The Wayfarer

Update: was not as awkward as I expected it to be. In fact, I would guess that I now have a better relationship than I did with them before the trip. It was also helpful that one of the days we both were operating in separate universes that way we weren't spending our entire time together.

Calling it an 'issue' would be overselling it but it appears that the first...hiccup...has come up in my committee. Two members seem to have very different views of the schools/departments I should end up in. Gonna be fun.

One of my colleagues got me quite angry last week. And in retrospect I probably overreacted but I am also one of those people who it takes a REALLY long time to get me mad but then when I'm there all hope is lost. Not only did this colleague accost my advisor in the middle of the hallway, in front of others, why she didn't receive feedback on something last semester she has been going around flatout speaking about other faculty members and how poorly they work with graduate students (actually just her.) Yet she wants all of these faculty members to me on her committee? I basically ended up throwing her under the bus to my advisor which may not have been the best strategy. But she just does things like this on a weekly basis.

Well, I'm glad that this topic generated some good discussion on the subject. Update for those who were wondering. Both my advisor and I are males (and not that far apart in age) so that definitely narrows down some part of the awkwardness. He actually ended up covering the entirety of the hotel room so we are not even splitting expenses on that side of thing. I definitely appreciate him covering the entire hotel room costs but I feel like that may add to the power dynamic of the relationship in some weird way. It appears that it will end up being three nights in the hotel room. But like I said I am not presenting anything at the conference so it is definitely makes it easier for him to drag me to networking events but at the same time I need to make sure not to be an annoyance as he is preparing for his role at the conference/try not to simply be a shadow following him around everywhere.

After a pretty bad delay yesterday I get to my parent's house to find out the airline lost both of my bags. And the most academic response was: "But I have books my committee members let me borrow in there." Followed by "Well at least my advisor's book was in my carry on."

I'm glad I am not alone in this. To me the worst part is, like you said, how blissfully unaware they are of the whole thing. Even worse, my particular colleague has the expectation that everyone else in the program is here to serve their needs and will send nonstop emails asking for assistance and when you finally give them some help they don't even thank you.

I was wondering if anyone has had experience rooming with faculty at conferences? I'll most likely be attending a conference where I am not presenting but my advisor would like me to go and network. Travel wise the cost won't be too prohibitive since it is just the next state over but my advisor suggested that we share a room to cut down on the lodging costs. Has anyone done this? Experiences? Just trying to get a feel for what I'll be getting myself into. Thanks!

Wow, feel like I haven't posted on here in awhile! Hopefully everyone is doing well as the semester winds down. Things have been going pretty well for me actually. One of my assistantships (TA) this semester wasn't exactly what I wanted but for next semester it appears that I actually have my ideal assignment -- a research assistantship with my advisor and teaching my own course which I've done before so it doesn't require that much more prep. Also got asked to be on a grant with my advisor and TA an intensive winter course for another committee member. Both of which happened shortly after I got pretty close to a breaking point mid-November. So for anyone struggling remember the universe has a way of balancing things out!

One I've the biggest things I've discovered in graduate school is that in choosing your advisor it is as much a personality match as it is an academic match. For example, a lot of my colleagues take issue with my advisor's lack of timely responses. I, however, typically don't have an issue with this because I make sure that when I contact her I do so only for things I can't handle myself. I found that a lot of faculty members tend to respond to things only if they feel like you haven't exhausted all other resources. Not necessarily agreeing with their behavior but just seems to be the way things are.

I'm not very familiar with the type of ANOVA you're referring to but I think it is a matter how how respected your advisor is in the field. I typically follow my advisor's advice as much as possible but she is also well known in the subfield I want to go in. You are your advisor in a sense, so I would weigh your options of whether or not you want to be seen as your advisor's student or as your own person on the job market.

I don't necessarily read a new journal article everyday but I'm at least browing the table of contents in the new issues of journals in my field -- I'll skim an article of some interest. (Usually I try to tackle one of the articles in my 'to-read' folder on my laptop first.)

My advisor is going on sabattical next semester (the beginning of my second year in the program.) Right now I am still working on my coursework so it really isn't that big of a deal. I plan on meeting with her sometime this semester and asking who I should meet with in her absence if I have any research/coursework questions. Perhaps do the same thing?

