to defend graduate teaching assistants After months of advocating to university leadership to include graduate teaching assistants in on decisions about whether we hold our classes face-to-face or online (rejected - we are teaching in person while faculty teach online) and pleading for some guidance from HR about documentation of our employee rights (ignored), I learned yesterday - five days before classes start - that myself and my graduate teaching assistant colleagues will have no long term leave if our lives are interrupted by the pandemic. If we are ill beyond 14 days, our contracts will be terminated. We had no choice but to teach face-to-face. We do not qualify for FMLA. We have no health insurance through the university. And now, if we fall ill in a scenario the university constructed, we will lose our jobs. We are not unionized, and our graduate student association was kept in the dark about all of this and told we would have the same rights as faculty. I have two questions about how I should respond to this situation: Any ideas about how we can productively proceed? All we want at this point is not to get fired if we get sick in the classroom and to be able to use our resources to help the university reopen in a safer way for our entire community. I value my students and I do not want to disrupt their education, but I am tempted to tell them what the university is doing to the GTAs and then ask that they not come to my class in person unless they absolutely need my help in that format, because it is not a safe space for us. Then, I would host my class online, from the classroom. Would that be unfair to my undergraduate students?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Contact your state Department of Labor (DoL) to help determine if teaching assistants are classified as employees at your institution. If so, and your institution is eligible for the FFCRA, then graduate teaching assistants are eligible for the leave benefits afforded employees under the act. At my institution, graduate teaching assistants are employees but graduate assistants and graduate research assistants are not, so you'll need to be specific when describing the groups about which you're asking. You may also need to search the DoL site to find a relevant contact because they are likely overwhelmed with unemployment claims currently.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Ever thought about dance? You start training when you're 4. This continues up to age 19-22 or so. Then you start a series of temporary jobs that pay peanuts. Each of these might last a few months if you're lucky -- or maybe just a week if ticket sales are poor. Then it's back to job interviews (they're called \"auditions\"). You can get tossed out on someone's whim for just about any reason. Any injury can mean weeks or months without pay. And your career is over by the time you're 30. And -- particularly if you're a woman -- the field is ridiculously oversaturated with top-notch talent. Those 15-18 years of training more than likely end with no jobs at all. Of course there is teaching. You can even combine academia and dance, and become a professor of dance. Now, guess what the lowest-paid academic field is.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think you may be conflating \"research institutions in the UK\" with \"all of academia\". I'm in the US and here, if you follow a path into a more teaching-oriented situation, for example at a teaching-focused public university or a small liberal arts college, the drive for publications and more publications isn't as strong, the pay is decent, and if you can make it to tenure -- which in my experience isn't insanely difficult (I've gotten tenure twice, at two different teaching oriented institutions) -- you have very strong job security. So my experience has been that yeah, those years getting my PhD were really long and I wouldn't want to repeat those, but 21 years later I'm a tenured full professor in a great school with a strong emphasis on teaching but also with plenty of flexibility to do research if I wanted, and pretty much bulletproof job security, and I'm compensated really well. For me the rewards have been really great and it would take a *lot* to get me to take a new position and give all of that up. I don't know a ton about the UK higher ed landscape but I know that teaching-oriented institutions aren't the norm, but some schools seem more oriented toward undergrad education than others.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Athlete or Musician is probably the best answer. You can spend 15 years mastering an instrument but still fail to make any money from it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think you may be conflating \"research institutions in the UK\" with \"all of academia\". I'm in the US and here, if you follow a path into a more teaching-oriented situation, for example at a teaching-focused public university or a small liberal arts college, the drive for publications and more publications isn't as strong, the pay is decent, and if you can make it to tenure -- which in my experience isn't insanely difficult (I've gotten tenure twice, at two different teaching oriented institutions) -- you have very strong job security. So my experience has been that yeah, those years getting my PhD were really long and I wouldn't want to repeat those, but 21 years later I'm a tenured full professor in a great school with a strong emphasis on teaching but also with plenty of flexibility to do research if I wanted, and pretty much bulletproof job security, and I'm compensated really well. For me the rewards have been really great and it would take a *lot* to get me to take a new position and give all of that up. I don't know a ton about the UK higher ed landscape but I know that teaching-oriented institutions aren't the norm, but some schools seem more oriented toward undergrad education than others.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Chef (culinary school, years of sweat labor in the kitchen, even worse compensation due to \"training\" and \"prestige\" at restaurants than in academia), professional athlete (and in some sports the formal training in college in D1 programs are the real fast track to a career), classical musician (need to study at conservatory where the coveted tenure track positions in a symphony orchestra are even rarer than academic TT positions), actor, dance (people start training from the time they are children, and there is a lot of formal education) Honestly, most jobs that are done for passion operate this way.