rising_star

The issue was probably more of fit than anything else. Did you contact prospective advisors in advance to see if they had openings in their lab?

WornOutGrad, did you write a thesis proposal by any chance? If so, that document is basically a contract saying what you will and won't do in your thesis, and something that your advisor and committee already agreed to. If not, the suggestions Dal gave above are all really sound. At the end of the day, you probably will have to put your foot down and just flat-out ask what must be done to get the degree and do that and nothing more. Alternately, you can try to switch to a non-thesis option for the degree, if your program has such a thing.

Hi SeriousSillyPutty, The timeline in my program looks fairly similar to the one you posted, with comprehensive exams happening in the third year as well. In my department, students typically begin research as soon as they want, especially if they aren't in the lab. You can use course assignments and papers to conduct literature reviews in your area(s) of interest, for example. You can also use courses and summers to conduct a pilot study or other preliminary fieldwork that you need to do for your dissertation. And, you work on publishing, whether its book reviews, literature reviews, or original articles based either on an existing data set or more theoretical. Hope this helps!

Whoa, that's a lot of questions, so I'll just answer what I can. First, I have no concept of how much I spend monthly on groceries nor do I care to look back and see. My guess is that I spend about $250-$300/month but, I live alone, I buy certain produce only when it's organic, and I shop the sales. Oh, and I have a thing for good cheese and quality ice cream, which I also try to buy on sale. Given these splurges, I do make certain economies, like trying not to eat out (I bring my lunch to campus every single day that I'm there), not buying lots of coffee and snacks at coffee shops, etc. And I cook for myself. A lot. Often using my slow cooker so that I can make 4-6 meals worth of food, eat some for lunch the next day, and freeze the rest. I also periodically make casseroles, which I freeze in serving sizes that I thaw out. It's cheaper than buying frozen meals (which, for the record, I do keep on hand to keep me from eating out as often when I'm tired/sick/lazy) and healthier. Or, I'll make small, quick healthy things, like one pot meals or a salad with couscous. Meat gets expensive so I try not to eat it more than once per day, and use vegetables and fruit to fill up on instead. I also buy dried beans instead of canned for the most part, and use those in recipes (salads, soups, casseroles, etc) to save on money. Never underestimate the variety one can get out of beans and rice depending on the seasoning used. As for the where, I shop at a variety of local grocery stores, including the major chains, a regional Whole Foods-like store (but with cheaper prices!), and a discount grocery store. Oh, and I share a CostCo membership with my mom (you can get two cards for the same household and technically we share an address), but I'll also note that Sam's Club has discounted memberships for students (I looked about 18 months ago and it was $25/year for a student membership). CostCo sells these packages of wild salmon burger patties that are frozen but can be cooked in 8 minutes. An easy and quick lunch for about $1. How often I go to the grocery store depends on how busy I am, how much cooking I'm doing/want to do, and how fast I'm eating what I already bought. I try to make one big grocery trip (as in, one that requires driving) no more often than every 10 days. The rest of the time, I bike to the grocery store, which range from .6-3 miles away, depending on which store I want to go to. Usually, I'll combine that with another errand or two to make for a more efficient ride.

If you add it all up, I've house or pet-sat for 3/4 members of my committee. One was a long-term housesitting gig wheere I actually paid money to help cover the mortgage and bills. Another was a few days of dogsitting. And a third was 2 weeks of dogsitting. The first one is the only one where I didn't get paid.

unc.tarheel, you should totally do it. I have been known to grade papers while sitting by the pool with a drink, or at the bar with a bottle of wine, etc. It definitely helps. As for the time question, I really do think a lot more depends on your field than anything else. I'm in the social sciences and, when I want to, I can get things done in even fewer hours than 9-5. Why? Because you don't really need to do all the reading for seminar, just enough to discuss the reading coherently (read book reviews, skim articles, etc). Moreover, depending on who is in your seminar, it might be difficult to get in more than 2-3 comments per course, making it even less important to read things thoroughly. N.B.: if that reading is in your field or relevant to your research, you should definitely read it in greater detail. That said, there are times where I put in long hours. But, if I were to keep track of how many of them are productive work hours, it's rarely more than 8 in a day, unless I'm trying to meet a deadline. There are definitely ways to be successful as a graduate student and maintain a social life that don't require putting in 60 hours a week for 9 months a year (at least in the social sciences). You have to find them for yourself though...

