Timeline for How do professors advise PhD students that are smarter than them?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
33 events
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Oct 12, 2023 at 9:41 | comment | added | stackoverblown | @MasonWheeler The OP mentioned that he was starting soon so his/her experience is also limited. | |
Oct 12, 2023 at 9:38 | comment | added | stackoverblown | @Sursula I have seen people getting professorships because they are a sort of proteges of the powerful heads of research groups at universities. If you think the whole world is based on meritocracy, you are too naive. | |
S Oct 12, 2023 at 4:40 | history | suggested | cconsta1 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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Oct 11, 2023 at 20:19 | answer | added | confused | timeline score: 1 | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 17:51 | comment | added | Dan Staley | If every advisor had to be smarter than their students, the PhD students would have to get dumber and dumber over time. Being an advisor isn't just about smarts, it's about experience. | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 13:28 | comment | added | giorgi nguyen | Almost every coach in the NBA is a worse basketball player than the players on their team. You still have something to offer. | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 12:11 | review | Suggested edits | |||
S Oct 12, 2023 at 4:40 | |||||
Oct 11, 2023 at 12:07 | answer | added | Oбжорoв | timeline score: 1 | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 11:39 | comment | added | Lee Mosher | Short answer: Kick back and enjoy the ride. | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 9:50 | comment | added | Okano | @Sursula Have you tried luck? It happens sometimes, believe it or not | |
Oct 11, 2023 at 5:59 | answer | added | fraxinus | timeline score: -3 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 21:17 | comment | added | JimmyJames | A wise person once told me that they way they achieved their success was because they weren't afraid to hire people that were smarter than them. Not a perfect analogy but I know they were very well-liked an appreciated. Sometimes really smart people need guidance. Often a lot of guidance. Most of what happens in the world is not logic-based. | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 14:59 | comment | added | Mason Wheeler | In a word, experience. Just because they have greater mental potential than you doesn't mean they know what to do with it as well as you do. | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 13:34 | answer | added | Steven Sagona | timeline score: 7 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 13:05 | answer | added | David Betournay | timeline score: 1 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 12:33 | answer | added | Peteris | timeline score: 5 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 11:49 | answer | added | Stuart Dryer | timeline score: 2 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 9:06 | comment | added | Tom | What's the problem? Listen to what they are working on and see if there is anything you can assist with, then sit back with a cup of coffee. Not sure I even understand the question or why the impostor syndrome at this level. | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 7:36 | answer | added | Sotirios Tsaftaris | timeline score: 15 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 6:51 | answer | added | Ian Sudbery | timeline score: 29 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 6:28 | comment | added | usr1234567 | Not a perfect fit, nevertheless: phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1725 | |
Oct 10, 2023 at 2:10 | comment | added | Todd Wilcox | Something to think about: If teachers could do nothing for those who seem in many ways to be more advanced/capable/smarter than they are, that would seem to be an existential crisis for teaching as a profession. We hope that our students will surpass us. Being able to teach those who are beyond your own abilities is to me a quintessential skill of teaching. | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 21:31 | comment | added | Stef | Hi! Could you please add a bit more context? 1) How many years of experience do you have?; 2) Which country is this in? (the meaning of "first-year PhD student" is extremely different in the USA than in every other country, and from your question I would guess that you are in the USA, but I don't like to guess) | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 21:13 | comment | added | Marianne013 | Wait until you have a child that you are sure is smarter than you. Definitely an interesting experience ;-) | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 20:14 | history | became hot network question | |||
Oct 9, 2023 at 13:24 | answer | added | xLeitix | timeline score: 193 | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:35 | comment | added | Adam Přenosil | "I do believe myself deserving of the job." "I fear my students will soon find out I am not who I appear on paper" These two statements seem to be in contradiction. Who you are "on paper" is a person with the abilities normally associated with whatever your job title is ("assistant professor at university X"), not a person "smarter" than every conceivable PhD student that you might encounter. If you don't have those abilities, then that might indeed be a problem, but in that case it's a problem that goes beyond dealing with PhD students specifically. | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:23 | answer | added | Buffy | timeline score: 47 | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:22 | comment | added | justauser | Not sure how helpful this is but: even if, considering the worst case scenario, your students have nothing to gain from you from a technical perspective, your knowledge regarding the 'hidden curriculum' of academia, your mentorship and your academic network are still very useful to them. | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:20 | comment | added | user2562609 | @Sursula I edited my post re: imposter syndrome. Academia is not a meritocracy and I got my position in large part due to the pedigree of my PhD advisor's group and my publication record which I believe is largely due to institutional privilege. Regardless, I do believe myself deserving of the job. But on a personal level I know myself to not be technically very strong (I was very much in close to the bottom of technical skill in my lab when I was a PhD student). | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:18 | history | edited | user2562609 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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Oct 9, 2023 at 12:17 | comment | added | Sursula | How did you get your position? Becoming an assistant professor is not easy, and you probably have proved yourself quite a bit to be offered such a position. Why do you think you are "not who you appear to be on paper". Might this be a case of imposter syndrome? | |
Oct 9, 2023 at 12:11 | history | asked | user2562609 | CC BY-SA 4.0 |