211 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

No matter how you were mistreated, this plan will make you look extremely toxic. As an employer, I wouldn't go anywhere near someone that would decide to take a personal hit like this purely out of ...
TimRias's user avatar
  • 11.6k
132 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

You Will Burn Yourself To The Ground I can speak directly from the perspective of industry: If you go into a job interview and tell them, "I could finish the PhD any time I want to, but I choose ...
Anonymous's user avatar
  • 3,008
118 votes

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

I would most readily assume that a paper accepted without revisions went through some fairly lackadaisical peer review rather than being so perfect that experts in the field couldn't find a single ...
Bryan Krause's user avatar
  • 105k
99 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

Why would a company want to hire you if they know anything about the circumstances? You've spent time working toward a doctorate and failed to earn it. You've demonstrated vindictiveness toward ...
Buffy's user avatar
  • 345k
77 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

In addition to the other reasons why this is a bad idea, it wouldn’t even work. Your department is used to people starting a PhD and then not graduating, so they wouldn’t really care that much about ...
Dan Romik's user avatar
  • 185k
55 votes
Accepted

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

Do NOT add a remark that a paper was accepted "without revisions" to any of your application documents. The ease of getting a paper published is rarely an indicator of its quality. It is ...
Theoretician's user avatar
  • 2,312
48 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

I think this is a straightforward question. If you don't defend the PhD but don't disclose the true vindictive reasons why you hadn't, it may slightly lower your chances as you would be a less ...
Dilworth's user avatar
  • 13.2k
39 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

It might give the impression that you are fast-reacting and that you struggle with conflict resolution. All over academia, people put up with deficient supervisors, bad projects, etc. still end up ...
SebDL's user avatar
  • 866
39 votes
Accepted

A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?

No, it's not a red flag at all, you are overthinking it. While on the face of it the situation looks a bit like back-channel reference solicitation, which if frowned upon, I think this situation is ...
Kostya_I's user avatar
  • 4,033
36 votes

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

No, you shouldn't do this. It will just come across as though you're trying to pad out your CV.
Benedict Eastaugh's user avatar
28 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

These three letters will give you $10-20k higher salary, every single year for the rest of your work life. You're going to forgo that amount of money for what? Because you're mad at the university? ...
Wolfgang Bangerth's user avatar
28 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

You never know what you might wish to do in the future. Even if you don't need a PhD certificate now, it may become useful later, even if only to satisfy some bureaucratic requirement. For example, a ...
avid's user avatar
  • 18.9k
28 votes

Why do so many institutions choose their own systems for application process rather than universal systems like mathjobs.org or interfolio?

Centralized systems like Mathjobs are really the exception rather than the rule. In most other fields of academia, and in practically all industries outside academia, the norm is that applicants for ...
Nate Eldredge's user avatar
22 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

"Two potential employers have already answered my application and asked when the defence will happen. Can I tell them the truth?" They do not care about the truth. They are asking just to ...
EarlGrey's user avatar
  • 15.7k
17 votes
Accepted

Is it risky or inappropriate to mention a history of substance abuse in a PhD application personal statement?

I think it would be risky, though I can't judge inappropriate. The problem is that you will be judged by individuals, some of whom might fear a relapse in the middle of your studies. If that would ...
Buffy's user avatar
  • 345k
16 votes

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

Bad idea. Personally, I much prefer having constructive comments than no comment at all from a reviewer, so in my mind a paper accepted without review is just one that was not improved as a result ...
ZeroTheHero's user avatar
15 votes

Why do so many institutions choose their own systems for application process rather than universal systems like mathjobs.org or interfolio?

My institution uses the same system for tenure track professors as for HR staff as for plumbers as for student jobs. If they used mathjobs for math jobs what would they do with all these other ...
Bryan Krause's user avatar
  • 105k
15 votes

How to cite oneself as co-author without all names, for graduate school CV application?

There are two basic ways to do this, based on just how many names there are: Choose a citation format that shows all the names, then highlight your own name with a bold or underline, e.g.: Skywalker, ...
jakebeal's user avatar
  • 187k
15 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

How bad would this look on job applications to industry jobs? Asking the question is already a part of the answer. I do not negate the fact that you may have been mistreated: power abuse, ...
Davide Giraudo's user avatar
14 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

I do understand that the power relation in a PhD can be extremely abusive! It may have had damaging effects on your mental or in consequence even your physical health. However, as you seem to able to ...
HawkingRadiation's user avatar
13 votes

Why do so many institutions choose their own systems for application process rather than universal systems like mathjobs.org or interfolio?

A non-American perspective... In the country where I work, we have a single job application portal for all academic jobs and other university positions across all our univeristies, research institutes ...
Rachel C's user avatar
  • 321
13 votes
Accepted

Should I Read a Draft of a Recommendation Letter?

Yes, it is fine to read and give input if asked. It would have been different if you had asked to see the draft rather than the professor asking for feedback. Not a problem. You are breaking no rules ...
Buffy's user avatar
  • 345k
13 votes

A potential postdoc PI contacted my Ph.D. advisor without asking me for the contact info. Is this common?

In my experience this is not uncommon. (Although I guess the uncommon element is that you were not asked for a list of (potential) references when you applied, or did not give your advisor as a ...
TimRias's user avatar
  • 11.6k
11 votes

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

If the paper has been accepted for publication but is not yet published, I would just describe it as "accepted". It's certainly more common to see than "paper accepted without revisions&...
Anyon's user avatar
  • 24.5k
11 votes

Can I write "paper accepted without revisions" on a CV?

Getting a paper accepted speaks for itself. No one cares how the sausage is made, only that it was made and tastes delicious. A good paper that was accepted after ten rounds of revisions is still a ...
Dan Romik's user avatar
  • 185k
11 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

I want to refuse to defend my PhD so as to harm the department's economy and my supervisor's career in pure boycott. You are looking at this from a wrong angle. Defending your PhD is NOT very much ...
Job_September_2020's user avatar
11 votes

What is the consequence on purposefully lying on grad-school application (town of birth)

Any sort of dishonesty is frowned upon. It could be anything from nothing to expulsion and it is impossible to say. If you lie about one thing, are you going to lie about others in the future (muses ...
Buffy's user avatar
  • 345k
11 votes

Is my student applying to too many PhD programs in the US? (statistics / biostatistics)

The advice for applicants is generally to apply to about 9 schools at a proportion of 3 reach schools, 3 slight reach, and 3 easy acceptance (is there really such a thing for graduate schools?). In ...
Dawn's user avatar
  • 15.9k
11 votes

Is my student applying to too many PhD programs in the US? (statistics / biostatistics)

For PhD programs (not undergraduate or masters), the advice I've always heard is: Don't focus on the ranking of the school or even the department. Instead, your application should describe your ...
civilstat's user avatar
  • 528
10 votes

How bad will refusing to defend PhD look on industry-job applications?

People are welcoming to someone doing good to others. People are OK with someone doing neither good or bad to others. Peoople are tolerant to someone doing bad to others for own gain, to an extent. ...
fraxinus's user avatar
  • 911

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