Was to supposed to hear back from a conference regarding a proposal on Friday....no news. (No one who has submitted has heard anything.) But it would be nice to know when I can expect to receive a response...

This varies greatly in my department; most of the time not receiving any feedback means you're on the right track. (If you're going off the rails someone will pull you aside.) That being said, if I met with professors during office hours or individual meetings they would give me feedback -- but more along the lines of "You should submit this to a conference." One professor in my department gave great feedback; but they seem to be the exception and not the rule. (They're also relatively new to the department so it may be a culture thing.) All and all though my department tends to follow the mantra of "no news is good news."

Well I manage to pull a 4.0 my first semester of my PhD program -- I definitely checked my grade multiple times to make sure that wasn't a mistake. This semester I don't seem to have any "big" papers but just tons and tons of reading. I'm also taking a class outside of my department in the Education Policy school and frankly it seems far less rigorous that what I am used to in my department so I will have to make sure to push myself.

I'm 24 and by 10 years the youngest member of my cohort. I'm closer in age to most of the faculty members... My advice is that while at first it may seem like an issue once you prove yourself your colleagues will be more impressed than anything else. And frankly, it is an advantage on the job market from my standpoint because employers know you're in it for the long haul. It also helps if you find a faculty member who went through the same situation as you who can offer you some pointers on how to muddle through the department politics.

Had a meeting with my advisor on Thursday to discuss my research and she suggested that I submit my research idea to a conference. Even though I had to get the proposal done in 24 hours it was still nice to know that my advisor doesn't think I'm an idiot. Also, been very engaged in course material lately which is good because about a month ago I had a rough couple of weeks. Finally feel like I've got my footing and I'm where I belong!

Frankly I think the grade situation is heavily dependent on certain institutions and certain programs. For example: in my research design class I do not know anyone who did not receive a B/B+ on their first assignment. Whereas in other courses you do not receive any grades until your final grade; the expectation being that if you are way off the mark you will be approached.

"Can we set up a time to meet?" "Yeah, just email me and we'll set it up." Four days later....silence.

It's OK. Last Monday I went to donate blood for the first time before the class I TA -- passed out, woke up, vomited. Luckily my supervising professor is really laid back and no one saw it coming that I would have that bad of a reaction to donating. If nothing else today will be hard pressed to be worse than last Monday.

My mentor is one of my professors who I met during my M.A. program; I had her for one class and she is also the director of the M.A. program. She really helped me in the process of applying to PhD programs and we also text regarding non-school things but I know whenever I have an issue I can reach out to her for advice. So far in my PhD program it seems that I will have my advisor (she's very no-nonsense, all work) and a potential mentor. My advisor is an extremely nice person but very intense. She expects that 90% of the work you will do yourself, at minimum, and she's there to push you over the finish line. Which I like in an academic sense but unless there's a drastic change I cannot see her taking on the mentor role. On the other hand, my supervising professor who I TA for this semester (and RA for next semester) has definitely given me more practical, lifestyle kind of advice on how to deal with a PhD program. They actually agreed with me on how intense my advisor is.

Luckily the relationship between all of the PhD students in my department is very open so those of us who were first years were told that when we get an email about an event it is expected that we will show up regardless of whether or not it is stated in the email that we should attend. On the social side...there's a standing happy hour every Thursday for our program. Some weeks only two people go, some weeks none, some weeks a lot more but it is just a constant thing for those of us who know we need to decompress.

Well this is just flat out awesome. The faculty member who was leader the meeting asked a question and proceeded to stare at me after asking it. Which then made everyone else stare at me. Not sure why I was delegated to answer the question but I was.

Department meeting today -- enough said. (Though I do get free lunch.)

As I'm approaching the end of my fourth week -- third if you discount the week that was all into stuff -- things are finally starting to fall into place. I have a work schedule down; that is I tend to tackle the same classwork on the same days of the week. I met with the professor for my foundations seminar about my paper topic and she said it would be a good dissertation topic as well ( ) but she is my probable advisor so I'll take it! I've had two of my colleagues ask for me to peer review their proposals so at least I know they think of me highly? But most of all I'm really enjoying my TA assignment. I get along really well with my supervising professor who provides great feedback and I'm starting to take a more active role in the classroom now. Luckily for me I am assigned to this professor next semester as well. Our research interests do not align at all but it will be nice to have someone who is sort of removed from that aspect of my experience to talk to and get advice from.