Questions tagged [early-career]
On issues affecting academics or researchers specifically in the early stages of their careers.
-2
votes
0answers
43 views
How to align my passion for multiple subjects with a post-PhD job search?
I have MSc in Biotechnology and will be getting my PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from an Ivy League university this Fall. I spent a year working at a synthetic biology startup between my ...
3
votes
0answers
141 views
After 3 years… Should I stay at a PhD position that I think is holding back my thesis?
I was supposed to do my thesis in a research department of a company in the field of computational science (developing new computational methods that they could use to design and engineer ...
4
votes
2answers
251 views
What should the startup package consist of at US (primarily) undergraduate institutions?
What should one list in the startup funds if you are taking up a tenure-track position at a public undergraduate university in the US, mostly focused on teaching? I'm asking specifically for ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Competitiveness and Success Caliber in Academia [closed]
Every day, I am figuring out that competitiveness in academia is high. Of course, there are thousands of academics, but only a small number really make an impact with outstanding research.
My goal --...
18
votes
6answers
3k views
Postdoc with a professor retiring soon
I am starting a new postdoc position with a professor who's retiring soon (<5 yrs, judging from the grad intake).
I am interested in pursuing an academic job and it worries me that I would not be ...
2
votes
3answers
121 views
Choosing an email address/provider for academic work as you change positons
I'm an on-again-off-again academic, I guess you could say: I've switched positions in and out of academia several times over the past decade. When I write academic papers (or even Free Software in the ...
24
votes
7answers
3k views
Should a graduate student accept random offer to be a reviewer for IEEE Transactions paper?
I have been asked by a well-established professor to review a regular paper submitted to IEEE Transactions, however, I am concerned as in the email, he titled me "Dr. Monkia" although I am still being ...
3
votes
1answer
227 views
A PhD thesis without any publication [closed]
I am currently a Ph.D student(computational maths) works in a theory. I will be graduating in the next year. I have one paper which I will be submitting soon and working one more paper. One of my ...
5
votes
3answers
208 views
Should departmental talks be included on a CV?
This might be more relevant to early career scholars since the CV isn't quite long enough to start filtering, but should departmental talks be included on a CV?
In my department we have weekly ...
51
votes
1answer
7k views
Changing mind after rejecting a job offer
I recently finished my Ph.D., and joined a private company in the industry.
A few months before defending my thesis, I received an offer for a post-doc position; the offer was very interesting, but I ...
1
vote
9answers
872 views
Have there ever been any “Lebron James” of academia?
For those who aren't familiar, Lebron was so talented and sought-after in high school that he was able to skip playing NCAA basketball and went right on to the NBA at the age of 19. Have there ever ...
16
votes
5answers
2k views
Forced to work as a postdoc without pay [closed]
I got an externally funded research grant as a lead researcher to carry out a project at a UK University, together with other senior co-PIs. The grant would pay my salary for the duration of the ...
4
votes
2answers
206 views
Is it better to publish a few papers in one journal, or one paper each in several (equally good) journals? [duplicate]
Suppose there are several journals with the same impact factor.
Is it better to submit my papers to one of them or each time I finished a manuscript it is better to submit to an equally good journal ...
7
votes
1answer
178 views
Junior faculty/senior faculty grant sharing
I am a junior faculty (research assistant professor) in a full professo's lab. I was a postdoc in this lab and got promoted to Asst. Prof. due to the grants I brought in to the lab. Oct 2017 I wrote ...
1
vote
2answers
54 views
CS Associate's degree in Brazil: go straight to master's or get a bachelor's first?
I am 23 years old and finishing my associate degree (3 years part-time) in Computer Science. I've been thinking about pursuing a career in academia; I've started to do research and got a paper ...
0
votes
2answers
222 views
Are there good ways to approach a professor for a postdoc? [closed]
How do I approach an unknown professor before a PhD interview? My defense (viva) will be held next March and I will be seeking a postdoctoral fellowship after that.
I want to contact a Professor ...
13
votes
3answers
4k views
How should I avoid being in the shadow of my PhD advisor after I have my own faculty position?
I would like to receive some feedback from the community about the following situation.
