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madamecurie

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  1. Thank you! This helps...most people I talk to in academia have this look on their face when I tell them I don't want to stay in academia after all of this...like I'm crazy. So thanks for sheding some light on this. I can't talk to my present boss, and I've heard of other PI's looking down on students who don't want to continue on this path. Thanks for the other avenues! This makes me feel a lot better.
  2. Hi guys, So I'm wrapping up my 2nd year, about the take my quals in 2 weeks and I'm so stressed out about passing....I'm going to change labs after comps because my lab has turned into a nightmare (PI not available, only grad student in the lab full of undergrads who are part time)...so I'll have to deal with that after comps. All-in-all, I'm starting to have these "what is point of all this stress?? Why am I doing this to myself?! Is it worth it?!?" moments. I really like teaching, but I know I would be miserable as a PI at an RO1-level school writing grants all the time. I like the bench-work, but it feels like more labs are doing science to keep their lab going rather than help figure out mechanisms to really help society/progress the field. Am I alone in these thoughts? I have a masters in biochem and really liked the science, so decided to go for the PhD. Now I'm wondering if this was a mistake...people are telling me I can teach at a community college or private school right now. I'm trying to figure out my motivational factor and just keep getting stuck in a loop. So I started looking into non-academic careers for those with a PhD in Genetics...I love the healthcare field (helping people), I love the science (figuring out mechisms, etc), but I'm stuck in where I should go next after this...or if I should even finish the PhD. Is there anyone here who has completed a degree in the sciences and went into non-academic careers...if so, how are you doing? and...did getting the PhD matter in the long run? Thanks!
  3. Hi sorry for the late reply. I have my project defined, but I've been doing the other projects as well. Yes, it's been like this for the whole year and just feels like it's getting worse. I recently got awarded a 2 year grant that I applied for...which is bitter-sweet because on one hand, I have my own funding, but on the other...I feel like I'm now locked into the lab. Co-chairs is not a possiblity in my program. I have looked done background reading and trying to answer my own questions...but at what point am I granted guidance? Answering a methods question is one thing, but how do I know my line of thinking is correct on theories? I'm just wondering how much "independence" should a graduate student be granted? Hard work is not what I'm trying to avoid...but I feel like I'm completely isolated in this situation and not sure if I'm supposed to get this PhD entirely on my own.
  4. Hello, So right now I'm a 2nd year Genetics student...about to start prepping for comps and I feel totally lost. I chose a lab that I thought had a really interesting project, PI seemed nice and had a good track record, RA in the lab and although the lab has no grad students, just undergrads, I was told that the PI and RA would be around to help at all times. So My first year has been great-data-wise...I've learned or trouble-shooted techniques and and was able to accumulate enough data for a co-first author paper we are writing. My problem is, I feel like I'm becoming a work horse in the lab...there is no one to talk to about science here. The undergrads don't care when I bring up models or pathways, and I've discovered that the RA is grouchy and tells me, "you should know this, you;re a grad student" about complicated crosses when I ask questions or doesn't have great insight on where experiments are going. The labs around me have no graduate students so I have no one to really interact with and bounce ideas off of. When I ask my PI questions about where the project is going, her response is...lets get this data first, or this manuscript in then see, but she's more interested in me spending time writing grants to get outside funding since our lab has little to no money now. I've learned through the year that our funding is out next year, that her most recent masters student failed out of the Phd during comps and had to opt out with a masters and the phd student before that failed her dissertation and never came back to continue it. I'm worried this is going to happen to me because I'm so immersed in gathering data, generating figures and writing grants that I'm not spending time on comps, classes or developing my science. I've now been put on to work on the other undergrad projects so I'm getting pulled in different directions. I just feel like I'm more of an RA right now than intellectually growing as a scientist. Does anyone out there feel this way or have a solution? Thanks!
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