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cogscipixie

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Everything posted by cogscipixie

  1. Hi displayname, You should check out Versatile PHD's website and the Humanities and Social Sciences forum. There are lots of grad students like yourself on the site that are seeking nonacademic (research or not) careers. I highly recommend it for tips and any other advice for transitioning out of the Ivory Tower. http://versatilephd.com/
  2. Didn't get it this year. Perhaps I will do one more try.
  3. In case anyone is still trying to find lab manager positions, Greg Hickok & David Poeppel (cognitive neuroscientists) post lab manager position openings for all over the country on their neuro blog. Most of them are cognitive psych/cognitive science oriented. Here is the site: http://www.talkingbrains.org/
  4. Check the job pages on research society web pages or even on facebook! I know that Association for Psychological Science (APS), Psychonomic Society (Cognitive), and Cognitive Neuroscience Society posted stuff for lab managers or research associate positions. Perhaps SRSP will post positions in a similar manner? Also, some labs will even post it on their website, if they are really good about updating their sites.
  5. survived my first semester of grad school!

  6. So happy to click that submit button Don't want to think about it for a couple of months, for sure!
  7. I'm so close to finishing my research proposal final draft! Once that's done, the submit button will be clicked (albeit nervously).
  8. NSFers- How do you go about getting your official transcript into an electronic form? Can you simply ask if from your undergraduate institution, have them send it to you, then have it scanned? I know for a fact my undergraduate college will only have it sent via mail and not electronically or by fax. How do I go about this?
  9. first time having a mental breakdown in front of my advisor. :( not a fun day.

    1. cokohlik
    2. Neuronista

      Neuronista

      I know what u mean. Happened to me!

    3. newms

      newms

      Hang in there!

