Quantum Buckyball
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Everything posted by Quantum Buckyball
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How long have you been in your current program?
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double chocolate whey protein + 2% milk = ah-mazing
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sounds good, I'll get the delta dental insurance then
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Excellent, can you recommend a dental insurance agency that is somewhat trustworthy? I used http://insurance-quote-review.toptenreviews.com/dental-insurance-review/ but I don't know if that's legit or not.
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Do you think it's worth to get a dental insurance? I have talked to a couple of people before and they said it's not worth the cost because it covers visiting and cleaning (which both are covered by the comprehensive health insurance already). and they don't cover any of the cosmetic procedures ..
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fingers crossed! Nature Chem Biol!!!!!
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a postdoc told me she's going to open up a bakery after her contract ends next year......
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^that may be field dependent - the postdoc (neuroscience, 2nd year) in my lab earns 43k, and my postdoc buddy who works in computational metagenomics at a private university earns ~75k. Though I wouldn't be surprised if a postdoc in the humanities in a smaller town (with lower living costs) gets below 35k. All in all though, postdocs are generally grossly underpaid considering the work they put in.
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What's next? try to marry a trophy wife or get married to a trophy husband? gurl puhleaze You can always do a postdoc at an Ivy school later.
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higher education is so overrated, do you really need a PhD in Business Administration?
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Rosetta Stone
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Where you get your PhD from is not important, what's important is the quality and the quantity of research papers you can produce before you graduate.
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why is this even legal?? especially when the driver is using his/her own car and paying the gas out of their pocket...?
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do you mention any credentials on your business card? or just professional certifications...
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starbucks' frappuccino kept me up ALL night last night, more effective than black coffee and caffeine pills.
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postdocs and grad students are the modern slaves and should be protected by laws
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In my university the TAs and Research Assistants are part of the academic's union - along with the adjunct staff too, which is rather good. Part of the problem is that American labour laws are a lot less protective than European ones across the board (e.g., maternity/paternity leave, holiday allowances, ease of firing employees).
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bought a crockpot, now I can make some homemade BBQ ribs
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advice for the entering first year students
Quantum Buckyball replied to Quantum Buckyball's topic in Chemistry Forum
No, it was just a simple straight talk and a harsh reality check. -
advice for the entering first year students
Quantum Buckyball replied to Quantum Buckyball's topic in Chemistry Forum
@TakeruK For example, the junior students in my program are definitely not "being evaluated by senior students and postdocs constantly". This sounds like we have secret meetings with the PIs every year and comment on their progress! There is a reason why this topic was posted under the chemistry forum. We don't have formal meetings but we do discuss this sort of stuff with the professor before the student is an official member of the lab. I would also not tell a new student to "not get too comfortable". Instead, I say "believe in your ability--after all, you didn't get here by accident!" especially after they experience some kind of failure. The trend we have observed was that students tend to work hard for the first 3 months and got accepted to the lab, and then all of the sudden it sort of just..stopped. And while I would not like it if a junior student constantly asked me things that can be found via google, I don't actually mind answering occasional questions that have "easy" answers. Sometimes Google gives you the answer but doesn't help you develop the thought process to come up with solutions to similar problems on your own and it really helps to have someone guide you through it once or twice. And, I'd rather have junior students ask me a few "unnecessary" questions than have them be too afraid to ask me any questions at all. This might be easier said than done. There are a good amount of students tend to "ask" for answers instead of "seek" for answers. Finally, I am not even sure what "don't ask for special treatment" even means. By definition, "special" treatment means there are some "special" circumstances that warrant this treatment. I think it would be a terrible environment if students are told to handle every problem on their own and not seek help (or "special treatment") to put them on an equal footing and give them a fair chance to succeed! For example, if you have children and need to pick them up from daycare at 4:30pm, you have every right to ask for "special treatment" to not have to TA from 4pm to 5pm etc. Or, if you have a learning disability, definitely ask for accomodations such as more time on timed tests through the school's accessibility center. Obviously, it is a bad idea to ask for special treatment when you don't need it, but I think it's really poor advice to make a blanket statement that no one should seek to be treated in a different way, ever. there are always exceptions for disabled students. -
(1) don't be cocky and lose the know-it-all attitude or you will get burned (2) don't get too comfortable too early, especially when you are not a candidate yet (3) know that you are being evaluated by senior students or post-docs constantly (4) don't be a moocher (5) don't ask for special treatment (6) don't be a two-faced b in front of the PI (7) don't ask questions that can be easily answered via Google (8) be independent, learn how to read user manuals (9) respect your colleagues' opinions (10) constantly make new friends and meet people outside your field
