mandarin.orange

I'm SO sorry about your pup. Yes, I've seen this in the news...first it was the "Waggin' Train" treats, and then I read just this week it was most jerky treats produced in China, and was already the primary cause of 360+ doggie fatalities. :( What a strange "Brave New World" we live in, where companies are allowed to be so non-transparent about where the food we eat is sourced. Perhaps a cross-post to "The Pet Thread?" That one was getting lots of traffic for a few months.

Make sure your subject heading is straight and to-the-point, e.g. "Interested in Graduate Study" Ask if they are taking students for the app year you're interested in. Mention your relevant background, and how it would be a good match with continuing that prof's work. The idea is to display that you're familiar with their interests, but you don't have to quote specific works or anything like that. Kind of treat the email like a mini- cover letter. There's varying opinions here on attaching your CV or not. I attached a .pdf version of mine, which really helped (my now-advisor looked at it right away and later told me it impelled him to respond). But others have commented that some university servers might automatically junk or spam an incoming email with an attachment, so the prof would never have even seen the email. Don't take it personally if you don't hear back, or get lukewarm response. Cast your net wide so you don't get too fixated on one possibility. Profs may not have funding lined up, or have an impending sabbatical, or 8 other (maybe more qualified) candidates they are talking to, or engaged in negotiations/arguments with their peers as to who gets how many students next year, or just be really, really bad at keeping up with email. Also, I know of two cases where faculty webpages were woefully out of date, reflecting a prof as seemingly active in research when he really wasn't, and another where applications kept coming in tailored to one particular prof who was known internally to be a horrible advisor. If anything seems really "off" about someone's response, or you get none, seriously reconsider applying there. Also, check out this - a science professor's blog post about her perspective on cold contact emails, and what she responds most favorably to. Aim to be a "Type 3," and you've already got an edge. Writing To Me

This article came out a few months ago (I'm still getting caught up on mail from professional societies), but it immediately made me think of this thread and Dal PhDer's situation. Despite this topic being inactive for a bit, I thought I would share: Too many authors, too few creators I had to access through my uni's proxy server to the library to see it, so sorry if anyone can't access it. PM me if you want a copy. Most relevant part of the article: "A friend of mine, a former Bell Labs physicist, defended the inclusion of his name to the end of the author queue of each paper published by his students though many of the ideas were entirely his. His reasoning was that 'the graduate student should always have top billing so that his career can be advanced.' Each author’s personal list of 'first author' publications was certainly increased by my friend’s unselfish generosity. It remained up to the reader to figure out whose ideas were actually being presented."

Gawd, isn't there a time and place for this? Isn't it called: funnyjunk.com? For the uninitiated, see this tumblr for many LOLs: What should we call grad school (Sorry if this message comes across as raining on the .gif party; they just take a long time to load. )

In response to this, I will borrow Eigen's excellent reply from

The ill prep you describe, plus the fact that this is a continuing ed course, plus the lack of any record for this guy, makes me wonder if he's a hastily-hired adjunct. If that's the case, don't fault him right away - blame the system that hired him last minute, and give it a couple weeks. Seriously, the indignity with which institutions treat their adjuncts is such a widespread problem right now, and often they're just looking for a warm body to stand in front of the class in three days time, or even less.

I think this hunch is spot-on. Likely one of his grad students or someone who's been in the lab longer would be your go-to anyway for training and research tasks, and you may have never been advised or even seen by that professor. If you want to cultivate more direct mentoring, go with the second professor, who's responded quickly and is able to talk to you one-on-one.

I second not including the GRE scores. Also, I've only seen coursework listed for 2nd-3rd year undergrads looking for experience in a lab or to get scholarships/fellowships. I would remove the coursework - the adcom's going to see your transcript anyway. Including GPA or not is up to you, but again, it's on your transcript. I would go with this sequence. Do you have any teaching/TA/mentorship experience? If so, don't forget to include. I also have a section "Service and Stewardship." Finally, if you do have awards and memberships in professional organizations, list those.

