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St Andrews Lynx

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  1. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to fuzzylogician in Want to KILL my Professor   
    You want to kill someone for doing something that confused and inconvenienced you? Can we just pause and note that that's not okay? 
    Changing the grading scheme mid-way through the course shouldn't be ok. At most institutions I know, that wouldn't be allowed. More to the point, why don't you schedule a meeting with the professor to ask what prompted the change, and how he wants you do deal with precisely the questions you bring up here? What happens when someone doing as well as before gets lower grades on an assignment, and someone who has even improved still gets what looks like a lower grade? Maybe the solution is to have the professor explicitly discuss this change in his policies in class. Either way, it should be his responsibility to address this problem, and your job is to do what he tell you. 
  2. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to aberrant in Co-advising from a well-known, but Retiring Professor; Interdisciplinary PhD with JD or MPH   
    It's 3 am and I'm most definitely getting viral infection in my throat. So I do apologized if I'm repeating myself in the following message...
    I think that there are too many reasons why people dropping out of grad schools. So I wouldn't read too much on that.
    Whether that program is top 5 or top 500, I think the first and foremost question(s) that you have to ask yourself is/are "can this PhD in Chemistry / <insert a noun for a specific subfield of> Chemistry take me to where I want to be, or what I want to do", and/or the equivalence of "do I need this degree to become <insert a word/line/sentence/description of your ideal career". I was a quasi-traditional grad school applicant, because I took sometime off during my undergraduate studies (not between undergrad and grad but in the middle of undergrad). Now that I am near the end of my grad school training, I still am working towards my career goal that absolutely requires a PhD, which means that I have no other options to begin with (but I enjoy it quite a lot of what I have been doing in grad school, so I'm not really complaining). I can only imagine that most people who are on the same boat would feel the same/similar way, and completely opposite for the ones who went to grad school for 'wrong' reasons (the word 'wrong' is completely subjective here).
    I just think that before committing your next 4-6 years in graduate school, which may (or may not) take you steps closer to your career goal, you definitely should consider all the possible options. Would you be happy doing those experiments/research that you are less/not interested in? Would you rather spend 4-6 years in grad school before a 4-year JD / 2-year MPH program, or straight to a 4-year JD / 2-year MPH program? How about spending 7-9 years in a joint PhD-MPH / PhD-JD programs? (Noticed that the game plan here influence on how much of tuition fees you have to pay out-of-pocket / from student loan, assuming that you are not awarding any sorts of scholarships / fellowships. To my understanding, any PhD / joint PhD programs have tuition waivers. I know people who are/were in PhD-MD and PhD-MBA programs do not have to pay 'anything' -- just like many other PhD students -- but either take longer years or have a crazy, fully packed schedule.)
    It is also a great start to look into funding opportunities that fund JD / MPH programs (if any). I most definitely understand that possible debt situation that you may get into. Hence the above questions/suggestions that I would guide you towards to. (Don't forget that time can be expensive, too!)
    Good luck!
  3. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to TakeruK in Difficult lab environment or am I not ready for graduate school?   
    There isn't a single "common" lab experience/environment. Your thoughts about grad school (pairing with a mentor and branching out) is a relatively common way I've seen labs run but so is your current way (where everyone works independently on their own). So I don't think your lab is abnormal either.
    However, that doesn't mean that there is a problem with you! There are many ways labs are run and there are many ways that students require support. Usually this means that the advice given to students is to find a lab that fits well with the type of support, mentoring, oversight, etc. that they would like from their advisor. Unfortunately, it did not sound like you got this opportunity due to the nature of your appointment.
    I'm not 100% sure what the best advice moving forward for you would be though. It would really depend on what you value and what your short term and long term goals are. But here are some options.
    You can decide that this isn't a good fit for you and look elsewhere for opportunities. You could do this by resigning and leaving this program and then apply for new programs that begin in Fall 2018. This may raise some questions in your profiles when you apply to other schools but if you are very unhappy with the current situation then I don't think you need to continue to suffer through it.
