RunnerGrad
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Posts posted by RunnerGrad
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Why grad school? My reasons may be a little different, since I'm entering a program that is both professional and research-oriented, and includes the dietetic internship required to become a registered dietitian.
I love learning. I have two bachelor's degrees, and while I was working full-time between my two degrees, I continued to take university courses part-time (one course per semester, via distance education), because I enjoy university-level learning.
Looking at things from a more practical perspective, most of the jobs in my area of interest (public health and community nutrition) require a master's degree.
Additionally, the master's degree I'm pursuing perfectly matches my interests in nutrition/dietetics. I could have just completed a dietetic internship in order to become a registered dietitian (I was accepted to one of the Dietitians of Canada stand-alone internships) but then I would have to do a lot of clinical dietetics, as well as a foodservice placement, and those areas of dietetic practice do not interest me. I still have to complete some clinical and foodservice placements as part of my master's program (in order to meet the competencies required for an entry-level registered dietitian), but they are far shorter than they would be in a traditional internship or in any of the other combined master's-dietetic internship programs that are available. So I can focus on the area of dietetic practice that interests me the most: public health and community nutrition. Additionally, my program will allow me to participate in research and complete a major research paper. This will allow me to pursue a PhD eventually, should I decide to do so.
Basically, I love learning. I enjoy research. I'll be pursuing a program that perfectly matches my interests. Most of the jobs I'm interested in require a master's degree. That, in a nutshell, is why I'm going to grad school.
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I agree with what TakeruK said. I also have some added comments of my own, based on the information you've provided.
What are your long-term career plans? Assuming you do get into another PhD program, what are your plans post-PhD? The market for most TT jobs in academia is absolutely horrible. People go wherever they can get a post doc position, and then wherever they manage to secure a full time TT position, if they are lucky enough do do so. What happens if the only post doc or TT position you can find is an an area that your wife objects to? What are you going to do then? What if the only jobs you can find are far away from family? What if you do find a PhD program, or a job, near family, but you end up absolutely hating it there or your wife ends up absolutely hating it there?
I think you need to have a long discussion with your wife about what the two of you want to do moving forward, and how you see your lives and careers together evolving. Most individuals working in academia, unless they are superstars, move to where the jobs are. Most of them (again, unless they are superstars) can't pick and choose. Be honest about the realities of graduate programs, post docs, and TT positions. Decide together if a PhD is something that is worth pursuing.
I've only been able to return to university, and to pursue graduate school, due to the support of my husband. This was, however, a decision we made together, as a family. That's what you and your wife need to do: make decisions, together, as a family. Each of you will likely need to make some sacrifices. There may be no perfect solution that makes both you and your wife 100% happy. There's no guarantee your wife will be happy even if you move closer to family. Sure, she may have their support in raising your child/children, but there may be other things she doesn't like. Have an honest discussion and make sure you both know exactly what you are getting into.
One quick question: is there any way you and your wife can have a long distance relationship while you complete your PhD, if she does not want to live where you are? Long distance relationships are not easy, but as a military wife, I've had to deal with them at different points in time, and I know lots of people who have done so as well. I even know some academics who only see each other on weekends, because they haven't been able to find jobs in the same city or even the same province. It's not for everyone, and it's not easy, but it is something that people do.
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Eh, depends on the snow! A good set of snow tires, FWD, and a moderately heavy car will do fine in most places. If they're expecting A LOT of snowfall, then by all means go for A/4WD. Just get ready for lower gas mileage.
Agreed. This past winter we got a lot of snow for our region (we normally only get a couple of centimetres over the course of a winter; this year we had a LOT of snow - our entire front yard was covered in snow from all the shovelling.) We put winter tires on both our cars (Honda Civic and Honda Fit) and had absolutely no problems dealing with the snow, ice, slush, etc.
Winter tires really do make a huge difference.
I've lived in many regions of Canada (Ottawa, Southern Ontario, New Brunswick, Edmonton, Winnipeg, St. John's). I've never felt the need for 4WD. Winter tires have sufficed, even in the regions that get a lot of snow. The people I know who have 4WD tend to either live in very hilly/mountainous regions, or else live in a very rural area with poor snow clearance.
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I can't imagine ever throwing out books! I keep all of the textbooks that are relevant to my field. Books that I will never use again I sell back to the bookstore. Really old books that will never be read again (fiction and nonfiction) get donated to Goodwill. I would never just throw out a book!
My husband and I have a huge collection of books. We love books and we love reading. They are all organized and categorized in boxes in our basement. We both reread books quite a lot, so getting rid of books is something neither of us really does!