I've seen it a few times in my field (geosciences), though it's rare - it's an uphill battle to publish without the resources of a university for lab space, funds, library access, etc. Kudos to you for getting a complete manuscript done! For the two examples I remember off the top of my head, one had his own science/consulting firm and listed that, and the other listed alternatively her P.O. box or home address on her articles. I heard second-hand that she'd actually retrofit her basement into a fully functioning lab.

Check out this thread - namely dimanche's excellent post on how she made it work. She's spot-on that it takes forgiveness, humility, self-awareness, and mutual commitment to make it last. Unfortunately, it sounds like your girlfriend isn't exhibiting many of those traits right now...if she's liking the male attention, she may simply not be ready for a long-term, long-distance relationship...many aren't in their early 20s, and need time to be young, feel they have "options," make mistakes and just get it out of their system. I won't assume any more about y'all's relationship beyond that. Dal PhDer gave excellent advice about seeking a counselor's help.

Therein lies the norm, I think - we're always balancing the two. Being on guard and competitive is pretty normal, given the realities of limited funds, fellowships, and jobs being available in academia. But there's levels of competitiveness and I've certainly been in departments that had a very nasty, political vibe because of it. I do my best to foster collegiality, and there's been so many times my peers have helped me out, given advice, assisted in lab, send around readings etc. and I do my best to return the favor. At the same time, I can't help but size them up. Perhaps this cautionary tale? The author here probably would have been wise to exercise more guardedness, and better read the signs her ex-friend and colleagues (at the time) were giving her. Here is my perception of the academic job search:

I'm a fan of Zotero. Namely: it's free! That said, the extent of my references have been journal articles, books, websites, press articles, special reports, field trip guides. No audio or visual material, so I can't speak to that.

This thread keeps reminding me of a recent Chronicle article - it makes some very interesting points. Are you an idea hoarder? Personally, I feel you can't go wrong with a personal philosophy of fostering collegiality and collaboration. When it works, it's an amazing thing...and you share the work! There will be times where it doesn't, or communication breaks down, or someone doesn't hold up their end...that's inevitable. At least it tells you something about the person, and you'll come to hone your judgement and approach to these situations. Almost all job postings I've read mention that they want someone who will fit in with the department's research interest, start new programs, and/or foster interdisciplinary research. I would imagine that to secure most academic jobs now, you need to show a track record of successful collaborations and teamwork. In my own department, the most successful, visible, award- and grant-winning profs are the ones that teamed up with their fellow faculty, other departments, nonprofits or governmental agencies from the start of their appointments. The one prof who hangs out in the library all the time and works in solitude seems to have fewer resources (# students, funding, etc.) and publications.

Couldn't agree more. I was pretty impressed with her shrewd advice on how to "out-think the competition" - pre-emptively asking for jobs and whatnot - and all was negated by that statement.

This article came out in The Chronicle a few days ago about the lack of data tracking where PhDs go, if not to the professoriate. Very interesting read, and looks like the investigators want to compile a database of their own. In Search of Hard Data on Nonacademic Careers

...just back from vacation and saw this. Thanks for the input; what you describe in the first sentence is along the lines of what I am thinking. I would stick generally to my work, but want to be a little less formal than journal-style academic writing...I also would do posts on other academic topics that interest me - perhaps things related only tangentially to my research, places I travel to and hike.

Thanks, everyone! I am liking this idea of having the blog be non-anonymous more and more, but I appreciate all the input. My advisor and a labmate have blogs where they discuss academic topics and fieldwork, so I plan to model on that someone (though neither have updated in over a year). Also, I'm gradually visiting the links in many of your signatures...great stuff!

I am going to start a blog. So, this novice wants to toss out a question to the more experienced ones: Do you identify yourself - and your work - or do you maintain anonymity? I've realized that most of the ones I read regularly (UnlikelyGrad, Ferule and Fescue, Female Science Professor, Girl Scholar) use pseudonyms so they can discuss some of the deeper issues of academia. However, I keep thinking that I would like to identify myself, and link it to my webpage on the dept server. I want some sort of writing outlet that's a little more informal, but would still end up writing mostly about my work, what I read, what I think of current scientific topics. So: anonymity, or not?

