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waddle

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Everything posted by waddle

  1. I browsed through a lot of Nature, Science, and PNAS tables of contents, and skimmed through the titles that caught my eye. If anything looked interesting, I would look up a review on the topic to see who the major players in the research area were. Pretty soon, you start to see patterns in author citations, and you can get a small glimpse into the politics of the field.
  2. http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=65
  3. This story is hilarious: http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15340
  4. I wanted to select both Open Office and MS Office in the poll, but alas, radio buttons suck. I use OOo (now LibreOffice?) for more sophisticated looking spreadsheets (compared to MS Office 2002/XP), and for its drawing functions. I've been using MS Word fairly infrequently (every other week or so), as I transitioned to LaTeX, which is much more handy for longer documents (>5 pgs) but is a little complicated to configure if you've got restrictions slapped onto your document formatting.
  5. Can't do without it anymore. (Hi I'm waddle, and I'm a f.lux addict!) redshift and xflux are very similar programs (run from command line), for linux users. I haven't been able to find any other programs that do something similar, but maybe I haven't been looking in the right places.
  6. neither combination is impressive if you don't do well. doing multiple majors just to make your application more "impressive" is probably excessive, and the effort might be better spent on research or other extracurriculars. good luck
  7. Ended up getting a Casio Forester. It's cheap and the reviews say it's rugged. Once I get used to wearing a watch, I might upgrade to a more classy one.
  8. Anybody ever tried polyphasic sleep? How'd it work out?
  9. I've never been a watch kind of guy--I just pull out my cell phone whenever I need to check the time--, but I'm now thinking it might be a good idea to invest in a wristwatch for grad school (for reasons such as professionalism, telling time conveniently when hands are full, checking time discreetly, not having to pull off my gloves to grab my cell phone in the lab, etc.). Any recommendations? I'm looking for something that's affordable (less than $60, I guess?), durable (might get banged up a bit during lab/field work), waterproof (won't die if I dip my hand in a bucket of water), has comfortable straps/metal bracelet (not sure which material is better, but I didn't really like wearing a fabric or leather one), and has a backlight. Analog/digital doesn't matter much (though I guess the analog ones do look nicer). Thanks!
  10. Don't think so. As far as I know, they give the exact same test on the other test dates that month, and you also aren't allowed to take more than one test a month. There's no need, anyway. The GRE Subject test is mainly used to redeem yourself if you don't have a whole lot of coursework in a relevant subject, or if you just didn't do so hot in the courses you took in that area.
  11. Serendipity seems to be involved in a lot of the most prominent scientific discoveries. Fleming discovered penicillin inadvertently. Kary Mullis was on psychoactive drugs when he invented PCR. Mendeleev saw the periodic table in a dream (or so he says). Right place, right time?
  12. More articles on geo careers ... http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es902234g http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2008_08_08/caredit_a0800120 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/321/5890/856.full TL;DR: Academic / government research jobs are harder to come by than industry (petroleum, environmental consulting, mining). Industry jobs often just require an M.S.; on-the-job training provided.
  13. I'm not familiar with environmental science programs in general, but you might want to check out Caltech's ESE program. It should be pretty easy to work with computational people (especially in GPS). Nobody really knows who's in charge of ESE and what its status is in the university--a perfect interdisciplinary mess! http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1295
  14. Thanks for the link! I think the author is a little too optimistic about the prospects for geoscience graduates. As I understand it, the demand for solid-Earth scientists is highly dependent on how well Big Oil is doing. Oil prices are volatile, and there's really no way to predict what the demand will be in the future (maybe we may actually bite the bullet and invest in renewables in the next few decades!). A good oil economy opens up positions for geologists/geophysicists in industry, relieving some of the competition for academic positions (which are few and far between in the Earth sciences). It's probably safe to say there will be a need for more people with an Earth science background in the workforce in the near future, but I doubt that we'll see a lot more jobs opening up for geoscientists with doctorates. Most jobs at environmental consulting firms, analytical labs, drilling operations, etc. require no more than a masters degree, as they're doing (IMO) routine and technical work. I can't imagine that industry would need more researchers than are employed now, and I imagine that most of the Ph.D.s employed in industry are solid-Earth people working for oil companies. I don't see a lot of room for geochemists in industry positions, and "geobiologist" & "industry" seem to be incompatible. The article doesn't mention environmental law--I imagine that lawsuits over contamination, etc. are only going to increase, and I think we'll soon see a rise in opportunities for lawyers with environmental science backgrounds. On the positive side, the geosciences aren't (yet) quite like chemistry or (god forbid) biology, where spending >5 years as a postdoc is becoming the norm! Anyways, good find!