    You can decide that you will make this lab culture work for you. This means you would need to change your expectations on the type of support you would like to get. It won't help either to compare other labs to your lab. I think you would need to identify the next few steps you need to accomplish in order to "get results" as your advisor wants. I'm not sure whether you currently have a project yet (not necessarily a full fledged one, but do you have an idea on what general research question you are trying to answer and how you might go about doing this?). If you don't, then I think the first step is to determine whether or not your advisor is willing to help you figure one out or if you should be talking to senior students, postdocs or other staff. Once you determine that, then you need to figure out what other help you need for the remaining steps and ask for it. It is absolutely important to advocate for yourself when you are in this hands-off type of lab situation. Keep conversations going with your advisor too, to let them know what stage you're at and to make sure you are both on the same page in terms of what progress is expected. 
    Choosing the second option isn't permanent either. You might want to stick with it for a year and if you decide that this type of lab environment is not going to support you in your long term goals, then it's fine to change your mind. Having something completed might help you transfer to a different lab more easily and it can help you apply to different schools too. At least you'll have something to show for your time there. However, if the situation is not bearable or you have no way of helping yourself succeed then leaving the program may be the better path in the long run.
  4. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to orange turtle in Bad first term and fellowship applications due to illness/disability   
    @TakeruK, @Need Coffee in an IV, @fuzzylogician, and others who might be interested;
    So my grades were all released today and it turns out I didn't do as badly as I thought. I actually managed an A in all my classes. I just saw my graduate director this morning as he asked me to come by after the grades were released and his conclusion was that I didn't do as badly as I thought I did. He looked like he was trying so hard not to laugh while he talked to me this morning.
    I'm putting this here just in case somebody else is going to panic at the end of the year for similar reasons and wondered if there was going to be light at the end of the tunnel.
     
  5. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to serenade in Male profs being friends with male students?   
    I found this awhile back and have been meaning to post it to this thread. There's another similar article that I thought I bookmarked but can't find. If I do, I'll post it, but in the meantime, this one is interesting. 

    https://scatter.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/gradstudent-faculty-interaction/
  6. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from brightorangesocks in Potential Laboratory Sabotage   
    I think that you need to talk to your advisor about this, and promptly.
    You do have evidence at this point: the things that you have told us in the post. Experiments don't work when she is around; but do when she isn't. Setting out decoy reagents and the reactions work. Unless you set up CCTV cameras in the lab, you aren't going to get evidence that is much better than this.
    My advice would be to talk to the advisor with your fellow group members. Bring along a written summary of the evidence and concerns. Leave out the aspects of Sarah's personality (micromanager, ridiculing others, etc) and stick to the "sabotage facts". Keep calm: your PI might respond with shock or anger (if they have suspected nothing up until this point), you don't want to derail the discussion. 
    If your PI refuses to admit there's a problem or does nothing, then you might consider talking to a university ombudsman (impartial mediator) to get advice on what to do next. Or resigning from the lab if you don't want to support unethical research. Hopefully the PI will listen to your concerns. 
    In the interim, try to keep your research secured and confidential. That might mean locking up your lab notebooks, setting up decoy reagents/hiding your own reagents. 
    Sabotaging other people's work is an awful thing to do - but it isn't as bad for the PI w. respect to their tenure/funding/publications as if this student was faking positive data (that subsequently got into their grants or papers). I don't think that concern for the PI's wellbeing should stop you from reporting the suspicious behaviour. 
  7. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from OChemist in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Who told you this? 
    There are very few people who apply to Chem PhD programs with a "perfect" application. There's always a weakness (e.g. poor GPA) or something "non-traditional". The fact you got a paper out of your current lab is great (I'd argue that most undergrads applying to Chemistry PhD programs don't have any papers) and your currently advisor will clearly be putting in a strong letter about all the great work you've done in such a short time. In an ideal world yes, perhaps ad comms would prefer to see a couple of years research experience in one lab...but your CV clearly shows that changing labs isn't a problem with you. Going through different labs has helped you develop different research skills, and now you're better able to screen for toxic labs (trust me, you need this skill going in to grad school).
    If there was one crusty old white guy on one ad comm somewhere complaining about your CV...screw 'em. 
  8. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from Frozen__waffles in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Who told you this? 
