Linked Questions
29
votes
11
answers
12k
views
Job prospects after math PhD in cryptography [duplicate]
I would like to ask for help since I am on the verge of finishing my PhD Math degree but I am worried that there are almost no jobs which I qualify for. I am an international student in the US and my ...
- 399
19
votes
9
answers
7k
views
I feel like I didn't deserve to pass an exam [duplicate]
Recently I did my retake exam for Advanced Maths in college. Compared to the ordinary exam, it was easier. My grade was 9/10. I worked very hard for it, non-stop for 5 months, dealing with anxiety and ...
user167039
19
votes
6
answers
4k
views
I am lost with my career path. I am questioning my ability to be in research field, academia or otherwise. What to do? [duplicate]
I am 31 soon to be 32, I don't know what I am doing with my life. I have a PhD in computational chemistry from a top 50 world ranking university. But, it did not turn out well and took too long to ...
- 359
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How to deal when you're an actual imposter in academia? [duplicate]
I'm a second-year PhD student at a well-ranked university, and am seriously beginning to feel that I'm an imposter in this place. My lab group is filled with people who ranked in the top 0.01 percent ...
- 39
5
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How to know if one is suitable for pursuing academia or Research work their entire life? [duplicate]
I am a PhD student in engineering in an university in Canada. I am close to completion of my thesis but I am not very proud of my work. I have couple of publications from my work, all in decent ...
- 67
6
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How to stop feeling you aren’t good enough? [duplicate]
Is it normal to be put down in your first year of a PhD?
I won't lie, there's been a massive learning curve for me this year to get used to how things are done at this level. Even simple things like ...
- 879
3
votes
3
answers
988
views
How to manage imposter syndrome during the job hunt? [duplicate]
There are lots of questions on here about dealing with Imposter Syndrome throughout the whole Ph.D. experience. I have struggled with Imposter Syndrome throughout my whole Ph.D., but was able to ...
- 323
4
votes
1
answer
774
views
About to submit my PhD thesis in 4 months, feeling lost about my future and inadequate for any job. What should I do? [duplicate]
I am about to submit my PhD thesis in 4 months and have to move on from being a student. I am already 30 (so a sort of mid-life crisis catching up). I feel that I made a really big mistake in entering ...
user105021
1
vote
3
answers
697
views
Succes in research, awful in solving in basic things [duplicate]
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in pure mathematics. I am studying abroad. I need some advice.
Before getting through to my question, let me say something about myself. I am studying at a good ...
- 1,370
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
I passed my PhD with no corrections but feel I don't deserve it [duplicate]
I had a wonderful experience on my PhD study which was an AHRC funded PhD at an elite university in the UK. I loved my topic and the whole world of academia. I was extremely ambitious and threw myself ...
- 41
4
votes
3
answers
452
views
Is it possible to have a career in academia and not be confident in their field of research? [duplicate]
I thought getting a PhD in my mechanical engineering field would lead in gaining confidence in the field. However, it became other way round. I am far less confident on my skills and knowledge than I ...
- 275
2
votes
2
answers
296
views
How to overcome lack of motivation and improve focus [duplicate]
2 weeks ago I just started a phd abroad (Germany) and I am Brazilian. Previously I was in job that bored me to death and I chose to leave it and come to Germany to live my dream and do a PhD. However, ...
- 29
3
votes
1
answer
436
views
Imminent unemployment, I have a screwed up CV; incompetent in my own field of PhD. Hoping for some perspective and advise? [duplicate]
I did my PhD recently and it took 5.5 years to complete. I had just 2 courses in my PhD, so the timeline is excessive owing to my lack of motivation during my 2-3rd year.
I have also not taken any ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
339
views
How to determine if I'm just incompetent, or if my work is more difficult than expected? [duplicate]
I'm a PhD student in my (planned) last year, with no journal publications until now (one rejection, though, due to not having the level of research the journal aims for). Several things which were ...
- 523
0
votes
1
answer
266
views
Should I let a bad mark from 10 years ago discourage me from taking on a TAship? [duplicate]
10 years ago it was my first year in University and I bombed a course in programming. I had no programming experience and was competing with people have been programming since 10. I felt stupid and my ...
- 1,029
0
votes
1
answer
263
views
Heavy imposter syndrome [duplicate]
What are best ways/resources to deal with imposter syndrome or runaway thoughts? I recently published a paper (only my 2nd first author) and was excited about it for about 2 mins before I got very bad ...
