Questions tagged [early-career]
On issues affecting academics or researchers specifically in the early stages of their careers.
252
questions
11
votes
3answers
2k views
How concerned should one be if he/she does not get referee invitations?
A friend of mine is an experienced researcher in early career. We are surprised to learn that she never get invited to referee for any journal. I once rejected a referee request and referred the ...
2
votes
0answers
258 views
Am I wasting my research time?
I am dividing the question in to two parts.
I will first tell about my experiences, (in this first part of my question), at different levels of my academics and the reason for selection of a ...
1
vote
1answer
204 views
Am I rational to be hopeless to have an academic career after my mental recovery?
I used to be a PhD student in one of the top research institutes in Germany. Then I realized I have a mental illness and my mother insisted that I go to a psychologist. He told me that I have a ...
4
votes
0answers
127 views
How many publications/citations/h-factor for EE tenure track in top ~100 research university? [closed]
Does anyone know of statistics how many publications/citations/h-factor an assistant professor in Electrical Engineering has at the beginning of tenure track in a top 100-200 research university?
If ...
1
vote
3answers
229 views
Talking to supervisor about PhD projects
I am an international PhD student, in the last lap of my PhD, and have a little more than a year to defend my thesis. My work is in theory, and our simulations take a lot of computing time. As we are ...
3
votes
1answer
141 views
Is hourly paid lecturing a viable route into a permenant lecturing position?
I have struggled to get a permanent lecturing position in the location I want. I am location restricted due to the current COVID 19 situation. My long term goal is to get a permanent lecturing role.
...
13
votes
5answers
717 views
COVID-19 anxiety's impact to my output: any strategies for mitigation?
In the COVID-19 pandemic I am dealing with anxiety for the first time, and professionally floundering.
I'm usually good at prioritization, but the state of the world means emergencies, and anxiety ...
9
votes
4answers
626 views
Does it make sense to “pause” an academic career so that I can pursue financial independence and self-fund my research?
I graduated with a bachelor’s in the humanities last year. I would have preferred to continue studying, but I don’t have the money, and I have found very few opportunities for full funding where I ...
4
votes
3answers
435 views
How do I move forward after working with a toxic academic supervisor?
How do I move forward after working with a toxic academic supervisor who ruined my all job opportunities by giving negative referrals, when my next job is asking referee report from him?
If anyone has ...
0
votes
1answer
151 views
Is Research Right for me?
I am going to start college in a while and one of the programs I've applied for is a Bachelors in Technology followed by Masters in Science Program which is a consolidated program here and can be done ...
0
votes
0answers
73 views
Finding time for the associate editor job – should one ask institute's management?
An early career researcher (ECR) is asked to become an associate editor for a reputable classical journal. Of course, no renumeration is offered. Based on the experience of other ECRs in a similar ...
0
votes
0answers
65 views
Pros and Cons of being an editor for an edited book volume
I am early in my tenure track position. I have just completed my post-doc and PhD two years ago. In collaboration with colleagues, we have recently circulated call-for-papers for an edited book.
What ...
2
votes
0answers
127 views
TAing for two young hotshot postdocs (possible “in” for future research)? or TAing a lab with more student engagement?
Incoming theoretical physics PhD student in the US.
I hope to get into academia after my PhD.
When listing TA preferences, would it behoove my career goal more to list as my top preference a course ...
0
votes
2answers
180 views
Is a math bachelor the right choice for me? [closed]
I am currently a student in high school, who plans on going to university.
As of now, I am planning to pursue my bachelors degree in mathematics in the UK and then go on to do a PhD in computer ...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
Specialise now or broaden knowledge?
I am currently an undergraduate student in mathematics coming to the end of a 4-year Bachelor degree. I have strong credentials (good marks, plus research and teaching experience) and have been doing ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
Am I taking a wrong approach while looking for an academic position in applied areas - brutal criticisms appreciated! [closed]
After a PhD in pure mathematic, I wanted to do work in applied areas where I could bring in my pure math expertise. So I did two postdocs in computational medical imaging where I could apply my pure ...
6
votes
3answers
467 views
Is there a way out of losing interest in science during a PhD?