    There are very few people who apply to Chem PhD programs with a "perfect" application. There's always a weakness (e.g. poor GPA) or something "non-traditional". The fact you got a paper out of your current lab is great (I'd argue that most undergrads applying to Chemistry PhD programs don't have any papers) and your currently advisor will clearly be putting in a strong letter about all the great work you've done in such a short time. In an ideal world yes, perhaps ad comms would prefer to see a couple of years research experience in one lab...but your CV clearly shows that changing labs isn't a problem with you. Going through different labs has helped you develop different research skills, and now you're better able to screen for toxic labs (trust me, you need this skill going in to grad school).
    If there was one crusty old white guy on one ad comm somewhere complaining about your CV...screw 'em. 
  9. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from Bekkesys in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Who told you this? 
    There are very few people who apply to Chem PhD programs with a "perfect" application. There's always a weakness (e.g. poor GPA) or something "non-traditional". The fact you got a paper out of your current lab is great (I'd argue that most undergrads applying to Chemistry PhD programs don't have any papers) and your currently advisor will clearly be putting in a strong letter about all the great work you've done in such a short time. In an ideal world yes, perhaps ad comms would prefer to see a couple of years research experience in one lab...but your CV clearly shows that changing labs isn't a problem with you. Going through different labs has helped you develop different research skills, and now you're better able to screen for toxic labs (trust me, you need this skill going in to grad school).
    If there was one crusty old white guy on one ad comm somewhere complaining about your CV...screw 'em. 
  10. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from Dibenzofulvene in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Who told you this? 
    There are very few people who apply to Chem PhD programs with a "perfect" application. There's always a weakness (e.g. poor GPA) or something "non-traditional". The fact you got a paper out of your current lab is great (I'd argue that most undergrads applying to Chemistry PhD programs don't have any papers) and your currently advisor will clearly be putting in a strong letter about all the great work you've done in such a short time. In an ideal world yes, perhaps ad comms would prefer to see a couple of years research experience in one lab...but your CV clearly shows that changing labs isn't a problem with you. Going through different labs has helped you develop different research skills, and now you're better able to screen for toxic labs (trust me, you need this skill going in to grad school).
    If there was one crusty old white guy on one ad comm somewhere complaining about your CV...screw 'em. 
  11. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from OChemist in Opportunites in Law and Chemistry   
    If you were interested in patent law/IP (intellectual property) then it is more common to get a science degree and then get trained in the law stuff after you've been hired by a company. The advantage of that approach is that the company who hires you will cover the costs of the law degree/qualifications, and you get paid a salary. Would you have to pay for the joint Chemistry/JD? If so, I personally wouldn't bother.
    I know of one person who completed a Chemistry PhD, but helped out in their university's tech transfer office as an intern during that time (when an academic wants to commercialise their work or start a spin-off company the TTO helps with the legal & patent issues). That might also be an option to pursue if you are curious.
  12. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to fuzzylogician in PI doesn't think I'm excited about work, gave me ~5 weeks to change his mind. I'm freaking out.   
    I don't know, I think the DGS is doing what they should be doing. The option of staying with the current PI seems like a bad choice, so switching advisors is probably the right move. I don't think it's reasonable to expect the DGS to find the student a new advisor; I think it's the student's responsibility -- and it is in their interest -- to forge a new relationship themselves and not have it enforced from the outside, at least as a first step. So at this point, if the student can find an arrangement that works without outside involvement, I think that's better. I do agree that once a department accepts a student, it should be its responsibility to see him/her through, but that can't mean that a DGS or chair forces a professor to take a student they don't want. The advisor needs to be comfortable with the student's work in order to sign off on it. If it ends up being that a student can't find anyone to advise them or support their work, unfortunately it may very well be that at that point the department has done all it can and the honest thing to do is tell the student that they need to leave the program and find a program that would be a better fit. Whether the program then awards the student some terminal degree is down to details that are probably beyond what this discussion needs to be about. 
