bellefast

If you don't mind me asking who do you want to work with at UIUC? I am currently in the program now. If you feel more comfortable to send me a personal message then that is fine as well. Good luck!

Thank you for the reply. Well I have many more years (like 5-6 yrs) left before I leave here, so I have more time to accumulate the experience. Also, I spoke with my advisor and she said that I would still be able to get a job without that experience. But, I still want some teaching experience so that I know that I am qualified even though I would not be certified. (So my question would be if this type of teaching is sufficient. Thats what I am not sure about) I also have taught ESL adding to my teaching, but it was with adults so I am not sure if that will help (probably not) That said, I am not concerned about other people experience because, some way or another someone will have more experience than me. But, I am confident that my research areas and experiences thus far, puts me ahead of the game, minus my lack of teaching. I have much more research, admin experience, and experience with at-risk students (and multicultural work) in the area of study, so I feel confident. To answer your questions, I make it a habit to spin my experiences and other than the experience above, I have 5 years of research, I am in a research group now, I go to conferences, my research is drawing from different areas, making it apply to many aspects of child research, and I actively tutor students each year. Since I am fairly young and have time, I cannot publish yet. But I think so far I am on the right track

Hi all, I am in an education program PhD program. I want to teach and research on children and language, but I do not want to get a certificate to teach children. Looking at jobs for the future, I see that they want 3-5 years of teaching at p-12 level (I am not a certified teacher) and I have a year as an instructor in geography and world cultures for K-3rd grade children. I plan on teaching pre-college writing for 9-12 grade students through my institution, but not through a public school (I plan on doing this for about two-three years). However, this is only in the summer. Also, I am not sure I can teach during the school year (for places that will take me) for research reasons. So my question is, do you think this is considered teaching experience even if I do not have my teaching certificate? Even if I only can teach in the summers? I know it might seem like a silly question, but I just am not sure. If I need to get a teaching certificate, then I assume I would do it when I get my PhD through an alternative program so that I can teach in private, public or charter schools that will take me. But, I will try not to have to do this because my I love research and only want to do that. Thank you all!

I'm in education but not higher ed. I would say that the route i did for my personal statement was go into what i wanted to do first and foremost. Many people just start off with their stories and it can be boring for professors to read statements that start off that way. Especially if they read these things over and over. Work on all the things you have in the parenthesis and then some like making sure you are ready to apply mentally and financially. My situation is a little different in that I only applied to one school and two programs and got into the program of my choice. I did apply to many programs last time and got in, but didnt want to go anymore so I took a year off. But, I heard in jan. and I applied and completed my application in october. I would honestly apply to as many schools as you have GREAT and I mean great fit with and the ones you can ACTUALLY and I mean actually know you would go to. In addition, money is a big thing, so make sure you can afford the applications. I will leave you with some other stuff below. 1. Start on your personal statement now. It will help you later (it doesn't have to be perfect) 2. Find out how much all your applications will cost now so you don't feel overwhelmed or upset at the prices (it might make you decide not to apply to some) 3. Have a good writing sample, preferably in education research 4. Research more than one person you would like to work with just in case the person you like leaves 5. When the time comes to apply for the schools through the application, make sure you have someone check over your personal statement so it doesn't say a different school than the one you are applying to. (has happened before) 6. Make sure you don't wait until the last minute to turn stuff in because many admission programs are unforgiving. 7. Contact your recommendation letter writers preferably now because the upcoming year will be busy (seriously if you don't do anything else do this one) 8. Work hard on the GRE but it is not the end of the world. 9. Try to research the town where the schools are located so you will know what they have to offer you on you "off" days and crime statistics 10. Make your statement generic in some instances, but they all should be different in some way. Professors can tell when they are all the same. 11. If the application asks where you are applying be cautious, it can either help or hurt you. 12. Apply early if you can and only if your application is up to par I hope this helps!

