I have been in academe' as a phd since 2003. As a doctoral student, i was an instructor for 2 of my 4 years. then, prior to earning my doctorate I was an instructor for 5 years and a research/grants director at an aquarium for 1.5 years.
In addition to academe', i have also worked as a Farm worker, baby sitter, Waffle House cook, Dairy Queen slave, baseball umpire in park league, Librarian, McDonalds slave, Subway shift supervisor, College student, Dormitory cafeteria worker, Hospital cafeteria worker, Salesperson, telemarkter, Chef's assistant, undergraduate research assistant, fitness center supervisor, Bob Evans cook, Janitor & cook at a Truck Stop, Night manager in residence hall, Desk clerk, Burger King slave, Graduate research assistant, Wildlife consultant, Teacher (K-12), Urban wildlife biologist, gas station attendent. Of all the jobs I have held, i have met some of the most honest, caring and forthright individuals in academe'. i have also met in academe' some of the most dishonest, sinister and in some cases jail-worthy persons, more than one was a lawsuit waiting to happen. The most driven and the most lazy people I have met are also in academe'! For some reason, and my experience may be unique, Academe' is well suited to extreme personalities, myself included. from my discussions with Aaron, there is no doubt that his experience was a horrible one. i have learned in moving around the country that every insitution, department and lab has its own unique cultures. what is great for one student can be a series of potholes or even a cliff-diving session for another. this is why when graduates look for a job, or students are looking for advisor, people tell you that you are interviewing the employer/advisor too. You are not trying to find somewhere you can go, you are trying to find a match between your talents and the institution's or lab's desires and needs. Some people do their best work and are extremely driven when under the whip of a slave driver; whereas, others do the best when they are just left alone. It always saddens me when I hear someone say they "got their dream job" because I know that what they think is a dream is just that, and once the honeymoon is over and they take off their rosey glasses, there will be plenty of warts on their match. how many people have told you had they done it again, they would never have got married? I have a good friend who tells me all the time, "i love my wife, but if she dies first I will never get married again, its too much work!" Seriously, graduate school is just like that. A lot of people come out bitter or disenchanted for many reasons. Some reasons are legit and some are imagined, as they can be for those who leave very happy with the experience and return on investment. I was extraordinarily fortunate with my MS and PHD advisors. they fit perfectly what I needed at the time. My experience was EVERYTHING that Aaron's was not. My advisor was fair, he did share the wealth, he did sit down and literally teach me stuff i did not know, as did may other faculty in the program. We had a rule, if he had to write the paper, his name went first. if I wrote it, mine would go first. I wanted my advisor as co-author for the simple reason that I felt it added credibility to my output and he was enormously helpful (as were my committee members). however, selected my advisor and committee members to support my weaknesses, not my strengths so that i would leave more well rounded and so that I did not over-look things i did not know. I did not select committee members based on their stature, but based on how their talents could help me. this was all based on advice given too me from people who had been in PhDs but did not graduate, and worked at the community colleges with me. learn from their mistakes was my goal. what you should get from Aaron's post is this. Make your decision to enter graduate school for the right reasons, choose your advisor very wisely, and pick programs whose culture best matches what you need, not what you like. don't go to graduate school because you think its the next step. go in pursuit of learning. if you want a specific job that requires a specific level of education, you need to ask if you are making your decision wisely. The only good reason to go to graduate school in the sciences is that you want to go to graduate school and gain further education and want credit for it. do you need to go to graduate school to become educated? no. but structured education is a short-cut in many ways. there are a ton of things you can do with an ms or a phd. however, there is a ton of competition and a shrinking pool of opportunities. you also need to have backup plans in case you discover its not for you. i entered my PHD with a backup plan to do a specialists in community college teaching. i figured, if I discovered i could not do it, the Sp-Cc would help me get a good job agaist the piles of MS and phds applying. I never ended up needing that path. If your only goal in going to graduate school is to get a job, teh sciences are valuable, but other areas might be more useful. Things like a Masters of Public Admin, Masters of Publ. health, Masters of Ed. w/teaching cert or Masters Arts teaching, or even an MBA. i say this because most government jobs are loaded with administrative tasks, hence the MPA. Almost every municipality and hospital has environmental and public health officials, hence the MPH. Every city has a multitude of schools, hence the teaching degree. Furhter, almost everywhere you go, an MBA will make you eligible for a job, and a bs in bio with an MBA (especially in