fuzzylogician

Pretty_Penny, I'm not sure if you're still around and reading this thread, but I just read a blog post that made me think of you, so I'm posting it here in case it can help. http://tenureshewrote.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/how-to-do-a-medical-leave/

It depends on lots of things, not least of which is how much funding you'll have to attend conferences. I try not to pay out of pocket unless there is a very good reason, though unlike some sciences it's not the case that you can always expect your advisor to pay so you need to decide whether it's worth it. In addition, how long it'll take you to prepare for the conference is another consideration. If you are able to present different aspects of the same project or you can discuss it at different points in its progression, it's different than presenting separate new projects at each conference. Also if it's ongoing and you have a good handle on it, or if it's brand new and requires a lot of prep work. Distance to the conference / travel time is another question, and also who you expect to meet while at the conference. One of the most important aspects of attending is the ability to network. I'd pass on conferences, even if prestigious, if they are in the middle of nowhere and you don't expect many people you would like to network with to attend. I'd rather spend my time and money on a conference that I know will be well-attended, or that's expected to have an audience that I know will particularly appreciate my work. I think it also matters what stage of your career you're in. I don't think anything will happen if you don't attend any conferences in your first year. The time to be visible starts in your second and third years, when I think going to conferences and starting to get your name and work out there is important. I went to 4-5 conferences each year in those years, and that was on the high end. It would have probably been fine to just go to 3. You should continue to have a presence at major conferences in later years, as you approach going on the job market, but in your late third, fourth, and fifth year (assuming you graduate in five, adjust accordingly otherwise) I think it's more important to write projects up for submission to peer-reviewed journals and get actual publications out there. I've dialed back my conference presentations this year and last. Going on the job market, I had less time to travel and I didn't want to give a half-assed presentation as I suspect that would hurt more than help. I went to one major conference early in the year that was around job applications deadlines, which was great, and I went to my field's society conference. I haven't applied to anything in the Spring, and perhaps not for next Fall either. There are too many other things that need to happen. I am continuing to churn out journal papers, though! Also, I have papers that will be presented in conferences in the summer by co-authors, without me having to actually attend. It may be less common in the Humanities and some Social Sciences, but for me it's been a great way to keep a flow to my CV without all the travel.

They want to know who their competition is. It also gives them some idea of where you think the other good matches for your research interests are, which will give them an idea of how well you understand your field. Because of that, I would recommend against choosing ill-fitting programs that "sound good" on paper, or ones that are very different than the school who you are submitting the list to (in terms of prestige, methodology, theoretical focus, etc.) That runs the risk of making you seem you like haven't thought your options through or you don't really understand the nature of the different graduate programs. I'd say your list should contain some obvious choices that anyone reading your SOP and who knows what your research interests are would guess that you're applying to or would recommend that you should. (That should be how you construct your list, too! So you shouldn't have to make things up or misrepresent the truth.)

Tell me something, why do you keep bringing up LittleDarlings in completely irrelevant contexts? Is there any good reason? Because the only ones I can think of involve words like "trolling," "bullying," or "stalking." It makes me uncomfortable, and I am sure that I am not the only one.

Canada may be different, your field may be different, your program in your school may be different. The important point--which I realize now actually didn't require as much of an explanation as I tried to give, and I apologize since I think my assumptions were wrong (in particular, I know that things are different in Canada and I was referring to the US)--the point is that you can't conclude from sample size N=1 that since this person got into the two schools she applied for then everybody should be able to get into any program they apply to even with lower grades without any trouble, so there is no need to worry or consult with anyone about the application. That simply doesn't follow.

A two part answer follows: On the academic/technical side, if an MA is not required by your prospective PhD program then it should be fine not to complete your current degree. I can report (anecdotally) that I did the same - moved to my current PhD program after one year in a MA program, without finishing the Masters degree. I made sure my program was ok with it, and I can tell you that having been on the job market this year, it didn't cause me any trouble (that I know of, at least) with any application. You want to be careful with how you leave so you don't burn bridges with your current program--linguistics is a small field and I am sure that you'll see these people again, at conferences, as reviewers on your papers/grant proposals, or as potential employers. On the personal/health side, you need to address your mental health right now. It's more important than whatever else you are doing now, so you should make time for it. You need to learn to deal with stress, because I guarantee you that there will be a lot of it in your PhD program and in any future job you might have in academia (and probably outside of it as well). Even if your program is organized and very supportive, there will be time when there is a lot of pressure to get work done, and on the other hand there will be a lot of unstructured time where you'll need to motivate yourself. You need to learn some coping techniques so that you can be successful in your program (or anything else you choose to do in life!). Now may actually be a very good time to do it -- if you choose not to finish your current program, you can find ways to slow down and make time to take care of yourself. I think that should be of the utmost importance and at the top of your priorities, before practically anything else. Don't wait, go to your medical center on Monday and schedule an appointment for as soon as possible, if you can't do so today!

