hejduk

I started my MA at age 25, and completed at 27.

$450/month. I eat plenty clean, organic as much as possible or when necessary (use the Dirty Dozen app to find food you don't need to purchase organic) and a flexitarian diet. But I also have a spouse...

Also given my above response, anyone have suggestions on how to possibly salvage my reputation before even arriving in the lab? Is it even possible at this point? Stressed beyond belief, but don't want to give up on such a good opportunity (VERY difficulty and not very common to find a postdoc in my field, and the credential will help my ultimate goals of working permanently in Europe). However, these red flags and feelings in my gut are hard to get over.

A late response, but updated with my current situation (feel free to PM if I can provide more details or incidences I've experienced that are creating doubt in my mind of taking this position). Some clarification of a postdoc i'm scheduled to start soon: In the US, it's common to ask questions prior to joining the team, but I have been getting a lot of evasive answers. When I've asked my PI if I could converse with previous postdocs, he deferred my question to another coworker in the lab. When I ever I attempt to email that person, he/she always CC's the PI. Basically, there is no opportunity to ask current or previous workers about their work experience with any sense of anonymity. It just seems really weird to me, as well as my faculty mentors, and almost sets off red flags. I¹ve asked my coworker for some communication with previous postdocs, and again, no response. Additionally, my PI made a comment during my Skype interview asking, "Are you committed to the full two years?" When going into something such as a postdoc, you are committed to seeing through the project, but you are also aware of it¹s temporary nature, and therefore must constantly look for jobs. I need to speak with previous postdocs so that I can learn if postdocs left in bad circumstances? Or have they left early for "greener pastures" and not given the support to pursue those opportunities? Working for the lab would be a great opportunity, but I need to be ensured the work environment is supportive, that mentorship is available from PI, etc. I also know that by asking my PI and my coworkers these questions, it has created some doubt regarding my commitment and abilities to be reliable. At this point, maybe I've created so much doubt in their minds I should just not take it and move on? The last I want to do is move, take on a new position, and start with the reputation of "the wish washy, non-commital, unreliable researcher from that other country". I don¹t mean to create any such perceptions within my new lab, but again, it's normal to ask these questions in US labs, and I must before moving my entire family to a new culture!

Say that I have a 2-year postdoc, but along comes an opportunity for my dream job (permanent faculty position in my disclipline in the desired country). Is it okay to leave a postdoc early? Postdocs are temporary in nature, but what can you do to not burn bridges?

Anyone recommend a good social science editor to help with editing my dissertation either into a book or pubs? Used an editor before, but they weren't in my discipline, and the results were disastrous.

I recently defended my proposal, however, I have some significant edits to complete. I expect that these edits will take 1-2 weeks to complete, 1 week for IRB, 1 week for data collection, and then writeup the results by the beginning of August. Here's the catch: my advisor seems to think that I won't be done by August. My other committee members think I definitely complete everything by then, but ultimately, the advisor is who has to sign forms, etc. My advisor has doubted my ability to complete things in a short time frame before, so do I just push ahead and work as hard as I can, and prove him wrong by getting things done in a timely manner? Quite frustrated, and would love some advice on how to handle the situation. I'm thinking of preparing a timeframe on a 3-month printout to provide a visual reference for how long each part of the process will take, with completion in August. I've proven my advisor wrong before, and I have the faith of other faculty that I can complete, so why not try? (if you're wondering "why not just take another semester", I desperately need to get a job, and "move on" in my academic life)

Yah, my bad with using the "academic" term for describing sites. Facebook and Google+ are both sites that I have seen academics posting professional profiles. So you don't post pubs or anything on Academia or ResearchGate? I have this overwhelming pressure (self-made) to constantly post and update my profile across all platforms.

It seems everyday that another site comes along that we "must" join in order to keep our profiles out there. So, how many sites do you have a profile on?

I need to deploy an online survey in the US, Belgium, and Estonia. I mostly need funding for survey participant recruitment, translation of the survey into Flemish and Estonian, and *possibly* travel to those countries (if needed). I've cobbled together some small funds available at my school, but it won't be enough to fund the project. Ultimately, I may have to pay some out of pocket in order to get done in the timeframe I'm seeking.

Looking for funding avenues for dissertation funding, specifically for travel and deployment of survey (including translation into other languages). My university seems to be lacking resources, so I'm frantically trying to find last minute resources that have a short application window, and can be utilized in a relatively short time frame.

I applied for a Fulbright Scholar grant, and haven't heard back yet. While the type of award does affect the response date, the location of the grant affects it as well. Not all regions notify at the same time, but rather have to notify by the the end notification date. The notification timeline (http://www.cies.org/us_scholars/us_awards/Notification-Timeline.htm) states Scholar applicants are notified between November-December, but no specific dates.

Oh good lord, NO! I wish I had received a confirmation for a recommendation! As mentioned, I have a dissertation to complete, so I have plenty of stuff to work on while I wait. My application stated I'd have my dissertation completed prior to the Fulbright, so I have **quite** some pressure to get that done. Yah, i might be regretting that decision to put that in my statement...

