rising_star

Why are you emailing the professor now?

I personally think 2 days is enough time, unless you have a pet with separation issues or something. I would go on as many visits as you can afford and manage. If that means returning Sunday night and leaving again on Tuesday or Wednesday. then that's just what you have to do.

I would definitely contact the program on Monday to find out if you were rejected. Perhaps contact the PI you've been in touch with via email this weekend to ask for further information?

I've considered going back to school for a second master's, though in an entirely different area (my degrees are in the social sciences, but this would be in Higher Ed/Student Affairs). But, I haven't pulled the trigger yet for a number of reasons, many of which are financial.

They're not going to care at all. I changed my MA graduation date from May to August and no one batted an eye.

fuzzylogician makes a great point. I do know of cases where people have negotiated to do their postdoc first or finish their postdoc and delay the start of the TT position. That way, you'd get the benefits of both the postdoc and the permanent job.

Oh, then just pick one translation. Or, pick one or two key aspects of, scenes in, or metaphors in the novel and explain how they're handled in the original and in each of the two translations. You could, for example, focus on the how blackness or Africanness is conveyed in all three texts.

I mean, it's pretty much expected in some places. I know many postdocs/VAPs that have left before their multi-year contracts were complete because they were offered (and ultimately accepted) their dream position. If this is about applying, then I'd say apply for sure. If you've already landed the dream job, congratulations! Be gracious, give them plenty of advanced notice about when you will leave, and do your damnedest to wrap everything up (data collection and analysis, publications submitted or a plan for doing so) before you leave and make that timeline and plan available to your supervisors. (Also, nice to see you! I haven't seen you around much lately!)

Three things: 1) Have you actually been able to get an architecture job that will let you do the digital drafting work that you want? If you haven't, it's possible that it may be harder to secure the type of position you want than you realize. 2) If you're having any doubts whatsoever about doing a PhD in the USA, I would defer admission. It's a huge commitment (moving overseas, heavy coursework, lots of reading, etc.) and if you're not fully invested, you will struggle. Why not work now and then pursue the Ph.D. in the future if it's something you find that you need or want to do? 3) That said, it may be possible for you to be a part of the research community without the Ph.D. You could potentially collaborate with other scholars on publications, conduct and publish research as an independent scholar, or present at conferences.

Yes, it does.

fuzzy, there might be some confusion. I'm not saying to wait on getting something published or not submit a final paper unless it's a publishable manuscript. I'm saying to think of final papers as first drafts of manuscripts that you can build on in the future. And, at least in my program, that was expected and encouraged. We were also encouraged to submit things like NSF proposal drafts as final papers, especially for fall courses since there's a spring DDRI deadline. Having a solid draft in December and getting feedback in early January gave you another month to revise before you had to submit.YMMV, obviously, but that was a pretty standard approach in both my MA and my PhD programs.

As others have said, make sure you have everything in writing before you withdraw your applications. I think it's nice of you to withdraw your applications and open up spots for others. The one caveat I would add is that visiting can change things. I had two top schools for my MA program, both fully funded. After visiting, I knew that one of them would not work for me and that the other one would (I visited both in the same week basically). Had I accepted that one program and withdrawn my other applications, I would've been in a real bind after that first visit (the first one was the school I realized wouldn't work and then I spent a few days worrying that the other program would be equally disappointing when I visited). Be careful that you don't put yourself into a weird situation.

I wouldn't really be upset about that at all. But, that's because, based on what you've said, I don't think the TA is undermining your authority. Offering help with technology is something a lot of undergrads do when they see that I'm having issues with the projector or video clip or whatever. I don't mind it and just thank them for their help. If you've already talked to the TA, try talking to them again but framing it differently. Instead of saying "don't interrupt me," invite them to share their ideas with you privately before or after class.

Depends on the quality of the recommendation. What you want is the best recommendation you can get. Now, for professional programs, employer recs are a good thing. But an employer rec that just says "AmandaLeigh worked here and was a hard worker. She did what we asked her to do." isn't going to get you very far. Figure out who can write you the most positive recommendation and ask that person.

I would list as many areas as you're actually interested in and willing to work in. That will increase your likelihood of getting a GA position. But, talk to the grad admin person in your department to find out what the proper procedure is for each department.

Why not choose just one or two translation to focus on? If you did that, you could choose the two that have the most contrast with the original, frame them in the appropriate historical/literary context, and go from there. Or, you know, talk to your advisor!

I do a lot of my reading in a papasan chair. Before I had it, I read a lot in an armchair. I make sure to have at least one comfortable reading chair in my house at all times.

Definitely find out what the funding would look like before you commit to anything. Make sure you also know what project you'll be expected to work on for your dissertation. You might also want to do research on the program itself to make sure it's a good fit for you. Will you find other professors you can take classes with and who can serve on your committee? That's an important consideration too. Like others have said, take the time to consider whether this would be your top choice over all the other programs you're waiting to hear from. It could be that you're better served working under another supervisor since you already have a relationship with this one.

They're not going to be quizzing you on your knowledge of sociological theories in the interview. The interview is to learn more about your research interests, your background, and for you to learn about the faculty and the program. Brush up on what you want to do research on and why, and be prepared to discuss how the program will help you do that research.

I really enjoyed This Is Where I Leave You, though you may not want to read about family drama while breastfeeding.

This is tough. I mean, my advisor wasn't any better or worse as a mentor once he left for another university. I didn't go with him to the new institution but that also didn't really change our relationship. If I were you, I wouldn't worry so much about who are your current advisor's friends and enemies. I'd worry about trying to find a good research fit and a lab where I can get out in the least amount of time.

