cogscipixie
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Posts posted by cogscipixie
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Didn't get it this year. Perhaps I will do one more try.
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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:
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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.
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So happy to click that submit button
Don't want to think about it for a couple of months, for sure! -
I'm so close to finishing my research proposal final draft! Once that's done, the submit button will be clicked (albeit nervously).
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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?
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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. -
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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I found a place right across the street from campus actually. I'm a little nervous about living near a lot of undergraduates, but I couldn't pass up this apartment:) Stow is a really cute town though! when do you move in?
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.
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It really depends on the area you go into. A Social/Personality psychology PhD really limits you to academia...maybe govt./applied research. Certain other degrees have more options, especially if one chooses to go applied. I/O, education, counseling, human factors, and clinical tend to have more options than social, cognitive, etc. when it comes to the applied realm. I think it is good to be cautious, just do research and have a good idea of your options.
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.
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I'll be there too! I'm going for my MA in media communication, did you guys find apartments yet?
I found a place in Stow that's about a 10 min drive to campus.
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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.
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I'd say so. My feeling on the whole matter is that those who are the first round acceptances and those who are absolute rejections are emailed/updated right away and those that are on what would amount to a waitlist are...just not contacted-which is horrible. Then as people reject their offers they will contact people off the waitlist. So it might just be that you have to wait until either you name comes up or all the spots are filled to be updated.
Good luck!
Oh, there is still hope! Trust me
Maybe the person they first gave the offer to is still deciding. That means you still have a chance. Yeah, I was placed on a waitlist without being told so, but I turned down my spot anyways a couple of days ago for someone else to (possibly) take. It was bizarre getting a response email back from Stellan Ohlsson with all of the cognitive faculty CC-ed on it after I told them I had found a better match for me between a couple of other schools. Considering my research interests at other schools are pretty much in line with UIC's faculty, there is no doubt I will be seeing them a lot at conferences in the future. He was very responsive and collegial in the email, so it's good to know that they understand UIC is not for everyone. Loved the students, the city, but not the campus, or the faculty tensions too much.
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I don't think there is much competition on here. People have been generally nice even if they are applying to the same schools
The forum is chalk full of information for interviews and stuff (really helped me through this process).
Maybe we're a much more vocal group when it comes to being open about our grad apps experience? Anyhow, I'm obsessed with cognitive science and the brain, so more than likely, as our interests converge and become more specific, I'm sure that many of us will be seeing each other at future conferences, and possibly collaborating across labs. I know my potential lab collaborators are all over the US and France/UK/Germany, so if anyone on here is interested in doing metacognition, educational applications, text comprehension, and educational technology work, more than likely we will be research buddies!
I plan on at least attending Psychonomics in the fall even though I am not submitting any data with my potential PI(s) just so I can begin networking. Is anyone on here in cogsci planning on attending?
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Don't worry about it! Just do your best with what remaining coursework you have and be proud of it. Would you believe that the average GPA of admitted applicants to Harvard University is slightly lower than the average GPA of rejected applicants? I received three C's, one C-, and one C+ when I was an undergrad, and yet I received an offer from a program with an excellent reputation in the area in which I would like to work. Of course, I didn't make PBK, but lots of successful applicants don't either.
That's not to discount the importance of GPA. GPA, like GRE scores, does provide a relatively objective basis for comparing applicants. So as I said, just do your best. Even if you fall short of some arbitrary standard, no one can say that you didn't try as hard as you could. Needless to say, convert the impulse to criticize yourself (or compare yourself to others) into positive action.
In the scheme of life, it doesn't really matter. All you get is stuffy, "we're better than everyone else" newsletters and journals. My dad is a PBK, and we just laugh together about the ridiculousness of the society. Just because you have 3 letters by your name (PBK, PhD, etc) doesn't make you necessarily a better person or line you up for a career. Programs look at overall potential, and honor societies, while they might fill out a resume, don't necessarily become an end-all, be-all for admission to top programs. I know many friends that have gotten into Top 20 programs in many fields without PBK, but they may have been in Mortar Board (which I joined) or nothing at all.
To be honest, as a prospective psychology major, the most they would probably ever want to see is Psi Chi on your CV. It shows that you are and have been committed to the field outside of going to classes.
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Post if you are going to Lexington!
I *might* be attending in the fall. I'm sitting on a decision between Kentucky and another program which I equally liked, but I did love Lexington, the campus, the department, and the varied training experiences I would get in the department and in collaborations with other departments. Maybe someone on this board can convince me to go to UK
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The poster had said 'unless you believe you are going to boost it at least 100 points'. The point I got from it is that if you got a 1160 don't retake it if you think you are going to only increase it 40 points to get the 1200 mark because things can go wrong which should be accounted for. If you aim for at least 100 you give yourself room for error and have a better chance to increase your score.
Although the GRE is a big part of the application I have to disagree with the "under 1200" line and that you would have to retake it. I agree if we are talking clinical(I'm developmental), but disagree otherwise. I took it the first time and got 1160 I believe. Took it a second time and did slightly worse going on the assumption that I could raise my score to 1200. But to be honest it didn't really hinder me from getting interviews for doctoral programs and only one place ever mentioned my GRE score during the interview process. I think the saying that programs weed you out if your GRE is below X score is overblown (not that some programs don't do this). If your entire package looks great a blemish here and there won't screw you over in my opinion. But 1200 is a good benchmark.
Again, clinical is another story and the 1200+ line in my opinion is more serious.
A tip for future applicants: once you have submitted your applications don't go over your SOP, writing samples, CV etc. because you will find errors and that will drive you crazy. Put your time into something else!
I completely agree. If you're applying to an experimental program, yes, GRE scores are calculated into a prospective student's score but they're only a small piece of the package pie. If the student is a very strong research fit, shows that they can do the work (presentations at national conferences, an honors thesis, independent study), and has taken the initiative to immerse themselves in a topic that energizes them, then that is much more important for looking at how they can match up that potential candidate against others. You have to have the smarts, but you also have to learn to apply that knowledge. That's why it's so crucial nowadays to have directed undergraduate or independent research under your belt so you know what you're getting yourself into, in addition to figuring out your research niche. I was a 2nd-time applicant this year, took 2 years in between to work in a well-respected R1 institution's reading and language lab, but that was all on top of the independent research I did all 4-years of undergrad. I didn't bother taking my GRE over since I was a borderline 1200 score and I thought the rest of my CV would speak for itself. I got multiple interviews with schools that were all strong research fits, and places I could see myself develop and excel as a scientist. Don't give up hope if you don't make it through the cut the first time. Make sure you figure out your research niche prior to applying, get more hands-on experience (the best you can!), and apply to places you will be happy to attend. It makes such a difference.
Non-Academic Jobs For History? / Policy Analysis
in Officially Grads
Posted
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/