    Again, I don't think the student has a right to graduate with a PhD just because they were accepted to the program, even if everyone and everything happens in good faith. You do have a right to be supported and to be advised and if the program can't do that for you, you can try to work with it to fix it, or you can choose to leave. If you do stay for a PhD, I do agree that now is the time to figure that out because around now is when acceptance and funding decisions are made and you don't want to be left out. It's tricky because if you start over with a new PI, it's not clear that either of you will have enough of an idea of whether the advising situation is comfortable and successful for both parties. But it's definitely something to bring up now and to stay on top of. I do kind of wonder at this point if there are enough people around that you get along with, OP, so you can form a committee and have enough support, beyond whoever your advisor ends up being. I am not sure that is the case, and if not, that's not the right choice for a PhD program for you. 
  13. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from Piagetsky in Advisor Picked Method We Didn't Really Understand - Presenting Work I Know Is Bad?   
    Depending on how the conference abstract/title is phrased, you perhaps have the ability to present something else at the conference. In the upcoming months you could run a slightly different analysis and present the new results instead of the controversial data. The great thing about poster presentations is that it gives you an opportunity to interact with experts who can give you new ideas or advice about how to expand/improve your project.
    When preparing for meeting with your advisor, try to be as proactive as possible. Think about various alternative plans and bring those to the table. Assume that your PI is not going to tell you to just give up entirely on the project. How can you rework or re-run the data? Is there a better statistical model you could apply? What are the short-term fixes? What are the long-term fixes? If your only contribution to the discussion is "It's Wrong! It's Wrong! It's All Wrong! Everything Is Hopeless!" then I could imagine your PI getting annoyed. Certainly don't blame the PI for any of this ("You didn't read through that paper properly"/"You dismissed my concerns out of hand."). Apologise briefly for not realising the problem(s) sooner, but 1 short apology early on in the discussion should be enough. 
     
  14. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to dr. t in Opinions regarding potential lab.   
    You couldn't find more red flags at a May Day parade. Flee.
  15. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to dr. t in Potential Laboratory Sabotage   
    I would first ascertain the precise relationship the potential PI has with your old one. I think it's unlikely that your previous PI would say anything negative about you, as that would force the question and spread the fact that there is some disquiet in their lab, so your main goal should be presenting yourself positively. Until you get to know your prospective PI better, I would try to find some simple answer to why you left your last lab that does not involve Sarah or reflect poorly on your previous PI.
    Glad to hear you're landing on your feet!
  16. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from quickstudy in PI doesn't think I'm excited about work, gave me ~5 weeks to change his mind. I'm freaking out.   
    At this point, your PI isn't going to change. If you decide to stick with him you'll be in for much the same communication style and interactions. Perhaps they're uncomfortable saying hard truths ("you aren't working hard enough/you don't know enough"), or perhaps they only have this vague sense that something isn't right and it isn't based on anything concrete. Is he used to dealing with non-traditional students? That might unfortunately be part of his problem (his problem, not yours!).
    My translation of what your PI wants is for you to be more proactive. Not just saying "X doesn't work" and stopping there, but giving your own suggestions about what to do next in your meetings. Not just asking for advice, but offering 1-2 suggestions of your own and seeing which one he likes the most. He doesn't want you to mindlessly churn out data, but to work smart and explore the literature in depth.
    These excessively non-confrontational, indirect people are fairly common in academia. I can't give you much advice about whether you should stick it out or change labs other than what I've said above (he's not going to change). It's unlikely that you can get the perfect combination of great PI + exciting project + ideal management/communication style, so you need to think carefully about what's really the most important thing for you.
  17. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from vaporeon in Venting Thread- Vent about anything.   
    Ahhh, Facebook privacy settings can control whether posts are visible to 'Close Friends', 'Public' or 'All Friends except....' 
  18. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to lostongilligansisle in Male profs being friends with male students?   
    No, the problem is exactly that the male faculty are friends with the male student, and the male student receives extra benefits from that friendship that the other students do not. This thread is not about discrimination against the female students, it is about the favoritism toward the male student. The favoritism here is gender based, but it could have been easily been based on race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, or the faculty and the favorite student all being underwater basket weaving enthusiasts. Many people (myself included) believe favoritism in any form is unethical, but there are still significant numbers of people who see no problem with it or even openly practice it as if it were a virtue. 