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? I suppose that many of you will also be in the similar situation to the one I find myself in, starting to see the finish line on my PhD but begrudgingly coming to the conclusion that a career in academia is now so unappealing that I'll need to come up with some other career path. I'm not driven by money so it's not a problem to me if I never earn more than what an average lecturer makes, but all the same it's still pretty low given that it: (a) to get these positions typically requires ~6-10 years of studying, multiple degrees, significant research experience, and a track record of publications; and (b) student numbers, student fees, and university profits all seem to be rising (at least where I am, in the UK. What's even worse is that postdoctoral and junior lecturer positions - if you're able to fight off all the competition to get one - are even more poorly paid and insecure. From the conversations I've had with people in those roles, there seems to be very high workload, and a lot of the key aspects of being an academic (e.g. writing papers, acting as a reviewer) have to be done in spare time. So is there any other industry which requires so much training for so little reward and so little job security? For those who are a little longer in the tooth and know these sorts of things, has it always been like this or did the nature of the industry change more recently?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think you may be conflating \"research institutions in the UK\" with \"all of academia\". I'm in the US and here, if you follow a path into a more teaching-oriented situation, for example at a teaching-focused public university or a small liberal arts college, the drive for publications and more publications isn't as strong, the pay is decent, and if you can make it to tenure -- which in my experience isn't insanely difficult (I've gotten tenure twice, at two different teaching oriented institutions) -- you have very strong job security. So my experience has been that yeah, those years getting my PhD were really long and I wouldn't want to repeat those, but 21 years later I'm a tenured full professor in a great school with a strong emphasis on teaching but also with plenty of flexibility to do research if I wanted, and pretty much bulletproof job security, and I'm compensated really well. For me the rewards have been really great and it would take a *lot* to get me to take a new position and give all of that up. I don't know a ton about the UK higher ed landscape but I know that teaching-oriented institutions aren't the norm, but some schools seem more oriented toward undergrad education than others.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It is usually no problem to as the action editor from the journal for an extension of the deadline. We had to do this couple of times already and it was never a problem (asked for between 2 weeks and one month). To your co-author, you could still communicate the old date but you would not be under such strong pressure.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "\"Hey Fuck-head. What good? Respectfully yours\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I hate these situations and these kinds of collaborators. They are also frustrating on proposals where you wait and wait for their one paragraph of input and then it's terrible and don't know how to get them knocked off the budget. I don't really know what works, but you can also change media - i.e. call instead of email, knock on their office door, etc. Do you NEED their revisions? You can also give one more email like - I need these by Friday and will assume you are fine with the revised version if not received. Though that's also a bit weird in tone - are they needed, or not? Grrr.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "\"Hi, Did you have time to look at the paper? Should I assume that there are no further comments and submit by the deadline (<insert date>)?\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I hate these situations and these kinds of collaborators. They are also frustrating on proposals where you wait and wait for their one paragraph of input and then it's terrible and don't know how to get them knocked off the budget. I don't really know what works, but you can also change media - i.e. call instead of email, knock on their office door, etc. Do you NEED their revisions? You can also give one more email like - I need these by Friday and will assume you are fine with the revised version if not received. Though that's also a bit weird in tone - are they needed, or not? Grrr.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "“Hurry the fuck up or we won’t make it to publish”", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "My supervisor is like this. She always ends up emailing the editor and asking for an extension (she literally always gets one) but usually I email to remind her of the deadline and ask when she assumes she’ll have the edits ready so I can plan accordingly. It’s at this point she realizes I don’t have time to implement her edits and asks for an extension. It’s extremely frustrating because it puts so much pressure on me to 1) be completely available for several hours before the deadline and 2) makes me have to crank out all her edits in one go. So I sympathize with you a ton.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "\"Hi, Did you have time to look at the paper? Should I assume that there are no further comments and submit by the deadline (<insert date>)?\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "My supervisor is like this. She always ends up emailing the editor and asking for an extension (she literally always gets one) but usually I email to remind her of the deadline and ask when she assumes she’ll have the edits ready so I can plan accordingly. It’s at this point she realizes I don’t have time to implement her edits and asks for an extension. It’s extremely frustrating because it puts so much pressure on me to 1) be completely available for several hours before the deadline and 2) makes me have to crank out all her edits in one go. So I sympathize with you a ton.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "“Hurry the fuck up or we won’t make it to publish”", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "My supervisor is like this. She always ends up emailing the editor and asking for an extension (she literally always gets one) but usually I email to remind her of the deadline and ask when she assumes she’ll have the edits ready so I can plan accordingly. It’s at this point she realizes I don’t have time to implement her edits and asks for an extension. It’s extremely frustrating because it puts so much pressure on me to 1) be completely available for several hours before the deadline and 2) makes me have to crank out all her edits in one go. So I sympathize with you a ton.