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POST: Graduated from Masters but my supervisor still wants me to help So I've obtained my masters degree in electrical engineering in June. Around the start of January my supervisor asked me to assist another student who was struggling with their project. She later dropped out and I've been assigned to work on it. Even though I've graduated my supervisor still expects me to work on it until its published. (even though it'll take several more months of obtaining data) I also got a full time job after graduating and have already published two papers with her. What should I do? I have a neutral relationship with my supervisor and a good stable job, I was thinking of just ghosting her. However, I wouldn't mind helping out if she paid me fairly, would that be inappropriate to ask?
RESPONSE A: You should be paid if you do work for her. Be careful about IP with your current company.
RESPONSE B: You can ask to be paid but before you do you should check out your current employer's policies on outside activities. Rather than ghosting I'd probably politely wrote back and say you're really happy your PI thought of you for this but unfortunately you're too busy with the current work and can't take this on right now. Pretending she was asking a favour (as opposed to expecting it) and a cheery air of obliviousness is quite an effective way to handle these things.
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POST: he told me it needs more work and probably will be rejected. When it got into a really good journal, he was shocked and visibly upset (cause we need only 3 papers) - We discussed me leaving before and even though I had 2 conference + 1 journal + 2 in review, he said what's the rush? He was so happy to pay me $25k/year when an engineer at that level asks for $200k+/year for a starting salary. Mentioned it a bunch of times. - His instincts are terrible. Every time I get a note "add this" or "remove that", we get feedback saying this is unrelated or why didn't you describe this in detail. I don't think he is sabotaging me here, it's more like he takes about 15 minutes to review the work and just wants to say things. - Since I completed my thesis and every single requirement, I asked him if I could work full time (or even part time). He said no way, people never finish their thesis if they work because they underestimate the work required to complete (exam, revising thesis etc). Now I'm sitting here and before this rejection/rebuttal had nothing to do. But he found me work: I help some of the newcomers, comment my code and prepare documents for future use. I don't object to these, even though in my last 4 years this type of work never amounted to anything.
RESPONSE A: I would speak to your graduate director and outline all of this in great detail. Make claims that you have evidence for, stay professional, but argue that you are worried he is delaying your progress. The director should be able to help you. Plus the program needs to know that he isn’t a good supervisor
RESPONSE B: My advisor was kind of like this. I got a job offer and book contract and went over his head to the graduate director and graduated. That said, I think you need to talk to this guy. It's a bad time to graduate--like a REALLY bad time. If you don't have something else lined up it really might be in your best interest to stick around for another year. :/
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POST: enrolled in academia. Now, I have read that prisoners getting higher degrees including PhDs is common. That means there are people and institutions willing to provide education. That must mean the mindset of the people is very different there. This sub consists of mostly Academics in Western countries. I was wondering how the academic environment here view teaching higher education degrees to convicts (whether that's in prison for those serving sentences or outside for those on probation or already served). Are the lecturers, peers, administration etc willing to work closely with prisoners and provide them with education like a Masters or a PhD?
RESPONSE A: I think I would. I strongly believe in redemption. I see no reason why someone who wants to improve should be barred from it. Now of course it would depend on the person, but I'm saying this assuming the right arrangements would be made to protect the teacher from violent convicts. It would be challenging to go teach inmates inside a prison, I might do it but would need to think about it first. As for working with people, especially non-violent offenders, who paid their debt and want to study, yes of course I'd help. Everybody makes mistakes and at some point everybody needs help.
RESPONSE B: One of my most memorable professors, Fernando Picó, was a chaplain, university professor, historian, and volunteered at Puerto Rican prisons. He ended up helping establish education programs that helped prisoners get their high school diplomas. Some started to pursue higher ed degrees while in prison and finished them when they got out. Of course, his disposition was such that he wanted to help the poor and marginalized, and because of his faith, he also had the backing of the church, which is pretty influential in PR. He wouldn’t have been able to do it on his own. However, I’m certain that so long as you can prove that your idea is a benefit to society’s marginalized populations, and that everyone stands to gain from this (professors and prisoners alike) then maybe you stand a chance. Like another user said, you should look at nonviolent offenders rather than the general prison population. Also, look at the prison’s infrastructure. Can you set up a functional classroom? What about a library?
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POST: A story about trying to report scientific misconduct I found an interesting article that I wanted to share, where someone tells their story of what happened when they tried to report scientific misconduct: https://crystalprisonzone.blogspot.com/2021/01/i-tried-to-report-scientific-misconduct.html
RESPONSE A: Thanks for sharing that! Unfortunately retraction watch is full of similar stories in which scientists use identical tables or even figures in their different manuscripts. Which is so obvious and bold and unimaginable to me that I’m actually amazed. Also sad. But also amazed by their absolute lack of care. And it’s not a single person, usually there is a TEAM of coauthors who must all agree on such procedures.
RESPONSE B: Thanks for posting. That's an interesting and distressing story. It also gives rise to some very important questions concerning reviewers and either their competence or the work they did (or did not!) do in the reviews.
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POST: I'm an English Education major in undergrad, would pursuing a Master's in English be a good idea? I am a current junior in my undergrad right now studying English and Secondary Education and minoring in Creative Writing. I thought about pursuing a MFA but have since thought about a MA instead. I want to teach high school (which would be my licensure once I graduate) and I think it may be better to pursue an MA in English instead of an MFA in Creative Writing. What are you all's thoughts on this?
RESPONSE A: I got my MFA and it was a blast. It really depends on what you want. If you want to do lit, then do an MA. If you want to get into creative writing, do an MFA. If you do end up doing an MA then you can look into programs that have dual degrees, where you get a masters and a PHD in the same sort of swoop I guess. I got my MFA at UW, and they have a dual degree for English. I'd look into it.
RESPONSE B: I'm a high school English teacher in the Midwest (high poverty urban school, 15 years). I have been involved in interviewing/hiring teachers at my school. If your ultimate goal is teaching high school at a public school, you may want to teach for a few years before you pursue graduate work-- union scale obviously varies from place to place but places where there's a bump for a masters might prefer a candidate without one if both candidates are beginning teachers (I.e., both have 0 years experience but the one with the masters/MFA costs more to employ). If you want to do the masters or the MFA because you love the work, do it! But depending on the teaching position you're interested in, it could make you less appealing as a candidate. Of course, if you're looking for a position in a private school, this advice may be backward, and if the teacher shortage in my area is still in effect in your area it might not matter! Whatever you choose, good luck in your program! The world needs more good teachers. 👍 Edited to fix an autocorrect typo!
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POST: the other parameters (recs, GRE scores, etc.) that would give me a decent chance at being admitted into a PhD Mathematics program such as the one at UC Berkeley? Thanks.
RESPONSE A: What year are you? You should keep an eye out for REUs, especially ones targetted at people who don't have as many research opportunities at their home university.
RESPONSE B: Yes, graduate schools are more interested in picking the best person, not who went to the best undergrad school. That being said, you will still have to prove yourself. The kid from Stanford that is applying for the same spot as you will also have a good GPA, GRE scores, and letters. You need to stand out. Typically, this is done with research experience. Hopefully, you are not entering into your senior year.* You should look into a REU program for next summer: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5044 You should also talk with your faculty. Go to a few that you have liked in class and ask to have a meeting. Tell them your plan to go on for a PhD and ask what you should be doing to make your application better. Ask if there is a research project that you can volunteer to work on. If there is not, look for a related field, like the statistics, economics, or computer science faculty, or someone (research experience is research experience), where you can work with them on research projects. Your goal is to have an academic product. A co-author on an academic presentation is good, presenting your research at a conference is better, being a co-author on a paper is best. Having multiples of these are great. A senior thesis is okay, but not at the expense of these other types of products. \* If you are entering into your senior year and do not have any research experience, you may have a harder time getting into a top program. Once again, talk to your faculty and they will give you an idea of where you stand. You may want to consider a master's program first where you can get research experience and show you can handle graduate level courses.
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POST: not sure how strict the rules are as far as putting peoples' names on papers go or really how the authoring system works in general. The first and second authors I know are the people who have written most of the paper itself. Past that I'm not sure (though I know the last author is usually the P.I.). I'm also not sure whether there's any reason for the first author not to put someone's name on their paper (as long as it's within the reasonable number of authors for a paper, which I know is highly dependent on the field). Does the author get more credit/prestige if there are less authors on the paper? Or does having a no-name author on the paper look bad? What sort of contributions do I need to make in order to have my name listed? Any help is appreciated!
RESPONSE A: Although this probably does vary somewhat by field, in general authorship is granted to individuals who were highly involved in the conceptualization of the study, data analysis, and write up. Data collection rarely results in authorship, unless the methods required specialized training (e.g., people who collect fMRI data for the research team). In my lab, undergrads are usually expected to, at least, write up the Introduction in order to warrant authorship; this requires them to have a significant learning experience engaging in an intensive literature review and practice professional writing skills. And it means they have made a significant contribution to the paper. Most also willingly choose to write portions of the Discussion. Along the way, I also teach them how I performed the data analysis. So, you can see that they are putting in a substantial amount of time. That's just my lab, but I hope it helps.
RESPONSE B: Just to add some confusion because everyone seems to have a different opinion. In my department everyone who contributed to the scientific part of the manuscript is given co-authorship. That includes, but is not limited to, collecting and analyzing data, preparing samples, characterizing samples, making significant intellectual contribution, and writing parts of the paper. This means that, even if the undergrad is "just a pair of hands", they would usually be listed as a co-author. So yes, asking your PI is usually your best shot.
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POST: having a no-name author on the paper look bad? What sort of contributions do I need to make in order to have my name listed? Any help is appreciated!
RESPONSE A: Each lab and PI will have their own authorship culture that they ultimately have say over. That being said, my guideline has always been did they do an experiment that made it into a figure of the paper (not supplemental) or contribute in a meaningful way to data analysis? Personally, I had an undergrad for 3.5 years and gave her a side project I was interested in. This resulted in a completely new platform for the lab that she helped characterize and conducted years of experiments with. As a result, 7/10 experiments in the paper were done by her even though I essentially told her everything to do. Even though she did no significant data analysis (she was always unsure of her conclusions so I ended up having to do the analysis to show her that she was right), writing, or figure development, I made her a co-first author on the paper. This is important in two ways to me: 1) It gave her a tangible, credible resume output for her to use in the future and demonstrated that she had scientific value and 2) the project would have not existed without her. She was likely the exception rather than the norm however and most undergrads that do significant work usually deserve second authorship in my opinion.
RESPONSE B: Although this probably does vary somewhat by field, in general authorship is granted to individuals who were highly involved in the conceptualization of the study, data analysis, and write up. Data collection rarely results in authorship, unless the methods required specialized training (e.g., people who collect fMRI data for the research team). In my lab, undergrads are usually expected to, at least, write up the Introduction in order to warrant authorship; this requires them to have a significant learning experience engaging in an intensive literature review and practice professional writing skills. And it means they have made a significant contribution to the paper. Most also willingly choose to write portions of the Discussion. Along the way, I also teach them how I performed the data analysis. So, you can see that they are putting in a substantial amount of time. That's just my lab, but I hope it helps.
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POST: a few years down the road. So I've been applying for jobs in the private industry. Tech positions, systems engineer, test engineer, research scientist. Just, anything technical really. But the positions that are geared towards a graduate degree, I am often told I don't have the right experience. It's much easier for them to take a specifically trained engineer in that field, than someone in such a broad topic as "physics." And then the real problem comes when I just ask to apply for a lower position, for someone with a technical Bachelors or equivalent. For most larger corporations, however, I'm often told its against company policy to hire PhDs in those positions with lesser qualifications. So I don't really have the right experience for the grad school technical positions, and I am overqualified for anything else. I am really just at a loss of what to do with my life. I don't have any family, no relationships or friends really holding me in a certain place in the world. I don't really care about money. I just want to keep working on interesting and challenging problems. But so far, the job search has really crushed my motivation. My degree advisors say they can't really help me, if I am leaving academia. And my university too doesn't have any kind of job placement assistance for their graduate students. I am literally at the point where I have to consider jobs that over-qualification isn't an issue; retail, restaurants, high school GED type positions. Just so I have enough money to buy housing, food, and pay off some loans soon. I really just don't know what to do here.
RESPONSE A: Do you have a lot of programming experience? I recently just left in the middle of a math Ph.D. to do data science, and it's probably the best decision I've made. I'm in the middle of a job search right now, and I get the impression that anyone with a Ph.D. in a hard science and some knowledge of programming would have quite an easy time finding a job in data science.
