Questions tagged [time-off]
On a period of time during one's education or career in which one is not formally involved in academic pursuits.
99 questions
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What are the chances of getting a second postdoc after two years of unemployment gap? [closed]
I have a 2 years of employment gap after my one year long first postdoc (Biochemistry). I left it because I did not like the lab. And after that I was unsure what to do (it was almost traumatising to ...
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What to do in my gap year to transition from a US pure math undergraduate to an applied math masters in France?
I'm an international student who finished my undergraduate degree at a top-20 US university last December (double-majoring in math and comparative literature) and currently staying in my home country. ...
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3
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Pursuing PhD 5 years after master's
I live in Germany and want to continue my studies in Pharmaceutical engineering with a PhD. Since it has been 5 years since my master's degree, do I have any chance to be accepted and what can I do ...
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Why do some admission applications ask what you've been doing in the years since you left school? [duplicate]
Some admission applications ask what you've been doing in the years since you last left school. For example, work, military, parenting, volunteering, or caring for a sick family member.
Some ...
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After a few years away from school, inactive students may need to reapply for admission. Why?
At many schools in America, undergraduate students can freely take a semester or two off. But some students might want to take a longer break: perhaps two or three years.
At many schools, after ...
2
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2
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What do I do on my summer vacation with an interest in mathematics?
I am a second year college student majoring in mathematics. The summer vacation is coming up and lasts for three months. I am thinking of studying something during this vacation that is specific to ...
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3
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Leaving industry for PhD off-cycle
I have decided to leave industry and pursue a PhD in geology. I studied physics (bach) and mechanical engineering (masters) but have been working in ML/software for 4 years. Due to my situation I wasn'...
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Is 5 years of professional experience bad for a future career in academia?
I am a current master student (my field is earth sciences). Some time ago, I was sure that I should apply for a PhD right after I graduate with a master's degree. However, now I am thinking about ...
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What is the research on taking a gap year between undergrad and medical school (or PhD)?
I have some studies (below), but was wondering if anyone knows of any that I'm missing.
Studies I've already read:
2020 study: “In multivariate analysis, gap years were independently associated with ...
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Gap year as a research technician before post doc?
I'm from Brazil and currently taking a Master's in Physiology here.
I have a plan about doing my PhD in a good institution here in Brazil with a period of it in some American or Canadian institution, ...
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Contemplating a year abroad after PhD - would this be a red flag?
I currently have about 14 months left of a PhD programme at a top-rated UK university. My project is in STEM and is partly sponsored by an industrial company. I recently went to a conference in Japan ...
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Does mentioning why I took a break after my MSc affect the chances of admission?
I had taken a year break after my masters, before seriously applying to PhD programs. The reason was that I was stressed and burnt out, especially during the COVID times, and wasn't ready for a PhD ...
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Leaving a TT job then re-entering academia: Area of business and management
"My question is whether I will be able to find an academic job after leaving a Tenure-Track position, with about 1 year gap"
I am currently in a situation to leave my assistant prof position ...
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702
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Is it possible to participate in Physics research during a gap year?
I recently finished my Bachelor's in Physics, graduating this past May. I have always had grad school as a goal. Currently, I am looking to do a Master's program and then hopefully move on to a PhD ...
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How to politely ask a professor if you can work under them as a contingency plan?
I'm applying to graduate school as a senior in my undergraduate studies. I know there's a good chance I won't get in, so I was hoping to ask the professor I am working under if I can research under ...
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To leave or not to leave academia if you do not fully love what you are doing but are proficient at it? [closed]
So I know that the choice to leave or not academia is a fully personal choice. What I would like to hear is your experience. Basically, focusing on the web I think that there is a strong bias on one ...
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Is it common to be asked to take days off to go to a conference/workshop? (US)
My colleague and I started as postdocs this year in a US lab.
Recently, we respectively decided to go to a conference and a workshop. The conference was planned since a long time for my colleague, so ...
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Faculty Vacation Time
At my university in the US, faculty are granted twenty-two (22) days of vacation leave annually. Except for emergencies, faculty may not take vacation while classes are in session.
The only time ...
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How do I make up for a mediocre undergraduate career in 2-3 gap years before a CS PhD?
Note on applicability of this question to others
I’m aware of this post, which was closed for being too individual-specific.
I’ve included information specific to me, but I wrote my questions to be ...
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Applying to Postdocs after Graduating
Im a 6th year PhD student in the United States. Im not totally excited about my current CV/publications, but I have a few final projects I'm excited to finish up before I end my program this summer.
...
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Feeling bad about taking time off
So I'm a first year PhD student in the UK working on an applied mathematics project. Excluding weekends I put in about 37/40 hours a week of work which leaves me pretty tired to say the least.
...
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Will trying to start a PhD late and after a gap of 4 years after my Masters, deteriorate my chances of getting admitted in a PhD program?
I am 30 years old now and I graduated with a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering when I was 26. I have worked in the industry after I graduated, in 2 companies for one year each and then in 1 ...
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I am applying for a new PhD position. However I'm already enrolled at one institute for the past one year. How do I explain my drop out?
So I enrolled at a reputed Research Institute in Taiwan one year ago, just after my Master's. However, the course work and research conducted here was not as I expected it to be. I tackled it well but ...
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Can I apply for a "potential" deferred admission
I'm sorry if there are similar posts, I had a look and couldn't find something exactly similar.
I will be starting my final year of Bachelor (in the UK), and I am going to start applying for an ...
