Dal PhDer

Ok...so I know this is tasteless...and yet...I still have to post this because as I read it, I was reminded of this thread. I apologize in advance! http://usnews.msnbc....wer-tool-knives

That's awesome that your parents can give you some direction! I think you're doing the smart thing by getting as many opinions as possible, and knowing what route will give you what options! Being informed is crucial! Good luck! And let us know what you decide!

That's a really great idea! I do the typical card and bottle of local wine.

FYI- I don't think SPSS is compatible with Mac yet...In my field that's the most used program. I bought a Mac for my MA and then went back to a PC for my PhD. I honestly didn't feel the Mac gave me what I needed. I might check out what most of your department uses. I know we use mostly PCs, so it's really easy for me to get software for my computer via my lab. Some of my other friends in different departments have labs that use only Macs (especially for medical imagine), and therefore they needed a Mac. So you might want to see what your department/supervisor uses

This is really great advice and a smart decision! Making grant/scholarship applications and searches part of your regular routine is important!!

I just want to say that while traditionally PhD programs gear students towards academia, there are A LOT of outside academic jobs for PhD holders. So try not to let that be the sole reason for not doing your degree. Also, I know money is important and I considered it for my degrees, but don't let it be the deciding factor of choosing and MA and PhD program. You should really look into MA/PhD programs in your area, and see where students are afterwards. There are lots of opportunities for both MA and PhD, but they do take you down very different roads. Sitting yourself down and asking you what you want to do, and where you see yourself working for your career is important. Once you know where either degree can take you, you can see which is the best option for yourself. Lastly, you should also weigh the commitment. an MA vs PhD is a big thing to consider when you think about time/work...in the end, this is really a decision you have to make. My advice is to research it, and become really informed on all your options.

I agree with Ennue....grad school is a big commitment, and you should be VERY sure about taking that path! I don't know much about public relations, so I can't offer advice specific to the field...but I could help with the situation. Firstly, why not pursue grad school in your current discipline? Are there opportunities to do that? Why change areas when you already have a background? Do you not enjoy it? Have you tried talking to someone about employment opportunities with your current degree? Or degree programs you could apply for with what you already have? Secondly, most MA programs require you to have a background in that discipline (so a BA with a major in public relations or at least courses related to that field) and often a thesis project. So do you have either of these? You might have to do a qualifying year prior to being admitted. If you are strong about doing an MA in this field, I would talk to someone at a potential program to see what type of qualifications you need to be accepted into their program. Thrid, why the change? Is this something you really want to do? Don't just pick something that sounds interesting, pick something you see yourself doing for the next 20-30years! Maybe talk to someone about your interests/skills and the types of jobs you would be interested in and have the current qualifications for...they can always help you with what steps to take! My biggest piece of advice is this: don't do grad school just for the sake of doing it!

Talk to your grad coordinator, supervisor and even a career counsellor at your school. If it were me, I would want a range of opinions and be a bit worried that the departmental people may sway me to one side or another for their own benefit (e.g., it might look better on a department if they have more thesis students...). By talking to a career counsellor, they can suggest the best steps for you to take to get to where you want (i.e., education, job), and it can be specific for your field. In my experience, thesis base is the way to go for a PhD. There are several reasons (1) experience, as someone mentioned, PhD programs are strongly research based and schools like to see you have experience conducting/producing research independently, and (2) product!!! Not that you can't publish research papers, but you can get 1-2 publications out of your MA thesis, and pubbles looks really great on PhD apps and scholarships! Good luck! PS: Personally I hated courses with exams, term papers, readings..blah! When I was done classes I was soo happy! And additional 7 courses would make me cry!

You can take courses that help you with content, study tips, and practice writing. I would strongly suggest you try this (even more than once). I have had several friends take them for the GREs/MCATs and they have had really great success with them.

bdexicon suggestion is excellent. This is what I would do. My suggestion is to talk to your professor and let them know you will be looking for work for next semester and during the summer. Most profs want to be kept inside the loop when it comes to TA and RA'ships. Also, a lot of them may have opportunities available / planned for their students. Being straight up about your desire and motivation to work will let you know if they have a TA/RA opportunity for you, or if they can suggest who you go to. Another place to start is your department coordinator/admin- they often know of what will be available and what needs funding. I am in touch with several departments at my university and they will contact me if they need something filled. If you show interest early, you are more likely to get a course that suits you. I would suggest trying to find an RAship at your new school. Talk to your supervisor and ask them if they have any data/papers/etc that they are looking for help with. The summer before I started my MA I volunteered 10hrs/wk in my supervisor's lab doing data analysis/collection/etc. In Sept it turned into a full paid RAship! Show motivation/desire/spunk, and you would be surprised at what you can find out there!

