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One of the greatest things about Bio medical PhD programs, is the fact it is paid for, plus you get a stipend. Even so, I anticipate needing more than the stipend will provide. What advice is out there about taking out student loans (federal or private) or other ways of financing graduate education? I have done the standard google searches, so I am mostly looking for what people have experienced personally and what their recommendations are.

So here's my issue. I'm about to get my second master degree, the first one a regular MSc and the second one a MRes. Over the course of this time I have conducted and taken part in a number of research projects. All of them have involved extensive fieldwork abroad. Now I am looking for jobs that are related to the practical application of my knowledge. (Btw, I'm in the development field as you can tell from my profile) It was never my goal to stay within academia, but I saw these two masters as a chance to build on my skillset and I am convinced these skills are transferable to the 'applied/practical field'. But this is my dilemma: The last three positions on my resume basically all say "researcher" or "research assistant" in some form. I know that my experiences are more than that, and I want to reframe them so it highlights the "international" and "field experience" aspect rather than the research aspect. Has anyone had do this before, and how did you solve it? Thanks!

I'm currently working as a direct staff support for a home of adults that have intellectual disabilities. I thought I was going to be working a lot on communication with them but that part is pretty much 25% of it. The rest I am basically a caregiver-- cleaning the house, cooking, helping them with personal management, hygiene, etc. I'm looking into other jobs. I got an interview for an assistant to a teacher at a preschool but I'm not sure if that will better my chances at getting into grad school. I'm kinda having second thoughts about quitting the job search and sticking with the one I have but I'm not entirely sure. Anybody have any advice?

After a long wait and lots of mails I got an admit at TU Delft (MSc Electrical - Microelectronics) without any scholarships. Since this is the only admit I have(till now and I feel the only one I will have), I am in a fix. It will cost me a fortune to study there, albeit lesser than what I was expecting at US. But as per my calculations it will take me atleast 3 years to repay the loans IF I get a (good) job after graduation. My original plan was to go for PhD right after the MSc. But PhD pays even lesser than a job. I am in a fix now. If I look for job to repay the loan my PhD (and chances of getting into) will become slimmer. If I get into a PhD it will take me atleast 5 years to repay the loan (even if my parents help me partially). Is it really worth all the pain? And I won't be able to enjoy until I have repaid every single penny. Is it really worth all the pain and misery?

Hi everyone! I wasn't exactly sure whether to file this under Professional Studies or Social Sciences so hopefully it reaches the right people! I was just accepted into a counseling program and am having a bad case of indecision. Technically, I have about a year until I really need to declare this but since I'm trying to get work experience and hate having loose ends, I figured maybe you guys could try to help me now. The programs/careers that I'm stuck between are School Counseling and Clinical Mental Health. On the school's website, they even seem to be selling Mental Health more as they list a bunch of different options for it and only talk about the classes needed for the School Counseling page. Anyway, my issue is that I live in NJ and this is a tough area to get a job in anywhere really and schools tend to be who you know. My boyfriend works for the Board of Ed as a custodian so potential in there but who knows. What's holding me back from deciding besides potential jobs is what the actual work environments are like. My concern with school counseling is that I'll be stuck doing all administrative work and barely get to interact with students other than college admissions and class schedules if I'm working in a high school. I want to actually be able to counsel people and feel like I reached them. Moving on to Mental Health, what is it like to work in this field? How stressful is it?How difficult would it be for me to find a job being my Bachelor's is actually in English? I currently volunteer for a crisis hotline and am trying to get some work experience (though I'm not sure where the best place to go with no experience is) but I know some places may be weary to hire someone who didn't have an undergrad degree in a social science. Sorry for rambling everyone, just trying to figure things out!

Hi all, new here.I will be a second year MSW student this year and I am wondering when the proper time is to begin applying for jobs in this field? I want to get a head start and hopefully have a job before graduation, but I don't want to apply too soon either. I was thinking of putting applications in around October-November. Is this too early? Any advice is much appreciated! Thanks.

