dmb1785

It depends being on call. Family med/internal med/derm/othalmology aren't on call. A derm I shadowed plays golf with PGA people. I'm not saying I just want to make money and live. I want to go into faculty, so I'm actually losing free time. It's just that a PhD can take a long, long time with little pay. If things go the route of family and I decide to settle down. I don't think I'll be able to do that until after grad school. I would want to be a young parent and an active 20 year old. That's also partially what weened me away from medicine. I want to have power over myself. The only thing with dentistry is that I'm just not sure if I want to teach dentistry. Regenetive medicine, genetics and craniofacial biology sounds interesting, but I don't know how I would feel about oral biology. I just haven't been in biology labs. On the other hand, I LOVE what I'm studying in biology right now. I could see myself doing environmental science, environmental/biological engineering, ecology, biology etc. And another part of me loves political science and the politics of higher ed, so I might want to go down the higher ed administration route(my new school will be a T10 program for this)

I see. What is your perspective compared to professional school? Can you give me your comparison of similarities and differences between graduate school and dental/medical school? Particularly, those who end up going into medical and dental academia. I don't mean a comparison between a linguistics PhD and an orthodontist or neurosurgeon. Dental/medical faculty vs other phd

Well, I was hoping I would be able to get in a lab at new new school, not continue to work at my current school. Plus, I could take a filler summer class and get use to the campus and everything. Can anyone help with number 2? I'm going to start emailing professors and try to get my foot in the door at my new school.

So obviously a lot has changed from when most PIs and tenured professors were graduate students. I'm trying to learn more about grad school. My background can be found here: How is life for a PhD student? Are you still able to keep in touch with your non-academic friends? One thing I'm really worried about for grad school is the disconnect with the real world. How is family-work balance? Do you find yourself still able to spend time with your family and friends? Can you still enjoy things you do? One thing that attracts me to dental academia is the work-life balance. Dentists already have awesome work-life balance, so I feel like I could easily slip into faculty without the intensity of straight science. I know this is vague, but if anyone could share their thoughts, I would appreciate it very much. You don't have to be a STEM PhD, I want to hear from everyone. I'm also interested in higher ed administration, law and political science.

I don't think there is. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools Here are the law school rankings(PS the new grad school rankings come out in 2 weeks) I don't see comparative law in the menu to the right..but maybe that's just because I don't know terminology. Edit: Wow. I'm a moron. Political science. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/political-science-rankings Here it is. Click on the specialty drop down and select comparative.

Thanks for posting this... I needed it.

I have considered this too..I'm a current undergrad student, but I may want to just change my major to something like biological engineering or environmental engineering. I have heard bad things about these job markets however.

I love this forum.. Thanks for your advice everyone. So a few things I left out: *I do regularly attend conferences and presentations. I go to law presentations, education presentations, science presentations etc. However, I never thought to network at these conferences. Like I said, I don't go to the best school in the world, and most of my peers are finding themselves in other ways. I feel like if I were to be the only undergrad in a room full of law students or PhD candidates, I would be the odd man out. *I have applied to summer REU programs, but so far I have been rejected at one. I'm waiting on the other replies next week. The thing is, these programs only care about GPA..and my GPA isn't steller. Most people I know who apply to these programs are pre-med/pre-dental gunners. I have applied to craniofacial programs at MUSC and SUNY Buffalo. If I'm rejected everywhere, I plan to start in a lab at my new school(I'm transferring for fall 2013). I will try to stay in that lab until graduation. If I'm still pre-dental, then it'll help for dental school and my career after that. If I want to go to grad school, then it will help me there. *My ECs are all academic or somewhat related. I'm involved with a neuroscience club that hosts presentations posters of students, grad students and faculty, we talk about grad school applications and neuroscience in general. We have guest speakers and go on field trips to related sites. The other groups are pre-health organizations. I helped establish all three, so I feel it was a cool accomplishment that reveals my dedication to academia(?). Collectively, I "preside" over nearly 500 students at my school through these organizations. Other than that, I do the typical pre-dental volunteering/shadowing. I hope that can be somewhat used for grad school..maybe for applications? So new questions: 1. VBD, my new school is actually a powerhouse for ecology/environmental science research. Any advice on how to break in? What should I say? I would be a brand new student at the school. 2. In terms of using my current connections at my new school, how should I go about explaining to my former PIs and professors that I really hate where I am now? Isn't that offensive? I see myself saying, "Hey Dr. ____, so I'm transferring to _____ to major in the same major and I was wondering if you had any connections for me to use." I love the faculty and staff, but I have too many reasons for transfer to list. I just don't want to stay at my current school. I feel like I have hit my cap here. Nobody gets involved on campus, it is mainly a commuter school. The rankings/reputation is meh. The campus is dirty. It's just not an environment I enjoy. I know my new school well, and it's the place for me. 3. Does anyone know any REU programs that DON'T require LoRs? I asked my two references to write about 6 letters. I know they mostly cut, copy and paste, but I feel bad asking them for more. They've both been awesome and supportive. 4. The way I'm going, I may need some more time to think. How do grad schools look on you taking an extra year to graduate? Maybe I'll double major or double minor in something I'm interested in. My current school has bio and chem and that's pretty much it. My new school will have at least 2-3 dozen science degrees to choose from and customize your curriculum from. I may just need an extra summer. Maybe I'll look into a BS/MS program. 5. This question may be opening up a can of worms. It definitely does for pre-med, pre-dental and pre-pharmacy people. How is the market for grad students in biology? I know chemistry is nearing saturation and the humanities are top 10 or go home. I know the average salaries of professors, and I know that some can really make bank. I feel that everyone in grad school knows exactly what they're doing, and that it's harder to be competitive in grad school than it is even in med school. Everyone networks and does all that, so I guess what I'm wondering is after 6-8 years down the line...will I even be able to find a job? With all the changes in higher ed, I'm worried. I know every profession has this problem. Pharmacy is worse than law now and gets worse by the year as more schools open up and more graduates graduate. I know law's problem too.