I have a permanent position as associate professor in an institution for some years now (3). This institution ...
3
votes
1answer
237 views
Does it look bad to have a PhD thesis unrelated to the rest of future research?
The short version of my question is: will it be perceived negatively to have a PhD thesis unrelated to the rest of my future research or work?
For more context, I currently hold a bachelor's degree ...
7
votes
3answers
346 views
How does doing a PhD with a pre-determined project vs. formulating your own affect your later career?
Between
Doing a PhD by joining a predetermined research problem
Doing a PhD by formulating one's own research problem
is it possible to say that option #1 is a more advantageous choice in terms of ...
4
votes
1answer
284 views
Risking declining a postdoc offer for a potentially better one [closed]
I have an offer of a good postdoc that I have until the end of tomorrow to accept or decline. It's a 2 year post at a decent UK institution, working on interesting applied interdisciplinary work. I ...
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Can a faculty on a 12-month appointment apply for grants?
I'm wondering if a 12-month appointed faculty (mainly teaching but also research duty, R1 university in the US) is allowed to pay him/herself from grants (especially NSF or NIH). I heard that they may ...
5
votes
1answer
173 views
How not to forget things we learned?
I have been a postdoc for many years now in a theoretical field. Thus, while progress in my career has been slow, I am not without experience. There is one particular thing that I feel keeps limiting ...
9
votes
2answers
963 views
Switching fields within biomedical sciences between PhD and postdoc?
I'm almost finished at my PhD, and I am currently looking for postdoc opportunities. My current field is quite a small one (a rare disease), and consequently all the postdoc positions I've found so ...
1
vote
1answer
106 views
When should I get business cards and how much do they actually matter as a graduate student who has not yet built up their CV?
Context: I am a graduate student within the social sciences, who will be obtaining their Master's degree on their way to Ph.D. (hopefully by the end of this academic year). Though I have not yet ...
112
votes
9answers
36k views
Googling my name reveals silly things from when I was younger. I am embarassed. How will this affect me in my future academic career?
I am a masters student at one of the top two universities in the UK and will be applying for PhD positions soon. When I google my (unique) name, the first few results are what you'd expect, my ...
6
votes
1answer
337 views
My supervisor is trying to “steal” my collaborators: what can I do?
I work as a postdoc in Prof. X's research group. I have my own funding and work on my own topics, which are related to X's interests. X is an expert in experimental work and I do simulations, on which ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
What is Wise to Study For a Successful Career Outside of Academia? [closed]
Next year I will be starting an MS program in the Computer Science department (I have come from a grad-prep program). I have "learned" C++, C, Java, assembly, CS math, and OS.
When I enter this ...
3
votes
4answers
633 views
Disappointed about Academia [duplicate]
I was a first-year PhD student but was forced to quit although hard-working day and night! I am disappointed, I am now 27 and did not create family, left my home country. Problems from the past in my ...
4
votes
4answers
178 views
Accepted conference paper but changing job before the conference
I am a researcher at a company C and I'm going to submit a paper as main author in the next few days for a conference next spring. The thing is, I applied to a University U for a PHD and still waiting ...
5
votes
5answers
471 views
Alternative to PhD?
As a bachelors student in mathematics, I took various courses in Algebra, Analysis, Number Theory, Geometry and Topology. I am pretty much interested in every field and I don't want to specialize in a ...
2
votes
1answer
184 views
Supervisor complaining about research work is slow and not doing anything properly. Is it possible to continue with him for long?
I am about to finish my first year of MS leading to Ph.D. Our team works on cable Robotics. At first, when I joined prof asked me to do a computer vision problem of tracking. I spent 5 months to do ...
-1
votes
2answers
228 views
When it is wrong to pursue a PhD degree? [closed]
I finished medical school, and then residency, and wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Due to certain experiences, I'm now shifting into the public-health field, doing a master of public health.
...
8
votes
8answers
3k views
From a financial standpoint, how much more can I expect to earn after my degree? [closed]
While certainly there is value to learning something you are passionate about, one might also have to consider the finnacial responsibilities after college. Thankfully for me, what I am passionate ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
I want to pursue topics from different fields (pure math,CS) as a researcher. Which one to choose for my PhD? [closed]
My background: I have two master degrees in pure math and applied CS. I am interested in working in both areas, and there are certain topics in each area (extensions of my -completely different- two ...