    Favoritism in any setting breeds resentment, frustration and anger among the unfavored, and sometimes even hopelessness and despair. It gives the favored a sense of entitlement to the inequitable allocations of benefits and a lack of appreciation for the advantages they have received that others have not. It also sets up the favored as a potential target for retribution or sabotage. It encourages conflict, breaks down teams, and prevents work from getting done. Favoritism allows the talents, knowledge, and abilities of the unfavored to go unrecognized, unrewarded, and wasted, instead of being put to effective and meaningful use. Favoritism is usually only seen or sensed by the unfavored, seldom noticed by the favored, and routinely denied by those who practice it (although some will boast about it). Those who practice favoritism, whether consciously or unconsciously, eventually lose the trust and respect of the unfavored and anyone else who can see the favoritism and does not agree with it. 
    Eigen, I've seen you give good advice in many other threads, but I, for one, do not take any of your advice or statements in this thread seriously... not because you are male, but because you have clearly stated that you choose to show your male students favoritism and will continue to do so. You choose to perpetuate those double standards. The reason why does not matter to anyone but you, because your actions are what make a difference (or not) in your students' lives. Your female students have no choice but to do without, while watching the males reap the benefits you give them. The reason there are those gender-specific support groups is because that outside of those support groups, there are many, many people who think like you do, who are in positions of authority and can grant resources and opportunities as they see fit, and who view themselves as supporting women, even while continuing to give advantages to men and justifying it in ways like you have written above. You are frustrated that you are not viewed as an ally -- why should you be, when you choose not treat your students equally? (Rhetorical question. Only you need to know the honest answer to that.)
    Seriously: you cannot show favoritism to men and expect women to believe that you will have their back. Maybe I've been harsh in my statements, but it's because women live with the much harsher reality of favoritism every day. Because favoritism is the root of why there are not more women and other underrepresented groups in STEM fields, not any of the other excuses that people think can be fixed with school outreach programs and whatnot. Because favoritism promotes the success of the favored through greater assistance and opportunities (even simple things like a prof giving you temporary lodging), and the unfavored move on to other areas in search of receiving the same opportunities as everyone else. Unfortunately, many never do get those opportunities.
    I really didn't intend this post to be so long and preachy, but I thought someone had to say this. Not that it will actually change anyone's behavior or point of view -- I gave up trying to do that a long time ago -- but at least Pscott and others going through similar experiences can know that some stranger on the internet believes them and understands how damaging these situations are to all involved.
  19. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from OrgChemFan in What schools look for when they look at research experience?   
    I think it's more important that you have a couple of years' worth of experience in 1 lab, and that you have demonstrated some independence and acquired good (field-appropriate) skills in the process. Your research doesn't have to be ground-breaking or super-trendy: you aren't really evaluated on the kind of research you do, just how well you do it. 
     
  20. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx got a reaction from knp in Male profs being friends with male students?   
    In line with @knp - my advice would be to proactively go and join any conversations that this student is having 1-on-1 with the faculty, perhaps bringing 1 or 2 other female PhDs along at the same time as wing(wo)men.  (i) 'cause I suspect you won't be able to get the male student to act considerately of his own accord (ii) I don't think you can complain about a buddy relationship unless there's an ethical issue (e.g. unfair grading, allocation of resources). The most benign reason is that the individuals involved don't realise they're causing issues for others or propagating an exclusionary culture.
    Networking is all about proactivity - whilst some great advisors will help introduce their students to fellow academics...most would never think to. I suspect that's what the dude in question is doing. Unfortunately you've got to play the same game. 
  21. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to knp in Male profs being friends with male students?   
    Oh, bummer! Yes, this is totally a real thing that happens. I have not been in exactly this situation, but I've seen rumblings at the edge of it. What follows are a couple sets of ideas, some better than others; I've also included some of the most obvious cons of each idea, and I'm speaking from experience on few of them. I am not sure how much traction you are going to get if these professors aren't comfortable talking to you—any of the female students—at the official holiday party (!). They should be managing this themselves, so I'm cynical about how much things will improve, but hopefully one or two of these ideas will help you shift the dynamic in a positive direction, even if you don't eliminate the problem. The organizing principle is, these are all ways to break up the current (bad) group dynamic in ways that are cheerful, non-threatening (specifically in a way that will reduce your professors' resistance to your interventions), and difficult for them to avoid.