In the United States it is not uncommon to apply to academic jobs all over the country. Personally, I do not know a single person who limited his or her search to just one state (i.e. Massachusetts). That being said, the language of instruction and the key aspects of academic culture remain the same coast to coast. In comparison, what is the situation like in Europe, particularly Scandinavia and Switzerland? For example, given that the population of Denmark is comparable in size to that of Massachusetts, how does this affect the academic job market? Is it standard practice for PhDs & lecturers/postdocs located in Denmark to search for their first career placement across Europe [and beyond]? Or do they search for employment primarily on the national academic job market? How do the national differences in language/academic culture fit into this equation? Background: I’m considering PhD/Academic Career in Europe. Ideally, I would like to learn the local language and assimilate as much as possible during the PhD. Given this long-term effort, I would prefer to continue on in the same country following graduation. I’m especially interested in hearing from those with experience in the social sciences and humanities (working or studying in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, or Switzerland). However, please consider contributing even if you do not fit this particular set of criteria. My own experience is in Cult/Soc Anthropology (USA).

For a long time my background was in a VERY specialized field in the museum sector (conservation). There are VERY few jobs. After my husband and I moved to upstate New York I was extremely lucky to find a good job in my field, but it was an hour and a half drive one way from our house, which we were/are not willing to move from for various reasons. The drive eventually became physically, emotionally, and financially draining, and when the opportunity came up to leave to do a funded PhD I took it. Now, halfway through my program, I need to start thinking about what might be next, and suddenly find myself with several options where I have been used to having literally zero or none for my entire working life. I've been thinking/ talking with my husband about these options and thought that I would look here for some advice as well. Facts: I don't need to make a ton of money. My husband has a good job, but I do still need to pay off my student loans and have a fallback in case anything ever happens with his job. Moving IS NOT an option. The following options are being considered because there is potential for me to be able to do them in my current city. Please do not recommend that I join a nationwide TTP search or move to L.A. or something. I am under absolutely zero delusions that a tenure track position is going to be an option. Sure, if one comes up in my area that would be great, but my work is very specialized and tenure was never a hard goal for me. Similarly, I don't care about losing the "prestige" of academia, or about people potentially looking down on my for choosing "alt-ac." I have different priorities. We want something that will be flexible and allow me to spend time with/ be available for our (future) children. We have no hard and fast rules for this; we're not anti-daycare or anything like that, but we do want some options that will allow time off for vacations, some afternoons at home, family activities, etc. My husband travels for work and often has chunks of free time when we would be able to spend time together. I have contacts in both sectors, who have suggested that I consider these options. Basically the two main options are: A combination of part-time museum work and teaching adjunct courses. This will allow me to keep my feet in both worlds that I love: teaching and museums. When the kids are older this could potentially transition back into full-time museum work if I choose. One of the biggest motivations for doing the PhD was to get teaching experience and find out if I really loved it as much as I thought I would. I do, so continuing to teach would be great. Teaching at a private high school. This is appealing because there are MANY schools in my city. Several of them pride themselves on having an interdisciplinary curriculum which is exactly my wheelhouse. One of my contacts at a local school seemed very excited about my background, which combines art, chemistry/science, and history. I have always been attracted to the community atmosphere of K-12 schools (my mom was a teacher), so this option really appeals to me for that reason. Of course, the idea of long holiday and summer breaks is also quite appealing. Unfortunately, because of New York's rules, private schools would be my only option since I don't have a teaching certificate. I know what museums are like, so I think I am mostly looking for a conversation about the K-12 option. Has anyone gone from PhD to teaching high school? Do you know anyone who has done this? I understand that I am largely uninformed about how this might play out in the "real world." Feel free to inform me (that's why I am here), but please be kind about it. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Hello. I graduated from Stanford University after a MS in Chemical Engineering and failed to find a job. Reason - my major isn't the best when it comes to jobs. I have a good GPA (3.75/4.0) and did my undergraduation from a top univ in India (IIT-KGP) with a good GPA again (8.61/10.) I am considering switching to CS by the following route - doing assistantships with professors in various universities for a couple of years to get recos and then applying to Canada for an MS in CS. I have two questions. 1) Has anyone done something similar? I get the feeling that getting a prof to say yes to someone with no background is tough, but I see no other way to get my career in CS started. How difficult is it to get a research project with a prof in any decent Indian univ? I'm willing to go unpaid as well. 2) Do I stand a chance of getting into good univs? (Waterloo, UBC and the like). I don't want to go to an average university. Kindly help me out.