Tuesday after a long weekend is sad... ...not like I didn't spend the long weekend doing exactly what I do every weekday....sigh....

What do you mean 'no acknowledgement'? I guess I am a bit confused. There have been several occasions where my supervisor has passed along my work (class papers, grant application, etc.) to other students for them to read. He's also taken some of my work to help write his own grants. Having your work circulated is good, and can often build networks. Is this what you're talking about? Or are you saying students are not citing your work? As for who's it is...I am not sure, tbh. I have always been under the impression that if you're funded by your supervisor and/or the data is collected within your surpervisor's lab, it's theirs. Perhaps others can give you better insight!

Just my input- at this level, when you invest time and effort into a piece of work, most often it's not for money it's for the ability to record it as your own work on your CV- which will have huge impact on grants/scholarships, jobs, teaching, etc. in the future. Personally, I wouldn't just 'move' past it. I think you should approach the position carefully- because as you have said, this could impact you and you want to handle it in the best possible way for your career and PhD- and first talk to your supervisor. As someone else said, this may simply be a misunderstanding and wires crossed. If that does not go well, approach your graduate coordinator to discuss the issue. As part of your PhD, your advisor should be helping you gain publications. Moreover, if 50% is legally yours and you've contributed 50% to it...then it is ethically wrong to exclude you from this work...it would be like publishing your PhD thesis without including your advisor as a co-author. So in my opinion- you should do something about this, as it will have an impact on your CV and what you're building as your intellectual property (the foundation to YOUR career), but it's a delicate situation and there will be a lot of politics. As a lawyer, I am sure you can weave your way around the situation well. Also, instead of transferring programs you might want to look into switching advisors- it's not uncommon and/or poorly looked upon in my department. Goodluck and keep us updated!

I am in your situation...new supervisor, I am his first PhD student, and he just doesn't have the experience to effectively provide supervision and support. I think you're making the best choice. Go to your graduate coordinator - I might suggest just a solo meeting - discuss your situation in confidence, and ask about (1) changing supervisors, and (2) adding specific committee members. My grad co-ord suggested that I look up a few individuals who I would like to work with, and she would let me know if they have successfully worked well with students in the past...i think most grad co-ords know the truth about professors- they see the numbers of the students who move on from the professors and what students get funding- so i am sure it will not be a shock. I have taken the approach of not burning any bridges. So this is a two year relationship you have worked on, you might want to stay on their good side- but this is really a personal choice. I approached my supervisor with the basis that my interests have changed, and therefore I want to change research projects and bring in a co-supervisor that is more inlined with that discipline. I am in interdisciplinary studies, so it's pretty common to have co-supervisor- I am not sure if that is an option for your department. I know emotions are up and down, and it's frustrating and maddening to have spent all this time (and money) into your PhD and feel you haven't really gotten what you should. But I wouldn't jump the gun by forming a party against him. You said he was hired to scratch the back of a pretty bigwig PI in your department...so he might be pretty untouchable. It would suck to bring all this attention to yourself if he is going to stay there for awhile and you might have to have a working relationship with him. So, I dunno...I might start with talking to the grad co-ord and seeing what your options are...if you are unhappy, they will want to help you. I think you have a lot of options ahead of you, and things will work out. But for me, I always try and remember that this is a decision/experience that might impact me down the road.

This made me chuckle because it's just like me...I had great plans of riding my bike to school everyday and I've done it twice in 2 years! It's either too rainy, too snowy, too hot, too much traffic, need to be dressy, too many books/stuff, not enough time, too many appointments/places to be after school...the list goes on! I will live through you and wish you much success!!

It's FRIDAY!!!

