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A | POST: only to now be faced with the reality of a career in academia: the need to relocate. The sole idea of relocating again gives me anxiety. I (32F) would also like to meet somebody and have a family one day and I would assume a form of stability helps with that. I am also a believer in that cities have personalities that either fit yours or don't. They can either love you or reject you. I am content where I am at the moment, it's a Meditteranean country and I am from a Meditteranean background. From experience, I came to realize that a sense of familiarity is important to me, so I am very afraid now of making a big move, starting from scratch, only to realize that I am miserable. I would like to try to stay here, but postdoc opportunities in astrophysics are scarce and salaries are low. I would still love to do astronomy and will try to look for opprtunities here, but if I can't find any, I am not against branching out in regards to my career, but I have no idea what jobs to target or what my skills qualify me for.. I love teaching, I did private tutoring for a bit when I was an undergrad, but I have no official teaching experience. Can you advice me on what jobs/careers I can aim for? where I can use the skills that I have already learned in my PhD? I know that I could have learned more useful skills in a shorter amount of time if I didn't do a PhD, but our lives and our choices are not linear, we do the best we can with what we have..! And have you dealt with something similar, if so, how do you cope with relocating for short-term contracts in academia? For me personally, the reward is not as high as the cost is. Thank you! x.
RESPONSE A: I have a PhD in astrophysics and now I am a postdoc in meteorology. I love it but also I have a very supporting partner, which makes all the difference in dealing with the precarity of academic life.
RESPONSE B: Am on the same boat. Good luck!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Masters in one field while doing a PhD in another I know, title sounds crazy, because it is. So at the moment I am a PhD student in physics, 1st year in the US (MA) and will definitely stay on this track. But, I also really enjoy mathematics, and it helps me every single time I know an entire structure of math, not just one particular theorem from some field I have never heard of, but can be applied to physics. So I love math enough that I would be willing to do a Masters work in it while doing research for my PhD in physics (by the way, I am in theory). But the catch is how to get around, or convince the graduate school to let me do this. Every course I take in the math department would help me in my research in physics and knowledge. I would have taken enough courses to earn myself a Masters in mathematics, and I kind of what that piece of paper since I might want to teach not just physics but math also in the future. My guess for letting the graduate school let me do this (since the math department has no issue) is that I would **not** accept my Masters in physics, and go straight to the PhD, therefore "substituting" one Masters for another. I was wondering if there is anything else (like arguments) I could use to reinforce this, or just in general if this even makes sense to do. (I should not, even if I can't get the Masters in math, I will still be taking courses, they are too important). Thanks.
RESPONSE A: Question- Is the area of research you're doing in mathematical physics? If so, I feel like directly stating that would boost your chances of letting the graduate school accept this since it would be directly relevant to your PhD. (Leaving comment here to follow for update because this is an interesting question to me.)
RESPONSE B: I have actually seen many people do it (PhD in stat, MS in CS). A general strategy that I have seen people taking is to take the required courses for the degree first and then officially apply to the MS program. Of course, it also depends on department and school policy.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Masters in one field while doing a PhD in another I know, title sounds crazy, because it is. So at the moment I am a PhD student in physics, 1st year in the US (MA) and will definitely stay on this track. But, I also really enjoy mathematics, and it helps me every single time I know an entire structure of math, not just one particular theorem from some field I have never heard of, but can be applied to physics. So I love math enough that I would be willing to do a Masters work in it while doing research for my PhD in physics (by the way, I am in theory). But the catch is how to get around, or convince the graduate school to let me do this. Every course I take in the math department would help me in my research in physics and knowledge. I would have taken enough courses to earn myself a Masters in mathematics, and I kind of what that piece of paper since I might want to teach not just physics but math also in the future. My guess for letting the graduate school let me do this (since the math department has no issue) is that I would **not** accept my Masters in physics, and go straight to the PhD, therefore "substituting" one Masters for another. I was wondering if there is anything else (like arguments) I could use to reinforce this, or just in general if this even makes sense to do. (I should not, even if I can't get the Masters in math, I will still be taking courses, they are too important). Thanks.
RESPONSE A: I have actually seen many people do it (PhD in stat, MS in CS). A general strategy that I have seen people taking is to take the required courses for the degree first and then officially apply to the MS program. Of course, it also depends on department and school policy.
RESPONSE B: I know people who have done this. It was Space a PhD and he got a MS in Biology before he left the program.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: credit are his own. Now as mentioned these guys kinda screwed me once already, and I know for a fact that they wouldn't hesitate to shaft me if they caught me stealing work. Plus on top of that it feels shit man, it's my work and it's been published as somebody else's. Plus it's basically against one of the core tennets of modern science. I am not happy. So I guess my question is what now? Do I have any grounds for recourse? My thesis was never published, but it exists, in my and the universities records, and it clearly contains that image, and it clearly predates the PhD by ages. They could have easily just credited me and notified me, and I would have been fucking pumped, but instead this deceptive shit, plus they could have used one of their own images to illustrate a typical example of that process, but they used mine, because its an excellent image, because I worked my ass off to make sure it was.
RESPONSE A: Using a single image without attribution in a PhD dissertation is not a terrible offense. Especially if-- as it sounds like-- the data is the property of the lab. If you can prove that it is in fact the same photo, *and* you can without doubt be sure that the image in question is not considered the property of the lab (as data produced in the lab with lab equipment typically would be) rather than yours, then sure, pursue it. But fair warning, it's easy enough to say, "Oops, forgot the attribution on that one," and go on with life.
RESPONSE B: We've all been there to some degree, whether it's a student stealing our homework or a classmate doing nothing in a group work, or someone cheating and getting a better grade than you. It feels bad. But sadly, there is almost nothing you can do, and there seems to be nothing to gain here. Instead, if you ever need it, the fact that the project lead somewhere and they realized you did good work would make your case for a letter of recommendation from this professor more likely. I'd say, don't burn bridges.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: because its an excellent image, because I worked my ass off to make sure it was.
RESPONSE A: I'm surprised to see commenters saying essentially that this isn't a big deal or isn't plagiarism. It is a big deal, and it is plagiarism. A dissertation is a published work, and that author passed off your work as his own. (Does it happen all the time? Yes. Are you going to receive any benefits coming to you from that particular instance? No. Will the offender be punished? No. But that doesn't mean it isn't wrong and doesn't sting, as you note.) A similar situation happened to me (a figure used in a published work without credit), and I brought it up with my advisor, who apologized and was clearly embarrassed. That's why that advisor and I are still on good terms—because they *didn't* make some excuse about a student's data being "lab property" (in the sense of being some type of work-for-hire that doesn't require citation). Industry work is done for hire. Academic work is done for credit and sometimes credit alone. Why not write an email to that person and your shared advisor and say exactly what you said—that you are disappointed because this action violates one of the core tenets of modern science—and that you expect to be a coauthor on any future work to which you made an essential contribution and to be acknowledged in cases where you contributed a supporting figure, such as this micrograph. I suspect writing such an email (make it professional and succinct—take the high road) will make you feel better.
RESPONSE B: We've all been there to some degree, whether it's a student stealing our homework or a classmate doing nothing in a group work, or someone cheating and getting a better grade than you. It feels bad. But sadly, there is almost nothing you can do, and there seems to be nothing to gain here. Instead, if you ever need it, the fact that the project lead somewhere and they realized you did good work would make your case for a letter of recommendation from this professor more likely. I'd say, don't burn bridges.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: a very specific way, and it's a distinctive image, there is no doubt that's my sample, I remember being like "fuck yes I nailed this one". He describes it like "fig x, typical example of sample processed in x way", and lists it similarly in the table of figures, which also contains author credits for many of the other figures, and it is implied that the figures he doesn't credit are his own. Now as mentioned these guys kinda screwed me once already, and I know for a fact that they wouldn't hesitate to shaft me if they caught me stealing work. Plus on top of that it feels shit man, it's my work and it's been published as somebody else's. Plus it's basically against one of the core tennets of modern science. I am not happy. So I guess my question is what now? Do I have any grounds for recourse? My thesis was never published, but it exists, in my and the universities records, and it clearly contains that image, and it clearly predates the PhD by ages. They could have easily just credited me and notified me, and I would have been fucking pumped, but instead this deceptive shit, plus they could have used one of their own images to illustrate a typical example of that process, but they used mine, because its an excellent image, because I worked my ass off to make sure it was.
RESPONSE A: We've all been there to some degree, whether it's a student stealing our homework or a classmate doing nothing in a group work, or someone cheating and getting a better grade than you. It feels bad. But sadly, there is almost nothing you can do, and there seems to be nothing to gain here. Instead, if you ever need it, the fact that the project lead somewhere and they realized you did good work would make your case for a letter of recommendation from this professor more likely. I'd say, don't burn bridges.
RESPONSE B: It is a bit silly that you care about this. I'd argue that you only care because you have an axe to grind against these folks. I'd recommend you move on.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: all, but the item I found is a photo I took using an electron microscope. It's of some samples I had prepared, and processed in a very specific way, and it's a distinctive image, there is no doubt that's my sample, I remember being like "fuck yes I nailed this one". He describes it like "fig x, typical example of sample processed in x way", and lists it similarly in the table of figures, which also contains author credits for many of the other figures, and it is implied that the figures he doesn't credit are his own. Now as mentioned these guys kinda screwed me once already, and I know for a fact that they wouldn't hesitate to shaft me if they caught me stealing work. Plus on top of that it feels shit man, it's my work and it's been published as somebody else's. Plus it's basically against one of the core tennets of modern science. I am not happy. So I guess my question is what now? Do I have any grounds for recourse? My thesis was never published, but it exists, in my and the universities records, and it clearly contains that image, and it clearly predates the PhD by ages. They could have easily just credited me and notified me, and I would have been fucking pumped, but instead this deceptive shit, plus they could have used one of their own images to illustrate a typical example of that process, but they used mine, because its an excellent image, because I worked my ass off to make sure it was.
RESPONSE A: We've all been there to some degree, whether it's a student stealing our homework or a classmate doing nothing in a group work, or someone cheating and getting a better grade than you. It feels bad. But sadly, there is almost nothing you can do, and there seems to be nothing to gain here. Instead, if you ever need it, the fact that the project lead somewhere and they realized you did good work would make your case for a letter of recommendation from this professor more likely. I'd say, don't burn bridges.
RESPONSE B: Not worth pursuing or losing sleep over.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: screenshots of films or photos of artworks and artists. For me personally, this has made it very hard for me to think about more engaging ways of doing my powerpoint. Besides, I personally do not have much previous teaching experiences. Meanwhile, the way lecturers from my MA study teach these subjects cannot give much inspirations for me. They tend to just read from their slides, instead of using it as to assist and elaborate lecture contents... So I do not really have anyone to learn from.
RESPONSE A: Try to learn everything worthwhile from your peer in your department/college/institution as well as peer institutions. Always open to students' remarks/questions/feedback regarding your teaching. Let your supervisor/peer preview the slides and give feedback before it comes to the class.
RESPONSE B: History Grad Student here with a few years of teaching exp under my belt now. Consider not putting any text on the slides at all. My method is to use the powerpoint basically as the visual guide. My lecturing style tends to be what I call conversational. I talk to my students as if we were sitting around having coffee. I go through my points, but I also try to frame them as questions, ask them their opinions, then use those to jump off into providing the facts for the lectures. The powerpoint I use mostly to provide context. I love using maps, so I tend to have lots of them. Also a great tool to throw up pictures of people in history, Some extremely factual information like say dates, or places of birth could maybe go on slides, like the caption to pictures, but beyond that I try to avoid putting text up. I always operate under the presumption that my students have done the assigned readings. They're welcome to do them *after* class if they decide, but the point is that the "text" they need to consult is in their possession already and can be looked up. So they don't need me repeating it via screen notes or something. I'd say trust that your students are aware enough to take notes. Make sure you pace yourself so that you're not speaking too rapidly, or covering too much complex ground without giving them space and time to absorb that information and raise queries. But you don't need to put the information on the Power Point to make it engaging.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: As a PhD student just started teaching, how should I prepare good powerpoint for my sessions? Hi guys! Hope you are all well. So the title of this post generally summed up my question. And thank you in advance for any advice. In short, while preparing for my first lecture (which is next week) these days, I got really confused about how to present my lecture content to students in a good way: I found it difficult to make my lecture powerpoint more lively, engaging and interesting, and not just putting walls of words in all of the slides. I will be teaching art history and film studies - both are humanity subjects which requires loads of texts in their discussions and nothing much more, apart from clips and screenshots of films or photos of artworks and artists. For me personally, this has made it very hard for me to think about more engaging ways of doing my powerpoint. Besides, I personally do not have much previous teaching experiences. Meanwhile, the way lecturers from my MA study teach these subjects cannot give much inspirations for me. They tend to just read from their slides, instead of using it as to assist and elaborate lecture contents... So I do not really have anyone to learn from.
RESPONSE A: Try to learn everything worthwhile from your peer in your department/college/institution as well as peer institutions. Always open to students' remarks/questions/feedback regarding your teaching. Let your supervisor/peer preview the slides and give feedback before it comes to the class.
RESPONSE B: In art history your slides should be only images and identifying information. No other text. Before computers we used slide carousels and wouldn't even have the ID information. Professors would hand out photocopies with that. Some still prefer that to maintain the image-only nature of the class, but that's pretty old school. edit: So many people in this thread who either didn't read the full OP or didn't stop to think about how teaching art history might be different from teaching in their discipline
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: As a PhD student just started teaching, how should I prepare good powerpoint for my sessions? Hi guys! Hope you are all well. So the title of this post generally summed up my question. And thank you in advance for any advice. In short, while preparing for my first lecture (which is next week) these days, I got really confused about how to present my lecture content to students in a good way: I found it difficult to make my lecture powerpoint more lively, engaging and interesting, and not just putting walls of words in all of the slides. I will be teaching art history and film studies - both are humanity subjects which requires loads of texts in their discussions and nothing much more, apart from clips and screenshots of films or photos of artworks and artists. For me personally, this has made it very hard for me to think about more engaging ways of doing my powerpoint. Besides, I personally do not have much previous teaching experiences. Meanwhile, the way lecturers from my MA study teach these subjects cannot give much inspirations for me. They tend to just read from their slides, instead of using it as to assist and elaborate lecture contents... So I do not really have anyone to learn from.