I took more the minimum required coursework in both my MA and my PhD. In both cases, it was because there were additional courses that I wanted to take that were related to my interests and whose final projects furthered my own research (ie, writing a thesis chapter for a final paper). More particularly, in my PhD program, I took more than the required coursework because I did not transfer in as many courses from my MA as I could have. Part of this was due to a shift in focus, part was due to wanting to get to know the faculty of my PhD program better so I could more easily form a committee, and part was just because I've basically always taken more coursework than I've needed to. But, I've never taken extra classes that didn't meet some need or desire of my own.

Honestly, let her help you, especially when it comes to the financial aspect of setting up a new apartment. When I moved for my PhD program, my mom and my aunt were both there. My mom flew out and my aunt helped me out on the cross-country drive. And, while they did get on my nerves, leading to a few big arguments, in the end I really appreciated their help.

Defer. That much debt will be crippling as you try to enjoy your future career, especially since nothing is guaranteed.

As others have already said, I wouldn't approach someone about co-teaching. In my own program, a common 1st year TA assignment, is to lead 4 weekly one hour discussion sections of 20-25 students... When I had that assignment, it was a PITA just to get someone to cover if you were sick or had to travel, much less someone to regularly come in. There's another thread here on public speaking that you might want to check out for tips on how to deal with public speaking related anxiety. One good idea that works for some is to imagine the whole thing is a performance. You can play someone else in the classroom, someone outspoken that loves engaging with people, even if that isn't your normal personality. It can be exhausting, but also it's for a limited number of hours weekly, which helps.

Honestly, I wouldn't try to take them all in the first semester. I would take them according to whatever schedule most of your cohort is because it will give you a chance to bond with them. Moreover, I wouldn't take more than 3 courses plus TAing in your first semester.

You didn't say that it would be impossible to finish the data collection in the remaining time, so I urge you to try to do so. I know many people (myself included) that find that data collection goes much more quickly when there's a firm deadline staring you in the face. Best of luck!

You might try picking a key story/quote from the themes, something that ties a few of them together ideally, and using that to help you organize a chapter. Or, as my advisor would say, you should think about what claims you want to make, then figure out what data you have to support that claim. You then use the claims that are closely related to one another to form a chapter.

My understanding of renter's insurance is that it covers your belongings regardless of where they are. As far as car insurance, rates vary widely from one state to the next. That may account for some of the increase in premiums, depending on where you will be moving to/from. That said, have you considered requesting information from other insurance companies both about what you legally need and what they will charge for you to have this?

If in fact this entire reply is directed at me, Sigaba, I want to point out that you have decided that I hold a viewpoint that I did not express at any point in my comment. I'm not sure why you're attributing all of these ideas to me, but I'll respond to a few of them anyway. I never said anything about wanting to give "power to the people". That's an idea that you are attributing to me. Let's be clear about the difference, please. Are there people who have lost their jobs because libraries are tightening their journal subscription budgets? Please, cite an example rather than making a specious argument. Again, please tell me where I said that I want to bring the Ivory Tower down. In other words, because academics do not engage in manual labor, the work that they do has no real value? It's interesting that you cite carpenters' and electricians' locals, which are unionized, and require their workers to be paid for the hours they work. Academics do many hours of work for which they go uncompensated (the production of articles, editing journals, writing book reviews, peer reviewing manuscripts, etc.). Do you have a problem with this? Or does it not matter since academics are using their brains and laptops, rather than wiring houses? FWIW, it is labor to produce sound research, to write and deliver a good lecture, to grade papers, to write exams, to provide students with feedback, to advise undergraduates and graduate students, to read student dissertations and attend defenses, to serve on committees, etc. Or, if that's not labor, then what would you call what academics do all day? Twiddling their thumbs at a keyboard? That, btw, is my nice way of saying that work is work, regardless of whether it entails manual labor. If you don't get that, I think you should either find a way to wrap your head around it or find another career and get yourself out of graduate school (which, according to your explanation, isn't work anyway). Again, I have no idea where you got the idea that I believe that "it is all right to appropriate content when you think the rules governing its distribution are unfair" since all I did was cite several email exchanges that I read (note: read, not participated in). At any rate, I do think that we should all be questioning the system of journal distribution and article access, and many are beginning to do so. The latest issue of Geoforum features an editorial where the editors lament the cost of access to the journal and ask why it's so expensive and what the public is receiving for this fee. The journal publishers then respond in their own editorial laying out their argument for the cost and the services they provide. A key issue is that, for many Elsevier journals, the burden of providing open access falls on the author(s), who must pay $3000 to have the article published via open access. That, of course, is a system that could and, in all likelihood, will be changed over time as people continue to question the wisdom of paying to do the research (as a taxpayer/institution) then paying again to be able to read the findings. To answer your question, the view I just expressed is one I have expressed publicly elsewhere. If you're going to attempt to summarize what I believe, make sure you get it right. I'd appreciate that courtesy, at a minimum.

