Questions tagged [early-career]
On issues affecting academics or researchers specifically in the early stages of their careers.
284
questions
6
votes
0answers
143 views
How to pursue an academic career in Italy
I am an early career scientist that want to pursue an academic career in Italy.
I am familiar with the usual track of an academic in Italy: Phd, "assegno di ricerca", "RTDA", "...
4
votes
1answer
328 views
+50
How do the logistics work for recipients of a DFG "Eigene Stelle" grant (in Germany)?
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), which funds most basic research in Germany, has a grant program that funds a temporary position ("Eigene Stelle") for novice principal ...
3
votes
1answer
140 views
Italian universities: how to find out the "hiring plans" for researchers in the next 1-4 years?
In Italian universities (mathematics departments), is there a way to find out in advance what are the "hiring plans" for the next 1-4 years? In fact, when is it known within a university ...
1
vote
0answers
128 views
Career choice：postdoc or non-tenure assistant professor job with little teaching load
I am a PhD candidate and I am currently in the mist of choosing my career path.
A little about my current situation:
I have a family in a large city where my husband grew up in. We are not likely to ...
26
votes
9answers
10k views
Do academics look down on applicants who leave academia and try to go back?
For example, if I do a postdoc and then leave for a year and then decide I want to go back to academia, is it possible, or will researchers look at my file, say, "Oh, a year not in academia,"...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I share my ideas without being scooped?
I finished grad school and now I will probably be an adjunct but will apply for postdocs again. I want to talk about my research ideas with other people but I am worried that postdocs will work on ...
3
votes
2answers
116 views
What other academic pre-PhD positions can I apply for in the UK?
In my home country, it is common for people to work at a research lab/group with titles such as "Research Assistant" after their Masters before their PhD.
Do such positions exist in the UK, ...
2
votes
0answers
84 views
Postdocs or RTDa/b positions and a question on PhD acquired outside of Italy and equivalence with the Italian title
Is it necessary to have obtained the "equivalence" of Ph.D. acquired in another country (Germany in my case) to the Italian title before applying for postdocs or RTDa/b positions in Italy?
I ...
6
votes
4answers
8k views
Are researchers generally sympathetic to not taking jobs in certain countries?
Suppose that an early career researcher received a job offer from a country that the researcher really doesn't want to go to, because of political or other personal reasons (concern for safety, ...
1
vote
2answers
191 views
How to: Change of research field after thesis
I'll soon have finished my PhD in mathematics in a not top ranked university, and as far as I see it, my thesis is not going to be especially impressive.
My goal after the defense is to either leave ...
15
votes
2answers
1k views
Is spending 16 years (in total) in academia to get three degrees career suicide? What do I do?
It took me 5.5 years to get my BSc, 3 years to get my MSc, and 6 years to do my PhD. I had a child as a teenager (so I have spent my entire adult life a mum) and we moved countries (to Germany) when I ...
1
vote
2answers
123 views
Potential for interview when abroad
I attended a panel for early career researchers, and one of the panelists mentioned that at the university he was at, it is more challenging for the department to pay for the flight costs to host an ...
3
votes
3answers
277 views
How to deal mentally and emotionally with a prolonged stressful period?
I am a second-year PhD student, but I think this question may interest a broader readership.
I'd like to ask experienced researchers for some insights on how to navigate a prolonged stressful period.
...
15
votes
6answers
9k views
How should I address racist comments from a superior?
After finishing my master’s, I applied for a couple of positions, and the first interview I was invited to was at a renowned research institution in my field. I was living in our capital at that time ...
79
votes
10answers
20k views
I feel like male professors don't feel comfortable taking me as a student. How should I address this problem?
It has happened in many instances in my education that my male advisors or professors get very uncomfortable around me and some refuse to take me as their student. They tell me that in a decent way, ...
0
votes
1answer
137 views
Which domain should I choose for my personal website? [closed]
I have decided to create an academic personal website, but I am unsure whether I should choose a .com or a .org domain.
I have read that .com is mainly used by commercial organizations, whereas .org ...
4
votes
2answers
211 views
How to search for a Career Counselor / Specialist for Life Sciences?
Does anyone know how I could go about finding a career counselor that can help an "ex-academic" in some way to find a job in "real world"? Essentially, I am looking for type of ...
15
votes
4answers
6k views
Getting married abroad on August 21st, job begins on August 23rd. What do I do?
I just completed my Ph.D. and have recently been offered a lecturer position in a university. The first day of classes is on August 23rd, and I am getting married abroad in Europe on August 21st. The ...