RESPONSE A: Try to learn everything worthwhile from your peer in your department/college/institution as well as peer institutions. Always open to students' remarks/questions/feedback regarding your teaching. Let your supervisor/peer preview the slides and give feedback before it comes to the class.
RESPONSE B: Never read your slides. For the love of God, human, do not read the slides. Also, speak more slowly than that.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: should I prepare good powerpoint for my sessions? Hi guys! Hope you are all well. So the title of this post generally summed up my question. And thank you in advance for any advice. In short, while preparing for my first lecture (which is next week) these days, I got really confused about how to present my lecture content to students in a good way: I found it difficult to make my lecture powerpoint more lively, engaging and interesting, and not just putting walls of words in all of the slides. I will be teaching art history and film studies - both are humanity subjects which requires loads of texts in their discussions and nothing much more, apart from clips and screenshots of films or photos of artworks and artists. For me personally, this has made it very hard for me to think about more engaging ways of doing my powerpoint. Besides, I personally do not have much previous teaching experiences. Meanwhile, the way lecturers from my MA study teach these subjects cannot give much inspirations for me. They tend to just read from their slides, instead of using it as to assist and elaborate lecture contents... So I do not really have anyone to learn from.
RESPONSE A: Try to learn everything worthwhile from your peer in your department/college/institution as well as peer institutions. Always open to students' remarks/questions/feedback regarding your teaching. Let your supervisor/peer preview the slides and give feedback before it comes to the class.
RESPONSE B: Slide 1: Tell em what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Slides 2-19: Tell em. Slide 20: Tell em what you told em. Slide 21-?: References, don’t lecture these, just for the LMS download after. You don’t need more than 20 slides unless you’re planning to lecture for more than two hours without break (don’t do this). Slides should have no more than six bullet points and no more than 35 characters per bullet point (the fewer the better). Talk about each bullet point for about a minute on average. Light background, dark text. Serif fonts are easier to read. Don’t get fancy. Your information, delivery, and anecdotes should be the presentation. The slideshow is just an aid. Good luck!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: As a PhD student just started teaching, how should I prepare good powerpoint for my sessions? Hi guys! Hope you are all well. So the title of this post generally summed up my question. And thank you in advance for any advice. In short, while preparing for my first lecture (which is next week) these days, I got really confused about how to present my lecture content to students in a good way: I found it difficult to make my lecture powerpoint more lively, engaging and interesting, and not just putting walls of words in all of the slides. I will be teaching art history and film studies - both are humanity subjects which requires loads of texts in their discussions and nothing much more, apart from clips and screenshots of films or photos of artworks and artists. For me personally, this has made it very hard for me to think about more engaging ways of doing my powerpoint. Besides, I personally do not have much previous teaching experiences. Meanwhile, the way lecturers from my MA study teach these subjects cannot give much inspirations for me. They tend to just read from their slides, instead of using it as to assist and elaborate lecture contents... So I do not really have anyone to learn from.
RESPONSE A: Step one. Do not use power point, or slides, much at all.
RESPONSE B: Slide 1: Tell em what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Slides 2-19: Tell em. Slide 20: Tell em what you told em. Slide 21-?: References, don’t lecture these, just for the LMS download after. You don’t need more than 20 slides unless you’re planning to lecture for more than two hours without break (don’t do this). Slides should have no more than six bullet points and no more than 35 characters per bullet point (the fewer the better). Talk about each bullet point for about a minute on average. Light background, dark text. Serif fonts are easier to read. Don’t get fancy. Your information, delivery, and anecdotes should be the presentation. The slideshow is just an aid. Good luck!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: How do you keep a reading habit outside of your field/research? I've always kept a habit of reading, fiction and non fiction. Now that I'm one year into my MPh I just don't have the will power to read anything else besides what I need to. I would guess this could be a more common issue among academics in humanities... Just interested to know how you deal with it. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: I finally read a boot for pleasure again.. 6 months after leaving my postdoc
RESPONSE B: Audiobooks. (You don't even need Audible. Hoopla, Kanopy, and Libby from your library should have plenty.) Do it while you're walking/running - get away from your desk. But if you still feel aversion to books, switch to podcasts while you do your laundry and food prep - your daily chores and hygiene matter more for your mental health than guilt tripping yourself over not reading! Also, I would highly recommend sudoku, and puzzle games to give your mind novelty and challenge. Game apps you can download include Euclidea, Pythagorea, Cryptogram, Woody Puzzle, etc. Last, but not least, guided meditation is great for your tired mind!! There are apps for that too. Don't burn your already-burnt-self out. Self care is important.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: How do you keep a reading habit outside of your field/research? I've always kept a habit of reading, fiction and non fiction. Now that I'm one year into my MPh I just don't have the will power to read anything else besides what I need to. I would guess this could be a more common issue among academics in humanities... Just interested to know how you deal with it. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: I finally read a boot for pleasure again.. 6 months after leaving my postdoc
RESPONSE B: i read a lot but it probably comes from how i was raised, i've always read instead of watching TV or videos online. during peak work time like when i was taking classes, doing my comprehensive exam, and researching all at once i started reading romance books. i think the trick truly is to find books to read that doesn't make it feel like a chore, find really light books that you look forward to reading. i feel like a lot of people treat reading as "self improvement", something they do to incorperate more healthy habits in their life, etc, but it can be treated as entertainment just like playing video games or watching TV. you really just have to find books that you enjoy reading and that you look forward to and forget any self imposed rules you may have around reading.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: How do you organize and track your research, and other aspects of your academic life? [xpost r/academia] I've been working on building a research tracking tool for my work (research institute), and I'm curious how other academics organize their research and working life. I've heard researchers trying various things to organize their scattered research lives. Most depend on file system structures, email chains, and their memories, but some have tried making mind maps, or using project management tools like trello. The basic outline of my tool so far is to organize things by research project and track them through their lifetimes, from conception, to working paper, to publication, and then citations. Researchers will update the status of these projects with new developments such as drafts, submissions, presentations, etc. There will also be a section for professional services, i.e. conference attendance/organization, article reviews, etc. and analytics generated such as total papers/citations per department, etc. The key thing is making a tool that benefits researchers without burdening them. Something that helps them organize, track the status of their research projects, and in the future maybe helps them collaborate. So I put it to you again, r/academia. How do you organize and track your research, and what would you like to see from a tool that is designed to help you do that?
RESPONSE A: I don't. I let the chaos guide me.
RESPONSE B: I have a few tricks, but the simplest is to use folders and file names. Each paper gets a folder. Folders are sorted into active and complete. I use sorting by date and file searches to get what I'm looking for. I also use a very particular way of naming my files, which always includes the date of most recent update, which helps avoid accidentally working on the wrong file.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: How do you organize and track your research, and other aspects of your academic life? [xpost r/academia] I've been working on building a research tracking tool for my work (research institute), and I'm curious how other academics organize their research and working life. I've heard researchers trying various things to organize their scattered research lives. Most depend on file system structures, email chains, and their memories, but some have tried making mind maps, or using project management tools like trello. The basic outline of my tool so far is to organize things by research project and track them through their lifetimes, from conception, to working paper, to publication, and then citations. Researchers will update the status of these projects with new developments such as drafts, submissions, presentations, etc. There will also be a section for professional services, i.e. conference attendance/organization, article reviews, etc. and analytics generated such as total papers/citations per department, etc. The key thing is making a tool that benefits researchers without burdening them. Something that helps them organize, track the status of their research projects, and in the future maybe helps them collaborate. So I put it to you again, r/academia. How do you organize and track your research, and what would you like to see from a tool that is designed to help you do that?
RESPONSE A: Emacs and bibtex for citation and database of references. Org mode in emacs. Add a link and date to paper with a one sentence note to summarize it. Links and notes are organized by subject.
RESPONSE B: I don't. I let the chaos guide me.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Published academics: What was your first published piece of work and how do you feel about it now?
RESPONSE A: I signed up to take a course my first year of grad school that ended up being cancelled, and I was talking with the professor one day and he mentioned doing an independent study on a topic he'd been wanting to figure out how to incorporate into his own work. A couple of months later, I submitted a short write-up purely for the purpose of getting credit for the course and went back to working on my own research in a mostly unrelated area. He pulled in some work he'd been doing with another student, combined it all into one coherent article, and submitted it to a journal with me as the primary author. It's now by about an order of magnitude my most cited paper, and I still regularly turn down requests to review papers or serve on PCs for conferences due to the fact that I don't really know anything about the field aside from 40% of one paper written 11 years ago.
RESPONSE B: I'm in a very different area now, but it's been several years since I published it. Weirdly enough, I am going for a post-doc now and they are more interested in that work (seemingly) than everything else I had done since then. Go figure?
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Dear, kind, hello professor? How to email a reseacher Hi! I’m a Swedish med student and have started to email research groups regarding our degree project. I’m completely lost on how to begin my email to foreign professors or PhD students, could you help me out? We’re not very strict with titles in Sweden, and I’ve emailed a few swedish researchers in swedish and just went with ”Hi Peter! I’m a med student bla bla bla...”. This is completely normal here. But I’m not sure how to write the professors in english, who are not from Sweden, should I follow the laid back tone we use in Sweden and go with ”Hi George”, or should I make it more formal? What first word should I use, hello? Dear? Best? He is an adjunct professor. Maybe ”Hello professor [last name]? Or ”Dear adjunct professor George”? Do you see where I’m going? I have no idea about which words, titles and names to use. Which are just weird and which are normal? Kind regards, a confused student who would like to use his native language instead of english but have realized that academia is mostly in english.
RESPONSE A: Personally, I tend to go with a more formal “Greetings Dr. ______” for a first contact. Subsequent emails I tend to go back to a respectable but bit less formal “Hello Dr. _____”.
RESPONSE B: Not normal internationally. The correct way is: Dear [title] [last name]. Move only to first name when they explicitly tell you you may.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Dear, kind, hello professor? How to email a reseacher Hi! I’m a Swedish med student and have started to email research groups regarding our degree project. I’m completely lost on how to begin my email to foreign professors or PhD students, could you help me out? We’re not very strict with titles in Sweden, and I’ve emailed a few swedish researchers in swedish and just went with ”Hi Peter! I’m a med student bla bla bla...”. This is completely normal here. But I’m not sure how to write the professors in english, who are not from Sweden, should I follow the laid back tone we use in Sweden and go with ”Hi George”, or should I make it more formal? What first word should I use, hello? Dear? Best? He is an adjunct professor. Maybe ”Hello professor [last name]? Or ”Dear adjunct professor George”? Do you see where I’m going? I have no idea about which words, titles and names to use. Which are just weird and which are normal? Kind regards, a confused student who would like to use his native language instead of english but have realized that academia is mostly in english.
RESPONSE A: I am faculty at a Swedish university, but not originally from Sweden. A simple 'HeJ!" or "Hi X," is acceptable given that the person you are emailing, albeit of their origins, is also at a Swedish university. If they are employed outside the Nordics, you can go with a 'Dear Dr. Y' to be safe though in most northern European countries, except Germany, you can be informal. Also, it is fine to say goodbye in Swedish - most of us foreigners want to practice a bit our Swedish but not necessarily have the whole conversation in Swedish! ;)
RESPONSE B: Personally, I tend to go with a more formal “Greetings Dr. ______” for a first contact. Subsequent emails I tend to go back to a respectable but bit less formal “Hello Dr. _____”.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Dear, kind, hello professor? How to email a reseacher Hi! I’m a Swedish med student and have started to email research groups regarding our degree project. I’m completely lost on how to begin my email to foreign professors or PhD students, could you help me out? We’re not very strict with titles in Sweden, and I’ve emailed a few swedish researchers in swedish and just went with ”Hi Peter! I’m a med student bla bla bla...”. This is completely normal here. But I’m not sure how to write the professors in english, who are not from Sweden, should I follow the laid back tone we use in Sweden and go with ”Hi George”, or should I make it more formal? What first word should I use, hello? Dear? Best? He is an adjunct professor. Maybe ”Hello professor [last name]? Or ”Dear adjunct professor George”? Do you see where I’m going? I have no idea about which words, titles and names to use. Which are just weird and which are normal? Kind regards, a confused student who would like to use his native language instead of english but have realized that academia is mostly in english.
RESPONSE A: Personally, I tend to go with a more formal “Greetings Dr. ______” for a first contact. Subsequent emails I tend to go back to a respectable but bit less formal “Hello Dr. _____”.
RESPONSE B: Absolutely do not say "Dear Adjunct Professor \[name\]," even if that is technically the person's title. It may sound like you're trying to demean his status by reminding him that he's merely an adjunct professor. I'd recommend saying "Dear Professor \[last name\]" regardless of whether they are an adjunct professor, assistant professor, associate professor, etc. EDIT: For context, my experience is entirely in the USA.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Dear, kind, hello professor? How to email a reseacher Hi! I’m a Swedish med student and have started to email research groups regarding our degree project. I’m completely lost on how to begin my email to foreign professors or PhD students, could you help me out? We’re not very strict with titles in Sweden, and I’ve emailed a few swedish researchers in swedish and just went with ”Hi Peter! I’m a med student bla bla bla...”. This is completely normal here. But I’m not sure how to write the professors in english, who are not from Sweden, should I follow the laid back tone we use in Sweden and go with ”Hi George”, or should I make it more formal? What first word should I use, hello? Dear? Best? He is an adjunct professor. Maybe ”Hello professor [last name]? Or ”Dear adjunct professor George”? Do you see where I’m going? I have no idea about which words, titles and names to use. Which are just weird and which are normal? Kind regards, a confused student who would like to use his native language instead of english but have realized that academia is mostly in english.
RESPONSE A: I usually open with " Dr. [Surename] Hi [first name] Blah blah blah"
RESPONSE B: I'm a postdoc in Canada, and I have been using "Hi Dr. <...>" for my whole academic career. I find "Dear .." to be *too* formal.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Dear, kind, hello professor? How to email a reseacher Hi! I’m a Swedish med student and have started to email research groups regarding our degree project. I’m completely lost on how to begin my email to foreign professors or PhD students, could you help me out? We’re not very strict with titles in Sweden, and I’ve emailed a few swedish researchers in swedish and just went with ”Hi Peter! I’m a med student bla bla bla...”. This is completely normal here. But I’m not sure how to write the professors in english, who are not from Sweden, should I follow the laid back tone we use in Sweden and go with ”Hi George”, or should I make it more formal? What first word should I use, hello? Dear? Best? He is an adjunct professor. Maybe ”Hello professor [last name]? Or ”Dear adjunct professor George”? Do you see where I’m going? I have no idea about which words, titles and names to use. Which are just weird and which are normal? Kind regards, a confused student who would like to use his native language instead of english but have realized that academia is mostly in english.