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FYI: The Fit has more passenger room, more rear seat leg room, more rear seat should room and more cargo room. The Civic is slightly wider for hip room in the rear (4") but the Fit wins almost every other measure.
Agreed. Our Fit has much more room than our Civic. I can fit my bike in the back of our Fit, but not our Civic. We can fit all three of our cats in the back seat of the Fit and all our luggage required for a cross-country trip in the back of the Fit. Can't do that with the Civic. We like both our Fit and our Civic, but the Fit is definitely a lot roomier than the Civic!
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My husband and I have two cars. One of the cars is now parked (we just have fire and theft insurance on it) but for a while we needed two cars for our daily commutes (in opposite directions). He was driving our 1999 Honda Civic, that was paid off a long time ago and is still running great with regular maintenance. It is now the car that is parked. Our other car (that I was driving, and that is now the car we use) is a Honda 2010 Fit Sport. It was the last of its year's models on the dealer's lot, so we received a really great deal on it. We wanted something small but roomy, and very reliable. We drove from Alberta to Ontario, with our two cats and all of the belongings I would need for a year at univeristy (while my husband was deployed to Afghanistan) in it. It's a great little car. I can even fit my bike in the back when I need to transport it to triathlons.
We are keeping the '99 Civic, and just parking it for now, because we will need two cars again when I start the internship portion of my master's next summer. The plan is to have it until I'm finished with my grad program, and then once I'm working we'll buy a new car, likely another Honda.
We haven't had any major problems with our Hondas. We find that they are great, reliable cars, that last forever, and have good resale value as well.
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I belong to three professional organizations, and have throughout my undergraduate studies. Dietitians of Canada is the main one, and they are responsible for accrediting dietetics programs and running the Dietitians of Canada internships, so being a member is pretty much required, at least in fourth year of undergrad. I belong to several networks within Dietitians of Canada, reflecting my areas of interest. These include the Public Health and Community Nutrition network, and the Sports Nutrition Network.
I'm also a member of the Canadian Nutrition Society and the Canadian Obesity Network. Both of these organizations had local campus chapters, so it was easy to be a member. Additionally, my fourth year honours thesis involved obesity research, so being a member of the CON was useful.
All of these organizations have student memberships, which is very nice. They also all host conferences. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to attend any of the conferences yet. Hopefully as a grad student I'll make it to several!
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I start the day after Labour Day. For the first two semesters I have five courses a semester, and most of those courses are three hours of class and at least one hour of lab/tutorial (some have longer labs). So basically the same type of course load as undergraduate studies. Then next summer I'll have two internship placements, followed by another semester of courses and research, and then another semester of internships.
There are a couple of students who are already practicing RDs, returning to university to upgrade their credentials with a master's degree. So there will be at least one student fairly close to my age, although I do think she's still a few years younger than me.
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I started really turning down the brightness on my iPad and computer after suffering a concussion, and I've continued to keep the brightness setting low. I also use the sepia setting in reading apps, as someone else mentioned, whenever it is available in an app.
I do like using the iPad to annotate PDFs and such. I still prefer hard copy textbooks, though. They are easier for me to deal with, unless the e-textbook is formatted in such a way as to make flipping between sections easy.
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I ended up with this bag from Eddie Bauer for my daily commute. It just so happened that I was in Toronto for the weekend, and ended up walking all over the city, carrying my stuff in this bag. It was SO comfortable. Definitely the right choice.
I also have a more professional-looking bag for interviews, conferences, etc. But for daily use, I need something that is sturdy, comfortable, breathable, and weather-proof. This bag does the trick!
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My two bachelor's degrees are in lovely university frames. I have been asked to produce my first bachelor's degree when applying for jobs in the past (they didn't want my transcript, but wanted to see my actual degree. *shrug*) I've lost track of my high school diploma. I do have all my high school awards (plaques and medals) in a box somewhere. The awards from my first bachelor's are also in a box in the basement. The ones from my most recent degree are on the wall.
Most dietitians tend to display their nutrition degree(s) on their office walls. Since mine is in a university-crested frame I'll likely do the same thing when I start working. My master's degree will join in (as will my PhD if I complete one).
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Coming in late to the discussion.
It isn't good to feel uncomfortable or unsafe in the lab, but if the person is struggling with depression, a lot of their behaviour is likely due to that fact. Further isolating the individual isn't likely to help them. I'm not a mental health professional, however, and I'm not in OP's shoes. I have, however, had friends struggling with depression or with other mental illnesses (eating disorders), and they tend to need patience and understanding, not isolation and shunning.
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I tell people I'm a grad student. If they then ask what I'm studying I say I'm doing a Master's of Public Health in Community Nutrition.