Dal, Honestly, if you think that your advisor may already think that you're not serious enough, then you did yourself a disservice by not pushing him harder. You need to seriously sit down and talk with him to understand how your future publications will go and explain, right now, that you don't appreciate doing all of the work and then being listed as the last author. If you aren't clear about this now, then it will happen to you again. Best of luck. And thanks for providing us with an update on the situation.

It's not just about the person closest to your interests. The best advice I was ever given is that you should interview potential advisors and a few of their current students before selecting an advisor. That way, you can understand what that advisor expects, how s/he interacts with grad students, etc. and decide if these things are compatible with you.

In general, yes, that is the right thing to do. If your committee members are unresponsive, you should replace them. Talk to your advisor before communicating directly with any of them.

This is interesting to me, in no small part because you rarely see people referring to their immediate supervisor as Mr. LastName in the real world (ie, nonacademic employment). In fact, even when I was in high school, I called my direct supervisors by their first names, and this was in an office setting. It might be worth thinking about why we all tend to think it's necessary to be formal in terms of forms of address when communicating with academics that are bosses but not with bosses in a non-academic setting.

Okay, so I would never ask my advisor about something like new student orientation in the department because he has nothing to do with planning it and won't be there anyway (none of the faculty save the dept chair and DGS attend). Just remember that administrative questions go to administrators. As for how to address people, this varies widely. When I started my MA, I had a hard time addressing faculty as anything other than Dr. X. That has gradually changed. I only use "Dr. X" in emails sent to someone that I don't know personally or very well. When I email my advisor or anyone on my committee, it usually begins "Hi FirstName" because I'm on a first name basis with them all. (My department is very social so we hang out with faculty outside campus on a fairly regular basis. I've also been to the houses of everyone on my committee for social reasons at least once.) BUT, if undergrads are being copied on those emails, I will use Dr. X in the email. Hope that makes sense and isn't too confusing.

Oh cookware. So necessary and such a pain, at least initially. My strategy for that was to buy a few really nice things and then get the rest used/secondhand (hey mom, you know that set of pans you don't use?... yea, those are mine now) until I could afford to upgrade. It's worked out ok, especially since I now have a much better idea of what I need and use and what isn't necessary. You can get a lot of decent kitchen equipment for good prices at secondhand stores, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Ross, and Big Lots. Seriously.

This isn't something you want to do over email. Wait until you get to campus and arrange to meet with the advisor you want in person.

In a lot of cars, it makes sense to replace the water pump at the same time as the timing belt... FWIW, if I knew that I wouldn't need my car for two years, I would sell it. You'll get more money now than you will two years from now and have the added advantage of avoiding maintenance costs. I rarely drive my car but I still end up spending more than $500 a year on routine maintenance.

Another factor is how far along you are in your program... If you're already ABD and not in the sciences where lab space is an issue, it's unlikely that you'd move with your PI to a new institution.

layofotak, I watch college football every Saturday, and probably 1-3 NFL games per week, depending on my schedule. For me, this is something I've been doing for years, so I know what work I can get done during the game and I plan on not being super-productive on Saturdays to accommodate my desires. It works out fine because I plan for it. Often, I'll outline a paper, review notes, grade student work and update the online gradebook, search for new journal articles, etc. while the games are on. Or, I'll DVR the game and start watching it 45 minutes to an hour after it starts which, at least for football, means I can fast forward through all the pauses and commercial breaks and watch the end of the game live. I'm sure you can find a balance that works for you. Don't listen to the naysayers that say you can't watch a few hours of TV per week and finish your degree. Only you know what works for you.