geographyrocks

I know this post is a few months old, but I would love to know how the process is going. I'm currently looking at applying to jobs in Canada as a US citizen.

I'm sorry, but that just isn't possible with the variability of each program. The most often stated minimum is 300, but that is only what most grad programs require and does not reflect what the departments themselves prefer.

Well, I'm starting my 3rd year, and I still feel like an imposter. I hear that it never really goes away. You just have to recognize it for what it is and realize that most people feel like they have no idea what they're doing. I felt so overwhelmed this past summer that I nearly quit. I'm still soldiering through, but I did decide that it was in my best interested to quit with a Masters. I can't handle the lifetime of stress that comes with a PhD and it turns out that my interests are more broad. Luckily, it's fairly easy to jump over to the Masters track at my institution. I also went from my BS to a PhD program. I felt so special that I bypassed all of that Masters work, and I was certain I could figure everything out and even graduate early. The trick is that the Masters actually prepares you for the difficulty of a PhD. Without that groundwork, everything is much, much harder. Also, while you feel young, I feel old. lol I also hear a little voice that tells me that people are questioning how I got in here. Imposter syndrome is just terrible!

Why go for Oil and Gas when you can use the same training for hydrology AND the jobs aren't disappearing. I think the real question is: What do you WANT to do? What kind of career will not drive you absolutely insane? What is your BS in?

Thanks for the feedback. I don't know why I set such ridiculous goals for myself. There aren't even many reasons for me to go on to a PhD except that I enjoy doing my own research and it's a huge accomplishment. However, I have no interest in teaching which is a big reason why people go the PhD route. I think I need to learn that I'm not super human. And one thing I'm trying to focus on more is being happy while getting through all of this rather than thinking that as soon as I finish all of this, I'll be happy. Apogee: I'm all too familiar with imposter syndrome. I thought that I had it under control, but it was obviously just hiding. Our brains are funny things.

I haven't posted here in a while. It's partly because I'm busy all the time and partly because I'm absolutely miserable right now. I know I'll find some people who have gone through this or have words of advice. To sum up: I feel like a complete failure. I can't seem to get any substantial work done. I feel like my research is completely useless and a black hole of despair. I went straight from undergrad to a PhD program. I spent my first year teaching, and I got a lot of stuff accomplished. I won the NSF which started during my second year. That's when things went downhill. I didn't get hardly anything done during the summer between my first and second year. I did my comps in the fall (last year) and barely passed. My advisor recently told me that I'm not as far along as I should be. He also advised that I write up a masters thesis to defend in the fall. He said it would give me experience, and I could move onto the PhD after that. I have to say that I agree. And yet, the entire thing makes me feel like a failure. My advisor has not really been involved although we have weekly meetings. He rarely suggests things I should do or that I should be working on. He even admitted that he should have been more involved. The research I'm working on is novel in that not many people are crazy enough to even try it due to a lack of data. I also volunteer at USGS which is great experience as well as connections, but I don't have time for it. I also came into grad school with a limited background in my field as well as missing Calculus and Physics classes. Due to some administrative BS, I'm finally taking those classes this summer and I'll take two more in the Fall. But as anyone who has taken Calc or Physics knows, these classes take a lot of time just to do the minimum amount of work. Bottom line: I'm overwhelmed. I'm depressed. I feel like a failure. I keep thinking about just dropping out right now and running away with a circus or becoming a beach bum. Any words of advice? Ideas? Thoughts? P.S. I saw a therapist weekly until two weeks ago. He found a new job so I won't see a new therapist until the end of June.

I just wanted to point out that this is incorrect. There are so many things that go into how they choose winning proposals. They need a good mix among all of the various categories. They need a good mix of demographics. They are also looking for things that will further a certain field. I've seen many people get all E's and then not get funded because there were so many proposals in their individual field. They also want to see a polished proposal which has clearly went through the review process because it shows that you put in extra effort. You definitely need a proposal that can be completed in the PhD time frame. That could be the major factor that kept you from the award. NSF has reporting guidelines of their own where they must prove that they are funding successful projects and people.

I haven't posted here in a while! I took my comprehensive exams (PhDs are required to do that their third semester). I passed, but it was absolutely awful. I cried when it was over because I felt like the biggest idiot that has ever been allowed to pass a comp exam. I was also feeling the blues all fall semester which didn't help in my preparation. Now it's the 4th semester and things are going much better. I've felt like my advisor has been disappointed with me ever since my exams (I'm one of the very, very few students to be admitted directly to the PhD program). But he told me the other day that I was doing great work. So...I guess I'm currently on the incline portion of the roller coaster. I do have a question. Test anxiety. Does anyone here get it, and how do you deal with it?

If you weren't qualified, they would not admit you. They don't want to look bad. Seriously. And no, that thought doesn't seem weird. It's called imposter syndrome. Even though you've done the work and others confirm that you are worthy of grad school, you still question it. There are varying degrees, of course. I spent my entire first semester in grad school convinced that they made a mistake or that I tricked them into admitting me somehow. Congratulations on being admitted!

I applied and was accepted without meeting the physics or calculus requirements and I was a Geography major. It's a long story that ends with my undergrad thought it was more important that I take a humanities class (I had one last humanities requirement to fill) than for me to take a calculus class. Despite their desire to be exceptionally unhelpful, I was accepted. I'm currently making up those classes. In other words, it's possible to be accepted without meeting those core requirements. Anyway, I would not pay for another undergrad degree. That's unnecessary. I'm currently studying hydrology and climatology. In undergrad, I had one climatology course and one hydrology course. The only geology course I took was geomorphology. So uh...I guess I'm just repeating what GeoDUDE! said. A strong background in geology is unnecessary to go to grad school in geology.

@gelologist Not that I'm saying it's encouraged, but a friend just passed their Masters defense in hydrogeology and she originally started her MS in meteoritics. So it's definitely possible to switch after being admitted. Although, in her case, she had to switch because her adviser was pretty terrible.

Just a heads up in case anyone applied, University of New Mexico EPS department is hoping to have offers out by February 15.

I did not separate out my broader impacts and intellectual merit last year. I believe the solicitations have not changed since last year. Generally, your application is returned without review because you ignored the page count, font size, didn't get all the letters in, etc. Headings do not disqualify you. However, it is beneficial to you to clearly display the most important parts of your essay. I did this by using boldface for such things as undergrad TA and such. This helps the reviewer in seeing what your qualifications are. They have very little time to read your essay so it's easy for them to miss important things if you don't help them out. Anyway, don't stew too much. You still have several months before you hear back. It can drive you crazy if you dwell on it too long. I know.

I thought I had no chance of succeeding. Then I won it. Self-doubt tends to creep in, but don't let it rule what you do!