As surefire said, in Canada it is the norm to complete a master's before a PhD. In fact, to my knowledge, only a handful of PhD programs admit students without a PhD. The master's degree is an admission requirement for almost any PhD program, and certainly for all the programs I'm familiar with in my field (nutrition/dietetics). Many programs will even specify that they require a master's degree that included a thesis, to distinguish research master's from professional master's programs. I'm fortunate that my program is both a professional and a research master's, so I will be eligible to apply for PhD programs upon completion of my master's.
I'm an older, non-traditional student (although I'm told I don't look my age), so most people assumed I was a graduate student even when I was an undergrad completing a second bachelor's degree. *shrug* If asked, I've always told people what I was studying.
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I only applied to universities in Ontario, and only to universities within commuting distance of my current residence. My husband and I aren't about to sell our home and move at this point in time, so we made a decision that I would only apply to the two closest universities to our home that offered the program I am interested in.
I'm amazed at the number of programs people apply to in the U.S. - I can't imagine applying to 10+ programs.
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Asimov. All his stuff is great. L.E. Modesitt Jr. also has some great sci-if.
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For lunches, Packit lunch cooler bags are great. Fenigo also has a wide variety of lunch containers available: http://www.fenigo.com/
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I like Noteability for taking notes or annotating articles on my iPad. I also like Evernote, Dropbox, and Google Drive.
For to do lists and a calendar, I still use pen and paper. I couldn't live without my Moleskin daytimer.
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Our RA pay was also based on a certain amount for a certain amount of hours worked and the remaining pay came from fellowships, which do not come with any work requirements but in effect, are meant to supplement our pay so that we have a livable stipend. Typically, at Canadian schools, undergrad researchers are paid around $15-$20/hour and graduate students in the $20-$25/hour range. Note that in most of Canada, minimum wage is $10.25/hr currently (Ontario is going to go to $13/hour soon). So, I think this is a fair wage to pay someone with the qualifications of a BA or BSc. I agree that this should only be counted on the hours we actually work for the school though!
That sounds very similar to what I made as an undergraduate RA and TA (in Ontario, Canada). For my RA position, I was making $12/hour, and could only work a maximum of 10 hours/week. For my TA position, I was making $20/hour. Invigilating exams was also paid at $20/hour. It's funny that my RA position paid less than invigilating, since invigilating was a lot less work, but the RA had the advantage of providing me with research experience.
As an undergraduate TA, I was a member of a union.
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Let's see. I'm a Worgen Shadow Priest and a Draenei Holy Paladin.
Alternatively, I'm Vulcan.
Or maybe I'm Barbara Gordon (either BatGirl or Oracle).
I'm a geek who also teaches group fitness (aerobics) and runs marathons. For some reason people don't expect geeks to also be athletic!
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One of my references I worked with very closely, and I knew she enjoys wine, so I gave her a bottle of wine. For my other references, I'm having a hard time, because our relationship was much more professional. One of them was my thesis advisor, but we never socialized outside of the university (unlike my reference who received the bottle of wine). I'm debating either a Starbacks or Chapters (book store) small gift card. I could also crochet a coffee cup/mug cozy/holder (to use instead of those cardboard ones). So hard to know what is appropriate for the more reserved references!
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I teach group fitness (aerobics) - step, Zumba, aquafit, stability ball, BOSU, group cycle (spin), group strength training, etc.
I run, swim, and bike. I train for half-marathons, marathons and triathlons.
I lift weights/strength train.
I read a lot of fantasy and historical fiction.
I show Sphynx cats.
I crochet.
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UofT, at least in the Community Nutrition concentration, is 20 months (5 semesters). We do two semesters of coursework, then a semester of practica, then a semester of coursework, then a semester of practica. That's with 5 courses/semester.
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I've lived in several Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta), as well as in Germany.
I've visited all of the Canadian provinces, with the exception of PEI, and I've also visited the Yukon territory.
Countries I've visited include: the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Vatican City. I think that covers everything.
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UofT is sending out letters to students who received entance scholarships. I received one yesterday!
So check your mailboxes. (No, I didn't receive any notification via email, only by post).
Earning extra income?
in Officially Grads
Posted
In addition to Leger: https://legerweb.com/home.asp?AFF=BM8DQ there is also Angus Reid: https://t.co/yTGb0e7mb7
Personally, I teach group fitness classes (spin, Zumba, step, stability ball, etc.) to earn extra income. I'd be at the gym exercising even if I didn't teach, and while I don't get as good a workout when I teach as I do when I take a class (since I'm focused on making sure the class gets their workout, so I do a lot more coaching, etc.) it is still a workout.