RESPONSE B: If you don't mind me asking, what kind of physics did you do? I'm applying for PhDs at the moment so I'm curious.
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POST: 've been applying for jobs in the private industry. Tech positions, systems engineer, test engineer, research scientist. Just, anything technical really. But the positions that are geared towards a graduate degree, I am often told I don't have the right experience. It's much easier for them to take a specifically trained engineer in that field, than someone in such a broad topic as "physics." And then the real problem comes when I just ask to apply for a lower position, for someone with a technical Bachelors or equivalent. For most larger corporations, however, I'm often told its against company policy to hire PhDs in those positions with lesser qualifications. So I don't really have the right experience for the grad school technical positions, and I am overqualified for anything else. I am really just at a loss of what to do with my life. I don't have any family, no relationships or friends really holding me in a certain place in the world. I don't really care about money. I just want to keep working on interesting and challenging problems. But so far, the job search has really crushed my motivation. My degree advisors say they can't really help me, if I am leaving academia. And my university too doesn't have any kind of job placement assistance for their graduate students. I am literally at the point where I have to consider jobs that over-qualification isn't an issue; retail, restaurants, high school GED type positions. Just so I have enough money to buy housing, food, and pay off some loans soon. I really just don't know what to do here.
RESPONSE A: This may be obvious, but in case it's not, have you tried these places: jobs.physicstoday.org/jobs careers.aps.org/jobs usajobs.gov Also, there may be organizations specific to your research that may have more relevant postings. And if all else fails, you could work in finance. I don't know the details on how to do it, but I'm told the transition from physics to banking is not unusual.
RESPONSE B: If you don't mind me asking, what kind of physics did you do? I'm applying for PhDs at the moment so I'm curious.
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POST: the academic field now rather than hit that wall a few years down the road. So I've been applying for jobs in the private industry. Tech positions, systems engineer, test engineer, research scientist. Just, anything technical really. But the positions that are geared towards a graduate degree, I am often told I don't have the right experience. It's much easier for them to take a specifically trained engineer in that field, than someone in such a broad topic as "physics." And then the real problem comes when I just ask to apply for a lower position, for someone with a technical Bachelors or equivalent. For most larger corporations, however, I'm often told its against company policy to hire PhDs in those positions with lesser qualifications. So I don't really have the right experience for the grad school technical positions, and I am overqualified for anything else. I am really just at a loss of what to do with my life. I don't have any family, no relationships or friends really holding me in a certain place in the world. I don't really care about money. I just want to keep working on interesting and challenging problems. But so far, the job search has really crushed my motivation. My degree advisors say they can't really help me, if I am leaving academia. And my university too doesn't have any kind of job placement assistance for their graduate students. I am literally at the point where I have to consider jobs that over-qualification isn't an issue; retail, restaurants, high school GED type positions. Just so I have enough money to buy housing, food, and pay off some loans soon. I really just don't know what to do here.
RESPONSE A: This may be obvious, but in case it's not, have you tried these places: jobs.physicstoday.org/jobs careers.aps.org/jobs usajobs.gov Also, there may be organizations specific to your research that may have more relevant postings. And if all else fails, you could work in finance. I don't know the details on how to do it, but I'm told the transition from physics to banking is not unusual.
RESPONSE B: Just curious - why did you pursue this PhD in the first place?
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POST: Can you get into a good graduate program if you take time off after undergrad? Also, does the extent to which undergraduate may have prepared you for graduate school become more or less important when there is such a time gap?
RESPONSE A: I went to a small state school for undergrad. Then did two years in the Peace Corps, followed by three years as a carpenter and bike mechanic. Now I'm in grad school at a top 3 program in my field. You'll be fine.
RESPONSE B: Ceteris paribus, you can get in about as good a program if you take time off as if you didn't. In real life, it depends, dude. What sort of program? In what? How much time? What is "good"?
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POST: Can you get into a good graduate program if you take time off after undergrad? Also, does the extent to which undergraduate may have prepared you for graduate school become more or less important when there is such a time gap?
RESPONSE A: Definitely - however this works much better if you spend the time after undergrad getting some relevant or useful experience. For example in my field (psychology/neuroscience) almost everyone takes time between undergrad and PhD programs, but they usually spend that time working in a lab as a research assistant or something similar.
RESPONSE B: If anything, I think taking time off is viewed as a good thing, so long as you're doing something interesting and not just working at Starbucks or whatever. You'll have interesting things to talk about during interviews at the programs you apply to, and be able to demonstrate relevant skills. It's something people often overlook, but academia is more than just research/teaching. There's a significant administrative component, and it's one that a lot of academics suck at managing. Showing that you can run events, manage projects, etc--those are valuable skills for any field. It won't get you into graduate school, but it'll make you feel more confident when applying and help you once you're there! But overall--it's not as important as your writing sample and research interests when applying. If you like writing your thesis--that's a good litmus test as to whether or not you'll like graduate school.
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POST: Can you get into a good graduate program if you take time off after undergrad? Also, does the extent to which undergraduate may have prepared you for graduate school become more or less important when there is such a time gap?
RESPONSE A: If anything, I think taking time off is viewed as a good thing, so long as you're doing something interesting and not just working at Starbucks or whatever. You'll have interesting things to talk about during interviews at the programs you apply to, and be able to demonstrate relevant skills. It's something people often overlook, but academia is more than just research/teaching. There's a significant administrative component, and it's one that a lot of academics suck at managing. Showing that you can run events, manage projects, etc--those are valuable skills for any field. It won't get you into graduate school, but it'll make you feel more confident when applying and help you once you're there! But overall--it's not as important as your writing sample and research interests when applying. If you like writing your thesis--that's a good litmus test as to whether or not you'll like graduate school.
RESPONSE B: Ceteris paribus, you can get in about as good a program if you take time off as if you didn't. In real life, it depends, dude. What sort of program? In what? How much time? What is "good"?
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POST: Can you get into a good graduate program if you take time off after undergrad? Also, does the extent to which undergraduate may have prepared you for graduate school become more or less important when there is such a time gap?
RESPONSE A: My colleagues and I strongly *recommend* our students take time off between BA/BS and graduate school, the only exceptions being for two-year professional degrees when the student already has experience in the field and knows that's where they want to go. Otherwise, almost all are better off waiting a bit-- perspective, experience, maturity, and focus are all very beneficial in grad school. I'd say the majority of students for whom I write recommendations are 3-5 years out of undergrad. Now most of our students don't spend five years working at McDonald's or something, then suddenly decide on grad school. Most are gaining relevant experience, volunteering (Peace Corps is very popular at my school), or pursuing other interests (music, travel, etc.) before they apply for graduate programs. One important factor to consider: the majority of my students would almost certainly pick a different type of graduate program at 22 than they do at 25. Sometimes entirely different fields. Experience and perspective are important!
RESPONSE B: Definitely - however this works much better if you spend the time after undergrad getting some relevant or useful experience. For example in my field (psychology/neuroscience) almost everyone takes time between undergrad and PhD programs, but they usually spend that time working in a lab as a research assistant or something similar.
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POST: Can you get into a good graduate program if you take time off after undergrad? Also, does the extent to which undergraduate may have prepared you for graduate school become more or less important when there is such a time gap?
RESPONSE A: My colleagues and I strongly *recommend* our students take time off between BA/BS and graduate school, the only exceptions being for two-year professional degrees when the student already has experience in the field and knows that's where they want to go. Otherwise, almost all are better off waiting a bit-- perspective, experience, maturity, and focus are all very beneficial in grad school. I'd say the majority of students for whom I write recommendations are 3-5 years out of undergrad. Now most of our students don't spend five years working at McDonald's or something, then suddenly decide on grad school. Most are gaining relevant experience, volunteering (Peace Corps is very popular at my school), or pursuing other interests (music, travel, etc.) before they apply for graduate programs. One important factor to consider: the majority of my students would almost certainly pick a different type of graduate program at 22 than they do at 25. Sometimes entirely different fields. Experience and perspective are important!
RESPONSE B: Some of the best PhD students I've known didn't go straight from undergrad to grad school, but they all spent the interim years doing work that was either relevant in content (e.g. working in a bio lab as a tech before bio PhD, or working as a dietitian before getting a PhD in nutrition) or involved cultivating a relevant skill set (e.g. working in industry R&D for one type of engineering before going back for a PhD in an engineering field that was only loosely related, or working as a policy analyst before going back for a PhD in Econ). ETA: If you stay out long enough (time varies between schools), you may be able to swap out academic references for professional references. I had one person in her late 30s in my master's program and another who started at 53 and they both got permission to use only professional references.
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POST: getting a post doc when I'm done? Hi Everyone. I'm a 30 yo female PhD candidate in Canada starting my 4th (and hopefully final) year of a field-based program. I've been recently pursuing post doc positions for when I complete my degree and have had some interest from potential advisers. My concern is that my husband and I have been seriously discussing having a baby within the next year. This is something I have wanted for a couple years now, and I have finally wrapped up the majority of my field-based research. However, I'm worried that having a baby at this point will mess up the connections I've made re. post doc positions. I'm guaranteed funding during parental leave for at least a year from my uni, my husband is also able to take parental leave (he's a post doc) and I strongly believe both my adviser and his would be supportive during that time. I'm concerned that nobody will want to take me on as a post doc with a young baby in tow, especially if that baby delays the start time of the position or any potential field work. I'd like to think that any potential adviser worth working with would be supportive and understanding, but it still worries me a lot. Does anybody have any relevant experience? I am looking for similar stories, support from colleagues, and some advice. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reach out! PS. throw away account in the off chance my real account is known to colleagues and collaborators
RESPONSE A: I had a child during grad school and it was a good decision for me. I think having a supportive partner and supportive advisor are very important. If you have these, then go for it!
RESPONSE B: The best advice I’ve ever heard about having children in academia is it will always be inconvenient timing, so you might as well just pick a time and do it. If your post doc applications involve an in-person interview, try to time things so you won’t be in the third trimester. Otherwise, just don’t bring it up until you’ve been awarded the post doc. Find some good childcare, work smart not hard, and good luck on your family!
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POST: majority of my field-based research. However, I'm worried that having a baby at this point will mess up the connections I've made re. post doc positions. I'm guaranteed funding during parental leave for at least a year from my uni, my husband is also able to take parental leave (he's a post doc) and I strongly believe both my adviser and his would be supportive during that time. I'm concerned that nobody will want to take me on as a post doc with a young baby in tow, especially if that baby delays the start time of the position or any potential field work. I'd like to think that any potential adviser worth working with would be supportive and understanding, but it still worries me a lot. Does anybody have any relevant experience? I am looking for similar stories, support from colleagues, and some advice. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reach out! PS. throw away account in the off chance my real account is known to colleagues and collaborators
RESPONSE A: The best advice I’ve ever heard about having children in academia is it will always be inconvenient timing, so you might as well just pick a time and do it. If your post doc applications involve an in-person interview, try to time things so you won’t be in the third trimester. Otherwise, just don’t bring it up until you’ve been awarded the post doc. Find some good childcare, work smart not hard, and good luck on your family!
RESPONSE B: Honestly, it may. You will competing with people who do not have the massive timesink a baby will bring on and they may be far more productive than you are and simply put have a better CV when it comes time. As for not taking a woman with a baby, sure some may be against, but this works out in your favor. If people still hold that level of sexist belief about mothers with children, you do not want to be there anyway. Timing seems right for you with both you being able to take leave, I would do it and worry later about locking in a post doc. Even if you are delayed in getting a spot, getting time off by both parents is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
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POST: grad school interfere with getting a post doc when I'm done? Hi Everyone. I'm a 30 yo female PhD candidate in Canada starting my 4th (and hopefully final) year of a field-based program. I've been recently pursuing post doc positions for when I complete my degree and have had some interest from potential advisers. My concern is that my husband and I have been seriously discussing having a baby within the next year. This is something I have wanted for a couple years now, and I have finally wrapped up the majority of my field-based research. However, I'm worried that having a baby at this point will mess up the connections I've made re. post doc positions. I'm guaranteed funding during parental leave for at least a year from my uni, my husband is also able to take parental leave (he's a post doc) and I strongly believe both my adviser and his would be supportive during that time. I'm concerned that nobody will want to take me on as a post doc with a young baby in tow, especially if that baby delays the start time of the position or any potential field work. I'd like to think that any potential adviser worth working with would be supportive and understanding, but it still worries me a lot. Does anybody have any relevant experience? I am looking for similar stories, support from colleagues, and some advice. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reach out! PS. throw away account in the off chance my real account is known to colleagues and collaborators
RESPONSE A: I've heard that during grad school is a good time although I had mine much later. There's no reason post-doc employers would even know you had a kid.
