New answers tagged career-path
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Actually, I'd recommend that you start now. And also that you apply for tenure track positions in parallel. There is no reason to wait for either.
Make sure that when any position in your field gets opened, that you know about it. Don't focus your search too narrowly.
And so some things that give you visibility in addition to submitting papers. Attend ...
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I will be publishing in some of the deep-learning journals and [at] computer-science conferences...My research involves...Python programming, and I see my research as more of data science than traditional statistics...
You seem to be leaning towards a career in computer science, rather than mathematics.
If I keep on pursuing the current research road ...
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It is not difficult to learn Python if you are experienced in similar languages (mostly MATLAB) and a background in statistics is very useful (as you mentioned statistical mechanics). I agree that you can compete in Kaggle, although it may be hard in the beginning. For sure you need to acquire hands-on experience, it is one of the most important requirements ...
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I seem to be in quite a similar position to you myself. I have been working as a Mechanical Engineer in industry for over 10 years since I graduated and I have found myself becoming increasingly disillusioned by the repetitive nature of the work and lack of challenge. I feel like I am not really using my true abilities and not realizing my potential. ...
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You don't think you did well during your PhD, but you stuck with it anyways. That sounds like a lot of PhD students. But, it also sounds like students that stuck with something, b/c their parents were back-seat driving their futures.
As others have said, your self-esteem issues stem from something. Something makes you feel inadequate all the time, and makes ...
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I wasted 5 years of my life doing my PhD in a niche field with minimal application or relevance. I finished with only one low-impact publication, wasn't on speaking terms with my supervisors, and had racked up a lot of debt. Due to the effects of the global financial crisis I worked as a gardener for another 3 years which was a money-losing enterprise. Job ...
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I have been reading here that a PhD can be a waste of time for people that do not seek a purely academic position.
I doubt this is entirely true, and I suspect it is dependent on the field. What about research positions in industry or research centers? Here you have made a start ...
I have already applied a couple of times for research positions in ...
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I strongly disagree with user117219. When I started my PhD, I was not 100% sure that that was what I wanted; the PhD seemed like an OK option to me at the time. Now I'm an assistant professor, loving my job. Your mileage may vary, and it might not. No way of knowing in advance.
If your personal finances can take the salary hit that comes with transitioning ...
-1
I would strongly recommend against pursuing a PhD. You should only pursue a PhD if you are 100% sure that's what you want. Not because you hate something else, and PhD seems like an OK option.
It is especially hard to go from an industry position to a PhD student. Because you'll be getting paid 5-10 times less even though you'll be working at least twice as ...
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Two first-authored papers is not bad, I seen a lot of people getting phd for way less and still being full of themselves. You are doing good.
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You could say something like:
"I've done a pretty wide range of different things, trying to find out where my true passion lies. Getting multiple masters degrees shows that I'm not a dilettante, I get stuff done. And it's been an enriching experience, letting me see the connections between different fields. But after long consideration I've decided pure ...
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I know what it's like to feel like you "haven't been living" for years. Six years of my life disappeared by my being extremely sick.
I have 5 years of unemployment in my résumé, an unfinished PhD, a tiny professional network, and ongoing health problems which make many things impossible. But I'm living again.
Some people have been in prison for 10 years. ...
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As long as you have the required background and the commitment to study deeply in a field you should do fine. I doubt that anyone would hold other experiences against you. But you will need to be clear in your SoP for study in mathematics that you are serious about mathematics and have the desire to go deep into some relatively small area to do the required ...
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They are marathon runners on arrival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSZlSaPJAdQ
Do they look well? Can you imagine, how bad feeling could it be, being there, after 42km of running?
But believe me: it is uncomparably better to be there, than for us, watching them on the youtube.
Don't do any irrecoverable mistake now! Wait, at least some months, more ...
answered Dec 8 at 19:49
peterh says reinstate Monica
1,1412 gold badges13 silver badges19 bronze badges
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I did not do well in my PhD. I have only two first-author journal publications in ~2.5 impact factor journals. I did not acquire significant skills. I am bad at programming, and I have a 3.7 GPA. I did not learn to drive or learn any foreign language. I did not improve my health or developed a new hobby. I even did not spend time on having a relationship. In ...
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Get your frame of reference right.
Achieving a PhD puts you in the 5% highest educated part of the population. That's quite significant. But you're comparing yourself to the smartest people in your direct environment - an environment set up try to get together all the smartest people.
If you don't manage to be in the top 1%, surely being in the top 5% is ...
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You have:
the highest possible academic degree that one can achieve
a job in the field
a life in a developed country
You're faring really well.
This is not to say that what you're feeling isn't real. It is real, and there is a problem. It's just that the problem is not what you have, but who you are. What you have is a highly successful life, at the same ...
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Do not get a PhD if you do not want to specialize. A PhD is a specialist's degree.
Your specialty could be a methodology. If that methodology is applicable to many areas, you can have wide research interests but a focused expertise in that methodology.
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You need to talk to someone – be that a counsellor (as @Buffy has suggested in the comments), a family member, a friend, or even (depending on your relationship) your supervisor. It does sound like a good part (if not most!) of the problem you describe may stem from impostor syndrome, and if that's the case, then it will be crucial to have others as a ...