RESPONSE A: I'm a postdoc in Canada, and I have been using "Hi Dr. <...>" for my whole academic career. I find "Dear .." to be *too* formal.
RESPONSE B: If you're not mailing a Nigerian professor (I'm Nigerian), a simple "Dear Dr. X" should suffice. I've encountered Nigerian professors who got upset for being addressed as "Dr. X" after they were promoted to the rank of full professor
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Is it weird to email a professor/paper author about how they did something in their paper? Hi! So I'm studying this paper that works on a specific mathematical model, and I was curious about how they plotted it to compare it to real world data. As in, there are solvers out there, but there's also a solution in the paper (that I honestly don't understand very well tbh), but yeah, there could be more than one way to plot it, and since I'm not very experienced with this, I wanted to ask the author how they did it, and for some general clarifications about the paper itself as well. Has anyone done this before? And do you actually get a reply? Or would the author get annoyed by simple-ish questions, and maybe not respond? (Obv, they're probably really busy anyway, so I wouldn't want to disturb them either :/) Any advice on how to email/speak to them in a way that would likely get me a response? :/
RESPONSE A: Yes it's totally fine, you will either get a response or at the worst get ignored. In most cases they will be glad that someone is noticing thieir work. Check for an up to date email rather than the one given in the manuscript as people move about between institutions and their old email may no longer be monitored or active.
RESPONSE B: I was asked about some methodology in one of my papers and cleaned up that part of my code and send it to the person asking. Just be professional, ask nicely and don't put any insane pressure on the author. Most researchers are happy to talk about their research or help if they can.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Is it weird to email a professor/paper author about how they did something in their paper? Hi! So I'm studying this paper that works on a specific mathematical model, and I was curious about how they plotted it to compare it to real world data. As in, there are solvers out there, but there's also a solution in the paper (that I honestly don't understand very well tbh), but yeah, there could be more than one way to plot it, and since I'm not very experienced with this, I wanted to ask the author how they did it, and for some general clarifications about the paper itself as well. Has anyone done this before? And do you actually get a reply? Or would the author get annoyed by simple-ish questions, and maybe not respond? (Obv, they're probably really busy anyway, so I wouldn't want to disturb them either :/) Any advice on how to email/speak to them in a way that would likely get me a response? :/
RESPONSE A: The phrase “corresponding author” can and should be taken literally! Be polite and ask a clear question, you’ll be surprised how receptive people are to questions about their work. Good luck!
RESPONSE B: Yes it's totally fine, you will either get a response or at the worst get ignored. In most cases they will be glad that someone is noticing thieir work. Check for an up to date email rather than the one given in the manuscript as people move about between institutions and their old email may no longer be monitored or active.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Is it weird to email a professor/paper author about how they did something in their paper? Hi! So I'm studying this paper that works on a specific mathematical model, and I was curious about how they plotted it to compare it to real world data. As in, there are solvers out there, but there's also a solution in the paper (that I honestly don't understand very well tbh), but yeah, there could be more than one way to plot it, and since I'm not very experienced with this, I wanted to ask the author how they did it, and for some general clarifications about the paper itself as well. Has anyone done this before? And do you actually get a reply? Or would the author get annoyed by simple-ish questions, and maybe not respond? (Obv, they're probably really busy anyway, so I wouldn't want to disturb them either :/) Any advice on how to email/speak to them in a way that would likely get me a response? :/
RESPONSE A: The phrase “corresponding author” can and should be taken literally! Be polite and ask a clear question, you’ll be surprised how receptive people are to questions about their work. Good luck!
RESPONSE B: Not weird at all. Science is a community endeavor. I like getting inquiries about my papers. I don't think someone should publish if they're not willing to answer reasonable questions about their methodology.
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A | POST: Has anyone been to a "predatory conference"? I'm constantly getting spam to present at the Veterinarysummit-2015 conference put on by the infamous OMICS group. The emails are so poorly written it's comical. Out of morbid curiosity: do these conferences actually happen or is it 100% a scam to profit off of registration fees? If you've been--why did you go and what was the conference like?
RESPONSE A: http://scholarlyoa.com/2013/09/12/conference-attendee-to-omics-i-want-out/ for a fun read.
RESPONSE B: I hope someone gives an answer. I'm always getting emails to give what sounds like the great honor of an "invited talk", but the phrasing is always such that you can tell they just want you to submit a normal abstract and pay the full fee.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Has anyone been to a "predatory conference"? I'm constantly getting spam to present at the Veterinarysummit-2015 conference put on by the infamous OMICS group. The emails are so poorly written it's comical. Out of morbid curiosity: do these conferences actually happen or is it 100% a scam to profit off of registration fees? If you've been--why did you go and what was the conference like?
RESPONSE A: *Almost*, but luckily I looked looked into it a little more closely before I committed to anything. It was for a political theology conference hosted by the "Sussex Center for the Individual and Society," supposedly based out of the University of Sussex. The website for this Center listed some rather significant names in the field who were supposedly on the board. Turns out, though, that the whole "center" was pretty much one renegade grad student by the name of Erich Kofmel, who had been kicked out of the graduate program and was an international fugitive for rental fraud (taking deposits for apartments that didn't exist).
RESPONSE B: I hope someone gives an answer. I'm always getting emails to give what sounds like the great honor of an "invited talk", but the phrasing is always such that you can tell they just want you to submit a normal abstract and pay the full fee.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Has anyone been to a "predatory conference"? I'm constantly getting spam to present at the Veterinarysummit-2015 conference put on by the infamous OMICS group. The emails are so poorly written it's comical. Out of morbid curiosity: do these conferences actually happen or is it 100% a scam to profit off of registration fees? If you've been--why did you go and what was the conference like?
RESPONSE A: No, but for $850 (plus hotel & transportation fees), you can come visit me and talk science for 2 days. The third day geological field trip is free and you can share my bag of Skittles!
RESPONSE B: Here's a story from a few years back about one.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Has anyone been to a "predatory conference"? I'm constantly getting spam to present at the Veterinarysummit-2015 conference put on by the infamous OMICS group. The emails are so poorly written it's comical. Out of morbid curiosity: do these conferences actually happen or is it 100% a scam to profit off of registration fees? If you've been--why did you go and what was the conference like?
RESPONSE A: I hope someone gives an answer. I'm always getting emails to give what sounds like the great honor of an "invited talk", but the phrasing is always such that you can tell they just want you to submit a normal abstract and pay the full fee.
RESPONSE B: No, but for $850 (plus hotel & transportation fees), you can come visit me and talk science for 2 days. The third day geological field trip is free and you can share my bag of Skittles!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Bringing family to reception at a conference? I am attending a conference next month and my grandparents will be in the same city. My school is putting on an ‘alumni and friends’ reception at a beautiful venue in honor of the conference. I told my grandparents about it and they would like to attend with me. They have helped support me in my graduate school education and mean a lot to me so it would be hard to tell them no. Do you think anyone have a problem with this?
RESPONSE A: It's an "alumni and friends" event. Absolutely no one will care. Half the time at conferences I crash the receptions for schools I didn't go to that I know serve good food/drinks. Some people take this stuff WAY too seriously
RESPONSE B: My MA institution does the same thing at a conference at least once a year. There, everyone would be excited for you to bring family. But this probably varies a lot from university to university. Just ask an organizer.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Bringing family to reception at a conference? I am attending a conference next month and my grandparents will be in the same city. My school is putting on an ‘alumni and friends’ reception at a beautiful venue in honor of the conference. I told my grandparents about it and they would like to attend with me. They have helped support me in my graduate school education and mean a lot to me so it would be hard to tell them no. Do you think anyone have a problem with this?
RESPONSE A: I can't imagine this would upset anyone, but I would not bring them. This is still a networking event for work. I would bring my partner, sure, but I wouldn't bring my parents or grandparents. Save that for awards and graduations.
RESPONSE B: If this is in the US, then remember that schools love happy students and happy parents/family members because that generally means more people who would be willing to donate. If they can get a lifetime of donations from you and possibly others for the cost of a few cheese puffs and cheap wine they'll likely have zero problem with it.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Submitting two papers at the same time to a conference Hi, I have doubts about plagiarism when submitting two papers to a conference. As the two papers are about the same system (but the used approach/application is different), I have some parts, especially "System description" part very similar to each other. Would it be technically plagiarism when some parts are similar?
RESPONSE A: Depends on the field, but largely, no. I recently submitted two papers on related topics that use the same underlying system to the same conference.
RESPONSE B: Not if you cite yourself properly
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: placed in is titled "Mathematical approaches to predator-prey interactions". Not exactly it, but about that distance between topics. I looked at the other talk titles in the session, and they are all super relevant to this field while mine sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't think I can even change my planned talk to even remotely fit this topic, so trying to come up with something that would fit better in the session is not an option. I know I can't move to another session at this point (and that was never an option anyways, because at this conference you get assigned to a session by the conference organizers-- you don't get to choose). But from the people here who have attended a lot of conferences-- is this a normal thing, to be placed in a session that is super not related to your work? And is there anything I can do to make this... less embarrassing? I feel like I am going to get up there and people are going to think I got lost and went to the wrong session. If you saw a talk that was really out of place in a session, would you be embarrassed for the speaker? Should I just make a joke at the beginning about kinda being out of place, and then move on? I'm already really really REALLY nervous for this whole experience, so this problem is super not helping. Thanks for any thoughts you might have!
RESPONSE A: This happens on occasion, especially when the planner is trying to fit papers that have all been accepted into some sort of order. I’d just make a joke at the beginning that acknowledges that you recognize that your paper was a strange fit on the panel (one of these things is not like the other). No one will see this as your “fault” and will hopefully seek ways to find commonality across the projects.
RESPONSE B: Yes it happens a lot. Try not to worry too much about it, people who have organized conferences themselves understand that sometimes mismatched sessions cannot be avoided. People generally don’t care. You may also expect someone from the audience during q and a to try to splain the very separate papers together by a very small common denominator. People crave symmetry, that’s why they do that. You’ll be fine!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: would you be embarrassed for the speaker? Should I just make a joke at the beginning about kinda being out of place, and then move on? I'm already really really REALLY nervous for this whole experience, so this problem is super not helping. Thanks for any thoughts you might have!
RESPONSE A: Yes it happens a lot. Try not to worry too much about it, people who have organized conferences themselves understand that sometimes mismatched sessions cannot be avoided. People generally don’t care. You may also expect someone from the audience during q and a to try to splain the very separate papers together by a very small common denominator. People crave symmetry, that’s why they do that. You’ll be fine!
RESPONSE B: It does happen a lot, yes, particularly if your topic doesn't fit with any of the other sessions. You didn't mention this, but it might also be a time/scheduling thing. It's sadly kind of common for them to schedule students in "awkward" times (the first slot after the conference dinner, the last slot before a plenary, the last/first slot of the day, etc). This is partially because more savvy/cynical presenters will say they're not available to present at that time, so they can get a better flight or enjoy a bit of a sleep-in. In that case, sometimes there's only a handful of people listed as "available" to present at a certain time and they get shoehorned in. This kind of thing is 10000% on the conference organizers and nobody in a million years would assume it was your fault or think anything about it. I probably wouldn't make a joke about it and draw attention to it, especially if you're nervous, as that can come across a little sour-grapesy. As someone else said, someone else may comment on it, or they might not. Also try not to take it personally (though I know it's hard) if there's a weird movement of people during the question time before your talk. A bunch of people leaving before your talk (or coming in after) again speaks to the conference organizers, not your topic.
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A | POST: by no means exhausting, but I came into this program with burnout, and have had no time to recover. I earned my B.S. and M.S. while working full-time, worked overnights in a factory on breaks to support myself.... now that I'm actually here in a PhD program, I feel like I have little left to give in terms of effort. So what keeps your energy levels up? What motivates you to pursue a degree or career that requires so much hard work? I used to always set achievable short-term goals, but I feel like my PhD program (like many others) is really about accomplishing things in the long term. I'd be interested to know what works (or what hasn't worked) for any of my fellow grad students. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: I'm also a first year PhD student with a b.s. and m.s. with no break in between. I've been viewing a PhD as a culmination of medium term goals (complete your courses, pass your QEs, publish, write dissertation) that can be further broken down into shorter goals (study, read, lab work, write). To accomplish those short-term goals, I reserve about 9 hours/day during the weekday to on-campus work; once I leave for the day I do not think about my work so I don't experience burnout. On weekends I keep Saturday for hobbies while Sunday is chores, shopping, and some light, at-home coursework/research. So, instead of motivating myself to work, I have disciplined myself to work. Keeping a consistent schedule helps me maintain a disciplined, consistent workload without experiencing burnout. The key is to do extra work (the work without due dates) when you have free time on-campus. Sure, on rare occasions I have to work more than my allotted time, but that's okay; I still reward myself after accomplishing those tasks. Hope this helped.
