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[ { "content": "Now that you're in academia, do you really think grades matter? Out of curiosity! I once worked with the head of a PhD program who casually mentioned that the University's grade cutoffs for candidates sometimes leaves them with people who are great at coursework but have no research experience (implied: they drop out too). That's why he's not a fan of the cut-offs but it's the policy... and I'm also wondering if you choose RAs or TAs based wholly on their grades?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think it depends on the discipline. There are some disciplines where the coursework poorly reflects the actual demands of the job (e.g. apparently lab-based research), and disciplines where the coursework is a reasonable proxy for what you will be doing in the PhD (e.g. pure math). I find that people coming from the former background tend to argue that grades are not an indicator of future success, whereas people from the latter background see grades as a predictor. I also think this conversation tends to compare 4.0s to 2.0s, which is kind of missing the point. Like, of course you don't need a 4.0 to succeed in grad school. But I also don't think a C average tells us nothing and I get why many programs are reluctant to take a chance on someone with that background. Ceteris paribus, a person with a 3.5 is probably more likely to succeed in grad school than a person with a 2.0. I'm sure some people with a 2.0 could be fine scientists, but I think it's fair that they need to distinguish themselves from their brethren who don't care about school or don't have the chops.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Now that you're in academia, do you really think grades matter? Out of curiosity! I once worked with the head of a PhD program who casually mentioned that the University's grade cutoffs for candidates sometimes leaves them with people who are great at coursework but have no research experience (implied: they drop out too). That's why he's not a fan of the cut-offs but it's the policy... and I'm also wondering if you choose RAs or TAs based wholly on their grades?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "There's so much about personality that predicts success beyond grades. My husband and I probably had similar grades as an undergrad (maybe his a bit higher). Both all As in graduate school. But he has a strong passion and drive for his field that I do not, was willing to put in the extremely long hours to be a successful academic, and now is a full Professor and Head of his department. I'm an NTT Lecturer because I didn't have the drive. Any decent student can get a decent GPA but that doesn't make them primed for an academic career. The drive to get experiences during undergraduate I think predicts a LOT more. I see it in my undergraduates now - a clear distinction between those getting the necessary experiences and those who aren't motivated to do so.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I disagree there's little you can do. In my field there could be a retraction or a correction. Not including you can be considered academic fraud. If you were promised authorship then you were cheated and you should contact the journal editor (or your co-author first, then editor). Two caveats. 1. You need to have done work worthy of authorship. Other than your advisor screwing you over, this is the obvious reason you'd have no authorship (he still should have let you know ahead of time even if this is true). This really needs to be determined by people in your field looking at the actual paper. Find someone you trust. 2. You need receipts. You need something written promising authorship. This is not worth he said she saiding. Acknowledgement is not worth anything on the job market, but it should actually help while applying for PhD. Obviously the route I'm discussing is scorched earth, so proceed with caution.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "> The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. After a paper has been published, there is very little you can do about it. My suggestion would be to just let it pass, and maybe get a good letter of recommendation from your advisor as a consolation price. If you try to get back at your advisor either through official channels or unoffical ones (like contacting the editor of the journal or the other authors of the paper), it will most likely backfire on you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Some additional information might help to clarify: How many other authors are on the paper? Are you absolutely sure that they used **your simulation numbers?** or they only used your simulation procedure and not your numbers? If they used your numbers, how did you give them the numbers? Do you still have records of the numbers (sent email) If they used your procedure, did you leave behind/send them the documented steps to do the simulation? Any record (sent email)? Did you have your PI promise of coauthorship on record (email communication)?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "E.g., see https://provost.yale.edu/policies/academic-integrity/guidance-authorship-scholarly-or-scientific-publications", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Some additional information might help to clarify: How many other authors are on the paper? Are you absolutely sure that they used **your simulation numbers?** or they only used your simulation procedure and not your numbers? If they used your numbers, how did you give them the numbers? Do you still have records of the numbers (sent email) If they used your procedure, did you leave behind/send them the documented steps to do the simulation? Any record (sent email)? Did you have your PI promise of coauthorship on record (email communication)?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Help! My advisor put me in acknowledgment not co authorship. I finished my Masters this year. It was the worst memory in my life due to a conflict with my advisor. Anyway he got asked to conduct a simulation of our group model for the analysis of ensemble models. He told me to work on this project for co-authorship last year. The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. The project is for us to conduct computer simulations and submit its results for their analysis of different model results. I did all the simulations from the beginning to the end. I feel very unfair and confused. What should the difference of co-authorship and acknowledgment be in this case? What should I do? Any help will be very appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "> The paper just published early this month and when I see it i was in acknowledgment not co authorship. Instead he is in co authorship. After a paper has been published, there is very little you can do about it. My suggestion would be to just let it pass, and maybe get a good letter of recommendation from your advisor as a consolation price. If you try to get back at your advisor either through official channels or unoffical ones (like contacting the editor of the journal or the other authors of the paper), it will most likely backfire on you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Sitting in a meeting last week where it was (correctly) pointed out that the halls in most of our older buildings aren't even six feet wide, which renders moot basically everything else being planned.