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "More or less Thanks to everyone for all the help and comments We aim to have this in by X date (5 days before you are going to submit it). So if you have any other comments or revisions please note them now . Please be sure to sign the appropriate author release forms and look for them in your inbox and spam folders about that time - let us know if you do not get them Best All the rest of us", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The old ‘since no one has any comments I’ll submit tomorrow morning’ email. Classic", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "\"Hi, Did you have time to look at the paper? Should I assume that there are no further comments and submit by the deadline (<insert date>)?\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The old ‘since no one has any comments I’ll submit tomorrow morning’ email. Classic", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "“Hurry the fuck up or we won’t make it to publish”", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The old ‘since no one has any comments I’ll submit tomorrow morning’ email. Classic", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "More or less Thanks to everyone for all the help and comments We aim to have this in by X date (5 days before you are going to submit it). So if you have any other comments or revisions please note them now . Please be sure to sign the appropriate author release forms and look for them in your inbox and spam folders about that time - let us know if you do not get them Best All the rest of us", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "May be a tricky one now, but perhaps for future reference: one way to handle these situations is to send the message asking for revisions with a friendly note that if you have not heard from them by DATE you will assume they are fine with the revisions/ paper as is. Then put that date quite a bit earlier than when you need to deliver to the journal. Of course currently, in the middle of a pandemic, all kinds of things can be going wrong; and I would consider that perhaps things are not alright with the person, or that they have other things to deal with. So, in this case: ask for an extension from the journal. They essentially never say no.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "“Hurry the fuck up or we won’t make it to publish”", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "May be a tricky one now, but perhaps for future reference: one way to handle these situations is to send the message asking for revisions with a friendly note that if you have not heard from them by DATE you will assume they are fine with the revisions/ paper as is. Then put that date quite a bit earlier than when you need to deliver to the journal. Of course currently, in the middle of a pandemic, all kinds of things can be going wrong; and I would consider that perhaps things are not alright with the person, or that they have other things to deal with. So, in this case: ask for an extension from the journal. They essentially never say no.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's a POLITE way to remind a co-author he needs to hurry up with his revisions on our paper before the deadline? I sent him the latest version a while ago and asked him to confirm receipt and send back his revisions when done. Had to ask again a couple days later when he didn't reply. He said he \"was busy, but would have a look that afternoon.\" Almost a week later and haven't heard anything. Deadline for journal submission is quickly approaching. This person is senior to me on the ole' totem pole, so even though I'm extremely frustrated I don't want to piss him off too much (and my wife says I sometimes come off too abrasive when I correspond with others online). Anyone want to volunteer a few lines I should write?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "More or less Thanks to everyone for all the help and comments We aim to have this in by X date (5 days before you are going to submit it). So if you have any other comments or revisions please note them now . Please be sure to sign the appropriate author release forms and look for them in your inbox and spam folders about that time - let us know if you do not get them Best All the rest of us", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "They stole the project I had been working on and never gave me credit! Hi everyone, I have been working as a graduate assistant for almost a year now. One of the projects I have worked on was a survey that I developed with the Principal Investigator. This spring semester the PI decided to leave academia so he is in the process of transitioning out. The dean contacts the PI on an email to give permission rights to the other person who is taking over his job. Today, my responsibility was to transfer the project to the said person. Today when I logged in to my account I have no more access to the project. It seems that they just took the project away. Does anyone have an idea how to proceed with this ? I am so bummed out because I worked really hard in this project to be taken away like that! Thank you for your responses!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Talk to the new PI. A changing of the guards will sometimes cause administrative sanfus. If the new PI is not being cooperative, talk to the Dean. Take it a step higher in the chain-of-command until you exhaust all options or get the answers you are looking for.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "They stole the project I had been working on and never gave me credit! Hi everyone, I have been working as a graduate assistant for almost a year now. One of the projects I have worked on was a survey that I developed with the Principal Investigator. This spring semester the PI decided to leave academia so he is in the process of transitioning out. The dean contacts the PI on an email to give permission rights to the other person who is taking over his job. Today, my responsibility was to transfer the project to the said person. Today when I logged in to my account I have no more access to the project. It seems that they just took the project away. Does anyone have an idea how to proceed with this ? I am so bummed out because I worked really hard in this project to be taken away like that! Thank you for your responses!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Schedule an appointment with your university ombudsman and come prepared with a detailed summary of your contributions to the project, and what has transpired. They will be able to tell you best what to do under the policies of your university.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "They stole the project I had been working on and never gave me credit! Hi everyone, I have been working as a graduate assistant for almost a year now. One of the projects I have worked on was a survey that I developed with the Principal Investigator. This spring semester the PI decided to leave academia so he is in the process of transitioning out. The dean contacts the PI on an email to give permission rights to the other person who is taking over his job. Today, my responsibility was to transfer the project to the said person. Today when I logged in to my account I have no more access to the project. It seems that they just took the project away. Does anyone have an idea how to proceed with this ? I am so bummed out because I worked really hard in this project to be taken away like that! Thank you for your responses!