mandarin.orange

Yes, generating your own funding for research expenses like this is quite common. It's still not clear what department or subfield you are in, so I can't help much. I would recommend that you get in touch with your professional society (if you don't belong to one yet, join one or a few that are supportive of student research and offer small grants). If there are other grads in your dept. more senior than you with CVs posted online, mine these for information on what grants they have been successful with. Same for early career professors with relevant research. Ask outright the people in your dept you are friendly with. You could also see if your campus has a grants/fellowship office or list-serv.

I had (and liked) State Farm in my prior state, and have been with AAA since moving to California (parents' recommendation; they have been long-term customers). Their coverage is awesome. I would not recommend Geico, and riff off TakeruK's comments on the importance of a company's "bedside manner." They were very intimidating and shaming when I had the abovementioned accident -- and it's all by phone, as there are no office/local reps to meet with. They are cheap for a reason!

Are ALL schools like this? No, but administrative procrastination, oversight and mistakes are common everywhere, and certainly has been my experience (e.g. wrong pay grade, fees to me because someone didn't file my hiring paperwork on time, 11th-hour class assignments, etc.) I think the majority of this oversight stems from admins being overworked, while in the fray of most dept politics. I certainly don't envy their job! I echo others' advice: start inquiring about your schedule, class assignment, early and often. Harrass follow-up if you don't hear what you need to within a few days/week. Make a paper trail (get it in writing, in email). Re-forward/attach those prior communications when you check in about the issue. If you've gone to great lengths to make housing arrangements, and the schedule gets upset and it's a hardship for you -- communicate that ASAP. Of course, as a background to this, make sure you have good rapport with your admins, even in the face of frustration. If they don't know you outside of email (sounds like you're new and this may be the case) -- you are just a warm body to shuffle around for the greater good of getting these classes taught. I'm always on guard re. teaching assignments. My dept still hasn't given TA assignments for the fall, but I did a lot of inquiring and documenting in June, so I know, at least, what course I'm supposed to teach...

Thanks for these timely and clear posts, SocraticProf! This is my go-to thread now for updates; not much activity lately on that CHE thread, and twitter of course informative but fragmented. Student-workers are indeed unionized at UC Berkeley, but I have no idea how organized/effective their current leadership may be (varies WIDELY between UCs). If the broader UC-wide union picks up this issue, they could be very effective. I haven't heard anything on that yet.

Yeah, years ago during my masters I came home from a trip to find my side mirror ripped off my (street-parked) car at the time. Fortunately my car was okay for the two years starting my PhD (other than a couple parking tickets when I forgot to move for the weekly street cleaning, grumble) and the windshield break happened elsewhere...though the low deductible I already had in place was certainly a boon for its replacement. But one of the most heartbreaking things I saw was another student who'd posted signs on all the telephone polls on my block, wanting any information or eyewitness accounts for a hit-and-run that had happened to their car, how hard they'd worked to get/keep the car in the first place, and that they couldn't afford the body shop estimates. Glad to see people recommending specific insurance companies, because that would be my other advice -- when you get quotes, I would not recommend going immediately with the lowest bidder. Do your research about the company, esp. small local ones you may have never heard of before. Do they have a history of fulfilling claims quickly and professionally if something happens, or are they pretty dodgy? Sadly accidents and car issues are all to frequent; I was in a bad accident myself a little over 10 years ago, and my folks have been in two within the last year and had two different cars declared total losses. Dealing with claims can really be disruptive to life and your degree progress. So, insurance is the one expense I don't skimp on. I save money as a grad student in my grocery bills, going out for drinks/dinner only sparingly, bundled my phone plan with family, did the legwork to find and secure a good rent-controlled apartment , and take pretty modest vacations within state or to visit/stay with family.

Yes, I anticipate bad ones, no matter how much effort I've put into the class...particularly with GE classes. In GEs, you get those students who just need one last class to graduate in the mix. They are already pretty checked out from day one, and can be a fun time with their constant questions and negotiations of how little they can do and still pass. I've never had a conversation with any professor about my evals, and I would bet $ that no one in my department is even looking closely at them. When a class is truly bad and unfair, admins and profs get wind of it real-time, during the term. I think most seasoned administrators and professors will recognize one anomalously bad evaluation right away for what it really is: someone with a chip on their shoulder. You never know the full scope of what's going on in students' lives...perhaps they are struggling with something in their personal life, they are stressed out due to the opportune timing these evals are conducted (finals week, or just before), or they just have a shitty attitude and approach to life. I can only assume this is the case with those who are heavy on the negative superlatives ("OMG worst class of life" "never explained anything AT ALL") when I am confident in the knowledge that I consistently prepared, and strove to be a conscientious TA. When someone serves up a long, negative diatribe on an eval, I mostly feel sorry for the student. I'm available for office hours, receptive to feedback and can be flexible with deadlines (within reason), and checking in with students all the time...like, this is your first time you're going to unleash your wrath about my awful and unrealistic expectations? Why did you stay enrolled in a class that was such an affront to you personally? Maybe learn some better communication and coping skills? Congrats on getting several nice and positive comments, too -- over time, you come to focus on those and the negative comments are like water off of a duck's back. Anytime you think back to that negative review and your stomach is in knots, visualize it with this warning label.