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "each class needs a continual air filter at the top of the room, kind of like the old smoke-eaters they had to put in bars for awhile", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It seems to me that most people are thinking about distancing the wrong way. Being 1 or 2 meters apart isn't enough, by far, if you're closed in the same room for long time (there are many case reports of a single person infecting a whole bus of people, even those at the other end, of a call center where the whole floor got infected etc...). At the same time, ultrashort contacts (hallways) are not really an issue. So... Let's stop feaking out about how many people you can fit into a class with X distance or if you can make hallways less prone to incidental contacts. In person lessons cannot be achieved, unless the virus is under control in the country in general thanks to some technical solution (maybe widely adopted and ultra-precise contact tracing when very few cases in the whole nation are present?) Having said that... Let's face it. Remote things suck. I work in a hospital, therefore we were always allowed to go to work (I work in Milan, one of the hardest hit areas in the world) and I went back to the office as soon as the situation got slightly acceptable because talking to colleagues via skype/zoom/teams etc... is just soooooooooo ineffective", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m lucky in that I have pretty small classes that usually use very large spaces (music classes, if I only have six students but I still need open space and a grand piano, guess who gets to use the lecture hall that seats 200?) They can spread out plenty and we can still have a good discussion without it being a problem. We have some older faculty, and students with underlying conditions, so we may just decide to take those “lecture-style” classes online and it won’t be a massive disruption. I suspect many faculty at our school will go the same route - we got lots of practice teaching remotely March-May, and many of the kinks have been worked out. However, we’re really struggling with what to do with the performing ensembles (and I’d love to hear what other people are planning to do!). All the research coming out from the WHO, CDC, and many choral organizations is saying no in-person choirs for the foreseeable future. I still want to have the kids have SOME kind of group singing (and they’ll be heartbroken without it) but even breaking the Chamber choir up into quartets or something may not be safe, not to mention the massive logistical issues involved with something like that. And with the larger choir....half of them don’t read music and almost none are confident enough to sing alone, so a similar plan with them is not an option. I have some ideas on the chalkboard for zoom-facilitated work, but honestly at this point I have to wait for the administration to make some decisions. (Which they should get off their asses and make already, because if I have to teach conducting remotely I have a TON of prep work to do.) The opera and orchestra are in a similar situation - I guess just the string players could meet spread out and play together but you can’t play clarinet with a mask on, so.... Sorry, this mostly just turned into a rant. A much-needed rant, but still.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Sitting in a meeting last week where it was (correctly) pointed out that the halls in most of our older buildings aren't even six feet wide, which renders moot basically everything else being planned.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "There are other technologies you can use aside from zoom. I'm planning to incorporate something like flipgrid into different assignments to encourage discussion in a little bit of a different way. Something like flipgrid is also nice because it gives every student an equal spotlight to speak up about something and it could actually lead to a more well rounded discussion with thoughts and opinions from students who might not normally speak up.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I just don’t see how classrooms are anywhere near the biggest problem. No matter how much we distance in there these kids are still going back to their cramped dorms and apartments.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "each class needs a continual air filter at the top of the room, kind of like the old smoke-eaters they had to put in bars for awhile", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "What about hallways and stairways? This is clearly not feasible.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Am I the only one who can't see how physical distancing is feasible in classrooms? I recently read two great articles from Inside Higher Ed. \" At his small, teaching-focused institution, Clark and a facilities colleague spent half a day measuring and \"experiencing\" every classroom and lab, all of which were designed for active learning. They looked at every space \"from the perspectives of cleaning, scheduling, room capacities, HVAC systems, pedagogical practices, student and faculty behaviors, student conduct issues, and more,\" he wrote to the POD Network. \"It's one thing to draw six-foot circles, talk about reduced classroom capacities, and propose wearing masks in class -- it's a whole other thing to actually experience it.\" Link This article links to Clark's amazing article: The Physically Distanced Classroom: A Day in the Life ​ I spent the morning going through my syllabus and I have a ton of small group discussion that simply isn't going to work in these new socially-distanced classrooms. Our university is telling us to plan for hybrid, which means there's another layer of unnecessary complexity to this. Despite all the complaining about online education, being able to use breakout rooms in Zoom for synchronous small group discussion is actually a huge benefit pedagogically. Except everyone seems to be desperate to get back on campus without really thinking about what it will look like. Do you have any ideas to share about how you're planning to adapt your courses for the fall?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Seems like large lectures that are not super collaborative could work ok but small group / partner work is going to be a real hurdle for sure.