- 81
0
votes
1
answer
314
views
How do I deal with feelings of guilt and shame related to how long my PhD has taken? [duplicate]
I am physically disabled. I have spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. I am wheelchair-bound and am nearly quadriplegic. This is not to complain, but rather to provide context....
- 271
0
votes
1
answer
229
views
How can I up my confidence level in my technical skills? [duplicate]
Let me paint a picture of my background in brief. I did my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. I was a good student (almost all A's) till my high school. However, I struggled a lot in my ...
- 9
0
votes
0
answers
151
views
How to get rid of the awkwardness and feeling of inferiority for being a fairly old graduate/PHD student? [duplicate]
I am a first year MS student in an STEM area. For many reasons I didn't enter this subject area and didn't gain ANY research experience until last summer, when I was 26 (now 27). So starting next fall ...
- 941
176
votes
21
answers
28k
views
How do you come to terms with the fact that you might never be among the best in your research community?
I am currently a PhD student advised by a new (and awesome, in my opinion) theoretical computer scientist in the field of optimization. This was my dream ever since I took a class on convex ...
user42273
125
votes
19
answers
43k
views
Should I quit my PhD - workload, self-esteem and social life [closed]
I don't really want a degree. I just want to get married, and have weekends and evenings off, and chill out and play board games, and have nice conversations with friends, and have time to exercise ...
- 2,529
119
votes
12
answers
32k
views
What to remember when supervising female PhD students?
I have been supervising a female PhD student for a couple of months. She is the first female PhD student I am supervising and got the position on merit.
My view is that her gender does not/should ...
- 2,092
52
votes
15
answers
16k
views
If you know a family member who is much more qualified and capable in mathematics than you are, should find another field of specialisation?
Imposter Syndrome and depression: I feel pretty depressed that I am not as "qualified" as a close family member. In particular, this family member has undergraduate and graduate (PhD) degrees from Ivy ...
- 561
90
votes
11
answers
27k
views
Where did I lose control of my studies?
I am a 5th MSc semester mathematics student at a local German university. Since fall, I have been working on my thesis, which is the only remaining task for finishing my studies.
I had not had ...
- 1,547
75
votes
9
answers
57k
views
I wasted six years of my life getting a PhD degree. What should I do, and how will I survive?
I struggled with low self confidence throughout my bachelors, masters and PhD in chemical engineering. After spending two years in Masters and six years in getting a PhD degree, I am lost at what I ...
- 747
70
votes
10
answers
23k
views
I recently started my machine learning PhD and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing
I started my PhD a few months ago.
Seriously, I don't know how I got accepted, but here I am. I am not a computer scientist, but come from a different STEM background. My knowledge in machine ...
- 814
60
votes
13
answers
12k
views
I don't have the theoretical background in my PhD topic. I can't justify getting the degree
I did my PhD in computational materials science. I used molecular dynamics simulations and finite element method to carry out my research investigations. I have published several publications and ...
- 625
69
votes
11
answers
7k
views
Is praising students' aptitude harmful?
As a computer science professor, I have told some talented students one-on-one that they show a real aptitude for computer science and that they should seriously consider taking more classes in it.
I'...
- 6,630
39
votes
14
answers
17k
views
My advisor said that I should be more modest, and we should meet more often. Should I tell him about my impostor syndrome? If yes, mail or personal?
I am a PhD student in Europe, currently in my second year, and I have some attitude problems concerning my work. I really want to work on my problem, that's fine, but what bothers me is the following....
- 391
43
votes
12
answers
27k
views
My PhD defense is next week and I am having negative thoughts about my work and knowledge. Any advice on how to tackle this?
I am presenting my PhD thesis in front of my committee next week and I feel that I have just not done enough. My work is simple and I also feel that I have poor theoretical foundations and am going to ...
- 459
46
votes
8
answers
14k
views
Is it OK to have a PhD thesis with shortcomings and inaccuracies?
I recently defended my PhD thesis and was awarded a pass with some minor corrections. I am due to submit the final version of my thesis very soon.
The examiners were both very happy with my thesis, ...
- 489
54
votes
5
answers
9k
views
The feeling of inferiority entering a PhD program due to one's undergraduate school rank
According to Stanford's Computer Science graduate admissions department this year:
110 students were accepted. Nearly all accepted applicants were from Stanford (BS/MS), MIT, Berkeley, Princeton, ...
- 1,211
56
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Is it normal to feel dread before starting a faculty position?