My concern is that I completely lost interest in science over the past few months, however, I am still towards the end of my first year of my PhD studies. I will offer some background:
I have always ...
27
votes
6answers
8k views
When someone cites one of your papers, is it a good idea to send an email to the authors to show appreciation?
For an early career researcher in physics or science in general, is it a good idea to send a "thank you" email to other authors who cited one of the researcher's papers? Will this be perceived in a ...
2
votes
1answer
247 views
I have somehow completed my PhD without having the required theoretical understanding of my field. Can I have an academic career? [duplicate]
I have an undergrad in mechanical engineering. My Masters, PhD was in Mechanical too. However, I have never been academically strong (grades were majorly C and B+). I had to retake advanced ...
1
vote
1answer
118 views
Would it be ok/wise to end my PhD contract after submitting my PhD thesis in order to be able to start a new job at that time?
I would like to start looking for a job in the period preceding the submission of my thesis, so that if I’m lucky and I find a job, I could end my PhD contract (around PhD submission time) and take on ...
3
votes
4answers
295 views
Very highly regarded (but also very abrasive) secondary PhD supervisor - how much should I involve him in my project?
I'm doing a PhD and I have two people listed down as my supervisors for the project, who I will call supervisors A and B. I get on really well with supervisor A, he makes constructive suggestions in a ...
1
vote
1answer
246 views
How do you interpret the feedbacks of my boss [closed]
I have a PhD in biological sciences but working (for two years by now) as a data analyst (I can say something like a bioinformatician) in a university analysing cancer omics
My boss says that I am an ...
1
vote
5answers
73 views
What are the subjects that one must learn while an undergraduate to pursue an academic career in Biophysics? [closed]
I am an undergraduate student pursuing a B.Sc(Hons.) degree in Physics. I want to pursue an academic career in Biophysics. So, I wanted to know which subjects are required for higher studies in ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
Post-Doc foundation fellowship vs. private contractor (ORISE vs. McNeal)
I'm a post-doc research fellow working in a government lab and my supervisor has "offfered" to renew my position through a private contracting company (McNeal), instead of the my current funding ...
19
votes
7answers
7k views
Choosing between a Post-Doc and a faculty position at “2nd-tier” institution
I am Ph.D. student in India working in computer science. I will be graduating soon. I have two options: 1) post-doc 2) join a "tier 2 institute" (i.e., an institution ranked between #11 and #20 in ...
36
votes
5answers
4k views
How to become a better researcher in a shorter amount of time?
This question could also be read as :
As a professional researcher, you wish you would have done some things differently than you did when starting your research career. Things that would have ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
How to reach out for research collaboration?
I am an early career researcher (pre-PhD) and planning to work on research articles before applying to PhD studies. May I ask is there any clear cut method to approach well-established scholars to ask ...
4
votes
1answer
217 views
Becoming an Engineer with a Math degree
I'm not sure if this is entirely the correct stack exchange for my question, but the career stack exchange seemed to have a different focus from what I'm looking for. My question is: Can I work in ...
2
votes
1answer
322 views
How can I better equip myself early on for pure mathematics research? [closed]
From discussions about the nature of pure mathematics research I reached to a conclusion that it requires both- theory building; that is to create rigourous concepts relevant to the problem one ...
-2
votes
1answer
165 views
How to deal with a relationship and the need to move abroad? [closed]
I am in a long term relationship (almost 9 years) and in the last half of my PhD. Inevitably I will have to move abroad for a postdoc, after that I will probably move abroad again, and I don't know ...
1
vote
4answers
389 views
Prizes on Academic CVs
I rarely see academic prizes mentioned on academic CVs. I suppose many students who are completeting a PhD also have a few of such prizes. I am thinking, amongst others, about
best MSc dissertation,
...
2
votes
1answer
208 views
I am extremely passionate about entropy/physics, but I don't think I can get into grad school. What can I do to pursue these topics sustainably? [closed]
I am a recent graduate in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland with a 2.94 GPA and a 3.01 major GPA and I am completely obsessed with entropy and the foundations of quantum physics. I'...