marketing) can open tons of very high paying jobs. I have a friend who sells microscopes to universities for Nicon. My uncle was VP for marketing with Zoll medical. i know dozens of people who work in government jobs that are 95% paper pushing. i also knew one person who had his DVM, PHD, and Doctor of Public health. He just kept getting more degrees as his interests changed. Each student is a person unto themselves with a unique personality, specific drive, talents, interests, and values. No two people will perform or experience the same things under identical circumstances. this means that you as an individual must look at the scene, look at yourself, and look to the future, analyze what you know and what you think the future holds, and what you believe about the options you have. Then, make a decision and then always remember if it doesnt work out that you made your decision in the right way based on the information that was available. If you can do this, even if the outcomes are less or different than what you started out hoping for, you still have the satisfaction that you made your decisions, some worked out and some did not. There will always be failures, you will always be right about some things, and you will always be blatantly wrong about other things. Once you have scoped the landscape, make a decision and go with it. Everything works out if you keep following that recipe. On Thu, May 28, 2015 at 9:13 AM, Aaron T. Dossey <bugoc...@gmail.com> wrote: > A note of caution on enthusiastic receptions from faculty when you offer > to bring a project to their lab: > > Of course all professors want to invite brilliant people with project > ideas already formulated (especially when these people already have the > skills to execute them). This is especially the case for grad school > because professors know they ultimately own anything that goes on in their > lab's airspace whether or not they had the slightest thing to do with it. > > Be careful that you understand the motivations and the realities behind > these enthusiastic responses to the idea of you coming with your own > projects. > * I, too, welcome people to bring me their ideas and projects so I can > screen them and own my favorites. Anyone is welcome to conduct their > research in my facility so long as I am senior corresponding author on any > publications, owner of IP, named in all the press on the project, PI of any > resulting grants and have full control and credit for the project and any > resulting rewards - ESPECIALLY if the people come with the skillsets needed > for the project and I don't have to spend any time training them. That's > essentially what a professor is saying when they say "I welcome (or some > demand, believe it or not) students coming with their own project ideas, > skills to conduct them and especially with their own funding.". I've also > seen faculty web sites where they openly solicit even other faculty and > "visiting scholars" to come and do their work and sabbaticals in their > labs. One such solicitation is worded very similarly to what I have > written above. Who would turn that down? But, then again, who on the > other side of that situation (ie: student, postdoc, etc.) would offer all > of that to someone? > > If it's too good to be true.... > > > > On 5/28/2015 5:59 AM, Dave Daversa wrote: > >> Hi Emily: >> >> I was in a similar situation as you several years ago. I had been working >> with a system and foresaw a lot of opportunity to answer some >> interesting/important ecological questions. I reached out to potential PhD >> advisors, met with graduate students and thought ALOT about it all. Not >> one professor with whom I spoke looked down upon my proposing my own >> project...to the contrary, this was viewed positively. I ended up getting >> this opportunity and am now finishing my PhD. The experience has been >> overwhelmingly positive and fulfilling, and has produced postdoc >> opportunities to continue doing the research that interests me. >> >> So go for it. You will get rejections and discouragement. You will get >> frustrated and confused. The key is to be persistent. >> >> More practical advice: research very well different professors and >> research groups. Send them well-drafted emails. Go and visit them. Apply >> for the NSF GRFP and other fellowships. Even if you aren't successful, >> they really help to formulate your thoughts. >> >> Dave >> >> On Thu, May 28, 2015 at 5:17 AM, Malcolm McCallum < >> malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> If you want to know what to do in graduate school, how to go about being >>> in >>> graduate school, and how to be a success in graduate school, and >>> successfully find a job after graduate school, >>> >>> Read this: >>> P.B. Medawar, Advice to a Young Scientist >>> >>> >>> http://www.amazon.com/Advice-Scientist-Alfred-Foundation-Series/dp/0465000924 >>> >>> It will be the best $5 (used) you ever spent. >>> >>> or, read a free online copy and spend your $5 to get lunch and read the >>> entire thing while eating.... >>> http://evolbiol.ru/medawar_advice/medawar.htm >>> >>> Now, I will say that some of the advice after graduation is more attune >>> to >>> someone in a research school or research-focused department. That fish >>> won't bite in a teaching school, or a non-research school/department. >>> >>> The guy won a Nobel Prize, he probably has a clue. >>> >>> In any case, the bottom line is no two lives follow the same road. Take >>> yours, and hopefully it will be fruitful. >>> >>> On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 11:14 PM, Malcolm McCallum < >>> malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> If you want to know what to do in graduate school, how to go about being >>>> in graduate school, and how to be a success in graduate school, and >>>> successfully find a job after graduate school, >>>> >>>> Read this: >>>> P.B. Medawar >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> http://www.amazon.com/Advice-Scientist-Alfred-Foundation-Series/dp/0465000924 >>> >>>> It will be the best $5 (used) you ever spent. >>>> >>>> Now, I will say that some of the advice after graduation is more attune >>>> >>> to >>> >>>> someone in a research school or research-focused department. That fish >>>> won't bite in a teaching school, or a non-research school/department. >>>> >>>> In any case, the bottom line is no two lives follow the same road. Take >>>> yours, and hopefully it will be fruitful. >>>> >>>> malcolm >>>> >>>> On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 1:21 PM, Emily Mydlowski < >>>> >>> emilymydlow...@gmail.com >>> >>>> wrote: >>>>> Hello all, >>>>> >>>>> I'm delving into the graduate school search (MS and PhD programs) quite >>>>> heavily and am seeking advice regarding approaching faculty with a >>>>> research >>>>> project. The system I'm interested in working on is that which has many >>>>> unanswered, interesting questions I would love to pursue. From a >>>>> faculty >>>>> perspective, is proposing a project topic (too) bold of a move to a >>>>> potential advisor? >>>>> >>>>> Any advice would be much appreciated. >>>>> >>>>> All the best, >>>>> >>>>> Emily Mydlowski >>>>> Northern Michigan University >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP >>>> Environmental Studies Program >>>> Green Mountain College >>>> Poultney, Vermont >>>> Link to online CV and portfolio : >>>> https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO >>>> >>>> “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich >>>> >>> array >>> >>>> of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a >>>> many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature >>>> >>> lovers >>> >>>> alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as >>>> >>> Americans.” >>> >>>> -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 >>>> into law. >>>> >>>> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - >>>> Allan Nation >>>> >>>> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert >>>> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, >>>> and pollution. >>>> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction >>>> MAY help restore populations. >>>> 2022: Soylent Green is People! >>>> >>>> The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) >>>> Wealth w/o work >>>> Pleasure w/o conscience >>>> Knowledge w/o character >>>> Commerce w/o morality >>>> Science w/o humanity >>>> Worship w/o sacrifice >>>> Politics w/o principle >>>> >>>> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any >>>> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may >>>> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized >>>> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not >>>> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >>>> destroy all copies of the original message. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP >>> Environmental Studies Program >>> Green Mountain College >>> Poultney, Vermont >>> Link to online CV and portfolio : >>> https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO >>> >>> “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich >>> array >>> of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a >>> many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature >>> lovers >>> alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as >>> Americans.” >>> -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 >>> into law. >>> >>> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - >>> Allan >>> Nation >>> >>> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert >>> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, >>> and pollution. >>> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction >>> MAY help restore populations. >>> 2022: Soylent Green is People! >>> >>> The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) >>> Wealth w/o work >>> Pleasure w/o conscience >>> Knowledge w/o character >>> Commerce w/o morality >>> Science w/o humanity >>> Worship w/o sacrifice >>> Politics w/o principle >>> >>> Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any >>> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may >>> contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized >>> review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not >>> the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >>> destroy all copies of the original message. >>> >>> >> >> > > ATD of ATB and ISI > -- > Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs LLC > World's Largest supplier of Cricket Powder / Cricket Flour ! > Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Food Ingredient > Innovation > ABOUT: http://allthingsbugs.com/People > LinkedIn: > https://www.linkedin.com/pub/all-things-bugs-dr-aaron-t-dossey/53/775/104 > FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > ISI: https://www.facebook.com/InvertebrateStudiesInstitute > PHONE: 1-352-281-3643 > -- Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP Environmental Studies Program Green Mountain College Poultney, Vermont Link to online CV and portfolio : https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.” -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 into law. "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