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To be honest, I'm tempted to agree with Buffy. It sounds like the biggest issue you have might actually be the one you identified at the start of your post - low self-confidence. Studying for a PhD, and working in academia in general, has a tendency to have that effect on people - you're far from alone.
If I were you, I'd be tempted to take stock of my ...
153
It looks to me like you did not do so badly as you think. Two publications and 3.7 GPA are not so bad. It might depend on the field, it might not be the best ever, but I have seen much worse. If your supervisor offered you a postdoc position after having you for 6 years as a PhD student, it means that they consider your work useful.
You might be suffering ...
2
IF you have any bent for business or just "seeing how things work in the real world" (can be interesting, to have to define problems, run interviews, etc.), you might consider industrial engineering. It can be very consultative.
There is some math in terms of queuing theory (OR) and statistics. Some physics in terms of whatever you are looking at (root ...
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My best advice, though it might not suit everyone, is to pick something, anything, that you are willing to work very hard at for a decade or so and become an expert in that field as an academic (my choice). At that point you can probably get tenure and with tenure you can set your own research agenda, more or less. But your ideal academic job may or may not ...
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Your #1 goal is to find a real post-doc position, so think of why that hasn't happened yet if you have been out trying for a while.
Next is finishing up those papers, since that may help with the #1 goal. Further, once you do get another position where you want to chase after new things, you will find that time slips away.
Anything else is gravy. Do not ...
2
Your career isn't going to depend on Python. I love the language but it would be poor use of your time. The answer of Jon Custer is the core of it, but I would also suggest that you spend time building a circle of collaborators and professional contacts. Use your advisor's base to develop your own. Reach out to people with similar interests. Attend any ...
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I have written recommendation letters for students who had previously only interacted with me through following my courses. A politely written or spoken request is not inappropriate at all, in these circumstances.
Any extra information that you could provide to the professor would be helpful: transcripts, more background on the program and why you apply ...
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If you have had enough interactions that he can judge your potential, then he will probably be willing to write a letter - time permitting. But you can also ask him if he has enough confidence in you to write a letter. I strongly recommend that if you ask, you do so in person, rather than by email. He will probably need to know a bit more about you to be ...
3
People who go into startups tend to become completely consumed by those startups, or else the startups fail.
As such, what I've observed amongst my colleagues is that the professor generally either quickly ends up in only a consulting/advisory role or else jumps ship to the startup.
What seems to work very well, however, is for graduating students or ...
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Summary: a whole-hearted career is usually not achieved in part-time. Neither in academia nor in industry.
The exception I can see, though, is if the start-up is closely related to the founder's field of research. In that case, the professional experience from both academia and business may sucessfully add up, and can be transferred from one to the other, e....
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There is a huge literature on the topic of academic entrepreneurs (and entrepreneurial academics). A recent review of the literature can be found here. Similarly, there are many books on the topic (e.g. here and here). Plus millions of blog posts (e.g. here).
I think it is hard to generalise. For example, this paper highlights the multitude of dimensions ...
0
I had a supervisor who didn't know my field. It was terrible. She didn't want to lose control of the topic and so kept me in areas within her reach, which were never enough for the field. I tried to get a second supervisor, but for the same reason, she didn't accepted it. It was a farce fine relationship, but I put up with it. I fully understand if someone ...
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In my experience, those who succeed in academia tend to work quite hard at it. If you just want to teach classes, and not worry about research, then I think that working part-time might make sense. But if you want a career as a researcher, then without a full-time effort you might find it difficult to keep up with your field at all.
From what I have read, ...
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Since you learn best by doing, I would suggest a few basic techniques that will allow you to learn these materials and retain the knowledge over the long-term. The important thing is not to overload yourself with too much disparate information at one time, and to also make sure you are doing enough to solidify each important piece of knowledge before you ...
1
I don't have examples for you, but having something on the side while pursuing an academic career is pretty common. Many people are book authors, for example. Both academic books and otherwise. Writing software with the hope of selling it is also pretty common. I've done both, actually.
A fair number of people in finance are active investors also.
But, ...
3
As you already know, you need to do something with the things you are trying to learn if you want to retain them. Students learn from reinforcement and feedback. We give them exercises and we comment on their performance. For an individual, the feedback part is harder, but the reinforcement is fairly easy. It is also easy to arrange things so that it doesn't ...
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You haven't said anything about what you have studied. In order to work in brain computer interaction you will have to know a lot about brains and about computers. No company is likely to hire you to teach you all that, so you will probably start out in academia. Get a doctorate in one of those fields where you can work near to the other. Then decide between ...
1
To get things out there:
Applying for another PhD after your first PhD is possible and I know a few excellent researchers who are now professors who have two PhDs. It does depend on the field you are moving into of course, but coming from Physics I think your options are good. Basically anything that you can fill in while you work will be relevant.
Where do ...
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The further you are in your studies, the more your track record will dictate where you go. But I think that you are not at a point that experience in a related field is going to harm you. And, if you do things cleverly, you can gain very relevant experience.
For instance, you can gain experience in a relevant programming language doing bioinformatics (which ...
0
Thinking about "the industry" you want to end up in should play some role in your decision. For some careers applied math would be better than more cs, for some the opposite.
I suggest you find a program in an area you find particularly interesting. Enjoy your graduate studies, then think about jobs.
Your undergraduate studies suggest you'll be OK in grad ...
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