Science!

1. Agricultural Biology Researcher (working on it) 2. Rice Farmer (have the land and work it for personal crop use, so I guess I'm qualified, would need waaaaaay more land & equipment to turn it into a business though I have relatives who do this for a living) 3. Master Sake Brewer (Would need to pass a pretty grueling examination for this one) 4. Truck Driver (would need to update my CDL) We'll see how my PhD applications go this year, I'm probably going to go with #2 or #3 if I don't get admission. I suppose my MS in Bioinformatics won't be wasted. Maybe I can create sentient rice cultivar next year and unleash it on admission committees mad scientist style!

burn out

http://www.youtube.com/embed/nhjGoaKf52s "Kids you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try." - Homer J Simpson I like to draw inspiration from odd wells.

motivation vocation

Hi! I'm 36 and a father of two (4 and 2) I didn't apply for Social Work (although that was my wife's major in undergrad!) but I basically applied to universities local to my job. I never thought about it, at my advanced age I doubt there is much they could ask me I have not already heard! I figure I'll just be upfront and honest about my ambitions to take over the world. I've been fortunate enough that it's going to be a mix of savings and TAP from my employer. I should come out of it relatively unscathed and in the black. I graduated in the late 90's with an Engineering Degree and I have had the opportunity to travel and work in various countries as a result. I was a PhD candidate in the late 90's but I had to withdraw due to finances. Now that I'm sure finances won't get in the way of things I've decided to go back, although not for engineering. It helps that my current line of work puts me in heart of my intended major in Bioinformatics. I'm nervous about going back to school, but in my line of work I've been learning new material and theory for the past 15 or so years anyway. The only difference is I'll have to pay for privilege instead of being paid for it! When all is said and done I'm hoping to have a PhD before the little ones are out of Junior HS. For now, I'm focusing on a Master's to ground my research interests and to garner some experience/connections with local researchers interested in the same topics. Best of luck to you and your family!

I guess this is a more likely (but still far-fetched) scenario when trying to apply to PhD programs and needing funding? If you're an old fart like me just trying to get your MS and some research experience after a decade or more in "the real world." I'm having a hard time seeing any institution saying, "Nope, we don't want your free money and labor." Unless your SOP and LORs were written in crayon and your GPA puts you in the squares club! Although, I suppose if the 2 Universities that I have applied to don't want me, I'll just go down to the pub and have a beer and start working on next year's applications. Who knows, maybe by the time my own kids are at Uni I can be their TA hahahaha! If it does make anyone feel better, I will relate a story of one of my High School teachers. She let 30 years pass between her MA and PhD and she taught HS for over 40 years. She's since passed on, but I remember her remarking that we shouldn't be in such a rush. It's the journey that matters. So if you end up spending time in the real world with the rest of us, please don't despair.

I've sent hand written thank you notes. It seems inappropriate for me to give them gifts for their recommendations. Perhaps my views are antiquated, but I was always taught that proper etiquette was to send a thank you note. I should also note that I work along side the professors and researchers who wrote my recommendations letters while going to school part time, so it would be awkward for me to be giving them gifts as one is my current boss! I think as long as you don't go too overboard a simple thank you note and a gift card is probably fine, but do be careful as some institutions do have rules concerning the monetary value of gifts that can be received. I once worked for an organization that received a Christmas ham from one of our clients and we donated it to local homeless shelter as the monetary value exceeded what we could legally accept as a gift. I suppose that's another reason that makes me err on the side of caution when it comes to gift giving.