For me, I'd risk it. But, I tend to just let myself fall in love and then deal with things as they come up. I dated another grad student for over a year but, ultimately, it didn't work out because I wanted to move for my PhD and they wanted to stay in that area and work in a job they'd found. During my PhD, I dated someone that wasn't a grad student. That relationship ended because the person I was dating wasn't interested in the uncertainty of where I might live next (there are zero job prospects for me in the place where I got my PhD). You really can never know whether even someone with a mobile career is willing to follow you. I say take the chance and just see what happens. Good luck!

Do both! Look for another writer and keep trying to get in touch with the person who hasn't submitted their rec yet.

It's definitely partially because it's time-consuming. My experience was that I got more feedback from profs if I made it clear that I was planning to build on or develop that class paper into something else. So, for example, I wrote research proposals for final papers on multiple occasions and I'd always make sure to get the professor's feedback on those. They usually provided it in writing, though sometimes I had to meet with them and get the feedback orally. If you take the initiative to ask for feedback because you want to do something with the document later, people tend to respond well. As a fellow social sciences person, I would urge you not to write any "throwaway" papers. Basically everything I wrote in grad school for a final paper served me in some way. I wrote sample comp answers, research proposals, book reviews, conference papers, and draft chapters for my courses. Our professors encouraged us to do so, in part because they knew we needed to be doing all of those other things anyway. I'd encourage you to do the same. Good luck!

mandarin.orange, this might be field-specific. In my field, you definitely can get ruled out of jobs by lack of teaching experience. I even remember this coming up in interviews for a faculty position at a R1. The graduate students and some of the faculty were concerned that the candidate had only ever been a grader before and that person was the first one eliminated in discussions for the position. FWIW, there was nothing wrong with their job talk, campus interview, etc. The teaching experience was the major negative and what separated the first person eliminated from the three that remained in contention for the position. Yes, you need research output anywhere. But what that is varies depending on where you are. At SLACs, you're expected to integrate students into your research. Yes, you run a lab but that lab is staffed by undergraduates, not graduate students, and it's understood that you won't publish at the same rate as your colleagues at R1s. That's why not as many peer-reviewed articles are expected/required for tenure at a SLAC. Trust me when I say that doing research with an undergraduate team is very different than doing it with grad students. Even when you pay them, you can't expect undergrads to spend 40 hours a week working in your lab, except in the summer. Again, this is why the overall expectation is less. That said, if you don't have good teaching evals at a SLAC or communty college, you'll be asked to leave. While some might say that anyone can learn to teach, it turns out that not everyone can. I have seen it happen before and probably will again in the next few months. A few bad evals in one course isn't enough. But a pattern of bad evals, even with top-notch research, will get you booted from a lot of SLACs. The expectations are completely different at SLACs, particularly about faculty availability. It isn't just do some research, teach your 2-3 courses per semester, serve on a committee, and go home. You're expected to be available, which means being in your office even outside your regular office hours. You're expected to attend campus events in the evenings and on the weekends and it's talked about if you're not there. You often live in a small town, which means you see your colleagues anywhere and everywhere. You'd be amazed by how many rec letters undergrads need (summer internships, summer research programs, study abroad programs) that you'll be asked to write even in your first year. Service often ends up being much more involved and is discussed in pre-tenure reviews (as in, people get told they need to do more service). People also get told they need better teaching evals in pre-tenure reviews. My experience has been that at R1s, you can totally get away with being crappy at teaching. But at (S)LACs, that's not the case. If they sense that you don't enjoy teaching or are bad at it (and they ask questions aimed at this in the phone/Skype interview), they'll cut you from the list. If you come to campus and don't engage well with undergrads, you aren't getting the job at a SLAC, no matter how good your research is. The search pools are deep enough that they can find someone that wants to teach and work with undergrads. And, if they make a mistake and hire that person anyway, they'll get you out around your 3rd year. I've heard a lot of variations of what a crappy job of teaching is. Some of it is course design: you need a logical syllabus, you need readings that aren't too hard or easy, you need assignments that are well structured and achieve your aims, etc. Not spending enough time preparing materials is a flaw that students can often see right through. Designing a good course is hard! I think you can be a crappy teacher and give detailed comments on the work. That is, you could give great comments but, if the assignment itself wasn't clear or you didn't give them the skills needed to do the assignment, then that's you not doing your job as the instructor (aka, being a crappy teacher). I spend a lot of time making my assignments as clear as I can, spelling out what they're being evaluated on and how many points go in each area (so a rubric but with details), and developing interactive class activities. You don't want the time spent in class to be boring, to duplicate the reading, or to otherwise seem like it is wasting their time. I spent a bunch of time in the Teaching Center at my PhD University learning from the experts (PhDs in Instruction or Assessment) how to teach well, how to devise assignments, etc. I even took a graduate seminar they taught, had them review my teaching philosophy for the job market, went over teaching demos for campus visits with them, and ran lesson plans by them when I was TAing. It was an incredibly valuable resource. As someone that flailed when I first taught, doing those things and being able to talk about it in application materials made a huge difference (I've been told). Why? Because as much as I wanted to be a good teacher, I wasn't good at it. I had to figure out what works for me as a teaching style and how to translate what I do well into the classroom. That isn't always the most natural thing and it looks a lot different for me than it does for some of my colleagues and mentors. For those still in graduate school, I encourage you to take advantage of the Teacher Center at your university. It can really make a huge difference, especially if you're looking for a job at a SLAC or more teaching-intensive institution.