As a person who needs to pick an East Asian language back up (Japanese), I feel your pain. I would stick through it just to keep the fellowship so when you do apply it would show that you got something of value. If your instructor says you are not going to be able to go to the host country and it is a solid thing, I would be sad but I would keep pushing through and get what you can from the program. There are other chances for you to the host country for the PhD level and you can always take classes in that language at the school which you would still likely have to do in some way shape or form. Being burnt out is no fun...I dealt with that as well. You do need a break. I took a year off while working and it was great. But, I knew couldn't wait until I got back into school. It will work out for you. Try to think of the long term and not the short term of going abroad (which will be on your mind for a while) Also, getting a B in a beginning class is fine. As long as you go up from there and learn from you mistakes you will be fine. If it makes you feel any better, I would have sucked hard in the oral parts of Japanese. I am no good at that part of the language. Good luck!

http://db.tt/ZLza2MTt I hope this works out! But I think you have to send this to someone who doesn't already have one for it to work

I would say that you should treat those two departments like you would two different schools. What I mean by that some things can stay the same but you would change your research interest slightly. Since they are two different programs, they are not exactly the same and you need to treat it that way. I did this when I applied for two to different programs in the same college of education. But since there is a chance for the same faculty can see it, I think they wouldn't be upset to see some overlap, but not all of it. I hope that helps.

Hi all! I recently got the job I have been waiting for since March of this year. The position is listed as Mentor. I really don't like this title (it is extremely general) and I was wondering if I could make up an appropriate title that suits my job? I am not just mentoring students, I am collecting information about them, helping them transition through their undergrad life in and outside class. I also have to do several reports on them to keep track of their grades. I'm basically an academic advisor without being one (since I am a grad student and I have a smaller work load). I have heard you can change the name of the job title. But I am not sure what to do. So what do you all think? Should I contact the people I work for and ask them for guidance? Thanks!

Hehe. yeah, I figure that would happen. That's why I asked so I will know what to expect before I attempt to try a class. Well I have been speaking Japanese for four years, so I just need someone to talk to and teachers and students usually all come together to talk to each other. Its supposed to be just like my undergraduate school. So, yep, I am hoping to do that and if the Spanish thing doesn't go through, audit Japanese language classes. Since Japanese is a part of my research, I would likely not drop the course.

So I am taking a full course load in the fall which is 3 classes for me. I want to take Spanish because my goal is to be proficient in two languages. I have studied Japanese for four years and I have a grasp of it where I can learn it on my own other than the speaking portion which I am going to go to language tables for that. I know that it is difficult to learn another language. But, I feel this is an easy way to do it. I am going to take an intensive course if that matters. So, has anyone taken a language course for fun? Thanks! Btw, I like languages a lot, so I am indifferent. What languages you think I should take if you were in my position? or would take because it is a good language to know?

I am not sure if this is the area to put this in..... Anyway, I applied for a job in February and interviewed in March. I had to email to see if I got the position and I was told they would tell me 'this week' which was last week. I would like to know if I had this position because as much as I want this position, I have other jobs and opportunities I can apply to during my grad studies. I would like to call this time and I was wondering what is the best way to approach this conversation where I don't seem to pushy or forward. In addition, should I directly call the person in charge of the decision or the office? Thanks!

I'm confused how this is happening though. I know that unless this is on paper and I can accept or decline the money, then I don't believe them. I keep assuming I have no money and that I need to find a job. If people are really doing this, I hope people take action so other people don't go through this as well.

Was the funding in writing a official award you had to decline or accept like La_Di_Da said? If so go with what this poster and others are saying. You might have to meet with a lawyer. If not, have you check the job boards? At my school they separate the assistantships from the job board and many of the jobs can be used as assistantships instead. I had to deal with this situation the first time I applied to the school I was going to go to last year. You don't have to give me any information, but if you want you can PM me and I will check out the school to look around for jobs to help. I know that my school I am at now have school organizations that have jobs on their sites but don't put them up on the job board and it is frustrating especially when you need the job for school.

Well she could fix the issue but, like I said before, she is busy. I feel it will get fixed, but very late. Like when it is too late for me to enroll. I can t do anything but wait. public school issues.

You don't need car here. I moved her in April and the transportation is fine to get to where you want to go. BUT...a car is a wonderful thing to have when you want to use it.