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I wouldn't worry too much. This is easily fixable and I think you will find that people will want to help you with it. I would start out by assuming that it is a misunderstanding and contact the new PI. If that doesn't work, talk to the Graduate Director for your program, Department Chair or Dean, in that order (unless you have already been talking with one of them about this--then talk to that person). The most likely answer is that they removed everyone's access when the project was transferred, which is easily correctable. If it wasn't a mistake, then you need to talk to the same people, and also maybe the Dean of your Graduate School, but the conversation will be a little different. Regardless of any IP issues, yanking your project out from under you will derail your academic progress. That's a serious issue that everyone should be interested in correcting. In my former role as a Graduate Director, we would absolutely find a way to ensure that you didn't just get screwed in the transition.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "They stole the project I had been working on and never gave me credit! Hi everyone, I have been working as a graduate assistant for almost a year now. One of the projects I have worked on was a survey that I developed with the Principal Investigator. This spring semester the PI decided to leave academia so he is in the process of transitioning out. The dean contacts the PI on an email to give permission rights to the other person who is taking over his job. Today, my responsibility was to transfer the project to the said person. Today when I logged in to my account I have no more access to the project. It seems that they just took the project away. Does anyone have an idea how to proceed with this ? I am so bummed out because I worked really hard in this project to be taken away like that! Thank you for your responses!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hopefully u/bigrottentuna is around. They'd be good for this one, particularly once I saw your comment about the dean.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hi friend, 29F with similar story. Recently began therapy again for depression. Am scheduling psychological testing to determine whether there's more than just depression. My story: For me, prior to my mental health crisis, the stress of Research and PhD was the \"good\" stress and life was the \"bad\" stress. I liked research and usually perform well under pressure.. however, life stress confuses and scares me.. I had a bad breakup, unexpected pregnancy (was on oral birth control) and traumatic termination of that pregnancy, and then 6 months or so of catatonic depression.. I stopped sleeping, so I had no energy to exercise.. I didn't exercise so I had no appetite. I had no appetite so I didn't eat.. etc.. There was a period of 2-3 wks where I didn't shower or change clothes.. at that point alcohol was the only thing that allowed me to get calories and get sleep. But obviously the hangovers made work difficult. The rebound anxiety after drinking 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening was unbearable. Meltdowns in lab meeting. Talking back to my PI. Doing the same IFA staining over and over and over again because it was the only thing that made me feel like I had some control. My depression also affected my memory. For example, I was completing my qualifying exam in the middle of this crisis and would work all day on it. Then the next day I'd sit back down at my computer and have no recollection of what I had written. It was troubling and scary. I thought I was losing my mind. My recovery: The most important thing for me was finally reaching out to a doctor. She put me on an antidepressant. The antidepressant doesn't make the sadness or anger go away but it does increase energy and thus gets you off the proverbial bed of sadness. For me it gave me energy to get back in the gym. Back in the gym I was able to refocus on specific physical goals. Pushing hard in the gym allowed me to eat, and made me tired enough to sleep through the night. Also being in the gym requires me to see people - I live alone and work alone due to covid. Seeing people requires showering regularly. Showering regularly makes you feel better. It sucked at the beginning but now I derive so much pleasure from getting to the gym/in the pool/out for a run. Finding pleasure in things was something I never though I'd have again. Alcohol: It seemed impossible at the time but im nearly 2 months sober (read: no alcohol ALONE - I have on 3 occasions had drinks WITH FRIENDS). I think back on how I felt in the midst of everything and to be perfectly honest I didn't think I'd make it this far. I don't look at my alcohol use as anything other than a last ditch survival mechanism. It really was the only thing I had to motivate me to get up, finish my work, and get out of the house. Being tipsy/drunk allowed me to have an appetite. Being drunk let me fall asleep. It was what I had. But it is addictive and the first four days or so after I drink I have strong cravings. I also smoke cigarettes so, double whammy. I cant tell you how I managed to be sober. I think it came down to rage. Once my antidepressant started elevating my energy I didn't need alcohol to motivate me, I had motivation on my own. Which allowed me to realize that, hey, fuck that dude who broke my heart, knocked me up, and abandoned me. I'm going to fucking tear shit up in the gym so I can beast mode my way through his skull. Or something like that. I was able to substitute my goals for my physical wellness for alcohol. But it wasn't easy. There were setbacks. I go on. This coming Tuesday I have my work in progress for the dept. In the last two weeks, all of a sudden, I realized my mind was back. My data is actually good. My presentation is actually dynamic and interesting. Most importantly, it feels like me. My passion for my work is back. And that's a wonderful feeling after 8 months of gray. My therapist asked me on Wednesday to write a letter to myself about how I feel now that I am sort of out of the woods. Something to read the next time I have a crisis. Something to tell myself that it's survivable. I guess this is that. All I can say is - it NEVER feels survivable. It ALWAYS feels like the end.. In the words of Allie Brosh in her new book, \"Solutions and other problems\", the feelings we have of despair, dread, fear, etc... they feel like the end. So we lie on the ground and we feel those feelings drowning us and darkening the