  10. Oh, I totally understand what everyone has said above. I'm feeling like I'm constantly being "one-upped" by the other 1st year grad student in my lab who is always coming in on the weekend to do work, and making me feel like a lazy bum, even though I'm getting my work done. I think I need to do see psychological services because I feel like it is a constant competition with him to see who is doing more work than the other. It makes me sick to my stomach, quite frankly.
  11. Indiana University has an excellent Learning Sciences program with a lot of researchers doing educational technology-related work. They have both Masters and PhD programs. Worth checking out, plus their department is top-notch.
  12. Hi all, I've just started my doctoral work in cognitive psychology/cognitive science. Prior, I was working at a different R1 university in a interdisciplinary research center setting, and got to see what went on behind the scenes of a different cognitive psychology program. I knew that I wanted to get a PhD in cognitive science doing educationally applied research in memory and text processing. However, I'm already starting to feel like people in my own lab at my own university as well as on grad cafe think that I made a careless decision by thinking I could go down the "nontraditional" path by seeking out mentors from both inside and outside the academy that have used their cognitive science degree in industry research. It's frustrating to not be able to change the system that I'm in that wants their students to go R1 (which is close to impossible these days) or become a failure. I've seen lots of bright people go directly into great cognitive research positions in industry right after defending their dissertations. I just want to make sure I am open to a lot of career possibilities in case going into an R1 isn't right for me. Am I wrong for thinking this way? It's just frustrating to see such negative comments from others telling me "I didn't think this out clearly." I thought this out for over 4 years. I knew I wanted to get my PhD awhile ago, but it took me several years to really pin down my interests, which ended up being very applied.
  13. I have to politely disagree, donnyz89. It depends on a variety of factors, and with the academy and economy being the way that they are now, departments and faculty need to be open to other career paths for their students. I love cognitive psychology, but think that not everyone is meant to go into an R1 environment. I think having the attitude that the only thing that an experimental psychology phd is good for is the Ivory Tower is what produces unhappy graduate students that feel that they need to follow in the steps of their advisors and compete for hypothetical tenure-track jobs that are nonexistent.
  14. I don't know about advisors applying to 10 schools. Most of them especially prior to the 1990s didn't have the fierce competition for spots like we do now. My advisor, a brilliant guy, maybe only applied to 3 schools, and got into all 3 in the 1980s. Times have changed a lot for the grad school app process. Also, don't consider that your safety will necessarily be a "safety." I didn't get into any of my safeties, but rather got several other offers from schools that were a strong fit. So worry less about the admission stats for each school to control your picks, and rather look at advisor matches and department matches that look like the best research fit. Most profs won't mind you applying to more than 10. All my letter writers and psych profs I talked to encouraged applying more to 10, especially when you find out that programs only accept 4-6% of the applicants.
  15. As far as I know in cognitive science/ cognitive psychology, there are a lot of research positions in industry (visualization, education-oriented research). For example, you have cognitive scientists being hired right out of graduate school by medium and large educational technology companies (Pearson, ETS, etc). I also know that there are a good amount of cognitive psychologists employed by Sandia Labs, government labs, private companies that are contracted by the government to do defense -related projects, and the list goes on and on. I think if more academics were open to encouraging students going in different career paths, there would be more people going non-academic. My advisors are pretty gung-ho about me going in an academic path that suits me, but not them. Not everyone is that lucky though. I think it also depends if you want to be a full-time research scientist or something more...corporate/cubicle-oriented. I want to be a research scientist wherever I go afterwards, but maybe not at an R1 institution.
  16. Hello everyone! I noticed that the NSF GRFP website still has not listed the 2012 guidelines documents yet and it's the end of August. Does anyone know if they are still not counting GRE scores, just for my advisor's and my own piece of mind? Thanks!
  17. I've been in a LDR for almost 3 years now, with part of the first and second years as long-distance. Now we're going into our 3rd year together, and I moved away 2 hrs to the Cleveland/Akron area to start my doctoral work. He's still in Pittsburgh beginning his 2nd year getting his MPA through Pitt's GSPIA program. Hopefully after next spring he will be getting a job in Ohio, so we can actually start our lives permanently together in the same place. It's sometimes tough in your 20's and living in the 21st century where everyone is on the move, and you have to be somewhat flexible to start up your career, whatever that may be. It's tough, and I miss him so much, but it helps me keep focused during the week so we can travel and see each other every few weeks.
  18. Yeah, Kent State is a huge party school so good luck with that. I was warned to not live within a quarter mile radius of campus because of the noise on the weekends, so I stuck near Stow/Cuyahoga Falls where I know several of the cognitive students live. I move most of my stuff into my new apartment in July, but I won't be permanently settled in Ohio until the first week of August. I'm finishing my research position at Pitt mid-July then will be on vacation for 3 weeks.
  19. Agreed. Also, if you can learn to bridge your research keeping one foot in basic and one foot in applied research, you can make yourself marketable to other fields. Many cognitive scientists are being hired by user experience, and the education industry because they have a strong background in how people best learn so they are being brought onto projects by ETS, Pearson, and government labs. It's all about perspective. Make sure you get yourself out there at conferences to all kinds of researchers, not just R1. Luckily, I've been very focused on cognition and education work, so I am predicting to market myself to more than just the R1 crowd since 1) I know that lifestyle is not for me on the tenure-seeking track, and 2) Good research need not be locked up in the Ivory Tower. It's all relative. You just have to market your skills correctly.That goes with ANY field.
  20. I found a place in Stow that's about a 10 min drive to campus.
  21. I agree with everything that has been said above. A girl that is a 3rd/4th year in my program said that it's best to come home to a place at the end of the day where there are not constant reminders of school. I need my sanity and a place where I can attempt to have a work/life balance, so living in my own place is a plus.
  22. got an A in her first graduate level seminar course!

  23. potential advisor from one of the schools I rejected is speaking with his grad student today at my current research center.

    1. neuropsych76

      neuropsych76

      lol :) good luck!

    2. imwright

      imwright

      You know, I almost thought I heard awkward crickets playing yesterday... Did you go say hello?

  24. Anyone else going to be in not so sunny Northeastern Ohio this fall? I am!
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