RESPONSE B: The best advice I’ve ever heard about having children in academia is it will always be inconvenient timing, so you might as well just pick a time and do it. If your post doc applications involve an in-person interview, try to time things so you won’t be in the third trimester. Otherwise, just don’t bring it up until you’ve been awarded the post doc. Find some good childcare, work smart not hard, and good luck on your family!
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POST: 'm done? Hi Everyone. I'm a 30 yo female PhD candidate in Canada starting my 4th (and hopefully final) year of a field-based program. I've been recently pursuing post doc positions for when I complete my degree and have had some interest from potential advisers. My concern is that my husband and I have been seriously discussing having a baby within the next year. This is something I have wanted for a couple years now, and I have finally wrapped up the majority of my field-based research. However, I'm worried that having a baby at this point will mess up the connections I've made re. post doc positions. I'm guaranteed funding during parental leave for at least a year from my uni, my husband is also able to take parental leave (he's a post doc) and I strongly believe both my adviser and his would be supportive during that time. I'm concerned that nobody will want to take me on as a post doc with a young baby in tow, especially if that baby delays the start time of the position or any potential field work. I'd like to think that any potential adviser worth working with would be supportive and understanding, but it still worries me a lot. Does anybody have any relevant experience? I am looking for similar stories, support from colleagues, and some advice. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reach out! PS. throw away account in the off chance my real account is known to colleagues and collaborators
RESPONSE A: The best advice I’ve ever heard about having children in academia is it will always be inconvenient timing, so you might as well just pick a time and do it. If your post doc applications involve an in-person interview, try to time things so you won’t be in the third trimester. Otherwise, just don’t bring it up until you’ve been awarded the post doc. Find some good childcare, work smart not hard, and good luck on your family!
RESPONSE B: Actually it sounds like a good a time as any to do it! And it may be better than later down the road. There are quite a few older grad students / postdocs with babies... it's definitely not uncommon
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POST: program. I've been recently pursuing post doc positions for when I complete my degree and have had some interest from potential advisers. My concern is that my husband and I have been seriously discussing having a baby within the next year. This is something I have wanted for a couple years now, and I have finally wrapped up the majority of my field-based research. However, I'm worried that having a baby at this point will mess up the connections I've made re. post doc positions. I'm guaranteed funding during parental leave for at least a year from my uni, my husband is also able to take parental leave (he's a post doc) and I strongly believe both my adviser and his would be supportive during that time. I'm concerned that nobody will want to take me on as a post doc with a young baby in tow, especially if that baby delays the start time of the position or any potential field work. I'd like to think that any potential adviser worth working with would be supportive and understanding, but it still worries me a lot. Does anybody have any relevant experience? I am looking for similar stories, support from colleagues, and some advice. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reach out! PS. throw away account in the off chance my real account is known to colleagues and collaborators
RESPONSE A: Honestly, it may. You will competing with people who do not have the massive timesink a baby will bring on and they may be far more productive than you are and simply put have a better CV when it comes time. As for not taking a woman with a baby, sure some may be against, but this works out in your favor. If people still hold that level of sexist belief about mothers with children, you do not want to be there anyway. Timing seems right for you with both you being able to take leave, I would do it and worry later about locking in a post doc. Even if you are delayed in getting a spot, getting time off by both parents is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
RESPONSE B: I had a baby my final year of grad school, pm me for candid discussion. Short answer: no, my career was not derailed or delayed :)
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POST: career. Industry work seem more free. It is said that the demand for sociologists is increasing but I'm kind of wondering where? What kind of industry jobs can you get with such a degree? Are there industry research positions? How would you get them?
RESPONSE A: There are a bunch of possibilities in industry with a sociology degree. If you have an advanced degree you'll likely also be good with statistics meaning you'll be able to apply to all kind of data scientist/analyst roles if you acquire the right skillset. I'd suggest to search on LinkedIn in for "sociology" under jobs and check out which companies hire candidates with sociology degrees for which positions.
RESPONSE B: There's quite a lot to unpick in here. Your post isn't very long or detailed but you seem to be suggesting you want a career where you can flit from one topic to another at will and where you aren't required to go in depth in to the topic. There are careers that have elements of this but I can't imagine a career with all elements. In academia you need to be producing novel intellectual outputs - to do that you need to develop deep expertise which is why you have a niche. However, you can choose your topics and you can have multiple areas of interest. In commercial settings you're at the mercy of management and/or the client - you will have to work on what they want that week. You will have to rapidly develop expertise in a variety of topics, it won't be the in depth knowledge of academia, but you will be constrained in what you can look at and what the output is. It can be hugely interesting and when you get senior you can definitely influence the direction of work in the organisation but only up to a point. I may be being a bit unfair but "everything is interesting to me" is a bit of a red flag for "I'm never going to fully commit to anything". Finding lots of stuff interesting is fine but I do regularly see people who totally undermine their careers because they are unfocused with the task at hand and the moment something new appears are like a dog seeing a squirrel. You may need to think about a career versus things you can do as hobbies.
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POST: ? Cross-posting here, so I hope that's ok! Trying to cast a wide net for my question here...I have heard everything under the sun about searching for postdoc positions - from looking up individual labs/faculty, to scouring twitter and journal job pages. I am closing in on the tail end of my PhD and am soon to start looking for opportunities at the Postdoc stage myself. Thus, I wanted to know - where did you search, and what platform did you wind up finding your postdoc position on? This phase is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!
RESPONSE A: I was one of those annoying fucks who sent an unsolicited email to a Prof and got a positive reply.
RESPONSE B: A prof from a lab that I had interest in came to do a lecture at my institution. I just went to him and said "I really liked what you just talked about, do you have any open postdoc positions?". He did, and so I found my postdoc. It helped that he was working closely with a researcher at my institution and had been happy with other students and postdocs he had hired from our department. As a matter of fact he was happy that I asked because he didn't have much time to look for applicants and I was quite what he wanted. I'd say, talk to people who are collaborating with researchers/labs at your institution. It's usual for departments that have collaborative projects together to exchange students and postdocs. They may have open positions that they haven't advertised much, and can be happy to receive applications from places where there are people they know who can vouch for you. Definitely use your PI's network. Write to people your PI knows even if they don't have open postdoc positions. They might be expecting a grant or writing a project and will like having applications from a lab they value at the ready. I've been hiring postdocs in the last few years and it can be a pain in the neck. When I receive applications from people whose PI I know and respect, it's almost an automatic yes, its a huge time saver and usually I'm happy with the result.
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POST: Where did you find your postdoc posting? Cross-posting here, so I hope that's ok! Trying to cast a wide net for my question here...I have heard everything under the sun about searching for postdoc positions - from looking up individual labs/faculty, to scouring twitter and journal job pages. I am closing in on the tail end of my PhD and am soon to start looking for opportunities at the Postdoc stage myself. Thus, I wanted to know - where did you search, and what platform did you wind up finding your postdoc position on? This phase is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!
RESPONSE A: I was one of those annoying fucks who sent an unsolicited email to a Prof and got a positive reply.
RESPONSE B: jobs.ac.uk
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POST: Where did you find your postdoc posting? Cross-posting here, so I hope that's ok! Trying to cast a wide net for my question here...I have heard everything under the sun about searching for postdoc positions - from looking up individual labs/faculty, to scouring twitter and journal job pages. I am closing in on the tail end of my PhD and am soon to start looking for opportunities at the Postdoc stage myself. Thus, I wanted to know - where did you search, and what platform did you wind up finding your postdoc position on? This phase is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!
RESPONSE A: First one emailed our dept. looking for candidates. Second I found on a totally generic job site. I nearly got my first from a conversation at my poster at a conference (but that didn't pan out).
RESPONSE B: I was one of those annoying fucks who sent an unsolicited email to a Prof and got a positive reply.
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POST: Where did you find your postdoc posting? Cross-posting here, so I hope that's ok! Trying to cast a wide net for my question here...I have heard everything under the sun about searching for postdoc positions - from looking up individual labs/faculty, to scouring twitter and journal job pages. I am closing in on the tail end of my PhD and am soon to start looking for opportunities at the Postdoc stage myself. Thus, I wanted to know - where did you search, and what platform did you wind up finding your postdoc position on? This phase is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!
RESPONSE A: I applied to some listed postdocs on message boards in my field (I'm a geochemist, so ASLO, AGU, GSA, SACNAS, etc) as well as a couple national fellowships (the USGS Mendenhall program). But, what ended up panning out for me was cold-emailing collaborators of my PhD advisor and others I was interested in working for. Most of the time the answer to cold emails was no, but I did end up writing NSF postdoc proposals with two of those PIs, and while we were waiting to hear on them, one of the PIs got alternate funding from another source. So I was funded there. Like others have said - try anything and everything. Be very loud about finishing soon and needing a position anytime you're at a conference or speaking to collaborators. Cast a wide net. It is totally a terrifying time! But you'll find somewhere to land. And start looking early, maybe a year or so in advance. It takes that much time for grants to get written and funded.
RESPONSE B: I was one of those annoying fucks who sent an unsolicited email to a Prof and got a positive reply.
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POST: Where did you find your postdoc posting? Cross-posting here, so I hope that's ok! Trying to cast a wide net for my question here...I have heard everything under the sun about searching for postdoc positions - from looking up individual labs/faculty, to scouring twitter and journal job pages. I am closing in on the tail end of my PhD and am soon to start looking for opportunities at the Postdoc stage myself. Thus, I wanted to know - where did you search, and what platform did you wind up finding your postdoc position on? This phase is equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!
RESPONSE A: In my experience, networking is the most successful route. Collaborators, advisor's old friends, etc.
RESPONSE B: I applied to some listed postdocs on message boards in my field (I'm a geochemist, so ASLO, AGU, GSA, SACNAS, etc) as well as a couple national fellowships (the USGS Mendenhall program). But, what ended up panning out for me was cold-emailing collaborators of my PhD advisor and others I was interested in working for. Most of the time the answer to cold emails was no, but I did end up writing NSF postdoc proposals with two of those PIs, and while we were waiting to hear on them, one of the PIs got alternate funding from another source. So I was funded there. Like others have said - try anything and everything. Be very loud about finishing soon and needing a position anytime you're at a conference or speaking to collaborators. Cast a wide net. It is totally a terrifying time! But you'll find somewhere to land. And start looking early, maybe a year or so in advance. It takes that much time for grants to get written and funded.
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POST: their spiritual life to their campus environment.
RESPONSE A: I don't. But I probably wouldn't if I was at a Christian institution either. To me, it's something personal and more private. Having something on display in my office would seem like a weird virtue-signaling thing. For example, even in my house the most overt religious things I have visible are some old religious books on display (IIRC late 1600s and 1700s). But that's more for the historical aspect rather than the religious aspect, since very few people who come to my house (myself included) are able to read them.
RESPONSE B: There's an standard in first amendment law that young children can't tell the difference between "my teacher believes it" and "it's absolutely true", but older adolescents and young adults can. Thus, a kindergarten teacher who tells students about his Christian beliefs is evangelizing, even if he never says something like, "You should believe this too." A 5 year old doesn't understand the that "I believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead" is a different kind of sentence than "A dime is worth 10 pennies." College students have enough mental development that they can separate the professor's personal religious beliefs from the factual content taught in class, so there's not so much worry that the professor is promoting one religion over another just by expressing personal beliefs. That doesn't mean there are no downsides. If you express strong religious adherence, especially to a sect that is known to judge or exclude populations that may include some of your students, even if you don't personally hold with those beliefs, students might see your objects and worry that you do. They might avoid you, skip office hours, refuse to go to you for help, etc. This could be mitigated if you also displayed a clear sign of commitment to those groups. To be concrete: If a professor has a lot of Mormon stuff in their office, LGB students might choose to stay away, believing (not necessarily correctly) that this professor probably won't really respect them. If that professor also gets Safe Zone training, participates in the university sex and gender diversity caucus, etc., the signals would probably cancel each other out.
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POST: Christian professors in secular universities, do you have religious objects in your office? I'm wondering to what extent other professors bring their spiritual life to their campus environment.