skies. We wait for the end to come. But the end doesn't come. We wake up, hungover, anxious, depressed, but alive. As long as we live moment to moment, even though we are certain that the next moment brings death, we are alive. And as long as we are alive we might as well do something. And surviving is something to do. I survived by realizing the sadness, and the anger, and even the love and the joy, that I carry with me, are the things that help me navigate the world. When I lost my love and joy, and when I even lost my anger, my sadness kept me alive. It kept me alive long enough to get my anger back. My anger kept me going long enough to feel joy again. And now that I have joy, I think love isn't far behind. I know somewhere in you is a sadness, or an anger, or a love, that is keeping you alive. And as long as you are alive, keep on surviving. <3", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The first thing to realize is that you’re not on your own. Please reach out and let your thesis supervisor know what’s going on! My issues are largely cognitive due to adult ADHD so it may not be a perfect fit for you. For a start, counselling supports vary from school to school but even a baseline of support can help. Tapping into counselling for me involves an extra line of accountability. I meet with someone once every couple of weeks now and tell them what my priorities are and what’s standing in the way. It’s my opportunity to reality check: - am I on an adequate timeline? - have I accomplished the previous goals? - what’s my next task and how do I maintain a schedule that gets me there? Mood disorders don’t have to be so different! Get an excel sheet going, put your personal timetable into it week to week and use it as a visual cue. You’re working in-spite of your anxiety... that’s a tedious, exhausting task, so give yourself a bit of compassion and conserve some mental RAM where you can. The addiction? That has to be nipped. It’s normal! You’re turning to your pleasure centre to cope with a tidal wave of stress! But, it’s also dangerous. You can’t give up everything you’ve worked this hard for just for a momentary drip of neurochemical-feel-good soup.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hi friend, 29F with similar story. Recently began therapy again for depression. Am scheduling psychological testing to determine whether there's more than just depression. My story: For me, prior to my mental health crisis, the stress of Research and PhD was the \"good\" stress and life was the \"bad\" stress. I liked research and usually perform well under pressure.. however, life stress confuses and scares me.. I had a bad breakup, unexpected pregnancy (was on oral birth control) and traumatic termination of that pregnancy, and then 6 months or so of catatonic depression.. I stopped sleeping, so I had no energy to exercise.. I didn't exercise so I had no appetite. I had no appetite so I didn't eat.. etc.. There was a period of 2-3 wks where I didn't shower or change clothes.. at that point alcohol was the only thing that allowed me to get calories and get sleep. But obviously the hangovers made work difficult. The rebound anxiety after drinking 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening was unbearable. Meltdowns in lab meeting. Talking back to my PI. Doing the same IFA staining over and over and over again because it was the only thing that made me feel like I had some control. My depression also affected my memory. For example, I was completing my qualifying exam in the middle of this crisis and would work all day on it. Then the next day I'd sit back down at my computer and have no recollection of what I had written. It was troubling and scary. I thought I was losing my mind. My recovery: The most important thing for me was finally reaching out to a doctor. She put me on an antidepressant. The antidepressant doesn't make the sadness or anger go away but it does increase energy and thus gets you off the proverbial bed of sadness. For me it gave me energy to get back in the gym. Back in the gym I was able to refocus on specific physical goals. Pushing hard in the gym allowed me to eat, and made me tired enough to sleep through the night. Also being in the gym requires me to see people - I live alone and work alone due to covid. Seeing people requires showering regularly. Showering regularly makes you feel better. It sucked at the beginning but now I derive so much pleasure from getting to the gym/in the pool/out for a run. Finding pleasure in things was something I never though I'd have again. Alcohol: It seemed impossible at the time but im nearly 2 months sober (read: no alcohol ALONE - I have on 3 occasions had drinks WITH FRIENDS). I think back on how I felt in the midst of everything and to be perfectly honest I didn't think I'd make it this far. I don't look at my alcohol use as anything other than a last ditch survival mechanism. It really was the only thing I had to motivate me to get up, finish my work, and get out of the house. Being tipsy/drunk allowed me to have an appetite. Being drunk let me fall asleep. It was what I had. But it is addictive and the first four days or so after I drink I have strong cravings. I also smoke cigarettes so, double whammy. I cant tell you how I managed to be sober. I think it came down to rage. Once my antidepressant started elevating my energy I didn't need alcohol to motivate me, I had motivation on my own. Which allowed me to realize that, hey, fuck that dude who broke my heart, knocked me up, and abandoned me. I'm going to fucking tear shit up in the gym so I can beast mode my way through his skull. Or something like that. I was able to substitute my goals for my physical wellness for alcohol. But it wasn't easy. There were setbacks. I go on. This coming Tuesday I have my work in progress for the dept. In the last two weeks, all of a sudden, I realized my mind was back. My data is actually good. My presentation is actually dynamic and interesting. Most importantly, it feels like me. My passion for my work is back. And that's a wonderful feeling after 8 months of gray. My therapist asked me on Wednesday to write a letter to myself about how I feel now that I am sort of out of the woods. Something to read the next time I have a crisis. Something to tell myself that it's survivable. I guess this is that. All I can say is - it NEVER feels survivable. It ALWAYS feels like the end.. In the words of Allie Brosh in her new book, \"Solutions and other problems\", the feelings we have of despair, dread, fear, etc... they feel like the end. So we lie on the ground and we feel those feelings drowning us and darkening the skies. We wait for the end to come. But the end doesn't come. We wake up, hungover, anxious, depressed, but alive. As long as we live moment to moment, even though we are certain that the next moment brings death, we are alive. And as long as we are alive we