These are questions that I wish that I'd asked before choosing a grad program. I had been admitted to two programs at elite universities, and I chose the one at my undergrad institution where I liked the location better. My career would have gone totally differently if I had asked these questions and chosen a program according to them. Not necessarily better, but different.
I was looking only at the universities that graduates went to, and obviously they were good. But I had no idea before I started grad school what soft money even was, much less how it becomes the bane of existence for many faculty members.
The questions were mainly about faculty jobs:
- What proportion of graduates go onto faculty jobs?
- Which departments? Professional schools? Research institutions?
- What are the conditions of the faculty jobs that graduates go to?: hard vs. soft money, salary levels compared with similar alternatives, how much time do they spend applying for grants, number of courses taught.
- Do people change their research area according to the grant availability? Okay, this always happens to some extent, but how often and how substantial are the changes?
- How hard is it to get faculty jobs? How much postdoc do people do before getting faculty position?
- Which job markets do grads go on? What is the job market procedure usually followed?
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grad school. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
The transition to the new postdoc
1. There's a mailing list of incoming grad students, so I joined it for help looking for apartments. About half the students start out their posts congratulating each other on having been admitted. "This is a really great school, so I want to congratulate my classmates!" I think it's mostly international students, and I suppose it makes sense since it must be really competitive and a bigger move forward for them to be going to grad school in the US, and particularly this one.
2. Lots of foreclosures listed in the "for rent" section of Craig's list. Many others state whether or not they accept Section 8 housing vouchers. By contrast, the expensive places emphasize that you never have to go outside to get to your car.
3. The international students have a FAQ for "how to survive coming to grad school", and I find it really reassuring somehow that I'm not the only one who finds it slightly overwhelming to be moving after a year of traveling and not getting settled to a city filled with foreclosed homes.
4. Some of the tips are really nice to remember.
"US is just another country and [school] is just another University.Both the things are handled by people. They are not HEAVEN, with angels all around. People have their shortcomings, so is with the institution and the country."
- Some are funny:
"Avoid pennies like the plague - you just cannot get rid of them and they make your wallet heavy."
- Some are surprising:
"Jobs to be done in your country before leaving: Practice Walking (Welcome to grad-student life in US of A)"
- Some are way too familiar:
"A laptop will be your life. It will be the person you will be staring into with a far away look in your eyes, for most of the year. The Ghost in the machine will be your companion, as it is the one-stop friend who will help you through assignment submission, over the internet, watching movies on DVDs, listening to music, having 3-min breaks with You-Tube Clips."
- Some are surprising that they are different in the US:
"You will tend to bring a 3-litre pressure cooker, (the one-stop all purpose cooking vessel). But the larger 5-litre version is more suitable, though bulky. That is because in the US, you will cook many meals at one time. There is no time to cook fresh food everyday. It is more usual to cook in bulk and eat piece-meal out of the refrigerator. Good bye, fresh food, Welcome to American life."
"Food serves more than its nutrient value. It is an anti-depressant."
"Amongst clothes, if you are the type who can gain weight, you will definitely do so in this part of the world. So it helps if you have go a few not so figure hugging clothes."
- Some are reminders how things are in the US and not elsewhere
"There are no fashions in the US. The fashion is what you wear."
"The rule in the US is that nothing should be bought at full price, only purchase during a sale, with marked down prices."
"Shopping is a national sport in the US, and retail therapy is prescribed to keep away depression. Electronic toys(like Cameras, Television sets, etc) bring joy to daily life and can be a surrogate for good food."
- Reminders of what I am grateful for about US:
"Schools for children: Public School education in the US is free. ... Here you meet the school nurse and agree on the final list of immunization taken and need to be taken. She would tell you of a list of places where you can go for these shots for free. ... I can tell you schools here are a lot of fun for kids and sometimes for parents as well. " Amazing that a grad student can come to the US with their whole family and just enroll them in school and get free shots. Even if their spouse isn't allowed to work.
"Public libraries in the US are marvellous. The most amazing thing for me was that they trust you completely as you can show any mail with your address typed on it and they will make a card for you. You can borrow more than 10 books/ CDs at a time."
2. Lots of foreclosures listed in the "for rent" section of Craig's list. Many others state whether or not they accept Section 8 housing vouchers. By contrast, the expensive places emphasize that you never have to go outside to get to your car.
3. The international students have a FAQ for "how to survive coming to grad school", and I find it really reassuring somehow that I'm not the only one who finds it slightly overwhelming to be moving after a year of traveling and not getting settled to a city filled with foreclosed homes.
4. Some of the tips are really nice to remember.
"US is just another country and [school] is just another University.Both the things are handled by people. They are not HEAVEN, with angels all around. People have their shortcomings, so is with the institution and the country."
- Some are funny:
"Avoid pennies like the plague - you just cannot get rid of them and they make your wallet heavy."