RESPONSE B: Pay attention to your health. In the midst of all the projects and stress it’s easy to put your body's needs in the backseat. Make sure you're still exercising, eating relatively healthy foods, and getting a decent amount of sleep (most) nights.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: to give in terms of effort. So what keeps your energy levels up? What motivates you to pursue a degree or career that requires so much hard work? I used to always set achievable short-term goals, but I feel like my PhD program (like many others) is really about accomplishing things in the long term. I'd be interested to know what works (or what hasn't worked) for any of my fellow grad students. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: eat candy and cake to feel better...study while listening to long symphonies/operas so you can simultaneously educate yourself in classical music and have your brain follow complex, non-lyrical themes over long times (eg, >1 hr) instead of typical songs <5 min (too much start and stop feel is distracting)...remind yourself that this is the most important thing you will ever do (i mean fulfilling your destiny, not doing the degree per se)...remind yourself of past achievements...occasionally print and hang up nice figures (data visualizations) from your work
RESPONSE B: I'm also a first year PhD student with a b.s. and m.s. with no break in between. I've been viewing a PhD as a culmination of medium term goals (complete your courses, pass your QEs, publish, write dissertation) that can be further broken down into shorter goals (study, read, lab work, write). To accomplish those short-term goals, I reserve about 9 hours/day during the weekday to on-campus work; once I leave for the day I do not think about my work so I don't experience burnout. On weekends I keep Saturday for hobbies while Sunday is chores, shopping, and some light, at-home coursework/research. So, instead of motivating myself to work, I have disciplined myself to work. Keeping a consistent schedule helps me maintain a disciplined, consistent workload without experiencing burnout. The key is to do extra work (the work without due dates) when you have free time on-campus. Sure, on rare occasions I have to work more than my allotted time, but that's okay; I still reward myself after accomplishing those tasks. Hope this helped.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: How do you keep your motivation & energy levels up as a PhD student? What keeps you going? Quick backstory: I'm a first year PhD student in STEM, and have just joined a new (and very successful) lab after a semester of rotations. My first semester was by no means exhausting, but I came into this program with burnout, and have had no time to recover. I earned my B.S. and M.S. while working full-time, worked overnights in a factory on breaks to support myself.... now that I'm actually here in a PhD program, I feel like I have little left to give in terms of effort. So what keeps your energy levels up? What motivates you to pursue a degree or career that requires so much hard work? I used to always set achievable short-term goals, but I feel like my PhD program (like many others) is really about accomplishing things in the long term. I'd be interested to know what works (or what hasn't worked) for any of my fellow grad students. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: eat candy and cake to feel better...study while listening to long symphonies/operas so you can simultaneously educate yourself in classical music and have your brain follow complex, non-lyrical themes over long times (eg, >1 hr) instead of typical songs <5 min (too much start and stop feel is distracting)...remind yourself that this is the most important thing you will ever do (i mean fulfilling your destiny, not doing the degree per se)...remind yourself of past achievements...occasionally print and hang up nice figures (data visualizations) from your work
RESPONSE B: Pay attention to your health. In the midst of all the projects and stress it’s easy to put your body's needs in the backseat. Make sure you're still exercising, eating relatively healthy foods, and getting a decent amount of sleep (most) nights.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: lab after a semester of rotations. My first semester was by no means exhausting, but I came into this program with burnout, and have had no time to recover. I earned my B.S. and M.S. while working full-time, worked overnights in a factory on breaks to support myself.... now that I'm actually here in a PhD program, I feel like I have little left to give in terms of effort. So what keeps your energy levels up? What motivates you to pursue a degree or career that requires so much hard work? I used to always set achievable short-term goals, but I feel like my PhD program (like many others) is really about accomplishing things in the long term. I'd be interested to know what works (or what hasn't worked) for any of my fellow grad students. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: Recent chemistry phd graduate (now postdoc). I was fortunate to work in a less demanding group and division (computation and theory). What I will say is, if it's possible, leave one full day a week for just you. Whatever you do, make sure it's just for you enjoy and to decompress. I stayed home and played video games/hung out with my neighbors. My other advice is make sure you have friends both in your lab, in your department and outside of the university. Take some time to hang out with your lab mates and have the camaraderie (and to complain with). Have your department friends to hear other stories and to talk to about your experience (and to complain with). And have those friends well outside of your university so that you can experience what the rest of the world is like (and to also complain too; if you can't tell you will complain a lot about a lot of things, just make sure you have the right people to complain too). Lastly: exercise. You would be surprised how some physical activity will improve your mood and overall energy. Try to hit up the gym or go for a jog. Your first year can be really daunting, especially looking out for the next few years. Just stay grounded and you'll come out relatively sane ;-)
RESPONSE B: When I was doing mine... Fear of failure! 😁
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: used to always set achievable short-term goals, but I feel like my PhD program (like many others) is really about accomplishing things in the long term. I'd be interested to know what works (or what hasn't worked) for any of my fellow grad students. Thanks!
RESPONSE A: eat candy and cake to feel better...study while listening to long symphonies/operas so you can simultaneously educate yourself in classical music and have your brain follow complex, non-lyrical themes over long times (eg, >1 hr) instead of typical songs <5 min (too much start and stop feel is distracting)...remind yourself that this is the most important thing you will ever do (i mean fulfilling your destiny, not doing the degree per se)...remind yourself of past achievements...occasionally print and hang up nice figures (data visualizations) from your work
RESPONSE B: Recent chemistry phd graduate (now postdoc). I was fortunate to work in a less demanding group and division (computation and theory). What I will say is, if it's possible, leave one full day a week for just you. Whatever you do, make sure it's just for you enjoy and to decompress. I stayed home and played video games/hung out with my neighbors. My other advice is make sure you have friends both in your lab, in your department and outside of the university. Take some time to hang out with your lab mates and have the camaraderie (and to complain with). Have your department friends to hear other stories and to talk to about your experience (and to complain with). And have those friends well outside of your university so that you can experience what the rest of the world is like (and to also complain too; if you can't tell you will complain a lot about a lot of things, just make sure you have the right people to complain too). Lastly: exercise. You would be surprised how some physical activity will improve your mood and overall energy. Try to hit up the gym or go for a jog. Your first year can be really daunting, especially looking out for the next few years. Just stay grounded and you'll come out relatively sane ;-)
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Living Costs as a PhD Student As a prospective PhD student in the US or Canada, is the stipend given to the PhD student in STEM enough if I bring my wife with me for the living costs for the two of us?
RESPONSE A: I know people who've done this in the US, but it's not easy. PhD stipends range from about $23,000 to $33,000. You could look up the living wage in the school's county and try to compare to publicly available information about stipends for your program (Google for this -- there are a few databases, like phdstipends.com). One problem is that if your wife is just coming to follow you, she won't have a work visa and she won't legally be allowed to work. If there's some kind of situation where she could continue working remotely for a job she already has in your home country, that might be fine, but I don't know all the laws around that.
RESPONSE B: In Canada - no.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Living Costs as a PhD Student As a prospective PhD student in the US or Canada, is the stipend given to the PhD student in STEM enough if I bring my wife with me for the living costs for the two of us?
RESPONSE A: I know people who've done this in the US, but it's not easy. PhD stipends range from about $23,000 to $33,000. You could look up the living wage in the school's county and try to compare to publicly available information about stipends for your program (Google for this -- there are a few databases, like phdstipends.com). One problem is that if your wife is just coming to follow you, she won't have a work visa and she won't legally be allowed to work. If there's some kind of situation where she could continue working remotely for a job she already has in your home country, that might be fine, but I don't know all the laws around that.
RESPONSE B: Nope. In the UK its 16-18k tax free, which is feasible and what I did.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Living Costs as a PhD Student As a prospective PhD student in the US or Canada, is the stipend given to the PhD student in STEM enough if I bring my wife with me for the living costs for the two of us?
RESPONSE A: Neither US nor canada, if your wife is not working a decent paying job. In Europe, more feasible depending on location. Asia, depends on location but also very hard to cover living costs of 2 persons.
RESPONSE B: Stipends are generally to support you, not you and a family. I think this would be very difficult.
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B | POST: Living Costs as a PhD Student As a prospective PhD student in the US or Canada, is the stipend given to the PhD student in STEM enough if I bring my wife with me for the living costs for the two of us?
RESPONSE A: In Canada - no.
RESPONSE B: Stipends are generally to support you, not you and a family. I think this would be very difficult.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Living Costs as a PhD Student As a prospective PhD student in the US or Canada, is the stipend given to the PhD student in STEM enough if I bring my wife with me for the living costs for the two of us?
RESPONSE A: Not in Canada nor in the United States based on these examples. Unless you get extra external funding, which is competitive, it would be near impossible to support two people.
RESPONSE B: Stipends are generally to support you, not you and a family. I think this would be very difficult.
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A | POST: PhD students: How does your daily and weekly routine look like? How do you manage sleep, chores etc with such long hours? From what I understand PhD students work 80 hrs a week roughly. Now, I an out of home for 60 hours a week 5 days (9:30 to 7:00-7:30pm work) and I can't find time to even put on shampoo other than weekends, let alone cook and all. My chores pile up if I miss them on weekends for example fixing the computer, doctors appointment. Its impossible if the chores cannot be done outside working hours like banking (some procedures require your physical presence), getting license for eg. I was wondering: * How do you manage time for exercise, chores like cooking, banking, personal grooming, meditation/relaxation (?), at least 7 hours of sleep, dining, partying, giving time to kids/friends/partners/relatives etc? Basically how do you manage other aspects of your life other than work? * What does your daily and weekly routine look like? Please provide the specifics in detail including how much time goes for each activity.
RESPONSE A: Pretty sure most grad students are not working 80 hours a week. That’s an unrealistic expectation to maintain for 5+ years. The grad students in my lab average around 50-60 hours most weeks. Occasionally there’s some crazy deadline that requires cramming in a ton of work, but that’s pretty rare. Also r/GradSchool is a better place for this question.
RESPONSE B: Following this for tips on how to get my life together!
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: does your daily and weekly routine look like? How do you manage sleep, chores etc with such long hours? From what I understand PhD students work 80 hrs a week roughly. Now, I an out of home for 60 hours a week 5 days (9:30 to 7:00-7:30pm work) and I can't find time to even put on shampoo other than weekends, let alone cook and all. My chores pile up if I miss them on weekends for example fixing the computer, doctors appointment. Its impossible if the chores cannot be done outside working hours like banking (some procedures require your physical presence), getting license for eg. I was wondering: * How do you manage time for exercise, chores like cooking, banking, personal grooming, meditation/relaxation (?), at least 7 hours of sleep, dining, partying, giving time to kids/friends/partners/relatives etc? Basically how do you manage other aspects of your life other than work? * What does your daily and weekly routine look like? Please provide the specifics in detail including how much time goes for each activity.
RESPONSE A: 80 hours is unrealistic and leads to a toxic work environment. ANY grad student that claims to be working that much is likely in a horrible lab, or is incredibly inefficient. (Some people also lie about their work hours to impress you... which in turn can guilt you into feeling like you should be working for that amount of time too.) Bottom line: A PhD is often self-paced, which means you should have the freedom to (reasonably) construct a schedule that fits YOU and your needs. Exercise and good food are essential to keep you running. Leisure activities keep you "fresh" and cheery. Putting these things on the back burner is going to end in burnout very quickly. Personal tip: go to bed early (9pm) and get your work done in the morning (5-6am) before lab work. This includes reading, coursework, planning, etc. A few morning hours of work M-F really make a difference. That way you keep a consistent sleep schedule and can keep most of your evenings for yourself. This has been a life saver for me. Good luck!
RESPONSE B: Following this for tips on how to get my life together!
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A | POST: a week roughly. Now, I an out of home for 60 hours a week 5 days (9:30 to 7:00-7:30pm work) and I can't find time to even put on shampoo other than weekends, let alone cook and all. My chores pile up if I miss them on weekends for example fixing the computer, doctors appointment. Its impossible if the chores cannot be done outside working hours like banking (some procedures require your physical presence), getting license for eg. I was wondering: * How do you manage time for exercise, chores like cooking, banking, personal grooming, meditation/relaxation (?), at least 7 hours of sleep, dining, partying, giving time to kids/friends/partners/relatives etc? Basically how do you manage other aspects of your life other than work? * What does your daily and weekly routine look like? Please provide the specifics in detail including how much time goes for each activity.
RESPONSE A: No, I was monday to friday 9-5. Sometimes less, sometimes slightly more but it shook out. Finished my PhD in 2.5 years. Although it's worth noting now that MRC PhD studentships in the UK now make you do coursework, which I didn't have to back then (although I did have to do participant testing which took about a day per person). People don't seem to get that driving yourself at 101% hurts you in everything but the very, very-short term.
RESPONSE B: I tried to put in a good six hours a day writing/researching. Some days more. I tried to take one day off a week, no work. Mental rest. Many things fell aside though, course prep (I still taught), email answering, fun stuff, chores. I gained weight :( and didn't exercise as much as I should have. I was somewhat sloppy about my eating. I look at pics of me at near the last 3/4 of work and eeek, I looked horrible. That said, 80hrs is too much time spent. It is a cause for burnout. And yes for the candidacy and final defense I spent more time in the two weeks prior than normal by far. Everything stopped then except the work and cramming.
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A | POST: was promoted at my tech startup job. It's a great career path and, considering that I just had my first child last year, couldn't be at a better time. (For reference, my husband has been a stay at home dad for the most part.) But it's still a startup and, if I'm honest, that makes me nervous. Many voices are telling me that I'd be stupid to leave a solid career for school. But I'm genuinely heartbroken at the thought of withdrawing from the PhD program. My research project is focused on the anthropology of climate change, which is something I care deeply about. I doubt another chance at a free degree in something I love is going to happen again. I know I'm fortunate to be in a position with two good choices. But I feel frozen with dread. I can't sleep! What would or did you do to be confident in your choice? Is anthropology as silly a thing to pursue as the naysayers say? Is only STEM worth it anymore?
RESPONSE A: Defer for a year on the phd program. Then if you still want to go back to school or if the job isn't what you envisioned you now have another year of work experience at a better title. Also, you don't have to worry about papers while the baby is figuring out sleep schedules and the like
RESPONSE B: What do you want the PhD for ? A PhD is very expensive in terms of opportunity costs, stress and hours worked. If you dont have a clear & realistic goal in mind that you want to achieve with the PhD: I would not do a PhD. Its a means to an end... The loss in time, money and sanity is too large to do a PhD just out of interest (and chance is you hate your PhD topic afterwards and would rather never read a singlr word about it again). Also I recommend checking stipends. In my country some have family allowances that might make it possible to live off it (if living very frugally) as a family. Most dont and eithet you or your partner definitely would need a second job
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B | POST: year, couldn't be at a better time. (For reference, my husband has been a stay at home dad for the most part.) But it's still a startup and, if I'm honest, that makes me nervous. Many voices are telling me that I'd be stupid to leave a solid career for school. But I'm genuinely heartbroken at the thought of withdrawing from the PhD program. My research project is focused on the anthropology of climate change, which is something I care deeply about. I doubt another chance at a free degree in something I love is going to happen again. I know I'm fortunate to be in a position with two good choices. But I feel frozen with dread. I can't sleep! What would or did you do to be confident in your choice? Is anthropology as silly a thing to pursue as the naysayers say? Is only STEM worth it anymore?