74
votes
9answers
27k 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
216 views
What should I do to make the most of a stopgap postdoc position offered by my PhD supervisor?
I am a PhD in computational materials science, and I have been offered a stop gap postdoc position (at the moment for 6 months) by my PhD supervisor which I will be starting a month after my defense. ...
2
votes
1answer
3k views
How much actual funding does a Marie Curie fellowship entail?
The EU has a research fellowship program named after Physicist Marie Skłodowska-Curie. The website lacks a bunch of information, but I'm specifically interested in understanding what kind of funding ...
4
votes
5answers
800 views
Are there any examples of people who successfully did a startup AND worked in academia? Or is it better to just choose one?
I'm a newly minted PhD researcher from Sweden who just finished my defense this summer (after a really stressfull and draining final year). Ever since then I have been thinking about my future in ...
-2
votes
1answer
83 views
Best way to position yourself to contribute greatly to a very new field? [closed]
I'm in my undergrad and am interested in brain-computer interfacing, but the field is still very new and undetermined.
My hope is to be at the forefront of the field of BCI and be in a position ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
How do you advise an early career researcher who has an unrealistic opinion of their prospects?
One often reads stories along the lines of "I was told I wasn't suited to a career in academia; now I'm a professor at < Big Name University >". At the same time, given the structure of the ...
26
votes
5answers
4k views
Giving a talk on a different topic than what we discussed
I'm a postdoc in mathematics. I had a conversation with a professor after he gave a talk at my university, and he seemed interested in my ideas. I sent him an email the next day to elaborate on our ...
4
votes
0answers
284 views
What could be a next thing after my theoretical physics career has not worked out? [closed]
Perhaps this question is about leaving the academia, but hopefully it's still in the right place. Given that many people have been there before, I'll spare you most of the personal details. Late in my ...
2
votes
2answers
354 views
Should I get a CS PhD if I'm only interested in industry research? [closed]
I'm currently working on a masters in CS and working at a university as research faculty (my title is 'research engineer'). I'm in the branch that does mostly contract work with the government or ...
25
votes
3answers
6k views
Is it worth delving deep outside my field to revise a paper?
I have a paper that got lost in the editorial pipeline for about a year due to the second reviewer dropping out and not telling anyone. During that year, I didn't revisit the paper much; it was a ...
2
votes
3answers
470 views
Supervisor lack of knowledge
I am a doctoral student in the engineering area in Europe, Belgium. I applied for the project in which I am in April and was accepted. I also had other offers from England.
I liked the subject and ...
12
votes
6answers
4k views
What should I do if my parents are forcing me to study a career I don't want? [closed]
I want to study biotechnology and become an engineer. I'm a straight A's student and as the eldest daughter I'm quite disciplined. However, my parents don't want me to study that career and are ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
My R01 application was re-assigned to a study section that doesn't seem like a good fit (NIH)
I submitted my first ever R01 application a few weeks ago and indicated that it be assigned to a specific study section (let's call it study section A). Yesterday, I received an email from the chief ...
18
votes
3answers
3k views
Would preaching in a church be advantageous for becoming a lecturer?
In general, the job of a lecturer (under Australian terminology- I think the terminology is different in America) can be divided up into two main areas of focus: research and teaching, with the latter ...
4
votes
2answers
346 views
How important is teaching experience?
I am a PhD student in economics in the UK. Recently, I have been hearing how important teaching experience is to find a job in academia as a lecturer. One needs to submit teaching statements and may ...
3
votes
1answer
213 views
Personal qualities required for a career in academia? [closed]
I am looking to apply for research programmes after I complete my undergraduate degree. While I thoroughly enjoy research, I'm worried about whether this is the best field for me to pursue.
What ...
3
votes
2answers
938 views
PhD research results in postdoc talk presentation
I am a PhD candidate and have been invited to visit two labs where I had applied for postdoc positions after initial online interviews. My question is regarding the content of my talk, which I think ...
1
vote
1answer
293 views
What should one consider when pondering a career as a scientific editor? [closed]
I'm in my 2nd year postdoc, considering getting a science-related job. I looked for jobs at PhD level, and found that one of my options is becoming an editor for a scientific journal.
How many years'...