If anyone is interested in the San Francisco area, ideaMACHINE Studio in New York just opened up an office in SF. I think they're looking to hire more animators. Their websites are ideamachinestudio.com, whiteboardanimation.com, motioncapturenyc.com, and motioncapturesanfrancisco.com. The applications should be listed there!

I'm currently working as a direct staff support for a home of adults that have intellectual disabilities. I thought a majority of the job was going to be on communication with them but that consist of 25%-30% of the job. The rest I am basically a caregiver--cleaning the house, cooking, helping them with personal management, hygiene, etc. I'm looking into other jobs. I got an interview for an assistant to a teacher at a preschool but I'm not sure if that will better my chances of getting into grad school. I'm having second thoughts about the job search and just sticking with the job I have. I have a second job and between that and this other job, I don't have time to shadow SLPs. When I asked what I needed to improve on, the admissions said my GRE could use some work. I'm studying for the GRE but I feel that that is not enough and I don't want to waste my time with this job and not doing something else. Any advice would be great!

Hello, I did not get into any PhD programs this year. Right now I'm applying to research technician jobs to gain more experience. However, in the interviews I've had, they have stated they want at least a two year commitment. The PIs I have talked to have stated its takes ideally a year to train a tech before they can contribute to the lab. I ideally would like to apply next year for PhD programs. Has anyone had similar experiences in applying to research tech jobs. Is this normal?

Dear friends, I am stuck in a MAJOR dilemma and my life has been majorly messed up because of it. I would appreciate some responses urgently, as I have to make a decision as soon as possible. So I am a Pakistani student with a passion for policy and development, but still confused about what to specialize in. I completed my undergrad in June 2016 and have worked in an NGO in agriculture since (1 year). I applied to Cornell CIPA in Jan, 2017 and got in with a 40% tuition reduction. Because CIPA's base tuition is $34k, my per year tuition is $20k (which is very little compared to competing programs, I think). But I can also defer my offer (the 40% reduction will not be deferred and I will compete with next year's batch for it) and get 1 year of more work experience before coming. The problem is that I am coming to USA exclusively to get a job there, and getting a job in Trump's America for a south asian with a very Muslim name is near impossible, I've heard. Especially considering all the paperwork employers have to do to sponsor my H1B. So I was advised by some people that I should get more work experience before coming, since I only get one shot at this, and employers value more work experience. But the risk is that I don't get this much financial aid from CIPA next year (no one knows how funding will change by next year due to the political situation in US), and some people advised me not to take the risk as I can't afford to come without aid. The upside is that I can get the chance apply to competing programs as well next year. But my GPA is pretty bad (I've given my profile at the end). Am I competitive for HKS with funding/WWS/UChicago with funding, if I improve my GRE score?? Basically I can't afford to come without funding and Cornell seems to be among the few in financial range (I heard Uchicago and WWS give good aid) Also, I'm concerned about Ithaca's distance from major cities. Being in Boston, NYC and DC to me seems very important for a policy program. Is this a valid concern? What are your thoughts about CIPA? Can someone offer me some advise? Is CIPA's offer worth deferring and the award worth passing over for a more work experience and a chance at UChicago/HKS/Princeton next year? Or should I come to CIPA with my 1 year of work experience? My profile: GPA: 3.04, LUMS BSc Management Science (less emphasis on economics but more on business and quantitative skills, such as statistical modelling, R, data mining, BI, etc.) GRE: v162, q156, w5 WE: 1 year full-time at an NGO as a research and strategy associate, where I interacted and worked with government, farmers, corporations, consultants. 2 years part-time running and managing a small, subsidized school for poor children

Does anyone have any good backup plans or something to do with a year or two off school? I am about to graduate with a bachelors in Communication Disorders and at the moment it does not look like graduate school is going to work out for the upcoming year. Does anyone know of any jobs I could get with my undergrad or a back up plan where I could go back to graduate school in a year or two? I have been researching jobs and SLPA positions but I am not finding much. Any help is appreciate.