Thank you so much VBD. I actually have looked into bioethics. I have done a lot of what you said actually. I always ask the admissions reps who come to my clubs how they got there and what they advise. I email too. Should I be considering law for what I want to do? Many JDs become presidents of universities(UNC, Columbia's Lee Bollinger etc) I am sort of interested in environmental science, ecology or similar fields. I see you're getting your PhD in that. Can you give me your story on how you decided on that? If you don't mind. I really, really appreciate it. I'm sorry if I come off as invasive. I'm going nuts to be honest.

The thing is I don't want to become an advisor. I want to become a dean of a land-grant research university. I know that's a blunt and maybe even naive thing to say, but that is my goal. I look at Bernie Machen, president of University of Florida as my inspiration as a pre-dental student wanting to go that route. Plus, dentistry in itself has a whole world of academia. Research comes first before GPA and GRE? That's great news. How do ECs look? I am a founding officer of several clubs. I am also establishing an honors society. This is at a very high activity/research university designated institution. I am transferring to a better, bigger and more prestigious university(in same state), but given that, I think my ECs would look impressive. Would they? In terms of research, I have done a lot of web design and database administration for people. I haven't been in the lab too much. I'm hoping the summer research program will change that. When do most people get involved with research during undergrad? I mean competitive applicants? Am I behind? I would love to be one of those guys who get 4-6th author on a publish, but it may be too late for me? Also, are professors nepotistic? Will my current connections no longer help me when I transfer schools? Sorry for all the questions. I just really want to get all my stuff in order...fast.

Hey everyone, I am currently a biology student at a medium size state school(research university, but not flagship). I always wanted to go into dentistry and practice, but now I'm not entirely sure what I want to do. I have started getting interest in academia. It's always been there at the back of my mind. I even considered teaching high school. I'm looking for some serious guidance. My situation is my own, and I just want any feedback possible. I posted this in the biology section, because I want to see if what I want to do is possible through this area of study. So I am currently a 2nd year in undergrad(yes, I know most people my standing don't know what they want to do), I have done plenty, plenty of shadowing and volunteering in various health professions including pharmacy, medicine and dentistry. I know the ins and outs of the pre-____ life. I am a frequent user of SDN(studentdoctornetwork, for those of you familiar with the glorious monstrosity that is SDN). I like dentistry, and I can see myself being a dentist(I want to become an orthodontist or periodontist). I know about the Chronicle of higher ed, highered today and publications of the sort. I follow the latest news about local colleges and universities in my state. I eventually want to transfer to our flagship, not just because of the prestige and program offerings, but because I'm not very satisfied with what I have here or the campus/student life/people. My current school was my back-up from high school and that hasn't changed. I came across some practitioners who work part-time and lecture part-time. I would love a setup like this, but the truth is, I don't know if I'm that passionate about dentistry. I am passionate about helping students. I want to do that. I am very active on campus. I have started plenty of student organizations and served as an officer. In terms of research, I have done research in non-related fields. I am hoping to get accepted into a summer research program..maybe that way I can get more of an insight on what it is I want to do with my life. About biology, I really enjoy biology. I find it interesting, but i'm not sure if I find it interesting because I have only taken the intro series, the gen chem and organic chem sequences. I just don't know if I know, and I'm scared that it might be too late by the time I figure everything out. I'm not the smartest or the quickest or the most well-connected, but my planning skills usually put me well ahead of everyone else. I'm worried that I have lost one of my best strengths. I guess what I'm asking for is general advice from people interested in biology. What would you do in my situation? One big concern I have about grad school is that I'm a people person. I don't want to be the anal academic. I like dentistry because it allows a great work-life balance. I want to be able to take some Fridays off and spend time with family and do things I want to do. I mainly want to go into academia to help students. I'm not even sure if I'm so passionate about research to do it all my life...I know to get tenure or make a decent living you have to be big on the grant proposals and funding acquisition. I'm not sure if I would be able to compete with PhDs. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy all the health professions are very much routine. Only the education sets these fields apart from an accountant, teacher or banker. Ideally, I would love to be provost or dean. I want to work in educational law. I want to be the one who's there to look out for students when it counts. I want to be the guy who mediates faculty and the "politicians" that often run university systems. I want to work in alumni relations. I want to just be so dedicated to my university. I look at Gordon Gee(and yes, I know of his faults too) and I just go wow. The guy is so proactive and loved by everyone. I just want to do that for my school and help make an institution an even better place. The only way I can get here is through the ranks. I was banking on dental faculty to dean and so on, but, again, I'm skeptical about my passion for oral biology. With all the changes in healthcare, I'm just not so sure about the living either. I'm not sure where to go to be honest. How can I learn more about grad school? I honestly only know the rankings and that's it. What websites do you all use to research graduate life and studies? Also, this is a big one. What is the GPA/GRA averages like for STEM PhDs? I wonder if I'm even competitive. My GPA isn't great due to many factors. It isn't anything that I can't help though. I don't blame anyone but myself. I'm just a lost undergrad haha Any advice?