That's a very interesting suggestion. People talk a lot about having a good advisor, but I gather you're suggesting I find a mentor who isn't actually in charge of me. Seems kind of hard to find someone who would bother to be a mentor though, but I get what you mean about impartial advice.
I thought I replied to this earlier but somehow it didn't get through? Anyway.
I read this a while ago, and it makes me very sad. We need more jobs in science, especially basic research.
I'm not an American, but it makes me sad that a country that once stood for intellectual advancement etc is now doing increasingly poorly in that regard. That, and the freedom of speech thing is cool. It seems I might have to turn to Europe (Germany, Switzerland, maybe?) or my home country (Singapore) to continue to realise the importance of science enough to fund it.
I appreciate your frankness and found this very useful. I do enjoy all the learning and the machines but am quite intimidated by the rest of the incredibly capable people around. I fear I may not have the same aptitude as they do, but it's heartening that you've managed to find a career path that makes you happy. That is, if things don't work out in academia for me, at least there are other viable options (:
Thanks for taking the time to write that; it's helpful because I'm thinking of going into experimental condensed matter physics as well. I guess what I wanted to find out was how necessary it is to be dishonest in order to get a job in academia. From what you've written, I gather that networking and aptitude/persistence seem to be more important factors. I'll also definitely keep what you've said about not being too narrow-minded in mind (:
Thanks for sharing (: I worry a lot about my PhD not panning out, but your experience kind of gives me hope that it's not that bad when things screw up.
Very clever, sir/ma'am/somethinginbetween, but the GP called me sonny, and that was what I was responding to:P
--
Hm, that may be true for Physics grads, but does it still hold for postgrads? Say I decide to get a PhD and am unable to secure a job afterwards. Will my chances of employment be decreased because I'm, er, "overqualified"?
You've touched on a very important point, I think - that of being good at research. The thing is, it's hard to tell whether I'm any good for real research right now. I'm definitely interested, and my grades are decent, but there's always a real possibility of me discovering, perhaps partway through my PhD, that I'm not good enough. After all, being able to do well in exams is hardly an indicator for whether I'm cut out to do actual scientific research.
I suspect that you're trying to be ironic, but I just thought I'd mention that I'm female;)
That said, is it really true that Physics grads are in demand in the financial sector? I hear a lot of talk, but your link is inaccessible to me.
I had a similar problem recently, I think. There's a "Retrieve _____ comments" option under the Discussions tab in your Options. I found that mine was set to "Few" instead of "Many". Could it be that?
Slashdot Mirror
...according to the scientific evidence, no one *will* die from Fukushima radiation.
Citation, please?
Could you care to elaborate?
Thanks for the advice. Perhaps I should start going out and talking to people more, as uncomfortable as that prospect might be.
That's a very interesting suggestion. People talk a lot about having a good advisor, but I gather you're suggesting I find a mentor who isn't actually in charge of me. Seems kind of hard to find someone who would bother to be a mentor though, but I get what you mean about impartial advice.
This was sobering, thank you. I guess I've a lot to think about, very carefully.
Thank you (:
I actually found this insightful. Thanks.
Too much noise on Reddit. Plus I figured there'd be a decent population of scientists here; so far I haven't been disappointed with the response.
I thought I replied to this earlier but somehow it didn't get through? Anyway.
I read this a while ago, and it makes me very sad. We need more jobs in science, especially basic research.
I'm not an American, but it makes me sad that a country that once stood for intellectual advancement etc is now doing increasingly poorly in that regard. That, and the freedom of speech thing is cool. It seems I might have to turn to Europe (Germany, Switzerland, maybe?) or my home country (Singapore) to continue to realise the importance of science enough to fund it.
Do you have a reason?
Mmkay. I'll keep what you said in mind (:
I appreciate your frankness and found this very useful. I do enjoy all the learning and the machines but am quite intimidated by the rest of the incredibly capable people around. I fear I may not have the same aptitude as they do, but it's heartening that you've managed to find a career path that makes you happy. That is, if things don't work out in academia for me, at least there are other viable options (:
Thanks for taking the time to write that; it's helpful because I'm thinking of going into experimental condensed matter physics as well. I guess what I wanted to find out was how necessary it is to be dishonest in order to get a job in academia. From what you've written, I gather that networking and aptitude/persistence seem to be more important factors. I'll also definitely keep what you've said about not being too narrow-minded in mind (:
Thanks for pointing all of that out, although it's slightly alarming to discover that PhD students get/have to do peer-review work.
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely keep it in mind.
Thanks for sharing (: I worry a lot about my PhD not panning out, but your experience kind of gives me hope that it's not that bad when things screw up.
Sorry I realised I didn't specify: unable to secure job in research. Will my chances of employment in say the financial sector be decreased?
Very clever, sir/ma'am/somethinginbetween, but the GP called me sonny, and that was what I was responding to :P
--
Hm, that may be true for Physics grads, but does it still hold for postgrads? Say I decide to get a PhD and am unable to secure a job afterwards. Will my chances of employment be decreased because I'm, er, "overqualified"?
You've touched on a very important point, I think - that of being good at research. The thing is, it's hard to tell whether I'm any good for real research right now. I'm definitely interested, and my grades are decent, but there's always a real possibility of me discovering, perhaps partway through my PhD, that I'm not good enough. After all, being able to do well in exams is hardly an indicator for whether I'm cut out to do actual scientific research.
Sounds like you had a great lab (: And thanks for the encouragement. I can't wait to publish something of my own.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that, it was very helpful and I wish you were modded up more.
I suspect that you're trying to be ironic, but I just thought I'd mention that I'm female ;)
That said, is it really true that Physics grads are in demand in the financial sector? I hear a lot of talk, but your link is inaccessible to me.
I had a similar problem recently, I think. There's a "Retrieve _____ comments" option under the Discussions tab in your Options. I found that mine was set to "Few" instead of "Many". Could it be that?
Do you happen to have any citations for these?
Hm no but seriously, could someone please direct me to this article?