Hi, I had a question regarding what matters more in terms of getting a job, school ranking or the skills developed during the Phd. I ask because I am very much interested in tissue engineering but I am worried about getting an industry job afterwards. I know a T-10 program open doors, but if an opportunity at a T-30 school is a better fit in terms of interest what do you choose? How much does school cache matter in terms of getting the interview?

warning: probable rant ahead. I'm frustrated, I really am. Marine science is my life, it is my passion and I fully intended to dedicate my entire life to it. However, my passion is currently flipping me off. A bit of background, I have a BA in Biology, MS in Oceanography from TAMU, excellent formal and informal teaching experience, and 5 (count them) internships in research, conservation, and education. I spent a good portion of last year forging relationships so I could apply for multiple PhD programs, was told that with my experience and MS I was an ideal student. Rejected by all. Decided to forgo getting a PhD at the moment because I was looking for a longer term involvement in something (and I'd have to wait another year in order to apply for and start a PhD) and have applied to everything in marine research, education, and policy all over the country and even internationally. When I ask those in similar fields what a person can do to prepare themselves for the types of jobs I am applying for, they say "graduate education (check) and internships (check)." For the benefit of the doubt, lets say that my 5 internships plus entirely self funded and designed Master's was not enough, how the HELL am I supposed to continue to do UNPAID internships for much longer? I'm at my wits end with everything. Every path I turn to is rejecting me. I consider myself a humble person but I will brag about my accomplishments just to get my point across that this process is killing my passion and my soul. I wish I was being dramatic. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW and fully accept that I have entered into a, what some would call, non-traditional career path and a difficult one at that. I have been told objectively from potential PhD advisors, hiring managers, collaborators that in many ways, I am an ideal applicant... so what am I doing wrong. Does anyone have ANY advice on getting through this on any level. i.e. how to deal with this emotionally, how to actually find a damn job, how to get a damn PhD. I'm willing to do anything at this point. /rant Apologies if this is not the correct type of post for this subject area. I just hope to connect to other people who have been through or are going through these same issues. Unfortunately, most of my friends are either successful or still in school.

Hi there! Can somebody please advice me on the following universities- University of Washington or Duke university or Columbia U for Master's in Statistics ? The parameters to be considered are: 1. Job opportunities upon graduating - 1.1. Are plenty of jobs available? 1.2. Which field do you get into generally after graduating from that particular school- finance,IT,medicine? 2. Class size (Does class size matter?) 3. Workload and opportunities to learn Thanks a lot ! I am so very confused and would really appreciate some advice/opinion. Have a great day!

For those interested in MPP/MPA programs, Trump just announced a hiring freeze for the federal government. Full details don't seem to be available just yet, but it seems to be indefinite and going into effect immediately. It's worth remembering this affects not just the federal government but also NGOs and policy-related private sector - those who would otherwise have been going for federal jobs will likely be applying to these positions instead, increasing demand and probably making it harder to find policy jobs. As decisions come out, it's also a factor to consider when deciding how much debt to take out. If you're considering public service loan forgiveness, it just got a whole lot more difficult to find a job that qualifies for it (and that's assuming the program will stay).

I'm sure many of you know how bad the job market for tenure-track jobs in history is. Still, it can be hard to know, concretely, just how bad. Anecdotally, I'm in a top U.S. history program. Almost no one from our program besides an occasional colonialist (their market is healthier) has gotten a job in years. The placement of other top programs isn't much better. Make sure you ask programs detailed questions about their placement rates: don't just rely on lists of who has gotten a job where in the last year, as these lists often 1) include people who graduated in previous years who just got a job or are moving to a better one, 2) makes it impossible to know how many people did not get jobs. What you want to know is how many people, say, in the last 4 or 5 years in your field have gotten a tt-job vs those who have not. You should also look at the Academic Job Wiki for history (google it), which lists almost every tenure track job by field for the last several years. This can give you a sense of how many jobs you could apply to. Remember that, depending on the school and subfield, many jobs will get between 200-400 applicants. (Hopefully, of course, the job market will get better by the time you'd have a PhD. This is just a snapshot in time.) Best of luck to everyone who is applying.