    First, where is the male student in this? It sounds like he isn't be in your cohort, so this may not be for you to do, but somebody with whom he is on speaking terms and has studied or worked with him for at least half an hour in the past should try to get his help fixing this. He should never ever ever—excuse my emphasis—be standing with a group of male faculty at an academic-social event without any other students in it. If he sees this happening, he should call some of the female students over (1-3), or, if he's too 'shy', he should (outside of such gatherings) encourage female students to interrupt the all male-groups and (in the moment) make sure to welcome the entering students into the conversation. Another good strategy would be for him, next time he gets a beer with one of the professors, to say, "hey, you know it would be really great if Jane and Maria came too," so that a pattern of group happy hour beers starts to emerge.
    If he is an avowed non-feminist and you know this about him, a couple of his friend students might ask to be invited along to the next beer without mentioning any gender equity reasons for this intervention. If he is sufficiently greedy for attention that even this does not fly....I'm sorry for you, that's very selfish of him. Or, just do it yourselves. "Hey professor so-and-so, are you going to that talk? Do you want to get a beer afterwards with me and Kat?" Or, "Hey my supervisor so-and-so, do you want to come out with me and all your other three advisees?"
    Another one I've heard of, in more business settings, is for people to bring their partners, and that afterwards, that gesture proves the relationship is on a trustworthy footing even when the partners stop coming. I think this would not apply as well to academia, unless their partner works in a closely related field, or how you could suggest it, but I did hear people saying it had worked for them.
    A final point: do not lead by fixating on having beers alone with anybody, or trying to deny that to the male student. ("If they won't have beers alone with us, they shouldn't do it with anybody!" No! Danger!) I worry that this is obvious and I'm overreacting to you just venting, but that's a horrible idea. Because you're at the beginning of the more social side of these relationships, the word for the semester is equity, not equality. It takes time to develop the relationship to the point that you're hanging out alone with a faculty member. The male student has that, and you don't, yet—it sounds true that the reason you don't have it yet is sexism, but do not start off with a crusade to get the faculty to refuse to have drinks with anyone alone. First, you have to develop the groundwork out of which hanging out alone might more naturally come. Once you've seen how that goes—if the faculty are generally receptive, but there's a lingering pattern where many of the faculty are still hanging out with the male student, and only the male student, very frequently—it might be a policy worth suggesting. (Or if more male students enter and the pattern extends that way.) In most departments, that would be a cutting off your nose to spite your face kind of situation, but I'm willing to the admit that a few departments exist where maybe this way of achieving a particular facet of equality is the best of a bunch of bad options. If one male student continues to get a one-on-one beer once a month with one faculty member, or twice a semester with maybe two faculty members, write it off as them having clicked particularly.
    In general, although I have great, supportive relationships with several older male professors, it is disappointing that I don't have any close female mentors in the same way. Some of this disappointment, however, is global for our demographic cohort of young, professional women. I end with this article because your situation is very bad and I didn't want to be interpreted as fatalistic at the beginning: you can absolutely do a lot to make this better. However, I think milder forms of this problem will persist for us as long as we're early career: I liked how this article captured my mix of frustration about this and optimism about changing those dynamics myself someday, so I wonder if you might like it, too. http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/cant-find-a-mentor-look-to-your-peers.html
  22. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to Almaqah Thwn in Crush on another grad student   
    Generally, dating someone in your own program is a bad idea. It is relatively awkward to ask them for a radiocarbon sample and it is much cheaper and more accurate to just ask them how old they are. 
  23. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to dr. t in Crush on another grad student   
    Ah, one of my favorite academic past times: the "yes" couched in a flurry of caveats that render it an effective "no".
  24. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to juilletmercredi in Is R1 the right path for me?   
    Wait a second here. If I am understanding you correctly, you applied for a position at one nonprofit, and weren't a great fit there, so now you have completely given up on nonprofits altogether and decided to focus your energy on faculty positions?