RESPONSE A: There's an standard in first amendment law that young children can't tell the difference between "my teacher believes it" and "it's absolutely true", but older adolescents and young adults can. Thus, a kindergarten teacher who tells students about his Christian beliefs is evangelizing, even if he never says something like, "You should believe this too." A 5 year old doesn't understand the that "I believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead" is a different kind of sentence than "A dime is worth 10 pennies." College students have enough mental development that they can separate the professor's personal religious beliefs from the factual content taught in class, so there's not so much worry that the professor is promoting one religion over another just by expressing personal beliefs. That doesn't mean there are no downsides. If you express strong religious adherence, especially to a sect that is known to judge or exclude populations that may include some of your students, even if you don't personally hold with those beliefs, students might see your objects and worry that you do. They might avoid you, skip office hours, refuse to go to you for help, etc. This could be mitigated if you also displayed a clear sign of commitment to those groups. To be concrete: If a professor has a lot of Mormon stuff in their office, LGB students might choose to stay away, believing (not necessarily correctly) that this professor probably won't really respect them. If that professor also gets Safe Zone training, participates in the university sex and gender diversity caucus, etc., the signals would probably cancel each other out.
RESPONSE B: I'm not really practicing anymore, but I happened to bring in an old Methodist coffee mug I had, and a student commented positively on it. That's about it. In grad school, I worked for an Evangelical professor. He had Bibles and artwork and such everywhere and sponsored Christian student ministries. Nobody ever bothered him about it.
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POST: Christian professors in secular universities, do you have religious objects in your office? I'm wondering to what extent other professors bring their spiritual life to their campus environment.
RESPONSE A: It’s up to you, but you may alienate students and coworkers who want to be in a space free from religion. I believe educators should keep their spiritual and political beliefs to themselves as much as possible. My favorite professor was a Poli Sci prof who stuck to the script so much that none of us could guess his political stance definitively. My favorite religious professors taught religion in a very neutral way. Imagine a Muslim student comes to your office to discuss something with you. You’re no longer a neutral educator when you polarize yourself by having your beliefs on display. It’s not to say that it creates conflict with those who don’t believe the same things you do, it just casts you in a different light than a strictly academic profile would. For a very religious student of any faith, it sends the message that you are not on the same page as they are about something fundamental to their beliefs. It’s says “I believe you are completely wrong about the thing most important to you”. Not a good way to start off with someone who you want to maintain an open mind while considering new ideas and outside perspectives in your class. I’m an atheist and a Marxist but I keep those beliefs to myself - my students don’t need my beliefs (or lack thereof) clouding their relationship with me as their teacher. Just one man’s opinion :) (These are, of course, the expected views of a Marxist.)
RESPONSE B: I'm not really practicing anymore, but I happened to bring in an old Methodist coffee mug I had, and a student commented positively on it. That's about it. In grad school, I worked for an Evangelical professor. He had Bibles and artwork and such everywhere and sponsored Christian student ministries. Nobody ever bothered him about it.
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POST: Christian professors in secular universities, do you have religious objects in your office? I'm wondering to what extent other professors bring their spiritual life to their campus environment.
RESPONSE A: I don't. But I probably wouldn't if I was at a Christian institution either. To me, it's something personal and more private. Having something on display in my office would seem like a weird virtue-signaling thing. For example, even in my house the most overt religious things I have visible are some old religious books on display (IIRC late 1600s and 1700s). But that's more for the historical aspect rather than the religious aspect, since very few people who come to my house (myself included) are able to read them.
RESPONSE B: I'm not really practicing anymore, but I happened to bring in an old Methodist coffee mug I had, and a student commented positively on it. That's about it. In grad school, I worked for an Evangelical professor. He had Bibles and artwork and such everywhere and sponsored Christian student ministries. Nobody ever bothered him about it.
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POST: Christian professors in secular universities, do you have religious objects in your office? I'm wondering to what extent other professors bring their spiritual life to their campus environment.
RESPONSE A: I'm not really practicing anymore, but I happened to bring in an old Methodist coffee mug I had, and a student commented positively on it. That's about it. In grad school, I worked for an Evangelical professor. He had Bibles and artwork and such everywhere and sponsored Christian student ministries. Nobody ever bothered him about it.
RESPONSE B: I've been in academia for 30+ years and haven't seen much of that. However, I have seen the opposite: overtly anti-religious stuff in faculty offices on religiously-affiliated campuses. Mostly liberal Catholic campuses, but not exclusively. Items like pro-atheist posters, pro-science posters mocking creationists, stuff of that nature.
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POST: Whats a good "thank you" gift you can give a professor for giving you a recommendation?
RESPONSE A: An email or handwritten thank you note with your full name. Include if you got the position. When we go up for review/reappointment sometimes notes like that get included in the binders. It is “evidence of effective teaching and service.”
RESPONSE B: I would think an email or a verbal thank you ought to suffice - if you were a student of theirs recommendations are part of their job. And a gift afterwards seems a bit transactional. Then again maybe all my letter writers are still waiting for their gifts a decade on.
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POST: Whats a good "thank you" gift you can give a professor for giving you a recommendation?
RESPONSE A: An email or handwritten thank you note with your full name. Include if you got the position. When we go up for review/reappointment sometimes notes like that get included in the binders. It is “evidence of effective teaching and service.”
RESPONSE B: It depends on you, the professor, and your relationship tbh. I get my recommenders hand-written cards, and sometimes something small aside, like a book or a box of chocolates.
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POST: Whats a good "thank you" gift you can give a professor for giving you a recommendation?
RESPONSE A: It depends on you, the professor, and your relationship tbh. I get my recommenders hand-written cards, and sometimes something small aside, like a book or a box of chocolates.
RESPONSE B: I keep all my thank-you notes from students in a file in my desk. They count as treasure.
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POST: Whats a good "thank you" gift you can give a professor for giving you a recommendation?
RESPONSE A: I keep all my thank-you notes from students in a file in my desk. They count as treasure.
RESPONSE B: I'd be very touched by a sincere card that I can put on my office bookshelf. Tell me what I did you for you, what it means to you, this will encourage me to do this for others when the going gets rough. Personally, I don't care about material gifts. Heartfelt words are where it's at.
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POST: Whats a good "thank you" gift you can give a professor for giving you a recommendation?
RESPONSE A: I keep all my thank-you notes from students in a file in my desk. They count as treasure.
RESPONSE B: I always send handwritten thank-you notes, and then a follow-up email after I find out if I got the position. At the most, if they wrote you several individually tailored recommendations or otherwise helped significantly with your job/school search, I'd throw in a $10 Starbucks gift card.
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POST: I would not feel as though I had enough to replicate the paper's findings, so I would have to take them at face value, which seems like a big no-no. Yet I keep encountering this problem. Additionally, I often find that the figures in these articles are labeled poorly, i.e., no axis labels and non-descriptive captions. Is this due to my own ignorance or is there a larger issue here?
RESPONSE A: I had initial fears of probability and statistics during my undergrad, but have became fascinated by it in my graduate studies. ​ The intent of statistics is, when applied correctly, can account for variability in the subject or event you are studying. This variability can be sourced from natural noise (random variability in subject or event) or measurement error, and it is important in any field, even in Physics where simplistic equations are sacred, to quantify this variability such that subsequent readers understand the shortcomings of the methodology, equipment, or the natural limits of accuracy. ​ That being said, without more detail, it is hard to say whether it is a case of malpractice (not asserted) or poor quality control of the written papers; there are indeed a few papers (especially pertaining to social sciences and urban planning) I have came across where I felt that the application of statistics was not properly justified. I can say however, that the field of Biostatistics is relatively old compared to application of statistics in other fields. ​ My best advice is to solidify your knowledge in probability theory and statistics; in your graduate studies, I can fully guarantee that you will not escape papers that utilize statistics due to the inherently stochastic (i.e. probabilistic) nature of the world, and you will not supersede your peers by putting it off-- Regression methods and hypothesis testing being the main tools in statistics utilized often by engineers.
RESPONSE B: If you don't use statistics often, it could just be that you don't understand the way they are reporting the statistics? Especially with it being outside your main field. There certainly are articles that are published with incomplete reporting but there are a lot that report appropriately - if you know how to read the statistical statement.
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POST: Does ranking really matter? I am preparing my application for applying to some US universities for PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Does the university ranking directly affect the quality of research, courses and opportunities after PhD? Or are there more important factors I should consider when choosing my target universities?
RESPONSE A: The politically correct answer is "No it doesn't matter". But published literatures and studies will say otherwise. Nowogrodzki, A. (2022). Most US professors are trained at same few elite universities. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02998-w Wapman, K. H., Zhang, S., Clauset, A., & Larremore, D. B. (2022). Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention. Nature, 610(7930), 120-127. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05222-x
RESPONSE B: Yes it does matter. Unfortunately it is the simplest and laziest way, yet widely used by academic and the public, to assess the quality of your work.
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POST: Does ranking really matter? I am preparing my application for applying to some US universities for PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Does the university ranking directly affect the quality of research, courses and opportunities after PhD? Or are there more important factors I should consider when choosing my target universities?
RESPONSE A: The politically correct answer is "No it doesn't matter". But published literatures and studies will say otherwise. Nowogrodzki, A. (2022). Most US professors are trained at same few elite universities. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02998-w Wapman, K. H., Zhang, S., Clauset, A., & Larremore, D. B. (2022). Quantifying hierarchy and dynamics in US faculty hiring and retention. Nature, 610(7930), 120-127. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05222-x
RESPONSE B: I am at the same position where you are, in the exact same field and I spoke to about 15+ professors from my BS and MS universities to make such decision. If you are someone from the middle east or even Asia like me and you want a career in academia then you should have a PhD from US, Europe, or Canada, because otherwise no one will take you seriously. I am saying this because some universities that are not considered top in US or Europe but they are actually superior compared to the eastern ones. So in my opinion you need to see what is your targeted market after graduation, will you stay in US or are you willing to surf elsewhere in a place where even your low ranked uni will be considered as prestigious.
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POST: What was the most glorious moment of your career in academia? What was the lowest moment of your career in academia?
RESPONSE A: High: Having a seat at the table in an influential department on campus. Low: Understanding that the influential department where I work is a place where ideas go to die.
RESPONSE B: High point: Tie between ... * seeing our first drug used in patients and leading to high rates of diagnosis * getting our first R01. Low point: Having a drug I was *really* excited for flame out during pathology/toxicology testing.
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POST: What was the most glorious moment of your career in academia? What was the lowest moment of your career in academia?
RESPONSE A: High point: Tie between ... * seeing our first drug used in patients and leading to high rates of diagnosis * getting our first R01. Low point: Having a drug I was *really* excited for flame out during pathology/toxicology testing.
RESPONSE B: High: Addressing the United Nations (that was fucking awesome) Low: failing a 2nd year undergrad module (only a second year PhD student so I'm sure there's plenty of disappointment yet to come!)
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POST: What was the most glorious moment of your career in academia? What was the lowest moment of your career in academia?
RESPONSE A: A) Just being offered a tenure-track job for the next academic year! B) First quarter of grad school (pursuing my master's in English) after being out of an academic environment for two years; got an uncooperative group for a presentation. (Wouldn't work with me, return e-mails, or meet until the *night before.*) Presentation went terribly and after class, the professor teaching the course (also the chair of the English department) furiously scolded me, saying that as a grad student I couldn't "simply come in and fuck up a presentation like that."
RESPONSE B: A) Identifying a new primate species; B) Nearly shitting my pants when I surprised a large, sunbathing Nile crocodile on a riverbank in the Malagasy jungle.
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POST: What was the most glorious moment of your career in academia? What was the lowest moment of your career in academia?
RESPONSE A: High point: Being interviewed on the radio and for 3 different written articles within a two week span. Low point: The peer review process for publications.
RESPONSE B: A) Identifying a new primate species; B) Nearly shitting my pants when I surprised a large, sunbathing Nile crocodile on a riverbank in the Malagasy jungle.
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POST: What was the most glorious moment of your career in academia? What was the lowest moment of your career in academia?
RESPONSE A: High: being sure I found the solution to an intractable problem in my field. Low: not getting a grant to pursue it...
RESPONSE B: A) Identifying a new primate species; B) Nearly shitting my pants when I surprised a large, sunbathing Nile crocodile on a riverbank in the Malagasy jungle.
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POST: Career outside academia after postdoc In a few months I will finish my postdoc and I started looking for jobs outside academia. I took this decision because research does not give me the gratification I imagined when I first started my academic career, and I feel that the precariousness related to short term contracts is impeding my personal and familiar life. I have a background in conservation biology, so I already started looking for jobs in this field with NGOs, consulting firms and environmental agencies, but I would consider jobs in other fields as well. In addition to field-specific skills, I also developed generic skills as planning research, writing projects, conducting literature review, writing scientific papers and reports, etc... So, I am trying to figure out how to take advantage of this expertise in jobs other than research. Do you have suggestions on which jobs could value this kind of skills? “Grants coordinator” could be an example, but hopefully you can suggest other options I had not thought of. Thank you for any advice
RESPONSE A: If you’re on Facebook you might like the group The Professor is Out. I haven’t been on it in a long time but people share ideas and experiences.