RESPONSE A: Anthro is a shrinking field in terms of course offerings, which is unfortunate. The anthropology faculty I know are mostly adjuncts if they’re not close to retirement age. so, what are you looking to do with a phd? Tenure track prof jobs are few and far between. the years of investment in time are not worth it to come away with the ability to maybe teach a course or two here and there. anthropology is a fantastic field. however, if your goal is to write and research, you can still do that as a freelance writer. A good friend of mine writes for popular scientific publications without having a PhD, and I promise you her work reaches more people this way than if it was sitting in some paywalled journal. the obvious things of you having a great job and a new family count for something too. you can’t take care of them on ideas.
RESPONSE B: Defer for a year on the phd program. Then if you still want to go back to school or if the job isn't what you envisioned you now have another year of work experience at a better title. Also, you don't have to worry about papers while the baby is figuring out sleep schedules and the like
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: startup job. It's a great career path and, considering that I just had my first child last year, couldn't be at a better time. (For reference, my husband has been a stay at home dad for the most part.) But it's still a startup and, if I'm honest, that makes me nervous. Many voices are telling me that I'd be stupid to leave a solid career for school. But I'm genuinely heartbroken at the thought of withdrawing from the PhD program. My research project is focused on the anthropology of climate change, which is something I care deeply about. I doubt another chance at a free degree in something I love is going to happen again. I know I'm fortunate to be in a position with two good choices. But I feel frozen with dread. I can't sleep! What would or did you do to be confident in your choice? Is anthropology as silly a thing to pursue as the naysayers say? Is only STEM worth it anymore?
RESPONSE A: Defer for a year on the phd program. Then if you still want to go back to school or if the job isn't what you envisioned you now have another year of work experience at a better title. Also, you don't have to worry about papers while the baby is figuring out sleep schedules and the like
RESPONSE B: I'm going to disagree with the crowd here. I absolutely love that I did my PhD even though I left academia. Having said that, I did a STEM one, was very very fortunate to have financially security one way or other and had wanted to do one since I knew what they were. Would I be making more money now if I'd gone straight to industry? Probably. Do I regret it? No. I loved my PhD, always wanted to do it, never lost the passion and will be 100% glad on my deathbed to look back and know that I spent 5 years doing it rather than making that extra money. Noone can answer your life questions for you, think about the best, worst, and expected case of each path you could take, think through what you want your life to look like, and pursue it. Good luck!
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B | POST: tech startup job. It's a great career path and, considering that I just had my first child last year, couldn't be at a better time. (For reference, my husband has been a stay at home dad for the most part.) But it's still a startup and, if I'm honest, that makes me nervous. Many voices are telling me that I'd be stupid to leave a solid career for school. But I'm genuinely heartbroken at the thought of withdrawing from the PhD program. My research project is focused on the anthropology of climate change, which is something I care deeply about. I doubt another chance at a free degree in something I love is going to happen again. I know I'm fortunate to be in a position with two good choices. But I feel frozen with dread. I can't sleep! What would or did you do to be confident in your choice? Is anthropology as silly a thing to pursue as the naysayers say? Is only STEM worth it anymore?
RESPONSE A: I recommend that you consider the benefits and challenges of both paths ... and then go with what you really want to do. Please just understand that the degree isn't free. You'll have to re-earn your scholarship each AY and the work is going to be very hard. IRT your concern about the relevance of anthropology, I would imagine that that issue has been a topic of intense discussion for a while and someone has mapped out a path that you can follow to be a viable part of the discipline's future. (I am concerned about the identity of the voices telling you that you'd be "stupid" to leave your job and labeling your academic aspirations as "silly." Hopefully, none of these individuals are a part of your support system.)
RESPONSE B: Defer for a year on the phd program. Then if you still want to go back to school or if the job isn't what you envisioned you now have another year of work experience at a better title. Also, you don't have to worry about papers while the baby is figuring out sleep schedules and the like
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A | POST: School or career? I was accepted to a fully funded MA to PhD in anthropology, then got a promotion at work Last year I applied for a fully funded MA & PhD in environmental anthropology starting in autumn 22, thinking it was a long shot. But I poured my heart and soul into my research proposal and got the scholarship! With living stipend! Then I was promoted at my tech startup job. It's a great career path and, considering that I just had my first child last year, couldn't be at a better time. (For reference, my husband has been a stay at home dad for the most part.) But it's still a startup and, if I'm honest, that makes me nervous. Many voices are telling me that I'd be stupid to leave a solid career for school. But I'm genuinely heartbroken at the thought of withdrawing from the PhD program. My research project is focused on the anthropology of climate change, which is something I care deeply about. I doubt another chance at a free degree in something I love is going to happen again. I know I'm fortunate to be in a position with two good choices. But I feel frozen with dread. I can't sleep! What would or did you do to be confident in your choice? Is anthropology as silly a thing to pursue as the naysayers say? Is only STEM worth it anymore?
RESPONSE A: Defer for a year on the phd program. Then if you still want to go back to school or if the job isn't what you envisioned you now have another year of work experience at a better title. Also, you don't have to worry about papers while the baby is figuring out sleep schedules and the like
RESPONSE B: Stay with the start up
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B | POST: Have you ever cried in front of your advisor or supervisor? If so, why? How did they receive it?
RESPONSE A: Yes, but not my advisor, but the Ph.D. program director. End of the semester: * Taking 4 classes with final exams and long papers. * The class I was teaching, exams and papers to grade * On top of it all, a death in the family -- not a close relative, but my spouse & I had to handle all the practicalities, such as cleaning out an apartment. He was terribly embarrassed, I think because he did not know what to do. Great guy, though -- listened and handed me a handful of paper napkins to mop up with. No repercussions or anything. One of the classes I was worried about was a class he was teaching. We all took the final and promptly repaired to a local bar for some well-deserved refreshments. Said professor showed up about half an hour later, bought the next round of drinks and informed us that we'd all made an A on the exam and in the course. From that, I learned that final exams and papers need to be graded, but not necessarily read in detail.
RESPONSE B: Yes. I was treated very badly by another professor on my committee during a meeting to discuss some of my work. My advisor was lovely and very supportive... she told me that it was okay to cry in front of her, and gave me a hug. She also was very supportive moving on. (I removed the other professor from my committee.) However -- a friend of mine cried in front of her advisor and the advisor got angry and told her that she should never cry in front of anyone. (Is it unfair to note that this was the same person who was so nasty to me?) So, mixed bag?
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B | POST: so, why? How did they receive it?
RESPONSE A: This is pretty bad... I cried during the oral part of my PhD qualifying exam. It was just very overwhelming.... so my advisor was there, along with two other professors. Luckily, I did well enough on the written parts that they figured I knew what I was doing, and I still passed. Ugh, it was kind of a disaster.
RESPONSE B: I broke down and nearly lost it after proposing my dissertation to my committee members. Because my degree was an intersection of multiple disciplines, I had professors from various departments on my committee. Well, one of the guys was new (just promoted from a postdoc position). He was very aggressive and yelled at me for a large part of my Q and A session. There was a lot of "This won't work, you should know that you have to do it this way, aarrgghghg!" Now, keep in mind this was at my dissertation proposal. In our department, we are supposed to do this right after qualifying exams, and before much research is done. But I had been productive before qualifying exams, and actually published almost half my work. So he was yelling at me about stuff that was already peer-reviewed. It made no sense. The other committee members were appalled. I didn't take it well. My entire future was riding on the approval of that proposal. When the committee left the room, I told my advisor that I was done. Through a shaky voice and tears, I said I absolutely *refuse* to subject myself to that kind of disrespect. My advisor was so cool about it and said "Arby84, it's ok. You don't have to keep him on your committee. Let's find someone who can better evaluate this type of work." To this day, I stand firm by my resolution to never allow someone to speak to me the way that man did. Academia holds enough stress by nature. There's no reason to yell at and insult people. Edit: It's not entirely relevant, but I'm a guy and my advisor was a guy. Just want to punch some gender stereotypes in the gut while I'm here.
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A | POST: Have you ever cried in front of your advisor or supervisor? If so, why? How did they receive it?
RESPONSE A: As someone who cries a lot and is headed to grad school in the fall, I find this thread very comforting; I'm almost 99% positive I'll start crying in front of someone, somewhere, sometime in the program.
RESPONSE B: This is pretty bad... I cried during the oral part of my PhD qualifying exam. It was just very overwhelming.... so my advisor was there, along with two other professors. Luckily, I did well enough on the written parts that they figured I knew what I was doing, and I still passed. Ugh, it was kind of a disaster.
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A | POST: directly from undergrad to industry. Nevertheless, I am almost certain I don't wanna pursue academia anymore, which opens a whole another conversation. What would you do in my case? Master out? Keep going for a PhD even if it takes double the time I have already put into it + mental health cost? Thank you all for reading.
RESPONSE A: As a plant biologist who is interested in industry I think you’re in a good position. You will be able to apply for research associate positions that require a BS or masters but you have more experience than others. You’ll be able to get a job where you don’t have to worry about wasting more time. If you get a phd, without a great paper and without having that confidence, you’ll be competing on the job market witb phds who had everything work out for them. And why make it harder for yourself? I think industry also understands that someone who has experienced a lot of failure and knows how to overcome it is an asset. Leave your phd and find a better place for you!
RESPONSE B: First can u really try to connect the projects or show different stages or small accomplishments to be a thesis? Even if ita not good enough for a paper because sometimes what the currently good for publishing I got stuck with a deadend phd project because of lack of background before starting the last step ended not being achieveable at the levels needed a huge 2-3 year revamp would need to be done to actually finish. So i pushed my advisor to accept what i had accomplished by xyz timeline and i was towing the line You dont need a GOOD phd thesis, u need one that would be barely accepted After 4 years i would definitely see if u can scrap one together and push HARD TO see if your advisor will ok it Also it looks better for your advisor to have u finish as a phd not a masters Caveat my engineering department accepted 3 papers or a fully written thesis And im pretty sure noone read the whole thesis or much of it at all , we have to do a formal presentation which the committee is more active on.
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A | POST: Found out my collaborator is under HR investigation - should I still work with them? I'm a graduate student in the US looking to collaborate with this PI (not my own or on my advising committee, but is in my department) who works in a similar scientific field on an experiment. We've been planning this experiment over the last few months and so far things have been going fine despite them being unresponsive to my emails. I just heard from my friend, a student that was considering joining this PI's lab last summer (but didn't), that this PI has been verbally abusive to their students (including my friend) in the past. They were reported to HR by past students but nothing was done. Quite recently though, the PI physically threatened a student in their lab, but the PI was thankfully restrained before any physical damage was done. This incident was also reported, and now HR is investigating the PI. This PI does not have tenure so it is possible they will be fired. Perhaps this explains why they've been so unresponsive... anyway, does anyone have any advice for what to do? 1. Should I continue working with this PI as though I haven't heard anything? 2. Should I look for other collaborators in case they get fired? 3. Will I be looked down upon by colleagues in our field if I publish something with this PI, especially if they get fired for this incident? Even if they don't get fired, I'm not excited about working with this PI anymore. I believe my friend and the other students she spoke to, and I don't wanna be attacked! Thank you all for any input!
RESPONSE A: >despite them being unresponsive to my emails This does not meet the definition of "going fine." Neither does a report that the PI had to be prevented from attacking a graduate student. Stay away from him.
RESPONSE B: I would not.
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A | POST: with this PI anymore. I believe my friend and the other students she spoke to, and I don't wanna be attacked! Thank you all for any input!
RESPONSE A: Leaving aside the morality of working with someone who physically threatens his subordinates and abuses those he has power over, you cannot trust any of the work that comes out of this lab. People who work under extreme stress and fear of violence will be under enormous pressures to avoid antagonising their abusers, their priority will be keeping the peace and mistakes and undesirable results will unfortunately be covered up. Someone who thinks it's ok to scream at junior staff and get physical with students can't be trusted to have any academic integrity. Going back to the morality, while I doubt you'd be shunned for working with this guy because academia is far too appeasing when it comes to abusive behaviours, you would be tacitly endorsing this man's behaviour and potentially enabling him to continue his pattern of abuse. As a hypothetical how would you feel if you later learnt that he abused someone in his team over the work you agreed to do together? You're junior and it's hard to have principles and make change when you don't have a position of authority but there are times you can draw the line. Use this time to build the foundation of values that will mark out your career. One day you'll realise you've got twenty years of a career under your belt and maybe a team or even a department under you. There isn't a moment when you wake up and that's the day you're now important and you have to act morally and manage and lead people with integrity. It sneaks up on you, so you have to start as you are going to be for the rest of your career. Always seek to be better and don't hide behind being junior or "everyone else doing it". Lastly, it sounds like this guy is going to be bogged down in investigations for a while and unfortunately universities are shit at this stuff. He could be out for months or even years. Just walk away and consider yourself lucky. ETA: OP doesn't specify gender.
RESPONSE B: I would not.
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B | POST: Found out my collaborator is under HR investigation - should I still work with them? I'm a graduate student in the US looking to collaborate with this PI (not my own or on my advising committee, but is in my department) who works in a similar scientific field on an experiment. We've been planning this experiment over the last few months and so far things have been going fine despite them being unresponsive to my emails. I just heard from my friend, a student that was considering joining this PI's lab last summer (but didn't), that this PI has been verbally abusive to their students (including my friend) in the past. They were reported to HR by past students but nothing was done. Quite recently though, the PI physically threatened a student in their lab, but the PI was thankfully restrained before any physical damage was done. This incident was also reported, and now HR is investigating the PI. This PI does not have tenure so it is possible they will be fired. Perhaps this explains why they've been so unresponsive... anyway, does anyone have any advice for what to do? 1. Should I continue working with this PI as though I haven't heard anything? 2. Should I look for other collaborators in case they get fired? 3. Will I be looked down upon by colleagues in our field if I publish something with this PI, especially if they get fired for this incident? Even if they don't get fired, I'm not excited about working with this PI anymore. I believe my friend and the other students she spoke to, and I don't wanna be attacked! Thank you all for any input!
RESPONSE A: I would not.
RESPONSE B: Walk away before you sink more time into this. Dealing with non-responsive people is a drag. The multiple investigations are the deal breaker here. If that's their collaboration style, then there is a high chance that you will also collaborate with them this way.
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B | POST: Why did you choose the academic career? What was your dream and have you reached it? What would you say to your younger self that is going to start the bachelor's degree in few months?