- Some are surprising:
"Jobs to be done in your country before leaving: Practice Walking (Welcome to grad-student life in US of A)"
- Some are way too familiar:
"A laptop will be your life. It will be the person you will be staring into with a far away look in your eyes, for most of the year. The Ghost in the machine will be your companion, as it is the one-stop friend who will help you through assignment submission, over the internet, watching movies on DVDs, listening to music, having 3-min breaks with You-Tube Clips."
- Some are surprising that they are different in the US:
"You will tend to bring a 3-litre pressure cooker, (the one-stop all purpose cooking vessel). But the larger 5-litre version is more suitable, though bulky. That is because in the US, you will cook many meals at one time. There is no time to cook fresh food everyday. It is more usual to cook in bulk and eat piece-meal out of the refrigerator. Good bye, fresh food, Welcome to American life."
"Food serves more than its nutrient value. It is an anti-depressant."
"Amongst clothes, if you are the type who can gain weight, you will definitely do so in this part of the world. So it helps if you have go a few not so figure hugging clothes."
- Some are reminders how things are in the US and not elsewhere
"There are no fashions in the US. The fashion is what you wear."
"The rule in the US is that nothing should be bought at full price, only purchase during a sale, with marked down prices."
"Shopping is a national sport in the US, and retail therapy is prescribed to keep away depression. Electronic toys(like Cameras, Television sets, etc) bring joy to daily life and can be a surrogate for good food."
- Reminders of what I am grateful for about US:
"Schools for children: Public School education in the US is free. ... Here you meet the school nurse and agree on the final list of immunization taken and need to be taken. She would tell you of a list of places where you can go for these shots for free. ... I can tell you schools here are a lot of fun for kids and sometimes for parents as well. " Amazing that a grad student can come to the US with their whole family and just enroll them in school and get free shots. Even if their spouse isn't allowed to work.
"Public libraries in the US are marvellous. The most amazing thing for me was that they trust you completely as you can show any mail with your address typed on it and they will make a card for you. You can borrow more than 10 books/ CDs at a time."
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The disadvantages of the best schools
Sometimes I feel like one of the weaknesses of my education was having gone exclusively to elite research universities, rather than schools which care about their students, such as small colleges or slightly-less-elite or non-elite research universities.
One of the parts of elite research universities that I've never gotten used to, after more than a decade at them, is the fact that no one seems to have any time for anyone.
Right after college, I took a job working for a glamorous professor (so to speak) and he was constantly in China, Brazil, Europe, various US cities. I learned very little and felt aimless and lonely quite a lot.
One member of my committee is the inventor of a whole subfield, and sometimes made time to meet with me. Well, twice. Maybe three times. He never attended any committee meetings in person, even my defense. He influenced my thinking a great deal, but I feel like I have great gaps in my knowledge that I don't understand how things fit together, and I've just never had the chance to sit down with him and ask.
One summer during grad school, I took a job at a well-known research institute and had two mentors. I posted about this a few days ago. One mentor was at his beach house often, and both were traveling extensively, and I met with each of them less than 10 times.
In college, there were periodic crises during which the faculty would decide that they didn't know the students well enough. One of my undergrad majors decided to correct this by setting up a mandatory 15 minute meeting between 2 faculty members and each undergraduate once per year. It was laughable.
Right now, I'm at a great research center in a pretty mid-level university and I never see the guy that I'm working for because he's always traveling, raising money.
Now, I have a postdoc offer at the top school in my field. Some people there clearly have time for others, but the really good people don't. During my interview, the postdoc advisor hadn't had a great deal of time to meet with me: we had a quick breakfast, and I was groggy and very few specific details about the research were exchanged, and he had to fly off to his Christmas vacation that afternoon, right after my talk.
Once the job was offered to me, I was happy that finally we could talk: the information that I want is something that only a person can give me --- essentially, which research projects are at a point that they could take someone to join them. We bounced emails back and forth about meeting times. He suggested that I call him while he was taking his daughter around to see colleges, and gave me his cell number. I decided it would be better to talk when his attention wasn't divided.
So finally we have our long-awaited time. He had only specified "afternoon" and I'd been putting off doing things that would require me to leave my desk. He called and was clearly in his car. He starts off the conversation by saying that he has 10 minutes, and apologizing for that. It's one of those weeks. I know it is. We spoke about the practical details --- where I would work, whether there's travel money --- but when I got to the research question, I prefaced it by saying that it's really a much larger conversation and perhaps we could talk later about it. I think he could detect a bit of disappointment in my voice as I wrapped up the conversation thanking him for making time for me in his busy day. I really didn't mean to sound sarcastic.