RESPONSE B: I’m 4 years into my postdoc and a number of unsuccessful grant applications. I’m now considering opening a bakery and have a nice little stand in the farmers market. A more serious thought, there’s a lot of non-bench jobs in industry, like project management, MSL, FAS, marketing or business dev. It depends on personal preferences
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POST: Career outside academia after postdoc In a few months I will finish my postdoc and I started looking for jobs outside academia. I took this decision because research does not give me the gratification I imagined when I first started my academic career, and I feel that the precariousness related to short term contracts is impeding my personal and familiar life. I have a background in conservation biology, so I already started looking for jobs in this field with NGOs, consulting firms and environmental agencies, but I would consider jobs in other fields as well. In addition to field-specific skills, I also developed generic skills as planning research, writing projects, conducting literature review, writing scientific papers and reports, etc... So, I am trying to figure out how to take advantage of this expertise in jobs other than research. Do you have suggestions on which jobs could value this kind of skills? “Grants coordinator” could be an example, but hopefully you can suggest other options I had not thought of. Thank you for any advice
RESPONSE A: Management consulting (check out BCG - they hire plenty of PhDs) and tech transfer.
RESPONSE B: If you’re on Facebook you might like the group The Professor is Out. I haven’t been on it in a long time but people share ideas and experiences.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: Career outside academia after postdoc In a few months I will finish my postdoc and I started looking for jobs outside academia. I took this decision because research does not give me the gratification I imagined when I first started my academic career, and I feel that the precariousness related to short term contracts is impeding my personal and familiar life. I have a background in conservation biology, so I already started looking for jobs in this field with NGOs, consulting firms and environmental agencies, but I would consider jobs in other fields as well. In addition to field-specific skills, I also developed generic skills as planning research, writing projects, conducting literature review, writing scientific papers and reports, etc... So, I am trying to figure out how to take advantage of this expertise in jobs other than research. Do you have suggestions on which jobs could value this kind of skills? “Grants coordinator” could be an example, but hopefully you can suggest other options I had not thought of. Thank you for any advice
RESPONSE A: If you’re on Facebook you might like the group The Professor is Out. I haven’t been on it in a long time but people share ideas and experiences.
RESPONSE B: Obviously you need to look at biotech industry. I see many biotech companies hire in wide range of experience and expertise. You need to start somewhere really. First job after postdoc might be hard ..but after that it becomes easy. You need to structure your resume .. follow the ebooks from this(they are free .. as far as I remember): https://cheekyscientist.com Good luck and get out of bs academia!
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Career outside academia after postdoc In a few months I will finish my postdoc and I started looking for jobs outside academia. I took this decision because research does not give me the gratification I imagined when I first started my academic career, and I feel that the precariousness related to short term contracts is impeding my personal and familiar life. I have a background in conservation biology, so I already started looking for jobs in this field with NGOs, consulting firms and environmental agencies, but I would consider jobs in other fields as well. In addition to field-specific skills, I also developed generic skills as planning research, writing projects, conducting literature review, writing scientific papers and reports, etc... So, I am trying to figure out how to take advantage of this expertise in jobs other than research. Do you have suggestions on which jobs could value this kind of skills? “Grants coordinator” could be an example, but hopefully you can suggest other options I had not thought of. Thank you for any advice
RESPONSE A: As a current PhD in conservation biology who’s about a year from finishing… I feel this. Best of luck to you! Depending on your soft skills I would definitely look into biotech companies. So many of my non conservation peers that graduated have jobs at these places that I don’t fully understand but they say they are fairly easy and they work from home and make a good salary!
RESPONSE B: If you’re on Facebook you might like the group The Professor is Out. I haven’t been on it in a long time but people share ideas and experiences.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: What tech tools/software for academia should exist but doesn't? For instance, I personally think Overleaf isn't the best tool for collaborative writing (in LaTeX) and that something more GitHub-like (with branches, pull requests, etc.) would be more suited for version control and collaboration. So I'm curious to know what other problems academics (especially in STEM fields) face that can be solved by tech.
RESPONSE A: Project management software geared for academia and not making products in business
RESPONSE B: Doesn't Overleaf support GitHub integration? I haven't used it before (since the Overleaf history is sufficient for me) so maybe it is not upto what you want.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: What tech tools/software for academia should exist but doesn't? For instance, I personally think Overleaf isn't the best tool for collaborative writing (in LaTeX) and that something more GitHub-like (with branches, pull requests, etc.) would be more suited for version control and collaboration. So I'm curious to know what other problems academics (especially in STEM fields) face that can be solved by tech.
RESPONSE A: Project management software geared for academia and not making products in business
RESPONSE B: I’ve tried writing latex documents and tracking it with git and GitHub. There’s always someone who doesn’t know git which makes it difficult.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: What tech tools/software for academia should exist but doesn't? For instance, I personally think Overleaf isn't the best tool for collaborative writing (in LaTeX) and that something more GitHub-like (with branches, pull requests, etc.) would be more suited for version control and collaboration. So I'm curious to know what other problems academics (especially in STEM fields) face that can be solved by tech.
RESPONSE A: Doesn't Overleaf support GitHub integration? I haven't used it before (since the Overleaf history is sufficient for me) so maybe it is not upto what you want.
RESPONSE B: I think Overleaf is fine the way it is, which is suitable for collaborating with people without CS background. It also has version history and can be integrated with Git for more advanced version control - you can set up a local repo, make commits and push changes to Overleaf. And if everyone working on the paper knows how to set up LaTeX and Git, then it's possible just to use GitHub.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: What tech tools/software for academia should exist but doesn't? For instance, I personally think Overleaf isn't the best tool for collaborative writing (in LaTeX) and that something more GitHub-like (with branches, pull requests, etc.) would be more suited for version control and collaboration. So I'm curious to know what other problems academics (especially in STEM fields) face that can be solved by tech.
RESPONSE A: I think Overleaf is fine the way it is, which is suitable for collaborating with people without CS background. It also has version history and can be integrated with Git for more advanced version control - you can set up a local repo, make commits and push changes to Overleaf. And if everyone working on the paper knows how to set up LaTeX and Git, then it's possible just to use GitHub.
RESPONSE B: I’ve tried writing latex documents and tracking it with git and GitHub. There’s always someone who doesn’t know git which makes it difficult.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: What tech tools/software for academia should exist but doesn't? For instance, I personally think Overleaf isn't the best tool for collaborative writing (in LaTeX) and that something more GitHub-like (with branches, pull requests, etc.) would be more suited for version control and collaboration. So I'm curious to know what other problems academics (especially in STEM fields) face that can be solved by tech.
RESPONSE A: Doesn't Overleaf support GitHub integration? I haven't used it before (since the Overleaf history is sufficient for me) so maybe it is not upto what you want.
RESPONSE B: Publisher submission platforms not requiring new registrations, manually typing shit out, and lengthy pdf to pdf conversions. Job application portals that don't ask to upload a CV, and then require you to manually type out all of the various pieces of information included in said CV.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: How can I organize what I read? I usually get lost finding the right note. As a Ph.D. student, I read a lot of book sections, theses, and especially journal articles. I get a lot of information out of it that needs to be written down so I can go back to it later on, but I often get lost in finding what I am looking for as it's not really well organized (using Google Docs). How do you guys organize your notes using notion? Is there any template for that? I am a bit tired of searching for the right one that might make my reading much easier. Thanks in advance.
RESPONSE A: Try https://www.textseek.net/en/.
RESPONSE B: Nobody has mentioned a "smart notes" system which is kind of a wiki for yourself. I've been using Obsidian for knowledge management and it's like having a second brain. It's not optimized for citation management but it's wonderful for general information management.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: How can I organize what I read? I usually get lost finding the right note. As a Ph.D. student, I read a lot of book sections, theses, and especially journal articles. I get a lot of information out of it that needs to be written down so I can go back to it later on, but I often get lost in finding what I am looking for as it's not really well organized (using Google Docs). How do you guys organize your notes using notion? Is there any template for that? I am a bit tired of searching for the right one that might make my reading much easier. Thanks in advance.
RESPONSE A: Nobody has mentioned a "smart notes" system which is kind of a wiki for yourself. I've been using Obsidian for knowledge management and it's like having a second brain. It's not optimized for citation management but it's wonderful for general information management.
RESPONSE B: You may want to check out LiquidText for annotating/notetaking your references. I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of the workflow, but being able to link specifc sentences/figures within and between documents clearly has potential!
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: How can I organize what I read? I usually get lost finding the right note. As a Ph.D. student, I read a lot of book sections, theses, and especially journal articles. I get a lot of information out of it that needs to be written down so I can go back to it later on, but I often get lost in finding what I am looking for as it's not really well organized (using Google Docs). How do you guys organize your notes using notion? Is there any template for that? I am a bit tired of searching for the right one that might make my reading much easier. Thanks in advance.
RESPONSE A: Try https://www.textseek.net/en/.
RESPONSE B: I just use pages on One Note to take detailed notes for each reading. I use the same subheadings on each page so that there’s continuity in my note taking: key points, main arguments, summary, findings, contributions, notes, and quotes. Under each, I write 2-3 paragraphs of description and analysis depending on the context. Then, I transfer a summarized version of this info to a master excel sheet; which I use to aggregate all of the information and track the characteristics of my literature review. Maintaining the excel sheet can be burdensome but it really helps track the broader characteristics of the literature that you’re reading (date range, types of research, research by multiple author, methods, etc.). I’m usually very disorganized and this simple method has worked for me.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: How can I organize what I read? I usually get lost finding the right note. As a Ph.D. student, I read a lot of book sections, theses, and especially journal articles. I get a lot of information out of it that needs to be written down so I can go back to it later on, but I often get lost in finding what I am looking for as it's not really well organized (using Google Docs). How do you guys organize your notes using notion? Is there any template for that? I am a bit tired of searching for the right one that might make my reading much easier. Thanks in advance.
RESPONSE A: Citation manager like Zotero + note taking app like Obsidian. Obsidian is much better than Notion (but is not online). https://forum.obsidian.md/t/zotero-zotfile-mdnotes-obsidian-dataview-workflow/15536 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbGJH08ZfCs Basically, you can create tags, categories, pages. Highlights/notes from pdf can be extracted and made into a Obsidian note that can be hyperlinked in your other notes. It is called knowledge management system and it works as personal wiki.
RESPONSE B: Try https://www.textseek.net/en/.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: How can I organize what I read? I usually get lost finding the right note. As a Ph.D. student, I read a lot of book sections, theses, and especially journal articles. I get a lot of information out of it that needs to be written down so I can go back to it later on, but I often get lost in finding what I am looking for as it's not really well organized (using Google Docs). How do you guys organize your notes using notion? Is there any template for that? I am a bit tired of searching for the right one that might make my reading much easier. Thanks in advance.
RESPONSE A: You may want to check out LiquidText for annotating/notetaking your references. I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of the workflow, but being able to link specifc sentences/figures within and between documents clearly has potential!
RESPONSE B: Citation manager like Zotero + note taking app like Obsidian. Obsidian is much better than Notion (but is not online). https://forum.obsidian.md/t/zotero-zotfile-mdnotes-obsidian-dataview-workflow/15536 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbGJH08ZfCs Basically, you can create tags, categories, pages. Highlights/notes from pdf can be extracted and made into a Obsidian note that can be hyperlinked in your other notes. It is called knowledge management system and it works as personal wiki.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Does anyone know of a more recent survey of start-up packages for newly hired assistant professors than this 2005 paper? The only hard data I can find regarding typical start-up package size split by public / private, R1 / other, and by department is this 2005 paper: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=workingpapers Now, I can adjust for inflation based on those 2005 dollars, but I'd love to have more recent data. I tried google scholar and this work hasn't been cited by any subsequent work that's asking the same thing. Anybody know of fresher data?
RESPONSE A: I don't know of any good more recent write ups. This is something where talking to lots of people will help. Former advisers, other people applying now, recently hired people, ... Also, usually the chair of your new department will be an important ally in this process. The chair wants you to get more money and they will be more aware of the politics of the university. Similarly, ask other faculty in the potential department. New faculty and people in your sub-field can be important references to be sure you get what you need to succeed.
RESPONSE B: I don't have anything to add, but this came across in my Twitter feed too...