Hi there, I would start in the late summer/fall. Summer is often a time for conferences, vacation and/or data collection, so some profs might not be around. I know some people mentioned not emailing profs because you might send off the wrong vibe...but I HIGHLY recommend investigating who you want to work with, as this will be an important relationship for you for the next 2 years. I would first look through departmental websites at who has the same areas as you, and even look at some publications and previous student dissertations. Then I might email some of their current students to ask them what it's like to work with the professor, and mention that you are interested in the possibility of doing your masters with them. I have received some of these emails, and have never minded responding. Then I would email the professor a short email with your area of interest/topic, and ask if they are taking on students in the upcoming year and the possibility of meeting with them. Because it's your masters, you will also need committee members, so even if the prof says they are not taking on students, it might be still valuable to meet and talk about your research, as they could be a potential committee member. I would make sure all your emails are short, and worded in a way that suggests you are grateful for them taking their time to read/consider you, and that you are excited at the prospect of working with them! You want to be very professional and respectful (which I am sure you are! )

Goodluck with the roomie situation!! hope it works out well!!

This is all really great advice. And as others have said, the reply all is tricky....let me tell you a little story about Mr. Reply-All (Mr. RA). Mr. RA is a lovely kind hearted lab mate/PhD student. Mr. RA is obsessed with the reply-all function. Mr. RA is not on good standing with other professors because he doesn't know when not to use the reply-all function. One day, Mr. RA sent out 20+ reply-all messages (1 liners), as he was trying to start conversations with other students (but there were professors mixed in)...it was bad! If I was in your situation, I would have done what you did and write an email apologizing! However, I tend to act fast and emotionally, and have learned that if I am upset and I write an email it's crucial that I step back for an hour or so before I hit send and then go back and read it! In the future I would stay away from reply-all when there are professors involved, and always step away from important emails before you send them. However, I don't think you really did anything too wrong! I might rephrase it in that you wanted to see if students could share the travel costs, meet some new people, and help out.

Howdy! Glad you're introducing yourself! *waves*

It certainly depends on your program/discipline...my text books per semester for 3 classes normally cost <$200. I would even try and get them cheaper through Amazon! Supplies on the other hand are different. Most programs expect you to have a laptop (expect is the wrong word- require is more like it!), and you may need to buy additional software (normally a cheap student version). I have been fortunate that aside from my laptop, my supervisor has covered these costs. I have also been able to get paper/pens/highlighters from the department for use instead of having to buy them! YAY!

Do any of you have experience with completing a Cochrane Review? I am contemplating doing one and trying to figure out if it's more acceptable as a comprehensive project, or if could be the a dissertation itself. I had one professor suggest that a Cochrane Review is the perfect PhD project, but I am hesitant- I wouldn't think it wouldn't be substantial enough. Before I take the idea to my advisor and department, I am curious to know your opinions....is such a review more of a comprehensive rather than a dissertation?

I totally LOL'd!!!

TakeruK gives some really great advice. I think this is a common and hard situations that students are put in, but as TakeruK summed up the consequences really well. My suggestion is to really sit down and think about why you want to go to another university. Is it just experience and change of scenery? It doesn't sound like it's because you want to work with a specific person and/or project, or because of funding being offered. So ask yourself why it's important to go away? And what will you get if you stay? You already have a working relationship with your current supervisor- and it must be good if they want you to continue on. Will they provide funding and/or experience? Do they have a project you can work on, or a solid foundation for your Masters project? I would really weigh why you want to go and why you should stay. this is a big decision and could have major consequences for you in the future...however, that doesn't mean that you should do what's best for you. If leaving for another school is financially better (i.e., better stipend/scholarship) or you'll be working with a leader in your field- these are excellent reasons to pursue that opportunity!

Hi there, I hope your paper went well. Sigaba offers some really great advice. I always recommend talking to the professor before the paper is due, and in some cases, sending them a draft or outline for them to review. Depending on their schedule/time, they will gladly look over and provide direction. A key thing to remember is that at this level, a 'night before' paper just won't cut it. You're going to want to start early, plan a skeleton outline, research well, and write 1-3 drafts. Have peers read it over, or even take it into a writing center on your campus for feedback. Don't look as a paper as just an assignment to get it done, look at it as an opportunity to improve your skills. When I was doing course work, I always wrote my assignments/papers as if I wanted them published...this made me raise the quality of my writing, and had the opportunity to result in more than just a paper for a class. Good luck!