RESPONSE A: I didn't choose it. I hated research in undergrad, and only did grad school to find an industry position. Now I'm in Academia, sort of. Still don't understand how it happened.
RESPONSE B: I chose an academic career because I loved college and wanted to do what I thought my professors did: read books, teach, work with interesting people, write, basically live "the life of the mind." As it turns out, I had a pretty naive idea of what academia was all about then, but it's close enough that I can say I love my job about 75% of the time. I ended up a tenured full professor in a school very much like the one I attended in the 1980s. Advice? I'd say "Don't do it!" There was so much luck involved in my career working out 25+ years ago, and it would be impossible to duplicate in today's market. But even with a time machine I'd say "Don't!" because it took a decade of grad school (three degrees) to get to the point I could compete for a tenure-track job...so I was 30 before I had one. Now in my 50s, I'm wishing I had worked through my 20s so I could be planning my retirement like many of my friends who started careers right out of college, rather than thinking "Shit, I'll have to work until I'm 65 or 70 before I can afford to retire," while the magic of compounding interest and market growth has many of my classmates looking at forward to retiring at 55. I'd tell myself "Go to law school." I could have been well into a career by 25. If one of my kids asked me about pursuing an academic career today I'd do anything I could to convince them to look in other directions.
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A | POST: Why did you choose the academic career? What was your dream and have you reached it? What would you say to your younger self that is going to start the bachelor's degree in few months?
RESPONSE A: Also didn’t choose it initially, definitely didn’t see it coming in my undergrad years. But one job led to another job, peaked interests, and then one day I was what the heck, I’ll get a PhD. So now I’m almost done with that, and just started my first real academic job this week! Ultimately what led me here was my love for teaching students about my passion (in my case, the field of nursing). To my younger self though, I’d say, just go with the flow, you won’t see your path clearly now but it’s all going to work out. Enjoy the process.
RESPONSE B: I didn't choose it. I hated research in undergrad, and only did grad school to find an industry position. Now I'm in Academia, sort of. Still don't understand how it happened.
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A | POST: Why did you choose the academic career? What was your dream and have you reached it? What would you say to your younger self that is going to start the bachelor's degree in few months?
RESPONSE A: I wanted to be a professor since i was young, and achieved it, and now ten years later and i hate it. The idea that i have to go back in three weeks makes me want to go back to sleep and never wake up. ​ As for an advice: you know there is littleto no more room anywhere (i'm in Paris, but i know it's true for all of Europe, and i think the US) in academia right? There are sometimes a thousand candidates for a position. So best of luck, but think about it twice.
RESPONSE B: I loved the ideas of research, and not having to work with people. Not many of them, anyway. My dream was to stay in academia, turns out I was too lazy / scared to make it happen. Missed a lot of trains. I'm in a related industry now, still keeping in touch with academia. I would avise my younger self to work harder, and not miss some important trains.
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A | POST: Why did you choose the academic career? What was your dream and have you reached it? What would you say to your younger self that is going to start the bachelor's degree in few months?
RESPONSE A: I dared to dream the dream. A small office, access to a good library, and the opportunity to learn forever. The reality has been closer to joining a personality cult and constantly having to prove my worth.
RESPONSE B: I'm just a grad student, but I'd tell myself: Do the readings. You'll be more prepared than the rest of the class. Instead of overnighting your essays, write them over some time, even if that extra time is 1 week.
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B | POST: Why did you choose the academic career? What was your dream and have you reached it? What would you say to your younger self that is going to start the bachelor's degree in few months?
RESPONSE A: I loved the ideas of research, and not having to work with people. Not many of them, anyway. My dream was to stay in academia, turns out I was too lazy / scared to make it happen. Missed a lot of trains. I'm in a related industry now, still keeping in touch with academia. I would avise my younger self to work harder, and not miss some important trains.
RESPONSE B: I dared to dream the dream. A small office, access to a good library, and the opportunity to learn forever. The reality has been closer to joining a personality cult and constantly having to prove my worth.
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A | POST: Landed a fantastic postdoc! Do I tell TT hiring committees at interviews, or only if I get an offer? I’ve been offered a postdoc at a prestigious, well-funded lab in my field! I’ll learn a lot and expand my research. All great things! I’ve also received some flyouts for tenure track jobs at research schools. My question is the following: should I disclose the postdoc offer or keep it secret and reveal it only if an offer comes in? One senior mentor says to keep it secret in case they seriously need someone immediately. Then negotiate the postdoc should an offer come. Another senior mentor says the postdoc is a boost to my application. He thinks research schools would love to lock down a candidate getting extra free training like this, and that I should tell them at the interview stage. I lean toward the first opinion, but what do I know! Thanks for your crowdsourced advice :)
RESPONSE A: >Another senior mentor says the postdoc is a boost to my application. He thinks research schools would love to lock down a candidate getting extra free training like this, and that I should tell them at the interview stage. Solid postdoc experience is obviously a good thing. But it sounds like you're applying for the postdoc and the TT positions at the same time. I don't think that "I have a postdoc offer" is a very strong negotiation position for a TT job.
RESPONSE B: I think it makes no difference. TT and PD are such different situations I don’t think it really factors into negotiations.
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B | POST: Landed a fantastic postdoc! Do I tell TT hiring committees at interviews, or only if I get an offer? I’ve been offered a postdoc at a prestigious, well-funded lab in my field! I’ll learn a lot and expand my research. All great things! I’ve also received some flyouts for tenure track jobs at research schools. My question is the following: should I disclose the postdoc offer or keep it secret and reveal it only if an offer comes in? One senior mentor says to keep it secret in case they seriously need someone immediately. Then negotiate the postdoc should an offer come. Another senior mentor says the postdoc is a boost to my application. He thinks research schools would love to lock down a candidate getting extra free training like this, and that I should tell them at the interview stage. I lean toward the first opinion, but what do I know! Thanks for your crowdsourced advice :)
RESPONSE A: I loved being a post doc. I’d mention it in interview convos, say it’s an offer. If you get the TT, ask if you can defer for a year
RESPONSE B: It's really hard to read the tea leaves on this one. There are a lot of reasons a department would need someone to start when they're advertising for, and may have no interest in deferring the start date. In this case, having it as part of negotiations makes it more likely you'd get a deferral, I think. One thing you have to decide is whether you want the post-doc over TT jobs or not. If you absolutely will 100% take the post-doc, even if it means you lose the TT job, then you might mention it up front. On the other hand, if you'd like to take the post-doc but would decline it if you get a TT offer and can't negotiate a late start, then I'd bring it up during negotiations.
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B | POST: ly around me. I have told her this and she continues and says that I'm being dramatic. I have tried to solve the issue by talking with her many times, and then by email so that I would have a record of the conversations and so that she would not interrupt me or be able to yell at me so easily. She has responded to this by telling me that I am causing problems, and telling me that we'll talk about it in person, where she starts to get aggressive with me again. I am not perfect. I realize that I have my difficulties working with other people sometimes too, but never like this, and I can usually fix the problem by talking with the person and trying to understand where they are coming from and what they want. This is not working with this person. I don't want to create any problems, and I don't want to lose my visa, I just want to survive this time with this person, and hopefully not lose my career with her bad recommendation. Does anyone have any advice or has faced a situation like this? Does any part of this sound like a cultural difference that I am not understanding? My PI is also a foreigner. Please ask any questions, I will try to answers. She has never physically touched me when she was acting aggressively like this except to move me out of her way a little one time. She has not called me terrible names, but ones that I think do not fit my behavior and are maybe not appropriate for the workplace. I do not know her boss well, but they are very close and I worry about bringing this to her. Thank you very much. EDIT: I am working as a postdoc at a large, private research university
RESPONSE A: I don't have any specific advice for you (I'm a postdoc too) but I just wanted to say, I'm so sorry you are dealing with this situation. It sickens me how some PIs choose to be abusive towards their postdocs and graduate students, knowing we can't do much to stop it without hurting ourselves because our situation is so precarious.
RESPONSE B: I am really sorry you are going through this situation. My advice would be to start searching for jobs aggressively, this is not sustainable for your mental health and less importantly your productivity.
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B | POST: to her. I have a history where I am very much not ok with being yelled at like this or with people hitting things or behaving aggressively around me. I have told her this and she continues and says that I'm being dramatic. I have tried to solve the issue by talking with her many times, and then by email so that I would have a record of the conversations and so that she would not interrupt me or be able to yell at me so easily. She has responded to this by telling me that I am causing problems, and telling me that we'll talk about it in person, where she starts to get aggressive with me again. I am not perfect. I realize that I have my difficulties working with other people sometimes too, but never like this, and I can usually fix the problem by talking with the person and trying to understand where they are coming from and what they want. This is not working with this person. I don't want to create any problems, and I don't want to lose my visa, I just want to survive this time with this person, and hopefully not lose my career with her bad recommendation. Does anyone have any advice or has faced a situation like this? Does any part of this sound like a cultural difference that I am not understanding? My PI is also a foreigner. Please ask any questions, I will try to answers. She has never physically touched me when she was acting aggressively like this except to move me out of her way a little one time. She has not called me terrible names, but ones that I think do not fit my behavior and are maybe not appropriate for the workplace. I do not know her boss well, but they are very close and I worry about bringing this to her. Thank you very much. EDIT: I am working as a postdoc at a large, private research university
RESPONSE A: Record it, send it to HR and be done with it. Not worth it
RESPONSE B: Even if you find temporary working cadence (kissing thier butt, amazing results etc) these personalities are unreliable and too easy to offended. Imagine putting up with shit for years and not getting a recommendation. It happened to me. Strongly encourage you to start searching for somewhere else.
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B | POST: postdoc at a large, private research university
RESPONSE A: Record it, send it to HR and be done with it. Not worth it
RESPONSE B: Is it possible that your PI initials are SP? I've been in similar circumstance. SP, a European PI working in a public school though, was abusing her postdocs and students left and right. It would take me volumes to describe her horrible conduct. She was also using the Visa status to blackmail her foreign postdocs. My experience with her lasted only approximately two months during my rotation, but the only postdoc and graduate students who stayed with her for five years were absolutely damaged. The student had a mental breakdown and had to take a leave of absence. The postdoc was depressed, but worse, he picked up her toxicity and became a another version of her. They were unproductive and miserable. She was more hostile to postdocs from India, China, and the Middle East. She probably assumed they'd keep their heads down and not speak up for themselves. Unlike the postdoc who stayed, another foreign postdoc joined her lab while I was on rotation. He only lasted for a month before moving on to another lab. The end result is massive. The postdoc who stayed failed in every possible way. The one who left, thrived, published in high IF journals and won a K99 grant. It perplexed me how the school handled her. They got numerous complaints but turned a deaf ear, most likely because she was tenured. She eventually relocated after she landed a better position (chair) at another school. My advice : Cut your losses, RUN, and never look back. It'll never get better with her. Your HR department will not be of much help, but you should disclose everything just in case. I recommend that you talk with a PI in your department, explain your situation, and ask for a position or their support in finding a position in another lab at the same institution or elsewhere. In this market, you will have little trouble landing a postdoctoral position. They will understand your problem since they are familiar with her temperament, people talk. Please DM me if you need support or have any other questions.
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A | POST: university
RESPONSE A: Is it possible that your PI initials are SP? I've been in similar circumstance. SP, a European PI working in a public school though, was abusing her postdocs and students left and right. It would take me volumes to describe her horrible conduct. She was also using the Visa status to blackmail her foreign postdocs. My experience with her lasted only approximately two months during my rotation, but the only postdoc and graduate students who stayed with her for five years were absolutely damaged. The student had a mental breakdown and had to take a leave of absence. The postdoc was depressed, but worse, he picked up her toxicity and became a another version of her. They were unproductive and miserable. She was more hostile to postdocs from India, China, and the Middle East. She probably assumed they'd keep their heads down and not speak up for themselves. Unlike the postdoc who stayed, another foreign postdoc joined her lab while I was on rotation. He only lasted for a month before moving on to another lab. The end result is massive. The postdoc who stayed failed in every possible way. The one who left, thrived, published in high IF journals and won a K99 grant. It perplexed me how the school handled her. They got numerous complaints but turned a deaf ear, most likely because she was tenured. She eventually relocated after she landed a better position (chair) at another school. My advice : Cut your losses, RUN, and never look back. It'll never get better with her. Your HR department will not be of much help, but you should disclose everything just in case. I recommend that you talk with a PI in your department, explain your situation, and ask for a position or their support in finding a position in another lab at the same institution or elsewhere. In this market, you will have little trouble landing a postdoctoral position. They will understand your problem since they are familiar with her temperament, people talk. Please DM me if you need support or have any other questions.
RESPONSE B: What visa do you have? I thought postdoc would be mostly hired as J1 which shouldn’t be employer-dependent
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B | POST: Considering a vaccine is a good year off, do you think there will be commencement ceremonies for spring of 2021? No one has a crystal ball, but I'm curious about your thoughts.
RESPONSE A: Highly unlikely though i hope i am wrong.
RESPONSE B: Our university held a graduation parade. Grads drove in their decorated cars. Friends, family and faculty waved from the side. It was actually much better than commencement.
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A | POST: Do you know anyone that would think it is ethical to submit to Nature for their 10k€ fee/2k€ review fee? I've read the news that Nature will start accepting open access papers for a 10k€ fee. 6 months of a PhD salary. You could also send a paper and get a "guided review" for 2k€, that they say will be "more insightful". linky I'm wondering...Even if your group did have such money... Would you consider publishing with them? Is it ethical? Will a funding agency ever approve spending so much money on a paper?
RESPONSE A: Generally speaking, Open Access is not free of charge. But OA papers tend to be more cited, because they are more widely available. So they're basically saying 'if you pay us a fee, you will have a still greater visibility than the one you would already get with Nature'. To be honest, if you have the type of funding that allows you to do research that can be published on Nature, you should have the 10'000 euros to spare for OA publication.
RESPONSE B: And then there's ACS with its new open access journals where authors can publish without a fee.
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B | POST: Do you know anyone that would think it is ethical to submit to Nature for their 10k€ fee/2k€ review fee? I've read the news that Nature will start accepting open access papers for a 10k€ fee. 6 months of a PhD salary. You could also send a paper and get a "guided review" for 2k€, that they say will be "more insightful". linky I'm wondering...Even if your group did have such money... Would you consider publishing with them? Is it ethical? Will a funding agency ever approve spending so much money on a paper?