    I mean, if you really want to be a professor that is your call - you can direct your own job search. But if the only reason you gave up on nonprofits is because this one nonprofit rejected you for being too research-focused...don't!
    First of all, every nonprofit organization is completely different, and some will have more of a focus on or appreciation for research than others. There are lots of giant nonprofits that do lots of education research - ACT, the Educational Testing Service, and the College Board are just the first three that pop into mind. There are lots of think tanks and policy agencies that do educational research. There might be state school boards and administrative bodies that would benefit from an educational researcher. Education is one of those fields where there are lots of researchers in lots of places other than academia. If you wanted a research-focused, non-academic position you could find one.
    Second, learning to tailor your resume/CV and your frame of mind into a more applied one is a skill. It's not something that's innately born into you. Yes, it can be difficult to switch gears, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. You have to take certain steps to learn how to do it, but it's definitely doable. Of course, again, whether that's something you want or not is really up to you.
    If you are still uncertain about academia I would not take this one rejection as some kind of cosmic sign from the universe that you were meant to be in academia. It's simply a job rejection from one job that just wasn't the right fit.
  25. Upvote
    St Andrews Lynx reacted to TakeruK in Quitting School and Getting a Job to Reapply to Schools Next Year   
    I will also say that it is very likely that your courses will not transfer. If you want to go to a new school, you're likely going to start over again, at year one.
    I also want to second @Butterfly_effect's point about the importance of mentorship and research fit over research fit/passion. I always say that these two things are important for happiness and productivity in grad school, however, it is much easier to change your research interests than your PI's mentorship style and lab culture. If you find a good PI and a good lab at a school/department that is a good fit for you, I'd hang on as best I could! 
    From an outsider's point of view, it sounds to me that you are focussing too much on the little differences in research topics. To me, it sounds like your "dream project" and what your lab does is very similar, just not exactly what you were hoping for. Since I don't know the terminology of your field, I'd use an analogy. To me, it sounds like your ideal grad school project is to study the best pastry making methods because you want to make apple pies. However, the lab is working on making Beef Wellington, but part of a good Beef Wellington is a nice pastry crust, so they are working on developing pastry methods too! 
    My advice for new and prospective graduate students is to avoid framing your research interests as a specific topic or research question. Instead, when picking labs in grad school, think about what are the things you want to learn by the time you leave. Grad school is a training ground---I think of it as an "incubator" for us to develop into independent scientists. So, I don't really care that much whether I work on making apple pies, cherry turnovers, or Beef Wellington. My goal is to develop good pastry making skills so that I can go out there and become an independent researcher.
    I also think flexible research interests is good for you personally and good for science overall. It's good for you personally because you will be able to "follow the money" and do whatever work that is getting funded. Having narrow interests in grad school means that you might have to adjust to this during postdocs and later in your career. That is, you might just get lucky and have the perfect fit project in grad school, but that's not always going to be the case later in life, so I wouldn't stress about it now. I also think it's good for science and academia in general to be flexible. If every scientist decided on research interests for life in grad school, our field won't be able to adapt to new discoveries and work on whatever is at the forefront of knowledge at a given time. 
    Okay, so here is my suggestion on future steps:
    1. Don't do anything now. You've only been here for a few months. You gain almost nothing from leaving the program right now so give it some more time. Do not contact the schools that did not accept you to see if they would reconsider you. They didn't accept you during the regular season, and they are unlikely to somehow change their mind. If there were schools that accepted you but you declined, then maybe there is a chance. 
    2. After 1 academic year in the program (e.g. the summer), re-evaluate how you feel about the research fit and the city and the lab fit etc. I understand your ethical concerns about staying longer knowing that you will leave, but I don't think it's a concern if you fully commit to keeping an open mind until next summer. No one will expect you to know within a few months whether or not you will stay. 
    3. If you do decide to leave next summer, you should tell your PI right away. This will give you the summertime to figure out the next course of action---whether it's to stay and finish the MS (and whether or not you will still be funded in the 2017-2018 year) or to just leave and take a job while applying for more schools. 
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