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: Does anyone know of a more recent survey of start-up packages for newly hired assistant professors than this 2005 paper? The only hard data I can find regarding typical start-up package size split by public / private, R1 / other, and by department is this 2005 paper: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=workingpapers Now, I can adjust for inflation based on those 2005 dollars, but I'd love to have more recent data. I tried google scholar and this work hasn't been cited by any subsequent work that's asking the same thing. Anybody know of fresher data?
RESPONSE A: I don't have anything to add, but this came across in my Twitter feed too...
RESPONSE B: http://chemjobber.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-median-chemistry-professor-startup.html
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: I can't write my paper. Hi, I'm a 2nd-year grad student and I just can't seem to write my paper. I have been working on this "problem statement" for 2 years now. The problem itself is unimportant, according to me at least and I don't really enjoy it. In the first 3 months, I tried to change it but my advisor told me I can't keep changing problem statements and I have to stick to one. So I decided to work on whatever he wanted me to. Now, 2 years later I still think the problem is boring. But I gave it an honest try and went through the motions - I defined the concepts, I developed the algorithms, and I implemented them. But there are many problems stopping me from actually writing the paper: ​ 1. I don't think there's anything novel about the algorithms that solve the problem. My problem resembles another and I feel like I'm just copying the same algorithm without really adding to it 2. I feel like since I've read the other problem I've been subconsciously steering my problem to "look" like the other 3. I feel like someone else will be able to write the paper better than I can. These problems physically stop me from writing and sleeping at night. I first thought I was making up excuses to not work hard - but I've been a hard worker my whole life. In fact, I sickeningly love work. Not finishing the paper is not an option, my degree is contingent on this paper. But every line I write I keep thinking "It's wrong". I don't want to talk to my advisor about this, I do not feel like this is something he'd respond well to. Has anybody gone through something like this? Did you come out fine? I just want to staunchly believe it'll all be okay.
RESPONSE A: The first step towards writing something good is to write something bad.
RESPONSE B: You are not alone. This is what you need: https://wendybelcher.com/writing-advice/writing-your-journal-article-in-twelve/
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: want to staunchly believe it'll all be okay.
RESPONSE A: There is many things you can do. You never have to think that you do not have options. Imo, a good paper usually has a "distinct smell". There is something that makes it yours and makes it novel and makes it an actual "contribution", and that is also that something that your comittee will ask you about, and that is also that something that gives you the motivation to keep you going (or at least sometimes, when you don't break out in sweat while giving into the whisper's of your imposter syndrome). You want to find that edge. If you cannot find that edge, take a break, do something else for a while. If you feel that you cannot define your own thing, or your advisor won't let you, then also: take a break, do something else for a while. Ultimately, you are in control. You can decide what to do about the situation. And when you feel you are not in control, then take a break and do something else for a while. You can start looking for that inspiration and that spark once you have cooled off, and done something else for a while. At that point, if you discover that your advisor is a control freak, who doesn't let you find your own process, you can find another. There is many more things you can do, aside from just quitting. Also: if you feel, it gets too bad, take care of yourself first, take care of your work second. If you have financial trouble, consider taking care of that first, to get that monkey off your back for a while. Get yourself some breathing room before taking your next big steps. Good luck! PS: I personally enjoyed the challenge of getting from 0 to 60 on my Ph.D. journey. It was the hardest thing I have done in my life, but after some suffering suffering, I came out of it learning a lot in the process, about the field, about the process, but mostly, about myself. However, I don't think, it got really bad for me mentally, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
RESPONSE B: The first step towards writing something good is to write something bad.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: If you cannot keep publishing first author papers will you be at risk of losing tenure? Let's say life is so hard your proposals can't get a grant. The only way you can do research is to collaborate to somebody else's project. In this case, the probability of being a first author for some papers might be close to zero since you don't assume a lead/head role in the research. Will you be at risk of losing your position if all you can maintain are just co authorships and not first authorship?
RESPONSE A: It totally depends on your university. What do the tenure and promo guidelines say? If you don’t have guidelines, it’s time to make them. My university has general guidelines, and each department in the college has their own specific guidelines for what counts for what. We need department level standards because the fields are so different. Some departments value more creative output such as musical performances, some value publishing books, others scientific papers in peer reviewed journals. My departments guidelines were clear as mud and it caused a lot of problems. I created a committee to rewrite them. We agreed on a points system that considers author rank, and got the new guidelines and mentoring plan approved. Works great now! Maybe have a good look at your departments guidelines, and if they don’t exist then create them. One other thing to consider is how to get first-author pubs from research projects on which you collaborate. I collaborate a lot and I am second or third authors on papers with those PIs. But I also often use the data to make my own first-author pub that focus on methodology, using data from various projects as case studies to illustrate the advancement in methods. Maybe you can do something like that. Good luck
RESPONSE B: In my experience (chemistry) first author is usually a grad student so it was pretty uncommon for faculty to be first author anyway, especially someone who had been a professor long enough to have tenure, they would very likely have grad students writing the papers.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: Do you put memes in your presentations? I'd like to start a discussion on this. Do you put memes/jokes in your academic presentations? What are your thoughts on them, and what do you think of researchers who do?
RESPONSE A: Depends on the situation. If it is a more formal academic presentation - never. If it is less formal I love to use strips from xkcd - there is one for every situation So i realize as I write, I don’t use memes. Only relevant xkcd. Just because.
RESPONSE B: Teaching, yes. Research, hard no.
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A
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POST: Do you put memes in your presentations? I'd like to start a discussion on this. Do you put memes/jokes in your academic presentations? What are your thoughts on them, and what do you think of researchers who do?
RESPONSE A: Teaching, yes. Research, hard no.
RESPONSE B: My initial response was no, but then I thought some more and I have occasionally seen profs use single-frame black and white comics that you might see in magazines. I would only do it if it's absolutely timeless, and I wouldn't make it a regular part of your repertoire. One meme in isolation is refreshingly unexpected. Being the meming lecturer sounds like a bad idea.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: Do you put memes in your presentations? I'd like to start a discussion on this. Do you put memes/jokes in your academic presentations? What are your thoughts on them, and what do you think of researchers who do?
RESPONSE A: I know one lecturer during covid lockdowns would put photos of himself at the beach in his slides to lighten the mood of his classes a bit. I didn't have him thankfully because apparently he was really harsh with grading, but if people do that I can't see what's wrong with the occasional meme if it's funny To add, the man was like 70 so he really was just doing it for a laugh
RESPONSE B: Teaching, yes. Research, hard no.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Do you put memes in your presentations? I'd like to start a discussion on this. Do you put memes/jokes in your academic presentations? What are your thoughts on them, and what do you think of researchers who do?
RESPONSE A: Teaching, yes. Research, hard no.
RESPONSE B: I absolutely do, and my students really enjoyed it and they said so on their student evals. It was my first semester teaching and I was 24. I was teaching a “fundamentals” class so I had everyone under the sun, so using memes allowed me to communicate an idea across the board, from art history to construction management students. It kept them engaged and one student said it helped them remember test answers. The memes were always relevant and ofc I will be updating them each semester.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Do you put memes in your presentations? I'd like to start a discussion on this. Do you put memes/jokes in your academic presentations? What are your thoughts on them, and what do you think of researchers who do?
RESPONSE A: Teaching, yes. Research, hard no.
RESPONSE B: Just don't overdo it. I went to a conference post Trump being elected and the amount of Trump memes in the presentation was so damn high. Personally, as a part of the audience, i am fine with memes in the presentation as long as it's used properly.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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B
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POST: Faculty members: Are you free to decide which conferences to go to? For me as a doctoral student, it's pretty up to me to decide which conferences I go to, if I want to go at all. I was wondering how it is for faculty members? Can you still freely decide on which conferences to go to, or simply not go to any conferences if you don't want to? Or, in certain cases at least, are there conferences that you sometimes *must* go to? For example, if the entire team decides to go to a certain conference, can you still opt out if you don't feel like going? Or are there such conferences so important for your career that you're almost obliged to go to?
RESPONSE A: I have a flexible field so I have options. I get a fund for travel. So I pick which ones I prefer. That travel fund is negotiable. And my previous institution did not offer one.
RESPONSE B: I can go anywhere I want but nobody's paying for it
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A
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POST: Calling all professors, need advice on faculty gift that you actually want! I'm in PT school and we're set to have our white coat ceremony in a few months. Each year it's tradition that the class purchase gifts for the entire faculty, but this year we don't want to get professors another mug or calendar that they won't use, we want to get the entire faculty and staff something very nice for them all to enjoy in their break/lunch room. They already have a toaster and Keurig machine (albeit a single serving one that's kinda crummy), and I'm seeking advice on what you all would find valuable to have at your disposal that you'd actually use. Our budget is between $200 and $400. We've floated the idea of getting a nicer Keurig machine (milk frother, multi-cup reservoir, etc) but if they already have one we'd like to provide them with something else, so if there's something that you'd LOVE to have then please let me know! Thank you in advance!
RESPONSE A: Hand written letters.
RESPONSE B: Snarky but clever coffee mug.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Calling all professors, need advice on faculty gift that you actually want! I'm in PT school and we're set to have our white coat ceremony in a few months. Each year it's tradition that the class purchase gifts for the entire faculty, but this year we don't want to get professors another mug or calendar that they won't use, we want to get the entire faculty and staff something very nice for them all to enjoy in their break/lunch room. They already have a toaster and Keurig machine (albeit a single serving one that's kinda crummy), and I'm seeking advice on what you all would find valuable to have at your disposal that you'd actually use. Our budget is between $200 and $400. We've floated the idea of getting a nicer Keurig machine (milk frother, multi-cup reservoir, etc) but if they already have one we'd like to provide them with something else, so if there's something that you'd LOVE to have then please let me know! Thank you in advance!
RESPONSE A: Can you set up an automatic bagel or muffin delivery every Monday morning for 6 months to the faculty lounge where the coffee is? Because that would be awesome.
RESPONSE B: Hand-written notes, appreciation shared with administrators for the faculty, if you feel as if there must be a physical gift, gift cards for coffee and/or food on a day when everyone is in the office to enjoy donuts/cookies/pizza/panera/whatever.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Calling all professors, need advice on faculty gift that you actually want! I'm in PT school and we're set to have our white coat ceremony in a few months. Each year it's tradition that the class purchase gifts for the entire faculty, but this year we don't want to get professors another mug or calendar that they won't use, we want to get the entire faculty and staff something very nice for them all to enjoy in their break/lunch room. They already have a toaster and Keurig machine (albeit a single serving one that's kinda crummy), and I'm seeking advice on what you all would find valuable to have at your disposal that you'd actually use. Our budget is between $200 and $400. We've floated the idea of getting a nicer Keurig machine (milk frother, multi-cup reservoir, etc) but if they already have one we'd like to provide them with something else, so if there's something that you'd LOVE to have then please let me know! Thank you in advance!
RESPONSE A: Can you set up an automatic bagel or muffin delivery every Monday morning for 6 months to the faculty lounge where the coffee is? Because that would be awesome.
RESPONSE B: Snarky but clever coffee mug.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Calling all professors, need advice on faculty gift that you actually want! I'm in PT school and we're set to have our white coat ceremony in a few months. Each year it's tradition that the class purchase gifts for the entire faculty, but this year we don't want to get professors another mug or calendar that they won't use, we want to get the entire faculty and staff something very nice for them all to enjoy in their break/lunch room. They already have a toaster and Keurig machine (albeit a single serving one that's kinda crummy), and I'm seeking advice on what you all would find valuable to have at your disposal that you'd actually use. Our budget is between $200 and $400. We've floated the idea of getting a nicer Keurig machine (milk frother, multi-cup reservoir, etc) but if they already have one we'd like to provide them with something else, so if there's something that you'd LOVE to have then please let me know! Thank you in advance!
RESPONSE A: Can you set up an automatic bagel or muffin delivery every Monday morning for 6 months to the faculty lounge where the coffee is? Because that would be awesome.
RESPONSE B: Gift card to the university dining hall.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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A
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POST: Calling all professors, need advice on faculty gift that you actually want! I'm in PT school and we're set to have our white coat ceremony in a few months. Each year it's tradition that the class purchase gifts for the entire faculty, but this year we don't want to get professors another mug or calendar that they won't use, we want to get the entire faculty and staff something very nice for them all to enjoy in their break/lunch room. They already have a toaster and Keurig machine (albeit a single serving one that's kinda crummy), and I'm seeking advice on what you all would find valuable to have at your disposal that you'd actually use. Our budget is between $200 and $400. We've floated the idea of getting a nicer Keurig machine (milk frother, multi-cup reservoir, etc) but if they already have one we'd like to provide them with something else, so if there's something that you'd LOVE to have then please let me know! Thank you in advance!