5
votes
1answer
434 views
Who exactly is a pseudo professor?
I was recently in a meeting with other university professors and one of them introduced himself as a "pseudo professor". The other, when introducing themselves reiterated that they ...
0
votes
1answer
270 views
PhD - unhelpful supervisor, how normal is it?
My question maybe trivial but I really want the opinion of others if the problem is with me or with my supervisor/ the lab.
Half a year ago I started PhD in a small university town in Europe. I am a ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it worth it to continue thinking about academia? [closed]
I will try to make this short.
My Ph.D. was in life sciences. I was a part of an "International Ph.D program in life sciences" in Germany. The Ph.D was a nightmare of its own. I had to ...
2
votes
1answer
227 views
Changing fields after PhD, master or post-doc?
I am not far away from finishing a PhD in molecular toxicology, however with time i have gotten more and more interested in topics such as renewable energy, environmental/climate science and ...
2
votes
1answer
203 views
How to gracefully leave a lab due to poor infrastructure and aiming to move into a new field of research?
I am an early career postdoc in a prestigious high-ranking university in US. I did my PhD in from a good state university in US and published a decent number of papers. My current PI has no expertise ...
0
votes
3answers
266 views
Is there a biological age drawback for comparable academic experience in order to get permanent position?
I wanted to know if there are (potentially unofficial) limits about biological age in order to get permanent positions.
For instance let's say that you started your 3 years PhD about 27 (where people ...
2
votes
1answer
162 views
Choosing between PhD offers - top supervisor at my current institution or good supervisor at new university [closed]
I have offers for a funded PhD at equally prestigious universities in the same country. One is the university I did my undergrad (and doing my masters) in, with a "rising star" PhD ...
1
vote
1answer
356 views
Does it get easier?
So I'm a current PhD student in applied math. My interests have somewhat gravitated over time so I feel like I'm constantly in new territory and constantly struggling to understand the papers I read. ...
2
votes
1answer
127 views
Feasibility of a partially remote postdoc [closed]
(This question is somewhat related to those answered here and here, but is different in the "partially" remote aspect, and in a few other details I list below.)
I am currently finishing my ...
79
votes
7answers
14k views
Can I be a good scientist if I only work in working hours? [duplicate]
I am doing postdoc in developmental biology. Recently I started to leave work at the lab, meaning that I don't work at home anymore. Before I spent many hours at night (at home) analyzing my data; now ...
24
votes
8answers
9k views
Should I hold back some ideas for after my PhD?
I guess this a question about 'career pacing'. I am currently a first-year grad student studying for a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at a research university in the US. Even though I have only been ...
3
votes
0answers
72 views
Having a Promising Assistant Professor vs Well- Known Full Professor as a PI [duplicate]
If one's ultimate goal is to obtain tenure (as a professor of chemistry or some other STEM field, for example), is it honestly better to have a more well-known professor as a PI versus an assistant ...
5
votes
1answer
160 views
Careers at the National Research Council of Italy and difference from the university system
What is the organization of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)? In particular, I'd like to know
How does one get a position there? I assume there are public competitions (as for university ...
3
votes
1answer
261 views
Нow to start an academic career if you got your PhD five years ago and didn't do science for these five years?
I think that it's too late for postdoc. Also, I think that my PhD thesis is weak and not many people would be interested. What is the way to start academic or near-academic career, if not teaching? ...
4
votes
1answer
249 views
Quick publication in a good journal VS long fight to publish in a very prestigious journal. What's more impactful at the beginning of a career? [closed]
I'm the first author of an article which, according to my advisor, has some chance of being published in the prestigious IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. This however would probably entail a ...
3
votes
1answer
202 views
Prerequisites for RTDb (tenure-track assistant professor) position in Italy
I have read that a prerequisite to apply for a RTDb (tenure-track assistant professor) position in Italy is to have held a 3-year RTDa position in an Italian university or an equivalent 3-year postdoc ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Is it possible to quit a TVL13 job in probation period?
I would like to ask whether it is possible to quit a wissenschaftlicher mitarbeiter job based on a TVL13 contract in the middle of probation period? Or do I have to wait until I finish it?
I have ...
1
vote
2answers
191 views
Is there such thing as a person who books guest lectures?
I'm a professional photographer. I have done numerous lectures at colleges and high schools about photography and photo assisting. This has always been for ex-professors or peers that have become ...
16
votes
4answers
3k 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
290 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
452 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
299 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
275 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
148 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
786 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 ...
10
votes
4answers
693 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
497 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
198 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
96 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
95 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
131 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
219 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 ...