I suggest you watch your attitude. There is a proper way to have a discussion, and this is not it. bsharpe269 already answered you as far as the content of your post is concerned.

No offense but you are talking about an unfunded professional Masters, the kind where you pay the school to attend if you are accepted, where financial support is limited, and where there are quite large cohorts and not a lot of research going on. The kind of program that is an investment in a future career that you take out loans for because you think and hope that it'll be worth it once you have a practice going. Schools have a clear financial incentive to admit as many students to their Masters programs as possible, because these tuition-paying students contribute a significant portion of the school's income. That is quite different from funded, research-based PhD programs, where students essentially get paid to study and do research for ~5 years.

First of all, everybody procrastinates. Research is creative work and not the kind of thing you can do for 8 straight hours, 5 days a week. Second of all, structured procrastination. That's how I stay productive - avoid one project by working on another. I spent some time getting to know my own work habits, so I know for example that I can't really write in the morning so I use that time for catching up on email and doing other busywork. I schedule meetings in the early afternoon, usually, and I write in the evening. When I had homework, the thinking parts I'd do in the evening and the more tedious calculations could happen earlier in the day. I set deadlines for myself (before the actual deadlines) and make sure I meet them. I also make sure to reward myself and take breaks when I've completed my work. I use detailed do-to lists and I break my tasks down to manageable sizes so I can accomplish them in a reasonable amount of time, and I enjoy crossing them off my list. "Create analysis script for experiment x", or "read papers y,z," or even "write up results of w" are all much more manageable than "write thesis."

You can just select the text you want to make double-spaced, then click control+2 (in Windows) or command+2 (on a mac). Or, in Paragraph, in the "Spacing" section there is a drop down menu for "Line spacing" (second menu in that section), you can choose "Double."

Ask me about the job market some time. You'll get a lot more expletives.

Thanks! omg, it is a HUGE relief. Not knowing what your life will be like just a few months from now is really terrible, and there are a good few months that you spend in this state of uncertainty (like, will I have a job at all? will I need to prepare 5 new courses I've never taught before while simultaneously reapplying for jobs again next year? what country will I be living in? how will this affect my personal life?). Going on the job market is a complicated experience; it's time consuming and it's very hard to go through even if you are very well prepared. And trying to research and write a dissertation in the middle of all that uncertainty is... meh. And honestly, I'm lucky. Some of my friends didn't have a job lined up for the next year until July.

Well, I recently got a postdoc fellowship after being on the waitlist for 3 months. Couldn't be happier, and couldn't care less about being waitlisted first (except that the wait was torturous). Good luck! I will be sending good vibes your way.

Having no experience doing such a thing at all, my instinct would be to ask in person, and only send an email to request a (brief) meeting. Maybe more experienced posters can have a more informed opinion, though.

You should have some impression of the professor by now -- do you think he'll be open to your experience? Do you think he'll be supportive and find a way to help you get over the paralysis? Do you think there is a chance that he will betray your confidence and share your private information? Conversely, how comfortable to you feel sharing your story with the professor? I can imagine changing my opinion if a student who is not participating because of unusual circumstances, but that means the student needs to explain the problem. Can you do that? If you do, what do you expect to happen? Are you just trying to explain the situation or seek help? I'd try to at least think about what form of help you could ask for. Here is one possibility -- since you have a strong interest in the subject matter, maybe you could talk about that in a one-on-one meeting? Show that you know the material and care about it; see about doing a serious project (paper? presentation?) for this class that would impress the professor and other participants. If this is something that you would like to pursue in your future research, talk about how it ties in with your interests and what you're doing now, and ask about how you could integrate this subject in your research. I think one important reason to talk to this professor is if you hope to work with him in the future on any project/paper. You don't want to leave a bad impression that could hurt you later. On the other hand, if this is not something that you're going to pursue in the future and this person is not someone you want to work with, or if you fear that talking to him could have negative consequences, it may be best to just let this one be even if it means you'll have a less than perfect grade.

What Eigen said. Grad school will take over every part of your life that you will let it, and you need to actively stop it by prioritizing the things that matter to you and doing them. If it means actually scheduling them in your calendar, do it. If it just means sitting down and figuring out for yourself what you want to do, then that's your next step. it's not enough to say "I'd like to have more free time." Instead, figure out what you'd like to do in that time ("nothing, just relax" is a fine answer, but the more specific the answer the easier you'll find it to commit and actually do it) and schedule it in your calendar -- that is, actually pick a time when you are going to relax/go out/groom yourself/whatever and do it! Don't reschedule or cancel this time unless there is a pressing deadline (that is, a once in a long time problem you need to solve, not an every week occurrence). I'm sorry if this answer appears not to help you, but yes, I think you haven't successfully planned your day out, since apparently you don't have time for such (truly) important things as sleep, social activities and grooming. And to answer your question -- yes, I sleep enough because I make it a priority. Sleep is an important issue for me, for health reasons, and I will very rarely sacrifice it for anything because the consequences are not worth it. I also have time to maintain a relationship (including weekly scheduled "us" time), and I've actually been trying to increase the amount of exercise I'm getting recently. I've added some exercise time to my daily routine for that reason. It's true that I work less time this way, but it'll make me feel healthier and therefore make me more productive when I do work. Working more =!= better results, imo.