Were you on the job market this past year? We want to know about the role your faculty advisor played in your efforts to secure a position, with the ultimate goal of improving this stressful experience for others down the line. If you are a PhD student or postdoc who was on the job market during the 2015-2016 academic year and had an official faculty advisor for the duration of your doctoral training, then you are eligible to participate! Participants will be entered into a raffle for one of five $100 Amazon Gift Cards.* If you want to participate, click the link below to complete a 15-20 minute online survey about your experiences on the job market. Your responses will be anonymous, and the information you provide will inform research-based interventions to promote the well-being of individuals going through this experience. Please feel free to forward this post to anyone who is eligible to participate! http://ucriverside.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6FlyALn6JGsPULb -- Komi T. German Doctoral Student Department of Psychology University of California, Riverside http://www.katesweeny.com http://observelab.ucr.edu *Participation is not required for entry into the raffle. Email for entry.

I am currently 2/5 through Arizona State Universities M.Ed Curriculum and Instruction Applied Behavior Analysis program. i work for an aba therapy company as a senior behavior technician, but am concerned they are not going to promote me (need hours for practicum) and unhappy with the ethical practices of this industry. What are other jobs I can do with this level of education? What are you doing? What can I do with a M.Ed ABA?

Ok so I just graduated from my undergrad and I'm thinking of what grad programs to apply to for sociology. Reading the posts on here terrifies me about tenure track job openings in sociology. As such I'm thinking about getting a PhD and going for a job outside of academia. I've heard people say that Penn State and Ohio State have good sociology/demography programs with skills easily translatable outside of academia. Does anyone have advice on what programs I should look at if I want I work at a think-tank, business, or government organization as a sociologist? Do I need a PhD to do evaluation or research at a place like the CDC or a company like Facebook? Should I be looking at different degree programs for those things?

Hello all, This is my first time posting here! I'm in a bit of a quandary and would love to see what some of you think - especially if you are in music tech. I'm an audio engineer with a BSc Hons from SAE London. I started my own agency out here in India, and have been working for around 2 years as a sound designer - still a one man show for the most part, with a few vendors - growth at this point seems to be only a function of time and a little money. I've really wanted to pursue a Masters in Music Technology - I already have an accept from McGill (Fall 2016), and then I'm applying for NYU (Spring 2017). The cost factor isn't so high on my list, but there's a lot of other factors that I've been pondering over. Is a degree in Music Tech really worth getting? What advantages does it have on the life of an average audio engineer? I may have to drop the McGill option, and wait to hear from NYU because Schulich doesn't accept deferrals. Is that a bad decision to make; Is McGill actually a more superior course than NYU - especially in terms of employment/skill and a stronger name in support of your degree? I've always assumed that NYU has more to offer in terms of Internship opportunities, and most importantly to me: they have more taught courses than McGill, which in comparison only has remedial/pre-requisites and then the Thesis. Am I wrong? McGill also seems to have the ONLY music tech course in Canada. To me that's an indication that Canadian Unis have still not yet caught on to such a field, and that makes me wonder how strong a course at McGill can possibly be - in terms of learning potential. I'm hoping a good university will be half the battle won and I've really only been able to narrow down to Stanford, NYU, GaTech so far in the US, and in that order, as universities that matter. How does McGill compare with these for Music Tech? While hoping my questions aren't too broad or silly, any inputs would be greatly appreciated...

We are seeking insights that would enable us to assist PhD graduates to find opportunities to network with other peers and connect them with enterprise. Your information will only be used for the purposes of this study. This survey will only take you about 2 minutes to complete. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LG8BDLQ Kind regards and thank you to those that complete the survey