4
votes
2answers
508 views
How to ask a, probably angry, PhD supervisor for a letter of recommendation after graduation from uni?
I was on good terms with my PhD supervisor throughout my studies. After graduation, I gave a talk at a symposium and my PhD supervisor was in the audience. I was planning to add a few sentences of ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
Potential academic career in very different fields
There's this question about doing research in two very different fields, but my question is somewhat different. I have serious academic interests in two very different fields: one in computer science/...
6
votes
1answer
563 views
Does being unemployed after a PhD reflect poorly on my advisor?
I successfully defended this spring, and made it clear about a year prior that I would not be continuing in academia, with the goal of switching fields and entering the workforce. As part of this, I ...
3
votes
2answers
215 views
Seeking advice on if it is worth staying in my PhD program [closed]
Background: In school in USA, US citizen, male 26. Have B.S. in chemistry, and another in applied math & stats (but my main focus was chemistry), from reasonably good public school. After ...
7
votes
1answer
260 views
Is it reasonable to say I'm not happy at my current position at interviews?
I am working as a research fellow at a University in UK. Its a two year contract with no chance of extension or renewal. Although I have 1 year left, I have considered not staying for the second year, ...
7
votes
2answers
331 views
How to understand if it's the moment to become a team leader?
I am finishing my first postdoc in computer science, and I have to make a decision about what I want to do next.
I have basically two options:
Try to get a new position as a senior postdoc or junior ...
6
votes
2answers
356 views
type of experience required for masters
I graduated from university last year with a bachelors degree in Mechatronics Engineering. Good learning and GPA is quite good. I have planned to do a Masters degree from the US next fall with a focus ...
2
votes
0answers
124 views
Is it possible to get PhD in Statistics for an actuary?
The question is pretty straightforward.
I'm an actuary with a bachelor and a master degree in actuarial science. I have already worked in the insurance industry, I have programming experience and ...
5
votes
3answers
421 views
When should I begin publishing?
I am finishing my Master's degree in Mathematics and will be enrolled in a PhD program in the U.S. starting from fall. In my country (Russia) we have thesis as a mandatory requirement for all degrees (...
45
votes
9answers
16k views
Career prospects in theoretical physics after nightmare PhD
I will try to keep this as short and concise as possible.
I am a 3rd year PhD student in theoretical physics (condensed matter theory) in a US university. I worked for a certain professor for a year ...
13
votes
2answers
728 views
What is the most accepted time for a pre-tenure move?
I am a second-year assistant professor who is hoping to make a pre-tenure move to a school/location that is better for my family. It is not a situation where my current department is bad or toxic, but ...
4
votes
1answer
399 views
Is it normal that a PhD supervisor requires a student to apply for a grant?
I'm a 1st year computer science PhD student in Poland, who started about 6 months ago. I'm working on a nice project towards a publication. My supervisor recently made an ultimatum: either I will ...
10
votes
2answers
274 views
How to find enjoyment in teaching being a research oriented professional?
I have recently (one year ago) started work in academia as an assistant professor or a lecturer in NZ system. We don't have tenure track system which is great. I was wondering how long does it take ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views
After PhD, no support from PhD supervisor
I am writing here to get good advice for my career. I completed my PhD in Mathematics last year. I was quite happy after my PhD that I have gained a PhD degree, but I don't have any idea what I could ...
1
vote
2answers
128 views
During a UG physics degree , what other certificate/diploma courses can i simultaneously pursue which would be of use in a physics career?
During a UG physics degree , what other certificate/diploma courses can i simultaneously pursue which would be of use in a physics career ?
I hear many colleges offer such optional courses along with ...
4
votes
1answer
191 views
Should startup-company founder accept peer-review requests?
I'm a relatively recent graduate putting together a startup company, and I've just received an offer to peer-review a paper for a reputable journal.
As with prior questions on SE.Academia, e.g.
As a ...