RESPONSE A: Ugh, please nothing that uses k-cups. Someone brought one to our faculty lunchroom and within a week faculty had started a petition to get rid of it; nobody wants to see all those little plastic cups tossed out with every cup of coffee. We'd never expect a gift from students, but handwritten, personal notes are appreciated most of all. But if you're looking for something for people to share, food or liquor are always nice. You don't say how many faculty your budget has to serve, but perhaps a nice batch of pastries and good coffee one morning during finals week would do? We do that once each semester and everyone loves it, including people who never set foot in the faculty break room during the semester.
RESPONSE B: Snarky but clever coffee mug.
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POST: Do professors take students with them? I am an undergraduate student at a big Midwest state school. I work with a associate professor who is also a M.D. at the hospital affiliated with my school. He has a few hundred articles authored and a pretty big research project with money from the NIH. I work very closely with him, managing a lot of things. A few days ago he told me that he was interviewing on the East coast for a job. He told me that if he got the job that he was taking two scientists with him for sure and he would also take me along too if he could manage. I am very close to him and he treats me like his own son. My eventual goal is med school. Is this common? Can doctors or professors negotiate student positions in their contracts?
RESPONSE A: They can, although it is less common for undergrad students.
RESPONSE B: I've heard of stuff like this happening and don't think its altogether uncommon....for graduate students. A friend of mine is a math phd student and went from Chicago to California, following a professor. Negotiating a student position, especially if that student is an advanced graduate student, basically comes down to money, which is more or less easy to sort out if he's bringing outside funding with him. But, I imagine it's a whole other story for an undergrad where you also have to deal with the transfer of credits, degree requirements, and whatever general education or core requirements the school has. I know you didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to give it anyway. Uprooting your life and going through the hassle of transferring colleges does not seem worth it, to me, to spend more time working for a professor with whom you've already earned significant experience and who will already write you a solid letter of recommendation. If getting into med school is the goal, I'm not sure how much there is to gain that you don't already have. But, it sounds as if you have a close personal relationship and I guess that's worth considering as well.
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POST: a job. He told me that if he got the job that he was taking two scientists with him for sure and he would also take me along too if he could manage. I am very close to him and he treats me like his own son. My eventual goal is med school. Is this common? Can doctors or professors negotiate student positions in their contracts?
RESPONSE A: I've heard of stuff like this happening and don't think its altogether uncommon....for graduate students. A friend of mine is a math phd student and went from Chicago to California, following a professor. Negotiating a student position, especially if that student is an advanced graduate student, basically comes down to money, which is more or less easy to sort out if he's bringing outside funding with him. But, I imagine it's a whole other story for an undergrad where you also have to deal with the transfer of credits, degree requirements, and whatever general education or core requirements the school has. I know you didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to give it anyway. Uprooting your life and going through the hassle of transferring colleges does not seem worth it, to me, to spend more time working for a professor with whom you've already earned significant experience and who will already write you a solid letter of recommendation. If getting into med school is the goal, I'm not sure how much there is to gain that you don't already have. But, it sounds as if you have a close personal relationship and I guess that's worth considering as well.
RESPONSE B: Sometimes. Most likely he'll try to negotiate a position for you as a grad student or a technician. For the former, you'd have to apply and go through their process, and for the latter you'll be a paid employee (warning: good in the short term, but if you want long-term viability in the field, get a degree). As an undergrad, it seems unlikely that he/they would pay moving expenses, but you never know. Startups are ~1 million (esp. assoc prof with R01s) in biomedical, and coastal schools are higher.
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POST: Do professors take students with them? I am an undergraduate student at a big Midwest state school. I work with a associate professor who is also a M.D. at the hospital affiliated with my school. He has a few hundred articles authored and a pretty big research project with money from the NIH. I work very closely with him, managing a lot of things. A few days ago he told me that he was interviewing on the East coast for a job. He told me that if he got the job that he was taking two scientists with him for sure and he would also take me along too if he could manage. I am very close to him and he treats me like his own son. My eventual goal is med school. Is this common? Can doctors or professors negotiate student positions in their contracts?
RESPONSE A: It's not uncommon for a 4th year and beyond grad student to transfer with their adviser to another institution. Most of the time, the first institution will allow the degree to be issued by them and not the second one out of fairness to the grad student. It is almost completely unheard of to take an undergraduate with you to another school. To begin with, undergrad admissions are not even handled by the department, but by the admissions office. They might balk. Secondly, why would you follow him? You're an undergraduate; your main goal is taking classes and doing well in them, not doing research full time.
RESPONSE B: They can, although it is less common for undergrad students.
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B
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POST: Do professors take students with them? I am an undergraduate student at a big Midwest state school. I work with a associate professor who is also a M.D. at the hospital affiliated with my school. He has a few hundred articles authored and a pretty big research project with money from the NIH. I work very closely with him, managing a lot of things. A few days ago he told me that he was interviewing on the East coast for a job. He told me that if he got the job that he was taking two scientists with him for sure and he would also take me along too if he could manage. I am very close to him and he treats me like his own son. My eventual goal is med school. Is this common? Can doctors or professors negotiate student positions in their contracts?
RESPONSE A: My supervisor changed schools in the middle of my PhD and took two of his grad students with him when he moved.
RESPONSE B: It's not uncommon for a 4th year and beyond grad student to transfer with their adviser to another institution. Most of the time, the first institution will allow the degree to be issued by them and not the second one out of fairness to the grad student. It is almost completely unheard of to take an undergraduate with you to another school. To begin with, undergrad admissions are not even handled by the department, but by the admissions office. They might balk. Secondly, why would you follow him? You're an undergraduate; your main goal is taking classes and doing well in them, not doing research full time.
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POST: Do professors take students with them? I am an undergraduate student at a big Midwest state school. I work with a associate professor who is also a M.D. at the hospital affiliated with my school. He has a few hundred articles authored and a pretty big research project with money from the NIH. I work very closely with him, managing a lot of things. A few days ago he told me that he was interviewing on the East coast for a job. He told me that if he got the job that he was taking two scientists with him for sure and he would also take me along too if he could manage. I am very close to him and he treats me like his own son. My eventual goal is med school. Is this common? Can doctors or professors negotiate student positions in their contracts?
RESPONSE A: As others have said this is very common for graduate students but i have never heard of something like this for an undergraduate. That seems very strange. Don't know the details of your situation but Im not sure even if it did happen if transferring as an UG would be worth it in this case.
RESPONSE B: They can, although it is less common for undergrad students.
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POST: Professors of Reddit!, What do you actually look for in a Statement of Purpose?
RESPONSE A: At what level and for what purpose?
RESPONSE B: Here are some things I look for: * Can write well (writing ability is surprisingly important, even in my field of computer science) * Understands what research is (many applicants actually don't quite understand) * Has a pretty good sense of what they want to do (e.g. information visualization, mobile computing, social web, etc) * Can describe their own past research experiences well * Conveys that they have the potential to do good research (e.g. can work independently, understands the broader context of the problem space, overcame adversity, applied some interesting ideas or techniques to solve a problem)
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POST: Should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? So a friend who is at another institution emailed me this morning to ask if I could get a paper for him as he didn't have access and didn't want to use Sci Hub at university. I obviously just used Sci Hub at home to get the paper as it's actually easier than our library anyway. However, this does make me wonder, should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? I am a huge advocate for Sci Hub and fully believe they are forwarding knowledge in the interest of humanity against the giants like Elsevier but do we have to be careful as users?
RESPONSE A: I use it all the time. I think your fine.
RESPONSE B: I think its safe to say that our students are using every possible (legal or otherwise) source for PDF downloads, and it goes entirely overlooked by IT. That said, I prefer to do a proper library request or ILL just to keep them busy, so they don't cut subscriptions or services.
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POST: Should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? So a friend who is at another institution emailed me this morning to ask if I could get a paper for him as he didn't have access and didn't want to use Sci Hub at university. I obviously just used Sci Hub at home to get the paper as it's actually easier than our library anyway. However, this does make me wonder, should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? I am a huge advocate for Sci Hub and fully believe they are forwarding knowledge in the interest of humanity against the giants like Elsevier but do we have to be careful as users?
RESPONSE A: No. I used it almost exclusively on my masters as it was easier than going thru my library. Also, one of my profs had a pirated out-of-print book as a PDF. No one cares. Honestly, the only reason IT gets pissed about pirating music and movies is the added bandwidth on their network.
RESPONSE B: I use it all the time. I think your fine.
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POST: Should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? So a friend who is at another institution emailed me this morning to ask if I could get a paper for him as he didn't have access and didn't want to use Sci Hub at university. I obviously just used Sci Hub at home to get the paper as it's actually easier than our library anyway. However, this does make me wonder, should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? I am a huge advocate for Sci Hub and fully believe they are forwarding knowledge in the interest of humanity against the giants like Elsevier but do we have to be careful as users?
RESPONSE A: I use it all the time. I think your fine.
RESPONSE B: ITT: "Based on my personal experience, no one cares!" It might be uncommon, but some places do care and it would depend on your institution. Sci Hub is blocked on my campus and using it would be against IT policies, which specify respecting copyrights.
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POST: Should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? So a friend who is at another institution emailed me this morning to ask if I could get a paper for him as he didn't have access and didn't want to use Sci Hub at university. I obviously just used Sci Hub at home to get the paper as it's actually easier than our library anyway. However, this does make me wonder, should I care about using Sci Hub over the university network? I am a huge advocate for Sci Hub and fully believe they are forwarding knowledge in the interest of humanity against the giants like Elsevier but do we have to be careful as users?
RESPONSE A: I use it all the time. I think your fine.
RESPONSE B: I have used it before, but on a more general note: VPNs really come in handy when using unsecured Wifi access and this is something that your friend may want to look into in any case.
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POST: killing myself seems like a better option that choosing a different career path then somethings gotta give. I think that if I delay my exam, I might have time to steadily get back on my feet. Our student review is coming up in a few months and I'd like to give my advisor at least a little sense of where I've been at.
RESPONSE A: I do think it will be worthwhile to communicate with your advisor, but agree with u/tokyoro that you may not want to directly say 'depression'. I also had a very bad mental health year during my PhD (and sought treatment), where I really ought to have taken a leave of absence for a term, for how unproductive (and generally not present) I was at that time, and I fell behind my timeline. I did communicate this with my advisors, in person, but I did not directly say that I was dealing with depression and anxiety. I said I was having a harder time with some transitions that were going on in my life and knew that I had fallen behind. And I had a plan in mind of what I needed to do next and what was feasible to get me set up to defend. I was really anxious about the conversation and had some worst case scenarios built up in my head, but it went a lot more smoothly than I'd imagined. I had three advisors I worked with, all with very different personalities. All three were supportive and helpful in varying ways. Two were more direct on focusing on the timeline moving forward, and one indicated they had noticed that I'd been more withdrawn and that I should feel free to ask for support if I needed it (and mentioned the counselling services on campus, although I hadn't directly indicated it). None of them made me feel judged or like they saw me any differently after the conversation. It was a huge relief for me to have broached the topic and removed at least one of the variables that was causing me constant distress and anxiety.
RESPONSE B: In my experience, profs don’t want to get into the weeds of their students’ personal lives. You can simply say you’re taking “a medical leave of absence”, and let them assume whatever they want. That will mitigate the risk of stigma and maintain your privacy.
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POST: 've struggled with depression/anxiety for the last 10 years and have been on anti-depressants for the last 5-6 years. Last fall I went off my meds because I had a relapse in my depression and I thought that the zoloft might be numbing my desire to live. I felt better pretty immediately and had a very productive--if not anxious--spring semester. Over the summer I took a month off and had a really hard time getting back to work. My anxiety and depression came back full force (which I wasn't used to b/c of the zoloft/wellbutrin combo), and things quickly got out of hand. Trying to get back on track, I started seeing a therapist and taking a new anti-depressant that had horrible side effects and increased my depression. It took a month to try and get off of that one. I got put on another one, which also had horrible side effects for a month, but it muted my emotions/will to die just enough that I've stayed on it. Honestly, neither the anti-depressants or therapy have really helped. I have a term paper that I've been working on for the last three months continuously with little progress. That paper has made it difficult to get anything else done, and now that the new semester has started I'm feeling overwhelmed/hopeless. I don't want to decide to drop out when I'm not thinking clearly, but also if grad school is making so miserable that killing myself seems like a better option that choosing a different career path then somethings gotta give. I think that if I delay my exam, I might have time to steadily get back on my feet. Our student review is coming up in a few months and I'd like to give my advisor at least a little sense of where I've been at.
