Lyonessrampant's Dissertation Defense

[Dr. Old Bill]

Hey folks!

I have it on good authority that long-time member @lyonessrampant will be defending her Ph.D. dissertation tomorrow. I might be wrong, but I believe that she is the only GCer who has gone through the entire process of grad school from start to finish, and remained active here on GC the whole time. Seriously, she started here in February of 2009. Some of you were likely in elementary school then! 

In that time, she has been one of the most helpful members here, being supportive of all, and being remarkably generous with her time (as evidenced by her oft-reposted campus visits post). If there were a "legacy" award for this forum, she would be its prime recipient!

Because of the combination of her accomplishments and her illustrious tenure here on GC, I simply ask that you send good vibes her way for tomorrow's defense. She most certainly deserves it!

[Warelin]

Good luck @lyonessrampant. I'm sure you'll do great.

[TakeruK]

Congratulations @lyonessrampant!! From one-about-to-defend-student to another!  

[lyonessrampant]

Thank you all so much! What a pleasant surprise it is to see this today. Old Bill, I happily pass the torch to you, as your support and encouragement of everyone over the last couple of years is evidence that you'll continue to contribute to this community. Best wishes to all.

[lyonessrampant]

And good luck to you, TakeruK!

[Caien]

Best of luck @lyonessrampant, and many congratulations on completing!

[ExponentialDecay]

@lyonessrampant @TakeruK Eagerly awaiting non-anonymous job market realities posts from both of you

[brontebitch]

Omg congratulations to you @lyonessrampant !!! Good luck! 

[lyonessrampant]

1 hour ago, ExponentialDecay said:

@lyonessrampant @TakeruK Eagerly awaiting non-anonymous job market realities posts from both of you

I went on it this year. It's brutal, but we all know that. Hoping next year will be better with degree in hand, but even if I end up going alt-ac or non-ac, I've had a great experience during my Ph.D. I learned a new language, spent about a year in Italy and England, got funded to do research I love and am passionate about, and had amazing health insurance, so for me, I have zero regrets even if I don't get a TT-job. 

[TakeruK]

1 hour ago, ExponentialDecay said:

@lyonessrampant @TakeruK Eagerly awaiting non-anonymous job market realities posts from both of you

In some ways, much more stressful and brutal than I thought it would be, and I thought I was prepared! The numbers of postdoc openings vs. applicants for this year was like any other, knowing the ratio feels a lot different than living and competing in it! 

But in other ways, I found community in ways I didn't expect. My subfield is small, so I have met almost everyone else graduating in my subfield at conferences or during visits. We all apply to positions that are generally in astronomy though, not just my subfield, so at least sometimes a "no" to me meant a "yes" to someone else in our subfield (i.e. a friend), so that was nice. It was really nice to have friends at all institutions to share the stress of the job market with me. 

I can write more details later including what seemed to work well and what didn't etc. but the next few weeks is busy with submitting dissertation (tomorrow!), defending and moving for the new job  Remind me in mid-June if you want to hear more.

[jrockford27]

23 hours ago, lyonessrampant said:

I went on it this year. It's brutal, but we all know that. Hoping next year will be better with degree in hand, but even if I end up going alt-ac or non-ac, I've had a great experience during my Ph.D. I learned a new language, spent about a year in Italy and England, got funded to do research I love and am passionate about, and had amazing health insurance, so for me, I have zero regrets even if I don't get a TT-job. 

Hey, I did my undergrad at Minnesota from 09-11.  Maybe I had you as a TA! It reminds me that I should drop my honors thesis adviser a line. In any case, congrats on finishing!  Good luck with the job market!

[Gotya64]

Absolutely incredible! Congratulations and good luck to you both @lyonessrampant and @TakeruK! 

[rising_star]

Congrats @lyonessrampant and @TakeruK! If all the recent grads want to collaborate on a job market realities post, I'll be happy to pin it to the top of a forum! In fact, we may even want to create separate ones for STEM, humanities, and social sciences... But seriously, congrats. It's been fun to follow all of you throughout your PhD journeys.

(As a side note, there are several other users who have stayed active throughout their PhD... and I often read even when I don't post. If you click on my username, you'll see how long I've been around. Embarrassingly long.)

[Eigen]

Congrats to you both! I'm a year out now and about to hit my third season on the market, and would happily contribute to threads on the job market and experiences  

As Rising_star says, there are otherswhov been through the entire process here, but it's a relatively small group. 

[maelia8]

Just wanted to say how inspiring all of you are to me as I face my oral qualifying exam next week ... I'm only halfway through this process and you folks are finishing, but you really make me feel confident in keeping with it to the end! You folks were old hands when I got here three years ago, and I've been so happy for all of your advice throughout this time. I hope all the good karma you have earned through your kindness on grad cafe is reciprocated on the job market!

[Dr. Old Bill]

4 hours ago, rising_star said:

(As a side note, there are several other users who have stayed active throughout their PhD... and I often read even when I don't post. If you click on my username, you'll see how long I've been around. Embarrassingly long.)

2 hours ago, Eigen said:

As Rising_star says, there are otherswhov been through the entire process here, but it's a relatively small group. 

Yes, I'm sure there have been! I was truly thinking of the English forum alone, though I should have said as much in my post. Either way, anyone who makes it through the entire process -- with or without GC! -- is worthy of acclaim. But the GC element warrants a wee bit more.

 

[lyonessrampant]

I'd be happy to participate in a forum on the job market, though I think it would probably be more useful to split at least into STEM , social sciences, and humanities like suggested above. Thanks again, all! I'm happily Dr. Lyonessrampant now

Edited May 8, 2017 by lyonessrampant
Edited to agree with above post that I'd missed.

[Dr. Old Bill]

47 minutes ago, lyonessrampant said:

I'd be happy to participate in a forum on the job market, though I think it would probably be more useful to split at least into STEM and humanities. Thanks again, all! I'm happily Dr. Lyonessrampant now

I think a username change is in order!

[Eigen]

1 hour ago, lyonessrampant said:

I'd be happy to participate in a forum on the job market, though I think it would probably be more useful to split at least into STEM and humanities. Thanks again, all! I'm happily Dr. Lyonessrampant now

Congrats!

[dazedandbemused]

Congrats Lyoness*!  It's been so weird seeing people who started only a year or two before me finally finish. It feels so close and yet so far!

*(I've always remembered you be cause Tamora Pierce is bae)

[lyonessrampant]

You can do it, dazedandbemused! Pierce gets the first thank-you in my acknowledgements