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Covid gap year and grad school admissions
I'm a sophomore at a public university in the U.S. I'm thinking of taking a year off before my junior year, but I'm worried I'll have to explain the gap in my transcript when I apply to math grad ...
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Going back to academia after quitting my Ph.D. and taking a year off? [closed]
I am a Ph.D. dropout with a one year of career gap. I want to return to academia, but now I have realized that it was perhaps the biggest mistake to take a gap after quitting my Ph.D. The purpose of ...
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Keeping in contact with professors after graduation?
I just completed a CS undergraduate at University A (top 50 rank for CS), and am taking a gap year after graduating. This past summer, I did an REU/summer research at University B (~top 15 rank for ...
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About career break in CV
I am going to apply for a postdoc position and there is an item about career break.
Having finished my Master degree, I got a position titles Director of Research in a College for about 6 years. In ...
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Taking vacations days in the middle of a semester [closed]
Context: I am an assistant professor at a small institution in the US.
Question: My significant other has the opportunity through work to travel to an exotic location over a long weekend in February, ...
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Gap Year before Mathematics PhD Programs
How does the gap year process work for math PhD admissions? For reference I am a student at a top 5 undergrad department in the US, applying to pure math programs. I would like to take a year off ...
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Who should I ask for references when applying for PhD, after a 4 year break since graduation?
I am a life sciences graduate from 2015.
After a career in the corporate world, I am preparing to apply to PhD programs in universities abroad.
As part of the application process, I am required to ...
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Time out of Academic Environment (Mathematics) [closed]
Earlier in the year, I applied to some graduate school master's programme in the US and have received a few offers last week.
My goal is to obtain a PhD. Ultimately, I have two options.
Take the ...
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How to address "positively" an unemployment gap for a postdoc application in a CV
I’m planning to apply for a postdoc in Europe but in the eligibility conditions section for this position, it is written that the PhD shouldn’t be obtained more than 3 years ago unless it is a case of ...
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Traveling before graduate school
I want to take a gap year and travel after getting my undergraduate degree in Physics. Is it possible to apply for a research grant that would cover my expenses that year? Can someone travel a lot as ...
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How bad is it to decline the NSF graduate fellowship? [closed]
Though NSF results aren't out yet for this year, this question's been wracking my brain since I'm heavily considering taking a gap year before grad school. I also haven't been able to find this ...
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Reference letters after some time away from full time study
I have been away from full time study for more than a year now and I was trying to see if I could get into postgraduate studies at a masters level for a non-vocational subject.
Prior to graduating, ...
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How should I explain my gap year in graduate admissions?
I have a bachelors in physics and math (graduated in may of this year), and have been struggling within myself to figure out if I would like to pursue a graduate degree in physics or engineering. ...
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Telling letter writers who already submitted that I am not applying to graduate school
Summary of question
I've been getting ready to apply to grad school, and now I have good reasons for not doing so. My letter writers have already uploaded their letters. Basically, it's the last ...
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Three years gap between Master's and PhD and no article
I am a 31 year old international student. I applied for a PhD position in one of the top Australian universities. I’ll interview by Skype next week. I have a three year gap between my Master's and ...
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3
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Out of school for ten years and letters of recommendation for PhD programs
I graduated with a BS in physics in 2009, so it's coming up on ten years since I've been in academia. I have a great relationship with one professor, with whom I'm still in contact, and my old advisor ...
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Returning to academia after a long peroid
A person I know has been teaching undergraduate students for about ~8 years. She has a master in science and she is ~41 years old. For personal reasons, she quit her job five years ago. She would like ...
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How to best utilize a gap year to enter mathematics graduate school
I have the following two options available on how to utilize the next year. First some background:
I'm an Economics and Mathematics major at a college in Pakistan. I'm, however, interested in going ...
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Is it generally accepted to take months off (unpaid) during a PhD?
Currently I am finishing my masters degree program in Life Sciences / Biotechnology by doing an industrial internship. After having obtained my degree, I would definitely like to do a PhD if I can ...
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In U.S. universities, do male professors get paternity leave?
Do American universities typically help male professors transition into fatherhood by offering (paid) paternity leave? If so, what is the standard amount of paid time off that is offered?
Feel ...
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Are gap semesters frowned upon in graduate school applications? Should I explain mental health situation that led to the gap?
Disclaimer: not all of what follows is relevant to the question.
I am a math student currently doing a Master’s. I plan on taking a break in the spring semester because due to many personal ...
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Will turn down a graduate (Master's) program have effect on my application for the same program?
I have asked a similar question.
Is it bad to apply for the same Master's degree program in consecutive years?
If I failed the first year, will it be a negative factor for my
application the ...
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Is deferred enrollment normal or acceptable to graduate programs? What are the acceptable reasons for it? [duplicate]
I am an undergraduate student majoring in computer science. I am currently doing graduate (Master's) program application for top US universities.
However, just now I get a pretty nice research ...
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In case I have to take a gap year before MS, what can I do in terms of reading and independent study to prepare for graduate school? [closed]
I will be graduating with a BS in Computer Science in 2017 and have applied to a couple of graduate school to pursue MS in Biomedical Informatics/Bioinformatics. I'm interested in translational ...
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159
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Comeback advice: how to return a decade after dropping out, when job schedule makes formal study difficult? [closed]
What helpful advice would you give an age 30-something woman to reach her dream with the following background? She dropped out from college a decade ago despite many hard years of dedicated trying, ...
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Can I still pursue a research career after a possibly lengthy break?
I've been offered a PhD position, but I'm forced to decline it due to family reasons. However, once the situation becomes more stable, I will re-apply again. What concerns me most is whether it's ...
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