RESPONSE A: For context, most OA journal page charges are in the 3.5-5K range. Other leading journals - such as Cell - already have a pay-for-OA model. Not that I’m suggesting Elsevier is a model to be emulated...
RESPONSE B: All the senior scientists judge each other by publishing in these journals, while simultaneously shaking their heads and saying, "it's a terrible system." They still don't realise that they themselves are the system. It's a tragic comedy.
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A | POST: Do you know anyone that would think it is ethical to submit to Nature for their 10k€ fee/2k€ review fee? I've read the news that Nature will start accepting open access papers for a 10k€ fee. 6 months of a PhD salary. You could also send a paper and get a "guided review" for 2k€, that they say will be "more insightful". linky I'm wondering...Even if your group did have such money... Would you consider publishing with them? Is it ethical? Will a funding agency ever approve spending so much money on a paper?
RESPONSE A: All the senior scientists judge each other by publishing in these journals, while simultaneously shaking their heads and saying, "it's a terrible system." They still don't realise that they themselves are the system. It's a tragic comedy.
RESPONSE B: 10 + 2 is a lot, but a Nature paper can also really change the trajectory of your career.
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A | POST: Do you know anyone that would think it is ethical to submit to Nature for their 10k€ fee/2k€ review fee? I've read the news that Nature will start accepting open access papers for a 10k€ fee. 6 months of a PhD salary. You could also send a paper and get a "guided review" for 2k€, that they say will be "more insightful". linky I'm wondering...Even if your group did have such money... Would you consider publishing with them? Is it ethical? Will a funding agency ever approve spending so much money on a paper?
RESPONSE A: All the senior scientists judge each other by publishing in these journals, while simultaneously shaking their heads and saying, "it's a terrible system." They still don't realise that they themselves are the system. It's a tragic comedy.
RESPONSE B: And then there's ACS with its new open access journals where authors can publish without a fee.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Do you know anyone that would think it is ethical to submit to Nature for their 10k€ fee/2k€ review fee? I've read the news that Nature will start accepting open access papers for a 10k€ fee. 6 months of a PhD salary. You could also send a paper and get a "guided review" for 2k€, that they say will be "more insightful". linky I'm wondering...Even if your group did have such money... Would you consider publishing with them? Is it ethical? Will a funding agency ever approve spending so much money on a paper?
RESPONSE A: All the senior scientists judge each other by publishing in these journals, while simultaneously shaking their heads and saying, "it's a terrible system." They still don't realise that they themselves are the system. It's a tragic comedy.
RESPONSE B: The main motivation for this is that some funding agencies have adopted policies which require all projects funded by that agency be available open access from time of publication. So, if you're funded by that agency and want to publish in a top journal, you need an OA option at Nature, Science, Cell etc. Otherwise you are categorically excluded from publishing in these journals, which can have consequences for career progression, funding success, etc. Is Nature OA worth the money? I couldn't say, but I will say that almost all open access APCs are a total racket. Paying almost $2000 to publish in PLOS ONE is just as much bullshit.
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B | POST: credit for coming up with a good idea just slightly too late like this?
RESPONSE A: First off, this is a question for your advisor, not us internet randoms. Second, the purpose of a PhD is to demonstrate the capability to produce original research, not necessarily to produce "successful" research in the same way that, say, a grant committee or for that matter a journal editor would consider it. Thus, your work still "counts" as a demonstration of your ability to execute such research. However, your committee while understanding the circumstances may want to see how well you can respond to this. For example, if this other paper smashed your benchmarks - why? Did they use a different algorithm somewhere in the process? If so, you have a comparison between the two algorithms even if the comparison doesn't favor yours - that's original information. If they just coded better than you, you probably need to spend some time optimizing your code to achieve similar performance. But don't stop there; ask yourself what kind of studies you can do with your own work that extend both your work and the published work in a new direction. Your algorithm may have been scooped, but it still represents a potentially powerful tool to gain new knowledge - demonstrating that use will be a big help for your PhD case and honestly is something you should be planning on demonstrating anyways - after all, an algorithm is only as useful as the problem space it can be used to solve. Publishing may be a thornier problem but hopefully your postdoc or other next step will provide opportunities to close that gap, and you should be able to get *some* publications with some creative thinking in terms of additional studies like I mentioned above. Good luck!
RESPONSE B: Not gonna answer your question directly, but if you had a research idea dreamt up and implemented in 6 months, had to learn the skills to get it done, and had it validated by other researchers who were already experts in the field... you’re gonna have more ideas and you’re gonna be just fine. Ask your PI about strategies for making the best of what you’ve already finished, and don’t let the bummerness of getting scooped slow your roll
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B | POST: Publish by swapping my first and last name? I'm going to publish my first conference and I'd like to swap my first and last name in publication and then stick to it in my life--since my last name is extremely undistinguishable in academia. A famous example is perhaps Prof. Fei-Fei Li (publish under Li Fei-Fei). Any thought? Any downside I'm not aware of?
RESPONSE A: Plenty of people (mostly women) change their name when they get married and while there might be some minor issues with confusion it’s not a major issue. I’d say do it and then just stick to it. The only reason I’d say not to do it is if you’re already super established and well-known in your field. Someone really well-known in my niche just transitioned and we all managed to figure out that the slightly different name associated with the same university and same niche topic was the same researcher. So all that to say… go for it!
RESPONSE B: It seems very unnecessary. I have a very common first and last name, and between using my middle initial and OrcID I've never had a problem remaining professionally distinct from all the other "mes" out there. Do you plan to explain why every time you get on first name terms with a professional acquaintance?
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B | POST: I recently joined a predatory publishing group unknowingly, how do I stay true to my values while still working there? I started a new job, which I didn't know was a backend for a predatory publishing group. I have very less options to work elsewhere since I have very less experience and a gap in employment during covid which happened when my parents got unwell. I really want to stay true to my values but it is hurting me a lot inside. What do I do?
RESPONSE A: If you're aware of your new employer being a predatory publishing group, then other future potential employers may also know this. It's a difficult situation, but staying put in the company may hurt your chances in future job searches. Obviously the alternative option is that you quit and you're unemployed again. Sorry, it's not an easy situation, but something you may want to think about.
RESPONSE B: Bear in mind that this publisher is probably flagged as predatory by other publishers and this may impact your chances at finding working at legitimate publishers if they hold that against you when you try to apply. I would start looking for other jobs ASAP. Right now you can explain at an interview when asked, “I didn’t realize this journal had these practices until beginning work and now am looking to transition out as soon as possible because I don’t agree with them”, the longer you wait the less that explanation will hold and might be considered complicit instead. Edit. To add to this, if you find another job in a reasonable time scrub the predatory publisher from your CV. A slightly longer gap in employment won’t seem weird (explain it as looking after someone with COVID), especially if you have a decent amount of time at a legitimate one but it’s going to be a hassle explaining working at a predatory publisher for the rest of your career.
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A | POST: I recently joined a predatory publishing group unknowingly, how do I stay true to my values while still working there? I started a new job, which I didn't know was a backend for a predatory publishing group. I have very less options to work elsewhere since I have very less experience and a gap in employment during covid which happened when my parents got unwell. I really want to stay true to my values but it is hurting me a lot inside. What do I do?
RESPONSE A: Bear in mind that this publisher is probably flagged as predatory by other publishers and this may impact your chances at finding working at legitimate publishers if they hold that against you when you try to apply. I would start looking for other jobs ASAP. Right now you can explain at an interview when asked, “I didn’t realize this journal had these practices until beginning work and now am looking to transition out as soon as possible because I don’t agree with them”, the longer you wait the less that explanation will hold and might be considered complicit instead. Edit. To add to this, if you find another job in a reasonable time scrub the predatory publisher from your CV. A slightly longer gap in employment won’t seem weird (explain it as looking after someone with COVID), especially if you have a decent amount of time at a legitimate one but it’s going to be a hassle explaining working at a predatory publisher for the rest of your career.
RESPONSE B: Don’t worry about the employment gap. Covid and taking time off to care for a sick relative easily explain that. No one with bat an eye.
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A | POST: I recently joined a predatory publishing group unknowingly, how do I stay true to my values while still working there? I started a new job, which I didn't know was a backend for a predatory publishing group. I have very less options to work elsewhere since I have very less experience and a gap in employment during covid which happened when my parents got unwell. I really want to stay true to my values but it is hurting me a lot inside. What do I do?
RESPONSE A: Bear in mind that this publisher is probably flagged as predatory by other publishers and this may impact your chances at finding working at legitimate publishers if they hold that against you when you try to apply. I would start looking for other jobs ASAP. Right now you can explain at an interview when asked, “I didn’t realize this journal had these practices until beginning work and now am looking to transition out as soon as possible because I don’t agree with them”, the longer you wait the less that explanation will hold and might be considered complicit instead. Edit. To add to this, if you find another job in a reasonable time scrub the predatory publisher from your CV. A slightly longer gap in employment won’t seem weird (explain it as looking after someone with COVID), especially if you have a decent amount of time at a legitimate one but it’s going to be a hassle explaining working at a predatory publisher for the rest of your career.
RESPONSE B: I'd honestly chill out about it. You think Nature are doing a big public service? They're all in it to make money at the end of the day. Make your money, chill out, spend time with your pals. Stay for a wee while and if you hate it, move on. But don't feel guilty!
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A | POST: I recently joined a predatory publishing group unknowingly, how do I stay true to my values while still working there? I started a new job, which I didn't know was a backend for a predatory publishing group. I have very less options to work elsewhere since I have very less experience and a gap in employment during covid which happened when my parents got unwell. I really want to stay true to my values but it is hurting me a lot inside. What do I do?
RESPONSE A: Bear in mind that this publisher is probably flagged as predatory by other publishers and this may impact your chances at finding working at legitimate publishers if they hold that against you when you try to apply. I would start looking for other jobs ASAP. Right now you can explain at an interview when asked, “I didn’t realize this journal had these practices until beginning work and now am looking to transition out as soon as possible because I don’t agree with them”, the longer you wait the less that explanation will hold and might be considered complicit instead. Edit. To add to this, if you find another job in a reasonable time scrub the predatory publisher from your CV. A slightly longer gap in employment won’t seem weird (explain it as looking after someone with COVID), especially if you have a decent amount of time at a legitimate one but it’s going to be a hassle explaining working at a predatory publisher for the rest of your career.
RESPONSE B: I have a friend who worked for a vanity press in Bloomington for a time. He found it rather stressful. Do your best and I hope you have luck in finding other work soon.
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A | POST: I recently joined a predatory publishing group unknowingly, how do I stay true to my values while still working there? I started a new job, which I didn't know was a backend for a predatory publishing group. I have very less options to work elsewhere since I have very less experience and a gap in employment during covid which happened when my parents got unwell. I really want to stay true to my values but it is hurting me a lot inside. What do I do?
RESPONSE A: If you're aware of your new employer being a predatory publishing group, then other future potential employers may also know this. It's a difficult situation, but staying put in the company may hurt your chances in future job searches. Obviously the alternative option is that you quit and you're unemployed again. Sorry, it's not an easy situation, but something you may want to think about.
RESPONSE B: Don’t worry about the employment gap. Covid and taking time off to care for a sick relative easily explain that. No one with bat an eye.
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A | POST: case of Grade inflation being much worse in the US than in Europe? Is it possible to "fix" your GPA if you have not achieved the highest possible grade in some exam?
RESPONSE A: It's been about 10 years since I sat on the admissions committee for a U.S. graduate program, so this may be out of date. There was a lot of heterogeneity across universities. Some universities used a 5.0 scale rather than a 4.0 scale (but students usually neglected to mention this - they just reported their GPA as a 3.9). I've seen others with a 4.5 scale. One university said that they used a 4 point scale, but if you looked at the transcript some classes would list individual class grades as 4.3. A few universities did have grade inflation - for one in particular I don't think I ever saw an applicant without a 4.0 (which was suspect since many of them had very low GRE scores). Even for universities that use a 4.0 scale, how they implemented that could be wildly different. Some universities used a letter grade system where those grades translated to points (an A would be a 4.0, a B would be a 3.0). Other universities gave individual class grades as grade points, where I often saw students with class grades such as 3.7, 3.4, etc. It was much more common to see a 4.0 student from a university that gives points based on letter grades (especially if an A+ is a 4.3 on a 4 point scale). It was very rare to see someone with a 4.0 from a university that gives individual class grades on a point scale (for those universities, a 3.8 would be a very good GPA).
RESPONSE B: My own anecdotal experience (in the humanities) is that grading standards in US universities just tend to be more lenient, at least compared to Canada, where I did my graduate work. As a grad TA, our guidelines for grade distribution suggested 15-35% A-range grades as the norm (which was already raised from 5-25% in previous work) whereas the state university I'm at now tends more towards 50-60% A-range grades.
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A | POST: Post-covid, post-brexit, what is funding like for EU citizens in the U.K for PhD candidacy and post-doctoral positions? Two years ago when I checked, I was under the impression that unless you're an U.K citizen, your PhD would be self-funded and even getting a post-doc position without having lived in the U.K is near impossible. Is this still the same?
RESPONSE A: If you have settled or pre-settled status (e.g. I think 3 years residency) you count as the same as a UK student. If you don’t, you count the same as an international student with obscene fees. You can still win studentships but need to pay the difference in fees between home and international (16k/year here) unless you get very lucky and can get a fee waiver. Post-docs are completely different and it’s just a job. Doesn’t matter where you’re from.
RESPONSE B: Just a reminder that we’re still in a pandemic 🙃 we’re not in the “post covid” times, as much as the world is pretending we are
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A | POST: Post-covid, post-brexit, what is funding like for EU citizens in the U.K for PhD candidacy and post-doctoral positions? Two years ago when I checked, I was under the impression that unless you're an U.K citizen, your PhD would be self-funded and even getting a post-doc position without having lived in the U.K is near impossible. Is this still the same?
RESPONSE A: Things are generally worse for EU citizens for PhD. EU students are now eligible for our top "international" scholarships, which cover international tuition plus a stipend, but those are very highly competitive. I have European colleagues that have left the UK to return to EU because they relied so much on European students and now that's a tap that is running much drier. For post docs, I don't think things are any harder than for domestic candidates. Yes there's a bit of paperwork to demonstrate that no domestic candidates were better, but that's pretty much a formality. Whoever comes out on top, comes out on top.