I need some advice. After several months of interviews and work, I secured a faculty position at a good business school, which was a relief since jobs are so hard to get around here. Everyone tells me ...
- 1,461
54
votes
6
answers
21k
views
I've been admitted to multiple PhD programs, how should I choose between them?
I've been admitted to more than one PhD program, and I'm having a very hard time making a decision.
The programs I'm accepted to have advantages and disadvantages with respect to one another. How do I ...
30
votes
8
answers
8k
views
Is it okay if a PhD student's work seems insignificant compared to others'?
I am a theoretical computer science student working on algorithms. I am doubting myself a bit, as I have spent the last 6-7 months working on one problem. Although I am not able to solve the desired ...
- 429
46
votes
8
answers
6k
views
How can a new PhD Student objectively evaluate how well they are doing?
I'm a relatively new PhD student, and I'm faced with a new (for me) situation. Before, I always had grades and the likes to tell me how good or bad I was doing: if I was at or near the top/bottom of ...
- 461
17
votes
6
answers
11k
views
I keep making excessive silly mistakes. I just caught another one right before graduation - how to tell my advisor?
I am a graduate engineering student at a highly competitive university. I am writing my thesis and I feel like I am making great number of silly mistakes. The worst thing is that I do not realize my ...
user170216
24
votes
8
answers
6k
views
Feeling unprepared for PhD because of poor educational system in my home country. Should I leave PhD to retake courses somewhere else?
I will give some background. I am from a third world country, and I am doing my math PhD in Europe. During high school and university years I participated in many maths competitions, and even got to ...
- 353
39
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How do I know if I'm good enough to be a math professor?
I would like to apply for graduate school to become a mathematics professor.
However, given that the opportunity cost of grad school is high and that I already have a stable, good paying job, I would ...
user11517
17
votes
8
answers
8k
views
How to deal with a total lack of motivation, stress and anxiety when finishing my masters thesis?
I am a master's student in Germany. I am currently writing my thesis and am more or less done with it.
Last week, I wrote my Conclusions and Methodology, so the only things left are the Introduction ...
- 187
21
votes
7
answers
10k
views
Getting over a bad PhD start
Backstory - I was accepted for a PhD at an excellent university in a new and exciting field I've been working towards for a long time. Due to a number of issues, I had to delay my start date for 6 ...
- 211
22
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Failed at all meetings
I am a postdoc researcher in mathematics and finished my Ph.D. some month ago. I wrote three papers during my Ph.D., and I am the only author for two of them.
The day when I started my postdoc ...
- 1,370
17
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Do I even like doing research?
Currently, I am a part-time research assistant in the field of physics. My supervisor is brilliant and very nice. He always encourages me and says that I have done a great job so far. I don't know why ...
- 931
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Can I justify my PhD if I have mostly adapted existing code instead of writing it myself?
My PhD in computational mechanics (field is materials science) involves writing Fortran subroutines for implementing new constitutive equations. More specifically, my research involves continuum ...
- 159
13
votes
5
answers
8k
views
What if you can't publish in very high impact journal or top conference during your PhD?
I am a year 2 PhD student doing my research in the area of time series analysis. Since year 1, I'm always aiming to publish in high impact factor journal (Impact factor >= 7) or top conferences, maybe ...
- 176
19
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Signs of toxic behavior in my peer group
I've been experiencing a phenomenon for a couple of months now that I cannot understand. I'm a first year phd student and I'm working on a problem that my advisor has suggested. I've made some ...
user153196
15
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How should I deal with feeling dumb? [duplicate]
I am a graduate student in mathematics at a top school. Most of other students achieved gold medal in International mathematics olympiad for high school and/or other similar competitions. Most did ...
- 179
26
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Dealing with discouragement during the academic job hunt
Similar to this site's question on impostor syndrome, what strategies would people recommend for dealing with self-doubt and discouragement on the academic job market?
It's not that I think I'm an ...
- 3,068
5
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How can I survive a postdoc's probation period?
On Tuesday, I will be starting a postdoc at a highly prestigious UK institution. I have already been a postdoc for a year at a lower tiered institute, and I believe the probation was not much of a ...
- 348
8
votes
3
answers
6k
views
New faculty. Already lagging on responsibilities bad. Any advice on coming back?
I'm a fourth year doctoral candidate who is ABD right now and recently got a full time position at a small liberal arts college (SLAC). So far, I'm not off to a great start. I showed up to orientation ...
- 1