This probably correlates with how much advising would contribute to the professor's own research. In the sciences and at least some social sciences, you rely on collaborations to get work done, especially (but not only) if you work in a lab setting. You have to have graduate student (and maybe postdoc) advisees, otherwise you're not going to produce enough work to get tenure. If you're in the Humanities, I think advising is really completely separate from your own work and doesn't advance you personally at all. Moreover, you're normally not a co-author on your advisees' papers. In that situation, I can see why young professors would be advised not to commit to too much advising.

In my field you also get not-yet-tenured professors advising students and serving on dissertation committees. I believe that advising counts towards tenure and I've heard of some schools where you actually need to show successful mentoring (=students who have graduated) as part of your tenure case. I don't know how much it counts for, but still. Professors definitely do take students when they are just starting out on the tenure track. As others have noted, it's possible that they become more apprehensive about taking on new students 1-2 years before they go up for tenure in case they get denied and the student is left behind in the dust, but usually departments are able to take care of these students so I actually can't think of profs who are close to tenure in my field who are explicitly not taking on new students.

Congrats on the almost-offer! You still have over two weeks before you need to make a decision. Take the time, investigate the program, learn about its alums and where they are now. Make an informed decision! You may end up with the same option you're inclined to choose now, but don't you think you owe it to yourself to see the process through, now that you're so far along? You're not ever going to do this again and this choice will affect your life in many ways for a long time to come. You don't want to regret not spending the time it would take to learn more about this program, which I bet is not that long at all.

Alright, everybody had better calm down fast. Enough with the accusations and name calling. I understand that waiting is no fun, but you are not helping it one bit.

That first bit I'm just going to ignore and assume you're just upset right now. Look, grad school is not for everyone and it may not be for you. Finding that out sooner rather than later is good for everyone involved. But leaving school or not leaving school both involve working, so I'd get that out of the equation. Do you think that if you graduate with a degree you won't have to work? Won't have to deal with crazy bosses and pressing deadlines and all the things that sometimes make a work environment less than ideal? Think again. Academia is just like any other job, only with some special quirks that make it even crazier (the tenure process, to name an obvious one). Anyway, I don't think you are in a position to decide whether or not grad school fits you right now. You're less than one year in and all you've found out is that there are certain professors who you'd hoped to work with who it turns out are not a good match for you in terms of their personalities, even though you like their work (and btw, creeps, people who lack social skills, and straight up obnoxious people can be found in all walks of life and work, not just academia). So, lets take it that these people are not the ones you want as your advisors and potential dissertation committee. Are there others who you do get along with? Broaden your search - By far, I'd prefer someone who I get along with whose research interests differ from mine over someone whose research fits with mine but makes me miserable every time we have a meeting. You need to answer two questions for yourself, and it may require some thinking. First, are you still interested in getting the degree? Getting the degree is a means to an end - namely, getting a job that requires this degree. Are you still hoping to get the same kind of job you wanted before you started school? It's ok if once there, you've realized that you don't actually want to become a professor/research scientist/other. Second, if you do want to get the degree, is the school you are at equipped to support you in getting it? Are there people who you can work with who can be your advisors? Never mind the false starts and bad attempts, but are there some that work? If you answered no to the first question, you may want to consider leaving or (better) try figuring out what you'd have to do to leave with an MA. If you answered yes to the first question, I think you need to start working on figuring out the second question. From the way I read your post, you are not yet in a position to fully answer it. If you can't find a suitable advisor, you may consider leaving and re-applying to a better fitting program, where you'll take your experiences here to help you choose a place with professors who you get along with and can be your advisors. Again, I'd look into what would need to happen in order to leave with an MA. But before doing that, I'd try and make an effort to make this program work, under the assumption that there were good reasons why you chose it and that you just need to step back to see the bigger picture and find them again.

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/23-education/

I like this post by Robyn M. Orfitelli, written in response to the FIRST Act, which has been causing a lot of distress to many linguists recently (read more about that here). She gives some good answers to "what is linguistics?" and "why should you care?".

This was posted today on the Linguist List. The University of Maryland apparently has 4 open positions for people with BA/BS degrees to work as research assistants / lab manager. You have to be US or Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Looks like a good way to gain some research experience in preparation for applying to an advanced degree. Details here: http://linguistlist.org/issues/25/25-1445.html

Isn't William and Mary predominantly an undergraduate institution? I don't think it makes sense here to only limit yourself to graduate students from your institution. You got some good suggestions about meeting people outside of your school, and if you search the forums you'll find more extensive threads with lots of detailed advice on this.