RESPONSE B: Just a reminder that we’re still in a pandemic 🙃 we’re not in the “post covid” times, as much as the world is pretending we are
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A | POST: What software/hardware did you use for research in the 90s Messing with an old Macintosh today, I started wondering how these early machines were used for academic work "back in the day." For those who were already doing academic research in the 90s (either as students or staff): * Did you use a computer beyond email and word processing? (typing up the final draft) * If so, what were you able to use the computer for? Writing and organizing notes? Reading sources? Creating a reference database? Statistical analysis? Project/time management? Communication? * What OS did you use, and what was your typical workflow what was your go to software and file formats, and what role did they play in getting you from the initial idea to publication? Was the computer just an afterthought or was it one of your main tools? I'm especially interested in people who used Macs for academic research in the humanities and social sciences (from Macintosh System 1 to Mac OS 9)...but I would also be happy to hear from those in other disciplines and on other platforms (DOS, Windows, Amiga, Linux, etc.).
RESPONSE A: My scribe would just jot research notes on a granite slab. Gets sorta heavy walking around campus....
RESPONSE B: Abacus
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B | POST: ." For those who were already doing academic research in the 90s (either as students or staff): * Did you use a computer beyond email and word processing? (typing up the final draft) * If so, what were you able to use the computer for? Writing and organizing notes? Reading sources? Creating a reference database? Statistical analysis? Project/time management? Communication? * What OS did you use, and what was your typical workflow what was your go to software and file formats, and what role did they play in getting you from the initial idea to publication? Was the computer just an afterthought or was it one of your main tools? I'm especially interested in people who used Macs for academic research in the humanities and social sciences (from Macintosh System 1 to Mac OS 9)...but I would also be happy to hear from those in other disciplines and on other platforms (DOS, Windows, Amiga, Linux, etc.).
RESPONSE A: WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. Write some papers and occasionally do some analysis.
RESPONSE B: Word processing was a primary function of early computers in Academia. My grandmother (who got her doctorate in the 70s I believe) got her first computer in the 80s, and a printer too (they ran about 3k each). I don't know what make/model that was though. You might not think that meant much, but the time savings compared to typewriters are significant - you can edit things without retyping the full page, you can keep digital files, make copies as needed, etc. When I look at my grandfather's PhD (I have a copy, published in the 60s) that was done on a typewriter, 5 copies at a time (limitations of carbon paper), I can immediately see the advantage of computers - even before we get to the modern internet, or research tools or the like. They both started using email once the internet was a thing, and these days there are a lot of tools that get used, mostly email and word processing, but also some research tools. My grandmother says she's not publishing any more style guides though, as things change too quickly these days with all the online resources (and also she's near 90).
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: wondering how these early machines were used for academic work "back in the day." For those who were already doing academic research in the 90s (either as students or staff): * Did you use a computer beyond email and word processing? (typing up the final draft) * If so, what were you able to use the computer for? Writing and organizing notes? Reading sources? Creating a reference database? Statistical analysis? Project/time management? Communication? * What OS did you use, and what was your typical workflow what was your go to software and file formats, and what role did they play in getting you from the initial idea to publication? Was the computer just an afterthought or was it one of your main tools? I'm especially interested in people who used Macs for academic research in the humanities and social sciences (from Macintosh System 1 to Mac OS 9)...but I would also be happy to hear from those in other disciplines and on other platforms (DOS, Windows, Amiga, Linux, etc.).
RESPONSE A: Word processing was a primary function of early computers in Academia. My grandmother (who got her doctorate in the 70s I believe) got her first computer in the 80s, and a printer too (they ran about 3k each). I don't know what make/model that was though. You might not think that meant much, but the time savings compared to typewriters are significant - you can edit things without retyping the full page, you can keep digital files, make copies as needed, etc. When I look at my grandfather's PhD (I have a copy, published in the 60s) that was done on a typewriter, 5 copies at a time (limitations of carbon paper), I can immediately see the advantage of computers - even before we get to the modern internet, or research tools or the like. They both started using email once the internet was a thing, and these days there are a lot of tools that get used, mostly email and word processing, but also some research tools. My grandmother says she's not publishing any more style guides though, as things change too quickly these days with all the online resources (and also she's near 90).
RESPONSE B: Abacus
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: What software/hardware did you use for research in the 90s Messing with an old Macintosh today, I started wondering how these early machines were used for academic work "back in the day." For those who were already doing academic research in the 90s (either as students or staff): * Did you use a computer beyond email and word processing? (typing up the final draft) * If so, what were you able to use the computer for? Writing and organizing notes? Reading sources? Creating a reference database? Statistical analysis? Project/time management? Communication? * What OS did you use, and what was your typical workflow what was your go to software and file formats, and what role did they play in getting you from the initial idea to publication? Was the computer just an afterthought or was it one of your main tools? I'm especially interested in people who used Macs for academic research in the humanities and social sciences (from Macintosh System 1 to Mac OS 9)...but I would also be happy to hear from those in other disciplines and on other platforms (DOS, Windows, Amiga, Linux, etc.).
RESPONSE A: I was at university in the UK 1994-97 for my undergraduate degree. I mainly used books, real life journals, and microfiche, and we didn’t have the internet at home until about 2000. I used (I think) Netscape to look for things online. It would take about 10 minutes for an article to load. We had email addresses but I didn’t know anyone to email (my boyfriend then, now husband, used to email his friend doing a computer science degree in another city) It was pretty hard to find journals etc online pre google if you didn’t know what you were looking for. They did show us how to Harvard reference a website but I don’t think I ever did. It’s interesting now as my own students’ bibliographies are almost always 100% Items read online.
RESPONSE B: WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. Write some papers and occasionally do some analysis.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: What software/hardware did you use for research in the 90s Messing with an old Macintosh today, I started wondering how these early machines were used for academic work "back in the day." For those who were already doing academic research in the 90s (either as students or staff): * Did you use a computer beyond email and word processing? (typing up the final draft) * If so, what were you able to use the computer for? Writing and organizing notes? Reading sources? Creating a reference database? Statistical analysis? Project/time management? Communication? * What OS did you use, and what was your typical workflow what was your go to software and file formats, and what role did they play in getting you from the initial idea to publication? Was the computer just an afterthought or was it one of your main tools? I'm especially interested in people who used Macs for academic research in the humanities and social sciences (from Macintosh System 1 to Mac OS 9)...but I would also be happy to hear from those in other disciplines and on other platforms (DOS, Windows, Amiga, Linux, etc.).
RESPONSE A: I was at university in the UK 1994-97 for my undergraduate degree. I mainly used books, real life journals, and microfiche, and we didn’t have the internet at home until about 2000. I used (I think) Netscape to look for things online. It would take about 10 minutes for an article to load. We had email addresses but I didn’t know anyone to email (my boyfriend then, now husband, used to email his friend doing a computer science degree in another city) It was pretty hard to find journals etc online pre google if you didn’t know what you were looking for. They did show us how to Harvard reference a website but I don’t think I ever did. It’s interesting now as my own students’ bibliographies are almost always 100% Items read online.
RESPONSE B: Abacus
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: How long do you recommend doing a postdoc? I got Ph.D. in Computer Science and now doing a postdoc (2 years) at a top-ranked university in the bio area. I am happy in the current lab (nice and supportive PI, great research environment, and good fitting research topic to me), and PI can support my funding for additional years. But, I am seeing other CS people who become assistant professors, and that I think makes me worry that I might be too late to become a professor. I remember my Ph.D. advisor said it would be best if I do a postdoc for at most three years, but it seems bio people do much longer. When do you guys think is the best timing to apply for the tenure-track positions? How do you determine the best timing? Regarding publications, I have multiple ongoing studies that are not yet published but will be published at the end of this year. I think my publication record will be much better next year. But at the same time, I am worried that I do a postdoc for too long time. PS, I am open to either CS or Bio departments.
RESPONSE A: Everyone I know in physics does 2 different postdoc (2-3 years), and it's preferable to be in 2 different countries to gain much better experience not only in the way others conduct research but also socially.
RESPONSE B: > When do you guys think is the best timing to apply for the tenure-track positions? How do you determine the best timing? The only surefire way to answer the question of whether you're competitive for TT positions is to apply for some. In parallel, look up the CVs of recent hires in your field in universities around the country/countries you wish to work in. Check out their history - how many years postdoc, how many places did they work at, how many papers, did they have a track record of getting funding, etc. It'll give you a benchmark of what you're aiming for. You could use this paper as inspiration on what you're looking for.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: When applying to a postdoc, can I provide a list of referees instead of cover letters? To summarize, today I found out about a postdoc position that will finish in less than 48 hours. There is no way for even my advisor to provide me a cover letter, as he is on vacation overseas. I have a close work relationship with two other professors, but honestly I think I'd be a dick by asking them for a letter to be written until tomorrow. Would it be rude of me to explain in a document file that I do not have cover letters available at hand, but then list the name, contact information and my relationship with these 3 individuals, and that they may provide a reference upon request? P.S.: This is actually my first time seeing a positing asking me, the applicant, to send the letters. The others I've applied to all asked me to list name, contact information and relationship of 2 or 3 people.
RESPONSE A: I'm a bit confused. Typically you would write a cover letter yourself - it's your explanation of why you want the job and why you'd be good at it. Your references would provide references or LoR. I've never heard of someone writing your cover letter for you.
RESPONSE B: If you can’t submit all of the required documents, I wouldn’t waste my time tbh. Incomplete applications will be the first to be rejected
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: When applying to a postdoc, can I provide a list of referees instead of cover letters? To summarize, today I found out about a postdoc position that will finish in less than 48 hours. There is no way for even my advisor to provide me a cover letter, as he is on vacation overseas. I have a close work relationship with two other professors, but honestly I think I'd be a dick by asking them for a letter to be written until tomorrow. Would it be rude of me to explain in a document file that I do not have cover letters available at hand, but then list the name, contact information and my relationship with these 3 individuals, and that they may provide a reference upon request? P.S.: This is actually my first time seeing a positing asking me, the applicant, to send the letters. The others I've applied to all asked me to list name, contact information and relationship of 2 or 3 people.
RESPONSE A: You likely won't even be considered, as your application would be incomplete.
RESPONSE B: I'm a bit confused. Typically you would write a cover letter yourself - it's your explanation of why you want the job and why you'd be good at it. Your references would provide references or LoR. I've never heard of someone writing your cover letter for you.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: When applying to a postdoc, can I provide a list of referees instead of cover letters? To summarize, today I found out about a postdoc position that will finish in less than 48 hours. There is no way for even my advisor to provide me a cover letter, as he is on vacation overseas. I have a close work relationship with two other professors, but honestly I think I'd be a dick by asking them for a letter to be written until tomorrow. Would it be rude of me to explain in a document file that I do not have cover letters available at hand, but then list the name, contact information and my relationship with these 3 individuals, and that they may provide a reference upon request? P.S.: This is actually my first time seeing a positing asking me, the applicant, to send the letters. The others I've applied to all asked me to list name, contact information and relationship of 2 or 3 people.
RESPONSE A: Have you thought about drafting them letters so that they can check, and provide options for them to add other stuff in the letters and get it back to you to submit on time? Otherwise, like other posters said, incomplete application means rejection.
RESPONSE B: I'm a bit confused. Typically you would write a cover letter yourself - it's your explanation of why you want the job and why you'd be good at it. Your references would provide references or LoR. I've never heard of someone writing your cover letter for you.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: When applying to a postdoc, can I provide a list of referees instead of cover letters? To summarize, today I found out about a postdoc position that will finish in less than 48 hours. There is no way for even my advisor to provide me a cover letter, as he is on vacation overseas. I have a close work relationship with two other professors, but honestly I think I'd be a dick by asking them for a letter to be written until tomorrow. Would it be rude of me to explain in a document file that I do not have cover letters available at hand, but then list the name, contact information and my relationship with these 3 individuals, and that they may provide a reference upon request? P.S.: This is actually my first time seeing a positing asking me, the applicant, to send the letters. The others I've applied to all asked me to list name, contact information and relationship of 2 or 3 people.
RESPONSE A: Have you thought about drafting them letters so that they can check, and provide options for them to add other stuff in the letters and get it back to you to submit on time? Otherwise, like other posters said, incomplete application means rejection.
RESPONSE B: Are you misusing the term "cover letter"? A cover letter is a letter that you write to introduce yourself. A reference letter is what I think you're confusing it with. "References available on request" is often fine.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Is there a research database that allows you to search for articles based on the theories or methods of analysis that were used? Specifically for communication studies, please, if anyone has leads. Thank you!
RESPONSE A: Your best option would be to use the usual databases -- JSTOR, for example -- and to search for the names of prominent representatives of the theories you are attempting to locate. You'd want to search in "Full text" and then sort results by relevancy since that should bring up the articles with the most hits for those names. That's how I would do it.
RESPONSE B: Talk to your librarian! They will be most familiar with the databases you have access to.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
B | POST: Is there a research database that allows you to search for articles based on the theories or methods of analysis that were used? Specifically for communication studies, please, if anyone has leads. Thank you!
RESPONSE A: This is what keywords are for, but anything that can search through full text will help with coverage.
RESPONSE B: Talk to your librarian! They will be most familiar with the databases you have access to.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Is there a research database that allows you to search for articles based on the theories or methods of analysis that were used? Specifically for communication studies, please, if anyone has leads. Thank you!
RESPONSE A: Talk to your librarian! They will be most familiar with the databases you have access to.
RESPONSE B: I'm not aware of one that will allow you to filter by those. You can use them as search terms.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
A | POST: Is there a research database that allows you to search for articles based on the theories or methods of analysis that were used? Specifically for communication studies, please, if anyone has leads. Thank you!
RESPONSE A: Academic librarian here: not that I know of. As others have said, advanced search strings can help with this. I highly recommend chatting with your institution's librarian (or one of them) to request some recommended search strings.
RESPONSE B: Your best option would be to use the usual databases -- JSTOR, for example -- and to search for the names of prominent representatives of the theories you are attempting to locate. You'd want to search in "Full text" and then sort results by relevancy since that should bring up the articles with the most hits for those names. That's how I would do it.
Which response is better? RESPONSE |
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