I definitely had these feelings for my paper, so it's normal. We had the one collaborator who never bothered to correspond with me or reply to feedback requests, but she stayed on the list because she'd run samples for us at a discounted rate years ago, as a trade for authorship. Then author #2 (my MS advisor) wanted to add someone else to do a few stats AFTER the initial review process, a person I'd had a string of super-awkward encounters with long ago. As long as you keep the #1 spot, just go with it. Your advisor's already exhibiting generosity of authorship with you, and this will likely not be the last time this generosity gets extended to others, however mysterious his/her motives may seem right now. Generosity of authorship should be a requirement of a good advisor, by the way...I find what the OP's has done really irksome and the not the least bit shady. I immediately wonder if he (Shady Advisor) has impending tenure review or something external that's making him renege on a promise to one of his hard-working grad student. And speaking of promises, I made one to myself that for the next manuscript, I'll be less invested and worked up about these things. I think that professors see this as a gesture of goodwill to the suddenly-added author, more than anything, and as your CV builds with enough publications, stressing out over inclusion/exclusion of authors and their order is a battle not worth fighting. My current advisor lives by a mantra of always erring on the side of collegiality and goodwill, and I believe this to be a good (if sometimes difficult) practice.

Before you start writing, I would clarify authorship order up-front with your old advisor, as well as target journal. I think it would be a good idea to do this via email, so you each have this to refer back to. Not to imply that your advisor might try to take all the credit or be nefarious in any way, Best to get it in writing. I find that having these pre-emptive discussions with my advisor about target journal, authors, etc. before even a single word is written - or lab analysis even started - is quite normal. Don't feel obligated to tell your new advisor about the manuscript you're working on, though it's worth a mention if there's a natural way for it to come up in one of your meetings or conversation. In many fields (science especially) it's expected that your MS work should be innovative enough to be worthy of a publication. I published my M.S., and it was really helpful to navigate the whole process of submission, getting the reviews, revision, collaborating again with co-authors to fix revisions, going over proofs, etc. I have a labmate who's in his final year of PhD, about to go on the market, and frantic about the fact he hasn't submitted to journals or published yet. Don't end up in that position! Your new advisor should be supportive and impressed, so long as you can balance it with your current coursework and obligations. In addition, it takes skill and some hard-core time management to balance multiple projects and mentally "switch gears," which you'll inevitably have to do with navigating a new campus, program, classes, and then work on this manuscript. If you want to pursue the professoriate, you'll have to do that constantly. Find out now if you have what it takes, or even enjoy this lifestyle. Finally, manage your old advisor's expectations. If you end up not finishing the manuscript this semester - but do make some progress - cut yourself some slack.You're in a new program and trying to navigate that, as well as make a good impression with new faculty, as well as take care of your health. That's going to be time-consuming. Be honest about progress with your old advisor and any setbacks you may experience, but do show you're committed to moving forward. Use your breaks from school to work on it when you're free of short-term class deadlines. Hope this helps!

I compiled some resources in this thread from last year, including examples that can be found online: I don't think you'll get many Grad Cafe members fulfilling your request to freely send you one, due to...well, by nature it IS going to personal, and most likely include identifying details. But, it's been discussed the internet over, so there's many resources out there. Use the search function and dig deep. I wish I had $1 for every discrete thread that's been started on Grad Cafe alone about the PHS.

Discovering flooding in the storage room where your samples are kept, 1 hour before vacation:

...and yet, soooo frowned upon to begin your SOP waxing poetic with: "When I was a child..." Even though these are formative experiences.

What type of paleontology - vertebrate, invertebrate, or micro? What type of research are you interested in? I know several of the first two types (all of whom have gone on to great jobs) and my own research interests now trend towards micropaleontology. I don't think it's an unrealistic change - I just wonder how competitive you would be with peers who have a longer track record for this type of research. Is there a local museum with a research lab and volunteer program you could get involved in? Also, the vert paleontologists I knew always needed someone to draft pen-and-ink bone drawings for publications. I would think that you having this skill could in your favor.

Aww! Esp. that last pic...they're so good at taking over the computer, aren't they.