The best schools really do have amazing advantages. I was thrilled to notice how many talks were going on, and just how much activity, and the apparent lack of limitations on the research. At the same time, this 10 minute conversation in the car reminds me of every absent professor I've ever had. I've had less mentorship than the average grad student because I lost my major mentor in an authorship dispute (did I post about this?) and my remaining advisor that I was RA to was junior and still learning the ropes himself and ended up leaving academia, so I tended not to seek him out. One of the things that I would really like from a postdoc is to work on a large project with a lot of people, in an interactive team, and just to be able to stop by people's offices every so often, as many grad students do. As I did with a mentor before we divorced.
I don't think it's a fantasy, but it's not easy to find: someone who is bright and does great research, and is around often enough to develop a relationship with them, and at a university which advances one's career in other ways.
One of the parts of elite research universities that I've never gotten used to, after more than a decade at them, is the fact that no one seems to have any time for anyone.
Right after college, I took a job working for a glamorous professor (so to speak) and he was constantly in China, Brazil, Europe, various US cities. I learned very little and felt aimless and lonely quite a lot.
One member of my committee is the inventor of a whole subfield, and sometimes made time to meet with me. Well, twice. Maybe three times. He never attended any committee meetings in person, even my defense. He influenced my thinking a great deal, but I feel like I have great gaps in my knowledge that I don't understand how things fit together, and I've just never had the chance to sit down with him and ask.
One summer during grad school, I took a job at a well-known research institute and had two mentors. I posted about this a few days ago. One mentor was at his beach house often, and both were traveling extensively, and I met with each of them less than 10 times.
In college, there were periodic crises during which the faculty would decide that they didn't know the students well enough. One of my undergrad majors decided to correct this by setting up a mandatory 15 minute meeting between 2 faculty members and each undergraduate once per year. It was laughable.
Right now, I'm at a great research center in a pretty mid-level university and I never see the guy that I'm working for because he's always traveling, raising money.
Now, I have a postdoc offer at the top school in my field. Some people there clearly have time for others, but the really good people don't. During my interview, the postdoc advisor hadn't had a great deal of time to meet with me: we had a quick breakfast, and I was groggy and very few specific details about the research were exchanged, and he had to fly off to his Christmas vacation that afternoon, right after my talk.
Once the job was offered to me, I was happy that finally we could talk: the information that I want is something that only a person can give me --- essentially, which research projects are at a point that they could take someone to join them. We bounced emails back and forth about meeting times. He suggested that I call him while he was taking his daughter around to see colleges, and gave me his cell number. I decided it would be better to talk when his attention wasn't divided.
So finally we have our long-awaited time. He had only specified "afternoon" and I'd been putting off doing things that would require me to leave my desk. He called and was clearly in his car. He starts off the conversation by saying that he has 10 minutes, and apologizing for that. It's one of those weeks. I know it is. We spoke about the practical details --- where I would work, whether there's travel money --- but when I got to the research question, I prefaced it by saying that it's really a much larger conversation and perhaps we could talk later about it. I think he could detect a bit of disappointment in my voice as I wrapped up the conversation thanking him for making time for me in his busy day. I really didn't mean to sound sarcastic.
The best schools really do have amazing advantages. I was thrilled to notice how many talks were going on, and just how much activity, and the apparent lack of limitations on the research. At the same time, this 10 minute conversation in the car reminds me of every absent professor I've ever had. I've had less mentorship than the average grad student because I lost my major mentor in an authorship dispute (did I post about this?) and my remaining advisor that I was RA to was junior and still learning the ropes himself and ended up leaving academia, so I tended not to seek him out. One of the things that I would really like from a postdoc is to work on a large project with a lot of people, in an interactive team, and just to be able to stop by people's offices every so often, as many grad students do. As I did with a mentor before we divorced.
I don't think it's a fantasy, but it's not easy to find: someone who is bright and does great research, and is around often enough to develop a relationship with them, and at a university which advances one's career in other ways.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Thank you notes and gifts
My proposal defense was at this time a couple of years ago. I had just been visiting my family, and so bought small boxes of local-specialty chocolate at an after-Christmas sale: definitely not lavish, maybe $10-15 each. After the defense (which I passed conditionally), I gave them out to my committee members, who were visibly uncomfortable accepting them. One or two of them even said something about how they weren't sure they should accept them.
On the Chronicle boards, it seems like it's standard to give thank you gifts to one's committee, so I didn't know why they were uncomfortable accepting the gifts.
This time, to thank them and everyone else who helped me during graduate school, I am writing just plain thank you notes written on some cream Crane's cards. It seems like an awfully weak gesture, but for whatever reason they had been uncomfortable with gifts before, and I don't want to make the same mistake.
Did you give thank you gifts to your committee?
On the Chronicle boards, it seems like it's standard to give thank you gifts to one's committee, so I didn't know why they were uncomfortable accepting the gifts.
This time, to thank them and everyone else who helped me during graduate school, I am writing just plain thank you notes written on some cream Crane's cards. It seems like an awfully weak gesture, but for whatever reason they had been uncomfortable with gifts before, and I don't want to make the same mistake.
Did you give thank you gifts to your committee?
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