might as well do something. And surviving is something to do. I survived by realizing the sadness, and the anger, and even the love and the joy, that I carry with me, are the things that help me navigate the world. When I lost my love and joy, and when I even lost my anger, my sadness kept me alive. It kept me alive long enough to get my anger back. My anger kept me going long enough to feel joy again. And now that I have joy, I think love isn't far behind. I know somewhere in you is a sadness, or an anger, or a love, that is keeping you alive. And as long as you are alive, keep on surviving. <3", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This resonates my friend. I didn’t realize how much my drinking was taking over my entire life. It no doubt affects my health and really clearly began impacting my productivity. Today was my first day without destructive drinking in several weeks. I never expected to get myself in this situation. Today the anxiety was brutal. I managed to get a bit of work done but I’m already behind in the program. Sorry I don’t have advice. It’s just odd timing for you to post this compared to my own struggles. I just hope I don’t relapse.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hi friend, 29F with similar story. Recently began therapy again for depression. Am scheduling psychological testing to determine whether there's more than just depression. My story: For me, prior to my mental health crisis, the stress of Research and PhD was the \"good\" stress and life was the \"bad\" stress. I liked research and usually perform well under pressure.. however, life stress confuses and scares me.. I had a bad breakup, unexpected pregnancy (was on oral birth control) and traumatic termination of that pregnancy, and then 6 months or so of catatonic depression.. I stopped sleeping, so I had no energy to exercise.. I didn't exercise so I had no appetite. I had no appetite so I didn't eat.. etc.. There was a period of 2-3 wks where I didn't shower or change clothes.. at that point alcohol was the only thing that allowed me to get calories and get sleep. But obviously the hangovers made work difficult. The rebound anxiety after drinking 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening was unbearable. Meltdowns in lab meeting. Talking back to my PI. Doing the same IFA staining over and over and over again because it was the only thing that made me feel like I had some control. My depression also affected my memory. For example, I was completing my qualifying exam in the middle of this crisis and would work all day on it. Then the next day I'd sit back down at my computer and have no recollection of what I had written. It was troubling and scary. I thought I was losing my mind. My recovery: The most important thing for me was finally reaching out to a doctor. She put me on an antidepressant. The antidepressant doesn't make the sadness or anger go away but it does increase energy and thus gets you off the proverbial bed of sadness. For me it gave me energy to get back in the gym. Back in the gym I was able to refocus on specific physical goals. Pushing hard in the gym allowed me to eat, and made me tired enough to sleep through the night. Also being in the gym requires me to see people - I live alone and work alone due to covid. Seeing people requires showering regularly. Showering regularly makes you feel better. It sucked at the beginning but now I derive so much pleasure from getting to the gym/in the pool/out for a run. Finding pleasure in things was something I never though I'd have again. Alcohol: It seemed impossible at the time but im nearly 2 months sober (read: no alcohol ALONE - I have on 3 occasions had drinks WITH FRIENDS). I think back on how I felt in the midst of everything and to be perfectly honest I didn't think I'd make it this far. I don't look at my alcohol use as anything other than a last ditch survival mechanism. It really was the only thing I had to motivate me to get up, finish my work, and get out of the house. Being tipsy/drunk allowed me to have an appetite. Being drunk let me fall asleep. It was what I had. But it is addictive and the first four days or so after I drink I have strong cravings. I also smoke cigarettes so, double whammy. I cant tell you how I managed to be sober. I think it came down to rage. Once my antidepressant started elevating my energy I didn't need alcohol to motivate me, I had motivation on my own. Which allowed me to realize that, hey, fuck that dude who broke my heart, knocked me up, and abandoned me. I'm going to fucking tear shit up in the gym so I can beast mode my way through his skull. Or something like that. I was able to substitute my goals for my physical wellness for alcohol. But it wasn't easy. There were setbacks. I go on. This coming Tuesday I have my work in progress for the dept. In the last two weeks, all of a sudden, I realized my mind was back. My data is actually good. My presentation is actually dynamic and interesting. Most importantly, it feels like me. My passion for my work is back. And that's a wonderful feeling after 8 months of gray. My therapist asked me on Wednesday to write a letter to myself about how I feel now that I am sort of out of the woods. Something to read the next time I have a crisis. Something to tell myself that it's survivable. I guess this is that. All I can say is - it NEVER feels survivable. It ALWAYS feels like the end.. In the words of Allie Brosh in her new book, \"Solutions and other problems\", the feelings we have of despair, dread, fear, etc... they feel like the end. So we lie on the ground and we feel those feelings drowning us and darkening the skies. We wait for the end to come. But the end doesn't come. We wake up, hungover, anxious, depressed, but alive. As long as we live moment to moment, even though we are certain that the next moment brings death, we are alive. And as long as we are alive we might as well do something. And surviving is something to do. I survived by realizing the sadness, and the anger, and even the love and the joy, that I carry with me, are the things that help me navigate the world. When I lost my love and joy, and when I even lost my anger, my sadness kept me alive. It kept me alive long enough to get my anger back. My anger kept me going long enough to feel joy again. And now that I have joy, I think love isn't far behind. I know somewhere in you is a sadness, or an anger, or a love, that is keeping you alive. And as long as you are alive, keep on surviving. <3", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Does your school have counseling services? Mine has them for free. As the daughter of someone with a drinking problem, good on you for recognizing the issue early! You can stop this! I believe in you!