I'd echo TareruK's advice to bundle with renter's insurance, and to raise your deductibles, if you are comfortable with the inherent risk. You don't mention if this is a commuter car (i.e. your primary way that you will be getting to campus). If I were driving every day, I'd keep lower deductibles for the increased protection, but that's just my comfort level. Also, do you have a designated parking space at home, or street parking? I was stuck with street parking my first 2 years of grad school, so I paid higher premiums to kept my deductibles low. This was more than worth it when I had to replace the windshield. Finally, if you are gone for fieldwork or long periods (like 2+ months), you can adjust the insurance to "nonoperation" status to save money over that period of time. Check with your state, but most won't let you cancel it outright and still have the vehicle legally registered.

This spring, UC Berkeley similarly notified grads they were dropping dependent insurance. Unlike the MU case, this affects only 0.9% of the student body, but seems yet another hurdle in grad school to those with children, families, close family members with chronic illness. The UC system's union has been involved, and it's been widely covered in local news and media. I believe there is a one-year financial assistance program for affected grads. One article about it is here and unfortunately I have not seen (or closely followed the story) for any updates since June.

This is good advice. With regards to the outside prof I want to drop, a committee member had forewarned me in a one-on-one meeting, and I vividly remember it starting with, "You seem like a nice person..." I tried to blaze ahead anyway. Lesson learned! Eigen, I appreciated your post b/c these have largely been geochemical techniques. People have their very specialized instrumentation and expertise cornered...seems to make collaboration essential.

Thanks, fuzzy. I waited a few days to see if there would be more replies, but perhaps no one else collaborates? The point about personality mesh being key is what I've been coming around to myself. It's easy to get stuck on study design, and the techniques or potential data sets that would really enhance a project...but if the "gatekeeper" to that technique is very difficult to deal with, perhaps it is ultimately not worth it.

How much of your dissertation depends on being able to share resources, labor and others' expertise? Has this enhanced your research significantly, and added value? Have any been total washes? I'm thinking on this lately because I have one I'm trying to manage right now, and it's not going great. It's a finicky technique requiring lots of testing and re-dos, and it came out of left field...long after my proposal defense, advisor just fixated on it and insisted it be done. Another is one I've been trying, largely on my own, to get off the ground for a year and a half. It would have been something cutting edge and been a cool add to my project...my advisor was supportive, and anyone I mentioned it to was excited about the prospect...but the main contact has been rather incommunicado and abrasive from the outset. I don't think that bodes well for actually training, working in their lab, and being involved in the pub process together. I decided this week to just abandon it. I feel a bit adrift at the thought of someday, in the not-too-distant future, being my own PI and having to cultivate collaborations that will be successful. Is there a recipe for success? Or is fostering collaborations as a novice scientific researcher always a bit of a crap shoot?

Relevant:

OK, despite rather liking/admiring Kelsky myself (she's been invited to speak at my institution twice), I laughed at that. This is good to know. I did not admit in my post that I revert to backpack on days I bike to campus (something I started doing only recently). But for conferences/job talks, I really make the effort to pare down to a messenger bag. I often pay for coat/bag check, too. I don't know WHERE all the stuff creeps in, but I'm really prone to the bag-lady look if I'm not vigilant at conferences. Although a lot of attendees at the conferences I go to tend to wear full-field gear attire, including expensive outdoor brands and zip-off pants...like they are about to go stride up the mountain. May I could get my own alpinist backpack and embrace the look.

"What Should We Call Grad School" has got you covered! How you feel before the defense: After the defense: Congrats!

I'd say it's a worthwhile experience, broadly speaking. If you do continue in the academy as a professor, it's good experience to round out your CV. In addition, you have the experience to be savvy about what service to focus on as a young faculty member. I've been fortunate to have fellowships that released me from teaching duties more than once during my PhD. I often tried to "give back" those years and served for my dept. or broader grad organization. I did get roped into an additional, unplanned year after that for an ad hoc committee within my dept. I largely regret THAT particular experience as a time-sink, and largely felt like I was nothing more than the committee's female "diversity add." In the end I guess it did make me resilient, and I learned (many unpleasant) things about certain personalities/current leadership. I know I will be more choosy in the future and protective of my time and not get suckered into more than I can handle at a new institution. As a more senior grad, I am now looking less to serve in my dept (esp. after the above experience) except for short-term/one-time stuff, and more towards professional societies or other things in my discipline. I just finished a stint on a planning committee for a specialized conference...it was pretty cool to see the decision-making behind venue, choice of keynote speakers, conference events, budget, etc. and have a say in the planning. My teaching load is light again this summer and next academic year, so I'm volunteering at a local museum for the collections/curatorial experience. I see service as an inherent part of being an academic. My view has changed over the years -- I wanted nothing to do with it as a high school teacher. Sadly I found out the hard way that when you are not invested in the future of the institution, the direction of your field, or even just keeping tabs on, say, what your union is up to...you are all the more vulnerable to unjust procedures or nasty "surprises" in your benefits, pay, teaching load, etc. Fellow teachers and I were blindsided by a pay freeze one year because the communication between admin and faculty was so broken. But, be choosy and ready to defend your time if a service commitment does not work with your goals, even in some small way. I've seen peers roped into service on five committees in their early years of a new position...that is a serious burden, and should not be the priority at that career stage. I often recommend this post to others as an excellent break-down of useful vs. useless service for young faculty.