I think user "Amirah" might possibly be confusing the Scholar award with the Student award? I pose that as I too applied for a scholar position, and from my understanding, there should be no further requests for additional documents. With the Scholar award, you make it through the national review (announced Nov-Dec), and then are forwarded on to the country, with final decisions being made by May 2014. It's a horrible wait, but fortunately, like many others here, I have quite a bit to get done, which helps with "passing time". No dissertation, no scholar award (if granted)!

I'm embarrassed about how long it took to finally reply to this, but such is the life of graduate student! Sorry! I ended-up applying for my conference, and am in the initial stages of planning about how to contact potential postdoc supervisors. How does one contact such profs about wanting to meet with them, without sounding weird and needy? How do I avoid coming across like "Can I meet with you so that I can hopefully persuade you to give me a postdoc?"

I've made a lot of good contacts over the past year in attempts in securing a postdoc once I finish my phd (hopefully next summer). My research area is fortunately pretty hot right now, but the research groups flush with postdocs are on the other side of the Atlantic. I've emailed and connected with several potential postdoc supervisors, but unfortuantely, none of them seem to be attending conferences in my country any time soon. Would it be awkward to visit the other side of the Atlantic and meet with these potential research supervisors? I feel like traveling (which I can combine with attending a conference, and therefore lowering overall costs) and meeting with them in-person would show my true desire for working with them, as well as connecting on a personal level, which is difficult to do over email, etc. Bad idea? Good idea? Pros? Cons?

I hate to be a Debby Downer, but I'm just not feeling quite up to snuff. While I've taken all my required (and additional) research methods and theory courses, I can't help but feel like I'm not a competent researcher yet. Being in the social sciences doesn't seem to help either, as all my term papers are conceptual work with no original empirical work done. Is this normal to feel this way? Just huge self-doubt with my exams pending? Or will I feel more competent as I work through my dissertation and really get to investigate something I'm excited about? Ugh. Hate feeling like I need more classes or that I'm not ready for the big leagues!

I will be taking four exam questions, each on a separate day, and lasting 4 hours each. I am doing "closed book", in that I am not allowed to take notes, but will be able to take a reference list. Additionally, these questions will be completed in a quite office in my department, and not at home. We're recommended by faculty to study for two-months, which means I have all of August free, but then will be balancing studying in Sept along with coursework and teaching responsibilities. How long does one need to study every day? Are we talking 8 hours/daily, or something 4-5? Will I be able to balance everything in Sept when I'll be studying, take a course, and teaching as well? Any tips for studying? As I'm doing closed book, I have no clue how to organize and take notes. I've always had difficulty remember things and taking notes, as I would just read course materials (i.e. articles) as close to class as possible. Thanks all! It's exciting to get to this point in my studies, but honestly, my comps scare me more than anything!!

I'm currently applying as a Fulbright Scholar, as I'll be graduating with my PhD quite soon. I"m wondering if anyone has ever questioned their host institute about possible employment opportunities, just in case the Fulbright doesn't go through. While the Fulbright is the priority, if one still is interested in employment, surely you could contact them and mention that as well?

I'm interested in getting the communities opinions and information on differences, expectations, experiences in postdocs both in the US and abroad. I'm currently applying for one abroad, and I'm wondering if they typically include any type of insurance, housing, etc. Moving from the US to Europe would be expensive, and I'm worried about health insurance, as well as my spouse obtaining employment (if they're even legally allowed to work there). Any insights are appreciated.

I so wish there was a guidebook for this! I'm heading to a conference soon, and have an opportunity to meet with a prominent scholar in my field. While I have been in contact with the person via email over the last year, I'm still very nervous about the interaction. Any tips for making sure I'm on my "A game" when meeting with this scholar? I'll obviously brush-up on the scholar's recent research, and be able to articulate my own, but beyond that, how do I make sure it's not just awkward silence?

My argument for my Ipad is that it has allowed me to do digital with my article reading and related annotations, etc. My department gives us "lowly" graduate students a limited printing quota per semester, so by placing articles in dropbox on my laptop, and then reading them on the ipad, i forgo needing to print. To boot, the display on my Ipad 3 is a retina display, which means less headaches and eye-strain then reading on a computer display. Everyone has their own workflow, but I prefer PDF expert to read and annotate PDFs for classes. When I need to read something that I have attached in Endnote from my laptop, I pull up the PDF in Endnote for Ipad. Ipad has increased my workflow, but it has added another electronic to my never-ending list. I DO NOT use the Ipad for taking class notes; my laptop does that quicker and more competently.

Looking for a competent, easy-to-read book(s) for experiment and quasi-experiment design for the social sciences. While there are plenty of good books for education, the hard sciences, etc, I'd really be appreciative if someone could suggest a resource specifically for us social scientists!

I think this depends a lot on the atmosphere of the program. Personally, my department is quite casual, but when I take classes in other departments, the students are dressed more professionally, as a majority of them come straight from work to attend class.

I'm in my second year of my PhD, and I refuse to put in more than 40 hours a week. I treat school as a job, and am on campus or in my office 8 hours a day, M-F. While this may change or need to be adjusted near the end of semesters or other crunch times, it typicall has worked out well so far. I had a good friend give me this advice early on, and it was quite tough the first semester with all the overwhelming things to learn/do, but so far so good. School is temporary, but my relationship with my spouse, my health, and quality of personal life are more important, IMHO.