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hi friend, 29F with similar story. Recently began therapy again for depression. Am scheduling psychological testing to determine whether there's more than just depression. My story: For me, prior to my mental health crisis, the stress of Research and PhD was the \"good\" stress and life was the \"bad\" stress. I liked research and usually perform well under pressure.. however, life stress confuses and scares me.. I had a bad breakup, unexpected pregnancy (was on oral birth control) and traumatic termination of that pregnancy, and then 6 months or so of catatonic depression.. I stopped sleeping, so I had no energy to exercise.. I didn't exercise so I had no appetite. I had no appetite so I didn't eat.. etc.. There was a period of 2-3 wks where I didn't shower or change clothes.. at that point alcohol was the only thing that allowed me to get calories and get sleep. But obviously the hangovers made work difficult. The rebound anxiety after drinking 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening was unbearable. Meltdowns in lab meeting. Talking back to my PI. Doing the same IFA staining over and over and over again because it was the only thing that made me feel like I had some control. My depression also affected my memory. For example, I was completing my qualifying exam in the middle of this crisis and would work all day on it. Then the next day I'd sit back down at my computer and have no recollection of what I had written. It was troubling and scary. I thought I was losing my mind. My recovery: The most important thing for me was finally reaching out to a doctor. She put me on an antidepressant. The antidepressant doesn't make the sadness or anger go away but it does increase energy and thus gets you off the proverbial bed of sadness. For me it gave me energy to get back in the gym. Back in the gym I was able to refocus on specific physical goals. Pushing hard in the gym allowed me to eat, and made me tired enough to sleep through the night. Also being in the gym requires me to see people - I live alone and work alone due to covid. Seeing people requires showering regularly. Showering regularly makes you feel better. It sucked at the beginning but now I derive so much pleasure from getting to the gym/in the pool/out for a run. Finding pleasure in things was something I never though I'd have again. Alcohol: It seemed impossible at the time but im nearly 2 months sober (read: no alcohol ALONE - I have on 3 occasions had drinks WITH FRIENDS). I think back on how I felt in the midst of everything and to be perfectly honest I didn't think I'd make it this far. I don't look at my alcohol use as anything other than a last ditch survival mechanism. It really was the only thing I had to motivate me to get up, finish my work, and get out of the house. Being tipsy/drunk allowed me to have an appetite. Being drunk let me fall asleep. It was what I had. But it is addictive and the first four days or so after I drink I have strong cravings. I also smoke cigarettes so, double whammy. I cant tell you how I managed to be sober. I think it came down to rage. Once my antidepressant started elevating my energy I didn't need alcohol to motivate me, I had motivation on my own. Which allowed me to realize that, hey, fuck that dude who broke my heart, knocked me up, and abandoned me. I'm going to fucking tear shit up in the gym so I can beast mode my way through his skull. Or something like that. I was able to substitute my goals for my physical wellness for alcohol. But it wasn't easy. There were setbacks. I go on. This coming Tuesday I have my work in progress for the dept. In the last two weeks, all of a sudden, I realized my mind was back. My data is actually good. My presentation is actually dynamic and interesting. Most importantly, it feels like me. My passion for my work is back. And that's a wonderful feeling after 8 months of gray. My therapist asked me on Wednesday to write a letter to myself about how I feel now that I am sort of out of the woods. Something to read the next time I have a crisis. Something to tell myself that it's survivable. I guess this is that. All I can say is - it NEVER feels survivable. It ALWAYS feels like the end.. In the words of Allie Brosh in her new book, \"Solutions and other problems\", the feelings we have of despair, dread, fear, etc... they feel like the end. So we lie on the ground and we feel those feelings drowning us and darkening the skies. We wait for the end to come. But the end doesn't come. We wake up, hungover, anxious, depressed, but alive. As long as we live moment to moment, even though we are certain that the next moment brings death, we are alive. And as long as we are alive we might as well do something. And surviving is something to do. I survived by realizing the sadness, and the anger, and even the love and the joy, that I carry with me, are the things that help me navigate the world. When I lost my love and joy, and when I even lost my anger, my sadness kept me alive. It kept me alive long enough to get my anger back. My anger kept me going long enough to feel joy again. And now that I have joy, I think love isn't far behind. I know somewhere in you is a sadness, or an anger, or a love, that is keeping you alive. And as long as you are alive, keep on surviving. <3", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Smoked weed every day for almost all of my Phd, sometimes all day every day. You need a good therapist, not just CBT, if the problems are serious (and it very much sounds like they are) and not just medication (although I have nothing against that if it helps). And close friends and proper self-care -- it's hard during lockdown, it's hard if you're feeling like shit, it's hard if you've never learned how to do this but it's possible to learn and a good therapist will help you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Hi friend, 29F with similar story. Recently began therapy again for depression. Am scheduling psychological testing to determine whether there's more than just depression. My story: For me, prior to my mental health crisis, the stress of Research and PhD was the \"good\" stress and life was the \"bad\" stress. I liked research and usually perform well under pressure.. however, life stress confuses and scares me.. I had a bad breakup, unexpected pregnancy (was on oral birth control) and traumatic termination of that pregnancy, and then 6 months or so of catatonic depression.. I stopped sleeping, so I had no energy to exercise.. I didn't exercise so I had no appetite. I had no appetite so I didn't eat.. etc.. There was a period of 2-3 wks where I didn't shower or change clothes.. at that point alcohol was the only thing that allowed me to get calories and get sleep. But obviously the hangovers made work difficult. The rebound anxiety after drinking 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening was unbearable. Meltdowns in lab meeting. Talking back to my PI. Doing the same IFA staining over and over and over again because it was the