RedPanda

Oooh, excellent question. Well, I do want to continue doing research in the long run and there are advantages to having a science PhD even in industry (more intellectual input, supervisory positions, greater upward mobility) along with the prestige of having those extra letters after your name. My answer to the classic "where do you see yourself in five years?" question is that I want to be employed as a scientist in industry or at a government lab, and an MS only goes so far. But it is also true that I do plan to leave academia again down the road, and maybe an extra five years of work experience would balance out the advanced degree over the course of a career. Or maybe it won't - it's so hard to tell! I actually have an appointment to speak with a career counselor on campus this Monday. I am eager to receive any information they can provide. Thanks for the well-wishes!

Thank you all for your insights. You've given me a fair bit to think about. Sticking it out in my current department is not going to work. That much is very clear. As far as I can tell, my current school doesn't have much presence in the type of research I'd really like to be doing. I'll spend some more time looking into that option, though, on the off chance that there is someone that I have overlooked. If I can't find a way to make it work staying at this school I think I'll contact the micro department at the school I previously turned down to see if there is any chance of being able to reverse my decision one year later. If so, that would be fantastic! If not, that leaves me deciding between choices A and B. Both choices would probably be very similar in the short term, since either one would involve finding a job for the next year and a half. Then it would be a matter of deciding between applying for grad school again, or sticking with work. Either way I'm going to have to bring this up with my advisor in the very near future. Hoo boy. Much to think about.

Another variation on a theme (and sorry for essentially posting this twice, but I put my previous thread under the wrong heading) I'm about halfway through the second semester of my first year of a PhD program in Geoscience. I'm an older student with an MS and a few years of work experience in industry. Last year I quit my decently-paying job to come back to school for my PhD. I do believe that was the right decision for me at the time, but I also think I chose my program poorly and I'm looking for some thoughts about what I should do next. The crux of the problem is that I had to decide between applying for Geoscience or Microbiology programs. I ended up going with Geoscience because I was really interested in extremophiles and it seemed like that was where all the exciting research was happening. Unfortunately now that I'm here I regret not going the Microbiology route. Working in industry spoiled me for pure academia - the things that I'm working on seem completely esoteric and irrelevant. My department is actually pretty decent, all things considered, but I have no enthusiasm for any of my research projects, classes, or even colloquium talks. If I were in a Microbiology department I would at least have the option of focusing on research with some relevance to biotechnology or medical microbiology, but I don't have that option in a Geoscience department. And since I don't have any interest in pure geology I can't just switch advisors to pursue a different area of study. So I'm trying to decide between a few options: A) I could just leave the department and go back to working in industry. Part of me misses having a real salary and work/life balance so that does have its appeal, but since I want to continue with a career in scientific research I'd rather not abandon grad school altogether. Maybe I can find a job that would fund/allow me to earn a PhD part time, while still being employed? I do SOMETHING for the next year and a half and apply to grad school from scratch next cycle. Not ideal since I'd then be starting grad school in my 30s, and I'm not sure I have the mental fortitude to be starting grad school over so late. It's already hard to relate to my cohort, being five or six years older than everyone, and it won't get any easier as I get older. C) See if the one Microbiology program that I was accepted into last year would be willing to (re)admit me to begin this coming fall. This seems extremely unlikely but maybe there's a chance it would work? They seemed to really, really like me last year but I don't know how damaging it will be to admit that I don't want to stay where I am. D) Stick it out in my current program, even though I'm already feeling apathetic towards the whole thing. Obviously not ideal but I'm already here, and at least I would have my PhD in another four(ish) years. Of course there's no guarantee I'll even make it through, given that I've already lost my zest for the program, and there's also the concern that having a Geoscience PhD will limit my employment options if/when I do graduate. None of these options sounds ideal and I'm at a loss deciding how to proceed. I should probably discuss this with my advisor but I don't know how to broach the subject. Any thoughts / comments / advice / insights / shared experiences would be extremely welcome! ~RedPanda

I'm in the second semester of my first year of a PhD program. When I was applying last cycle I was really torn between going the geoscience route or going with microbiology (I'm interested in how microbes interact with / shape the environment they live in). I ended up going with geoscience but it has become increasingly clear that I should have gone the bio route, and I've recently come to realize that what I really want to study in the long run is human gut flora. I don't know if it makes sense to slog through to get a PhD in geoscience when it feels so wrong, but I'm already an older student (29 next week) and I don't want to set myself back another two years if I can avoid it. Do any of you have experience with changing departments one year in? Will it mean dropping out and starting the whole application process over from scratch? Should I just suck it up with the geoscience department I'm already in and wait until I have the degree to go off and do the work that I really want to do? I'm going to talk to the career counseling center on campus tomorrow and possibly broach the subject with my advisor at our next meeting but if anyone has experience with this sort of thing I'd absolutely love to hear it. Ta muchly, RedPanda

Hi guys - poke poke. I wonder if there are more of us hanging about in lurker land? Regardless, I'm looking forward to joining you all in Happy Valley this fall!

Hi everyone, I accepted my offer of admission to PSU this week (woohoo, so excited!) and now I'm on to trying to figure out where to live. There's a TON of great information in this thread (thank you to everyone who has taken the time to offer their advice!) but I am curious about the best time for apartment hunting. I want to travel to State College and spend a few days looking at apartments one week/weekend so that I don't have to sign a lease sight-unseen. I know in the Boston area, where I am now, the best time to look for fall rentals is around June, but that doesn't seem to be true for State College. So, if you were in my shoes, when would you plan your trip to maximize the likelihood of finding a decent studio or small one bedroom apartment at a reasonable price? May? April? ASAP? Thanks in advance!