RESPONSE A: In my experience, profs don’t want to get into the weeds of their students’ personal lives. You can simply say you’re taking “a medical leave of absence”, and let them assume whatever they want. That will mitigate the risk of stigma and maintain your privacy.
RESPONSE B: This thread is helpful. Thanks guys
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POST: of writing my dissertation. I'm looking for advice/recommendations about programs and software for staying organized and writing my diss. In the past––for my undergrad and masters thesis––I simply used Word, didn't really take advantage of the advanced features, and painstakingly formatted the document and the citations/bibliography at the end which was a nightmare. For my diss I not only don't want to go through that again, I seriously don't think I'll be able to finish the damn thing if I don't stay actively organized along the way. I use computers/technology quite a bit in my own research, as a result I have a basic grasp of Markdown so something like Latex wouldn't be terribly difficult for me to pick up (i.e. I'm not really intimated by the learning curve of something like that). However, would using something like Latex make it a pain in the ass to get edits/revisions from professors who maybe don't use it? Google Docs makes it extremely easy to have many people editing a doc and advisors can actually reply and see others' comments so they end up giving more useful feedback because they can view others' responses in context and reply directly (not to mention that it's easy for them to use and not complain about). But then the document exists in an essentially useless format and you have to painstakingly copy it over to something else later. Is Word just the easiest because it's neutral for sending it off during editing and the more advanced features let you stay organized enough when it comes time to publish? So, what are your thoughts about the pros and cons of different software/programs for some of the reasons I mentioned?
RESPONSE A: > I have a basic grasp of Markdown Would Markdown suit your purposes? I haven't looked into it myself, but people have written books with it (edit: meaning, I haven’t tried writing something complex like a book). See here if you're interested: https://bookdown.org/yihui/bookdown/
RESPONSE B: Overleaf is a nice tool for online collaborative editing/revision of LaTeX documents.
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POST: 'm looking for advice/recommendations about programs and software for staying organized and writing my diss. In the past––for my undergrad and masters thesis––I simply used Word, didn't really take advantage of the advanced features, and painstakingly formatted the document and the citations/bibliography at the end which was a nightmare. For my diss I not only don't want to go through that again, I seriously don't think I'll be able to finish the damn thing if I don't stay actively organized along the way. I use computers/technology quite a bit in my own research, as a result I have a basic grasp of Markdown so something like Latex wouldn't be terribly difficult for me to pick up (i.e. I'm not really intimated by the learning curve of something like that). However, would using something like Latex make it a pain in the ass to get edits/revisions from professors who maybe don't use it? Google Docs makes it extremely easy to have many people editing a doc and advisors can actually reply and see others' comments so they end up giving more useful feedback because they can view others' responses in context and reply directly (not to mention that it's easy for them to use and not complain about). But then the document exists in an essentially useless format and you have to painstakingly copy it over to something else later. Is Word just the easiest because it's neutral for sending it off during editing and the more advanced features let you stay organized enough when it comes time to publish? So, what are your thoughts about the pros and cons of different software/programs for some of the reasons I mentioned?
RESPONSE A: > I have a basic grasp of Markdown Would Markdown suit your purposes? I haven't looked into it myself, but people have written books with it (edit: meaning, I haven’t tried writing something complex like a book). See here if you're interested: https://bookdown.org/yihui/bookdown/
RESPONSE B: Just a side note: one thing you might want to consider is whether your university has any specific formatting or file type requirements for dissertation submission.
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POST: all dead in the water. Each mini-project that I have been assigned (and then told to abandon), my supervisor would constantly tell me I need to prioritise it, often using the phrase "hammer this". However, I am a new student in this group, and they provided no training and very little guidance for these projects. On top of this, I feel like my supervisor does not trust me, or like me. When I first started here, I was really excited to learn about this field, and get involved in the research. But my supervisor didn't share my enthusiasm, as they are far more concerned with writing grants and other things unrelated to the research. I quickly got demoralised, and it started to affect my work-ethic. I would still show up and work, but I became kind of quieter and less enthusiastic. I am at a complete loss. I know I there are still years before I would be expected to graduate, and so something may still be salvageable. However, I feel like my relationship with my supervisor will only continue to worsen, as we don't exactly work the same way, and our personalities don't mesh too well either. I am unsure what to do. I want to continue in the group, as long as I can do a solid project. But I also wouldn't know what to do if I left. Has anyone here ever sunk time into a field, only to switch later on? I am worried about feeling like a failure, and leaving a bad mark. I want to do well, and succeed in this field, but I don't know if I can continue like this.
RESPONSE A: Talk to somebody more senior within your group. Get a sense if that's how your supervisor always is, or it's just not working between the two of you. If it's the first case - well, switch to a different program or accept the lack of supervision and rely on yourself. If it's the second one - I'd go and speak to the supervisor candidly. They may not realize how you feel, and the sooner you clear the air, the better.
RESPONSE B: "Hammer this"? Sounds ridiculous. No training is normal, but using stupid cliches is not helpful.
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POST: What's your "dream" research project that's too big or hard to do in real life? If funding wasn't an issue, what would you like to devote your work to?
RESPONSE A: I would love to extract a glacial core. It's never been done in the Indian Himalayas. My PI has tried and failed. Just sounds like a cool thing to try and achieve.
RESPONSE B: Rewriting code carefully and thoughtfully. We've got so many chaoticodes that are just good enough right now, but will cause more trouble any time they need expanding, but even then, someone will dig in just enough to pull in the new thing, and I just want to spend some real, careful time fixing shit. A lot of these codes would only need a few months, but I've never been able to find that kind of focused time that isn't directly contributing to a deliverable. On a decade scale it could probably save time. But it gets in the way of what I'm expected to have in the next few months.
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POST: What's your "dream" research project that's too big or hard to do in real life? If funding wasn't an issue, what would you like to devote your work to?
RESPONSE A: A longitudinal study of student writing skills transfer. I want to take 100,000 writing students, tightly control the types of writing instruction that they receive in college/highschool, and then follow them into their careers until they are around 50 to see how impactful various types of instruction are to a variety of fields/lifestyles. My field does very little in the way of comparative or longitudinal work, so it could really change the way we think about writing.
RESPONSE B: I would love to extract a glacial core. It's never been done in the Indian Himalayas. My PI has tried and failed. Just sounds like a cool thing to try and achieve.
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POST: What's your "dream" research project that's too big or hard to do in real life? If funding wasn't an issue, what would you like to devote your work to?
RESPONSE A: Longitudinal brain scans/blood work from thousands of people to mine for biomarker data for neurodegenerative diseases. Pair it with post-mortem histology to look for correlations between tissue pathology and fluid/imaging biomarker data in life. From the same patients, fibroblast collection and conversion to iPSCs at multiple timepoints to look for changes in cell biology in neurons/astrocytes derived from said ipscs. There's a laundry list of shit you can do at this point with the samples if funding is infinite that would be both informative and really cool. Getting the samples is the hardest part of this though. Oh and full DNA sequencing looking for SNPs/mutants contributing to disease but this is already done kinda.
RESPONSE B: Id love to simulate in a laboratory environment extreme atmospheric environmental conditions and test which could sustain life.
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POST: What's your "dream" research project that's too big or hard to do in real life? If funding wasn't an issue, what would you like to devote your work to?
RESPONSE A: major neural connections formed between temporal, parietal occipital and frontal lobes and cross sectional study between schizophrenics, those with alzheimer's people on lsd and regular folks.
RESPONSE B: Evaluating the long-term benefits of a guaranteed UBI, starting with myself.
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POST: What's your "dream" research project that's too big or hard to do in real life? If funding wasn't an issue, what would you like to devote your work to?
RESPONSE A: Evaluating the long-term benefits of a guaranteed UBI, starting with myself.
RESPONSE B: i would like to make a vaccine for hypertension, as a disease that affects 1/3 adults, this would help so many people... but i think the science just isn't there yet
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POST: -5, which many people have apparently had success with. Indeed, it seems like a very optimal strategy for studying efficiently. I've been trying my best to do this, but no matter what at some point I start zoning out and working ineffeciently during the 9-5, and as a result I have to work into the evening. I think it's a matter of discipline and staying focused, which I can't seem to do consistently. What has worked for you in terms of staying focused and working efficiently? Any input or advice whatsoever is greatly appreciated!
RESPONSE A: I agree with some of the comments below -- some of the difficulty might be about context. There are some things I do better at home, and other things I do better at the office, and other things I do better at coffee shops or the library. Some trial and error will help you figure out where you "last longer" on different tasks. Part of is also just that we all can only last so long before our minds need a break; part of the key here is to find things that are breaks that take only a short time and can't run away with themselves. So take a break to do something that can only take you 20 minutes. Then go back to work. The problem is when we take a break doing things that have no natural end point, like messing around on reddit. But don't be afraid of them; take lots of them; be productive in spurts in between. The final possible issue is that you are doing something that doesn't interest you. That's a bigger question, and it's also the case that none of us loves every task that constitutes our work. I like to start with the things I like least for a little while in the morning, so that I can then spend the rest of the day doing the stuff I actually like to do. Those things require fewer -- but still several -- breaks. Hope that helps!
RESPONSE B: Know yourself. I'm a night owl. I will never work well 9-5. 11a-2p and 5p-10p are my work hours. If 9-5 isn't working for you, try new schedules until something does work. And remember to take breaks! Nobody actually works eight hours straight with perfect focus.
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POST: How many hours do you work on a regular workday? * Entrance-to-exit from the office/lab * Actual working hours (i.e. excluding any lunch/bathroom/phone break of any kind) * If possible, career stage, field/industry, country? Thanks!
RESPONSE A: Hi there! I clock my productive hours only and tend to work between 4-6 hours Monday-Friday. Most days this occurs over an 6-8 hour period. I am a ECR lecturer in psych in the UK.
RESPONSE B: I am post-PhD, working now at a state job in a food testing laboratory. I have been at this lab for 3 years. I get into work at 8:15 (although I can negotiate a time anytime between 7:00 and 9:00) and I leave at 4:15 (or whatever time 8 hours is after I came in). We have 30 min for lunch. I do ZERO work at home, which is amazing after the countless hours of feeling guilty not working at home during my PhD. USA.
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POST: How many hours do you work on a regular workday? * Entrance-to-exit from the office/lab * Actual working hours (i.e. excluding any lunch/bathroom/phone break of any kind) * If possible, career stage, field/industry, country? Thanks!
RESPONSE A: Such an interesting question! For a while I used the "Forest" app as a kind of pomodoro technique and turns out the actual productive time is a lot less than one might think. I think on really good days I had about 4-5 hours of only working, although usually less (on an 8hr work day). I was reading some kind of news article recently where they said humans only work 2-3h productive hours a day on average (excluding all the little breaks, browsing, distractions etc) though..
RESPONSE B: Hi there! I clock my productive hours only and tend to work between 4-6 hours Monday-Friday. Most days this occurs over an 6-8 hour period. I am a ECR lecturer in psych in the UK.
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POST: How many hours do you work on a regular workday? * Entrance-to-exit from the office/lab * Actual working hours (i.e. excluding any lunch/bathroom/phone break of any kind) * If possible, career stage, field/industry, country? Thanks!
RESPONSE A: During my post doc, I’d be in tissue culture for 5 hr slabs solid 3-4 days of the week and in the lab overall from 10-6, 5 days a week. Currently in industry in a small (very small) start up and I’ll be in tc or doing flow from around 8-5pm solidly most days, with a short break for lunch, with an average 10-11 hr workday (generally around 7:30-am - 6pm). *edit. I forgot, 2-3 night a week I’ll need to spend an hour or so doing data analysis or prep for meetings. I also tend to need to pop in on the weekends maybe 50% of the time but try to keep that at 3-4 hrs max.
RESPONSE B: I would say approximately 4-5 hours per day on a good day—and that’s actively writing/researching. Cognitively it seems I can’t do much more than that! Canada, PhD candidate.
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B
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POST: How many hours do you work on a regular workday? * Entrance-to-exit from the office/lab * Actual working hours (i.e. excluding any lunch/bathroom/phone break of any kind) * If possible, career stage, field/industry, country? Thanks!
RESPONSE A: Robotics PhD candidate I typically get into lab around 10AM and leave around 6:30PM while taking a ~45m lunch. I also typically do around 2 hours of work at night. Weekends are variable but I'd say 3-4 hours per weekend is pretty typical.
RESPONSE B: I would say approximately 4-5 hours per day on a good day—and that’s actively writing/researching. Cognitively it seems I can’t do much more than that! Canada, PhD candidate.
Which response is better? RESPONSE
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