only thing that made me feel like I had some control. My depression also affected my memory. For example, I was completing my qualifying exam in the middle of this crisis and would work all day on it. Then the next day I'd sit back down at my computer and have no recollection of what I had written. It was troubling and scary. I thought I was losing my mind. My recovery: The most important thing for me was finally reaching out to a doctor. She put me on an antidepressant. The antidepressant doesn't make the sadness or anger go away but it does increase energy and thus gets you off the proverbial bed of sadness. For me it gave me energy to get back in the gym. Back in the gym I was able to refocus on specific physical goals. Pushing hard in the gym allowed me to eat, and made me tired enough to sleep through the night. Also being in the gym requires me to see people - I live alone and work alone due to covid. Seeing people requires showering regularly. Showering regularly makes you feel better. It sucked at the beginning but now I derive so much pleasure from getting to the gym/in the pool/out for a run. Finding pleasure in things was something I never though I'd have again. Alcohol: It seemed impossible at the time but im nearly 2 months sober (read: no alcohol ALONE - I have on 3 occasions had drinks WITH FRIENDS). I think back on how I felt in the midst of everything and to be perfectly honest I didn't think I'd make it this far. I don't look at my alcohol use as anything other than a last ditch survival mechanism. It really was the only thing I had to motivate me to get up, finish my work, and get out of the house. Being tipsy/drunk allowed me to have an appetite. Being drunk let me fall asleep. It was what I had. But it is addictive and the first four days or so after I drink I have strong cravings. I also smoke cigarettes so, double whammy. I cant tell you how I managed to be sober. I think it came down to rage. Once my antidepressant started elevating my energy I didn't need alcohol to motivate me, I had motivation on my own. Which allowed me to realize that, hey, fuck that dude who broke my heart, knocked me up, and abandoned me. I'm going to fucking tear shit up in the gym so I can beast mode my way through his skull. Or something like that. I was able to substitute my goals for my physical wellness for alcohol. But it wasn't easy. There were setbacks. I go on. This coming Tuesday I have my work in progress for the dept. In the last two weeks, all of a sudden, I realized my mind was back. My data is actually good. My presentation is actually dynamic and interesting. Most importantly, it feels like me. My passion for my work is back. And that's a wonderful feeling after 8 months of gray. My therapist asked me on Wednesday to write a letter to myself about how I feel now that I am sort of out of the woods. Something to read the next time I have a crisis. Something to tell myself that it's survivable. I guess this is that. All I can say is - it NEVER feels survivable. It ALWAYS feels like the end.. In the words of Allie Brosh in her new book, \"Solutions and other problems\", the feelings we have of despair, dread, fear, etc... they feel like the end. So we lie on the ground and we feel those feelings drowning us and darkening the skies. We wait for the end to come. But the end doesn't come. We wake up, hungover, anxious, depressed, but alive. As long as we live moment to moment, even though we are certain that the next moment brings death, we are alive. And as long as we are alive we might as well do something. And surviving is something to do. I survived by realizing the sadness, and the anger, and even the love and the joy, that I carry with me, are the things that help me navigate the world. When I lost my love and joy, and when I even lost my anger, my sadness kept me alive. It kept me alive long enough to get my anger back. My anger kept me going long enough to feel joy again. And now that I have joy, I think love isn't far behind. I know somewhere in you is a sadness, or an anger, or a love, that is keeping you alive. And as long as you are alive, keep on surviving. <3", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Academia, anxiety, addiction For a bit of background, I (27F) am a graduate student in the field of social sciences. I've been mentally ill for at least 7 years now and getting treatment all the while. The stress and isolation of the pandemic combined with high demands and tons of coursework at my program have worn me down to the point that I've been consistently falling behind with my coursework and thesis work for weeks now, if not months. So, I've recently started drinking to cope with the anxiety and stress. This is not a road I want to go down, though, especially since I have no illusions that it'd somehow help me overcome the demands of grad school and finish my degree. Have you had similar experiences during your own life in higher ed, and how did you manage to climb out of the proverbial hole?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I fell into a hole that I wasn't fully aware of at the start of my undergrad, and things got worse and worse over the next decade or so when something happened that made me realise I needed help. I went to counselling at my uni and have been in therapy ever since, as well as a bit later visiting a psychiatrist for diagnosis (ADHD and anxiety) and medication. It's been over a year and things are on average much better than they were, but there's still a long way I'd like to go, and I'm still having bad days/weeks (but not usually months any more!). My supervisor has been partly included where I felt it was needed, and I take semi-regular mental health days as needed. Therapy, as well as counselling for the actual life skills needed for daily functioning and PhD work, have both helped me a lot. I'd encourage anyone who was struggling to reach out, either to uni services, any student support groups, therapy, or see a medical doctor. Postgrad is hard enough as it is. I think having some close people to be open to is great if you have that (unfortunately I don't have a great support network, beyond my boyfriend and dog), but I know I never could have done it alone and without professional help and support. I was also on the start of a slippery slope with alcohol, but it got banned during our first pandemic lockdown so I decided to not stock up, and have barely touched it since. How much I relied on it scared me but I know I wouldn't have been able to tone it down by myself (without the lockdown alcohol ban). I've weaned myself over to some fancy (non-alcoholic) drinks that I can drink in the same parts of my routine that I'd have gone for alcohol. Weirdly it's working. But anyhow, I know a little of how you feel, and it's something that you can 100% find some help, advice and support for! This isn't something you need to figure out alone.", "role": "assistant" } ]