That...is some great advice for all of us. Thank you!

I'm currently living near Boston, so I just had to chime in. The basics have already been pretty well covered (jackets, hats, good boots) but I'll add a couple more tips: First, weatherstripping and plastic wrap. These are extremely useful for keeping your heating bills down to a reasonable level. My apartment has drafts you could fly a kite on, but a quick trip to Home Depot for a weatherproofing kit (and some duct tape for extra reinforcement) has solved the problem completely. And more importantly...vitamin D supplements! As SocialGroovements mentioned, the emotional stress of winter is worse than the physical cold. As it turns out, one major component of S.A.D. is vitamin D deficiency. This year I started supplementing in September and the winter blues have been a non-issue. Granted, it's also been a mild winter this year, but the sunshine vitamin certainly helps. Boston is a good city, and people up here have a lot of experience keeping things running when the weather gets wintry. Don't let a little thing like seasons scare you away from an otherwise great program.

Congrats on your invite! Somewhat ironically, about six hours after I posted this I got an e-mail from my POI. My situation's a bit complicated and I won't be going to the Open House, but I've still got a good shot of getting in. Boy, this process is confusing...

Haha, now that you mention it, yes I have already been accepted and I don't think they're going to rescind the offer based on my wardrobe. Thanks for putting my mind at ease! I do think I'll just overprepare, though, and bring both the nice pants and the boots. Boom, problem solved.

Has anyone heard anything from Scripps Institute of Oceanography about Marine Bio? The suspense is killing me!

Fellow geoscience folks, I need advice ASAP! I'm heading for my first school visit tomorrow and I've completely worked myself up about what to wear. I was going to go with a simple pair of black business-casual pants with a sweater and a pair of comfy flats, but I checked the weather report and they're calling for rain/snow the whole time I'm going to be in Pennsylvania. Would dark jeans with nice-ish boots be ok? I know that geoscience departments are pretty casual but it seems really strange to show up for an official visit wearing jeans. Help! This process is stressful enough without getting worked up about something as silly as clothing, lol.

Well, I applied to geoscience departments at Penn State, Indiana, and Colorado; microbiology at Cornell; and marine bio at UCSD/Scripps (for deep sea microbiology research). So far I've been accepted to Penn State (yay!) and I've heard unofficial good things from the adcom at Cornell. I'm completely psyched for next year but the suspense is driving me batty! Thanks for the welcome!

heart breaker

Cool, I'm not the only astrobio person hanging around here this cycle! Geobio/astrobio/extremophiles But I haven't even decided where I'll be going yet, so thesis topics are still a long ways out.

genius bar

wet blanket

There's no harm in going for a visit...and you can pump the current students in the program for information about the funding climate while you're there.

I'm in a similar boat, leaving behind a job with a decent salary and great benefits to go back to grad school. For me, it's worth it. But you have to decide what's best for you in your situation. I agree with what the others have said - go to the interviews and have all the information in front of you before you decide anything. No conclusions without data, lol! Who knows, if you're moving someplace with a lower cost of living you may not even have to take that much of a hit in your lifestyle. And even if you do, as a biomedical / molecular researcher your starting salary in industry will be SO much higher with a PhD that it is accurate to view the temporary pay cut as an investment in your future. That said, if you go on your interviews, get accepted, see your offers, and still have doubts...listen to your gut. Grad school is TOUGH, and you have to be fully committed to getting that degree if you want to be successful. You don't need a PhD to have a great life, and there's no shame in putting it off for another year or two or five if that's what's best for you. But do at least go on your interviews. No harm in gathering all the relevant data, right? Good luck!

...and there's ALWAYS e-mail!

I haven't had my anxiety manifest in that particular way, but my dad has outright said that he thinks I'm making a mistake by leaving a corporate job with good benefits for the uncertainty of grad school. So there's that. As for worrying that other people don't think that you measure up...try reading up on Imposter Syndrome. It's not exactly what you've described but so many people feel similar anxieties that it's got its own name!

Another "Straddler" here! I have never seen the term before but I relate to it wholeheartedly. I grew up in a blue collar household where "getting an education" was viewed as a golden ticket for moving up to a better life. I had no idea what I was in for when I went to college. I had a hard time relating to my classmates but at least I was at a competitive Tech school so the challenges were more academic than social. That was not the case during my first attempt at a PhD, though. I ended up leaving my Ivy League program with a Masters degree because I just could not assimilate. I knew nothing about networking, soft skills were an unknown concept, and I couldn't relate to the other students at all. It's not easy to have a conversation about your office mate's birthday safari in Africa when your family celebrates special occasions with a Carvel cake and dinner at the Outback. (Mind you, I quite like Carvel cakes and Outback dinners - I just had no that idea the cultural differences would be so pronounced! Grad school turned out to be like moving to a foreign country.) And I am still bothered that who you know matters so much more than what you know for advancement in white collar / academic circles. I'm going through the application process now with a much clearer view of what to expect but I'm still a tad worried about finding a program that I will be comfortable in. It's gratifying to see that so many other Straddlers a ) do exist, and b ) are facing the same challenges that I'm facing. Many, many thanks for starting this thread! (Edited to remove unintentional emoticon )