  15. You sure about the GRE? Anticipating a good score is not the same as getting a good score. Yes. With the caveat that, like always, it depends on how well you explain your role in the research, and the overall goal of the project. Even if you were just a drone in the lab, if you show that you understand the work thoroughly, you'll be in good shape. There are probably very few people in the USA who have heard of my undergraduate institution. And I go to a school in the USA. You're in much better shape than I was, in terms of undergraduate reputation, since I'd assume faculty just ignore the name of a foreign university, if it's unknown to them, and judge applicants based on other factors (e.g., GRE Chemistry scores--make sure to get >850 to be competitive). For foreign students, it's important that the letter writers understand the American over-the-top positive style of writing letters of recommendation; makes a difference how your letter is interpreted--it's possible that a great foreign letter would be interpreted as middling by American professors unversed in the academic culture of the nation from which it originated. Lesson I learned from the application process: nobody cares (and it doesn't matter) what you think they think. Don't do this. American schools will undoubtedly strongly encourage you to apply without looking at your profile (they like the $). Spending time contacting faculty would be productive, though: http://science-profe...ing-to-me.html. Good luck. Organic synthesis is a tough field. You like running columns all day/night?
  16. That quant score looks to be a bit weak for a computational applicant. If I were you, I'd retake the GRE after studying up.
  17. Your GPA shouldn't be too big of a problem (esp. if your GRE Chem is >800), and ChemE is known to be "harder" than Chem, or so I've heard. Whether or not you have a publication won't be the make-or-break factor in admissions. You've presented, and presumably your research advisors will attest to your research ability in their letters. Remember to explain not only your part in these projects, but also the "big picture" of the research, in your statement of purpose. Show, don't just tell, what you did and what you learned. I'd recommend starting to study now for the GRE (no need for prep courses), while doing research part-time. You'd be surprised at how much you can improve your verbal score by just memorizing a couple thousand words & definitions a couple days before the exam (google "supervoca gre list"). Looks like you'll get in to some/most of them. Why not apply to a "top 10" school if you're interested in research there? If you don't mind me asking (just curious, no malice/etc. intended), how'd you get into a top ~50 undergrad with that high school GPA? P.S. Good luck!
  18. Many schools, e.g. under-funded state schools, don't have TAs. I've never had a TA in any of my undergrad classes. If you're not funded out of a grant or fellowship at these places, then you're out of luck.
  19. Program websites will usually state whether the program is fully funded. Most marine science Ph.D. programs I know of guarantee funding for 4-5 years, but I do not know about M.S. programs. (I see you're in New Jersey--I imagine Rutgers fully funds its students.) I wouldn't bring the funding issue up immediately (it gives a bad impression). Start emailing professors, and if you get in a conversation with them (preferably over phone/in person), you can ask about funding--no awkwardness there.
  20. I think the OP was referring to their reputation here on forums, not to being "black-listed" at the school.
  21. I've always thought it best to introduce yourself (and your status, e.g., "I am a Ph.D. candidate in ...") at the beginning of an email if you are emailing someone who doesn't know who you are, rather than putting this information in your signature. The institutional affiliation should be apparent from your email address (assuming you've used your @ ... .edu address to send mail). If you foresee that people you email might want to learn more about you, maybe consider creating a webpage with your CV (or use something like academia.edu). Then if they Google your name + institution, they'll find your CV.
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