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I've been in academia as a student or professor since the mid-1980s. We are in the midst of the worse enrollment crisis, financial crisis, operational crisis, and employee morale crisis in higher ed that I've seen in my lifetime. Of course people are going to be cranky about it. Because they are seeing: * big enrollment drops at many schools (25% from peak at mine, some are down 50%) * attacks on most non-STEM majors from politicians and media * financial crisis impacting campus operations * no meaningful raises in several years (COVID plus inflation) * COVID impacts/changes/losses * the rapid decline in quality of high school graduates * the ongoing explosion of administrative hires * the slow but apparently inexorable replacement of tenure-track faculty with contingent and part-time labor * the ascension of the neoliberal business model in higher ed management * the continued (and indefensible) massive oversupply of Ph.D. *production* in many fields vs any sort of wild fantasy related to *demand* * And of course the often forced risk to personal health many faculty faced in 2020-2022+ as their campus leaders required them to teach in person but refused to require students to be vaccinated, wear masks, report illness, etc. There's more, but you get the picture OP. These are dark times in American higher ed in particular, the worse since the mid-1970s for sure. Most of us are not in a Happy Place right now so we complain about it. That doesn't mean we hate our jobs-- my colleagues and I still care about our students, get along great with one another, and enjoy the good parts of teaching/research and sometimes even service. But we also all remember that things were generally a lot better ten years ago, and better still 20 years ago.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Consider also that a) communities like this have a heavy North American bias and academic working conditions vary a lot globally (advice here based on US academia is often flat-out incorrect for much of the world) and b) the ones who are pretty happy with their jobs are probably spending their spare time on hobbies and their families, not complaining about academia on Reddit.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The thing that gnawed on my advisor was that If he had a losing streak on grants for a few years where he was ONLY in the top 85 percent and not top 90 percent, he would have to fire his staff and destroy the career trajectory of his students and postdocs. And it would be his fault for failing to run a successful lab.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "One of my professors said that she loves teaching and working with students but doesn't like all of the meetings that go with it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Academics are usually idealists. They love doing research, they love open discussions, they want to help improve society for all of us - based on empiricism. That idealism is massively taken advantage of by a system paying them almost nothing, giving them zero job security, forcing them into artificial competition and exploiting them to review for free so the system doesn't collapse. Any academic than can code a bit, knows statistics or is in STEM could easily make 2-3x in the industry if they were okay with just doing a 9-5 for a soulless corporation. And in the end, these people are usually happier than the academics grinding 60h weeks for 40k/year for the vague chance of one day being a tenured professor.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "As a fellow Computer scientist I can tell you it's kinda depressing to be always short of money while everyone else is making enough to retire at 35. I love research I really do, but I love good food and traveling the world. If you can be an academic + a side job, money is not a big problem but you may burn out quickly.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I've been in academia as a student or professor since the mid-1980s. We are in the midst of the worse enrollment crisis, financial crisis, operational crisis, and employee morale crisis in higher ed that I've seen in my lifetime. Of course people are going to be cranky about it. Because they are seeing: * big enrollment drops at many schools (25% from peak at mine, some are down 50%) * attacks on most non-STEM majors from politicians and media * financial crisis impacting campus operations * no meaningful raises in several years (COVID plus inflation) * COVID impacts/changes/losses * the rapid decline in quality of high school graduates * the ongoing explosion of administrative hires * the slow but apparently inexorable replacement of tenure-track faculty with contingent and part-time labor * the ascension of the neoliberal business model in higher ed management * the continued (and indefensible) massive oversupply of Ph.D. *production* in many fields vs any sort of wild fantasy related to *demand* * And of course the often forced risk to personal health many faculty faced in 2020-2022+ as their campus leaders required them to teach in person but refused to require students to be vaccinated, wear masks, report illness, etc. There's more, but you get the picture OP. These are dark times in American higher ed in particular, the worse since the mid-1970s for sure. Most of us are not in a Happy Place right now so we complain about it. That doesn't mean we hate our jobs-- my colleagues and I still care about our students, get along great with one another, and enjoy the good parts of teaching/research and sometimes even service. But we also all remember that things were generally a lot better ten years ago, and better still 20 years ago.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Aside from the horrible working conditions + nepotism described by others here, you are also surrounded by unhinged sociopaths almost everywhere. Ive spent almost a decade in academia and in no other job was I exposed to such an absurd amount of assholes. It is really not worth it in the long run. You either become an asshole yourself or end up with nothing well into your 30s.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Academics are usually idealists. They love doing research, they love open discussions, they want to help improve society for all of us - based on empiricism. That idealism is massively taken advantage of by a system paying them almost nothing, giving them zero job security, forcing them into artificial competition and exploiting them to review for free so the system doesn't collapse. Any academic than can code a bit, knows statistics or is in STEM could easily make 2-3x in the industry if they were okay with just doing a 9-5 for a soulless corporation. And in the end, these people are usually happier than the academics grinding 60h weeks for 40k/year for the vague chance of one day being a tenured professor.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why do academics seem to loath their profession? This isn't a hard and fast rule but I've observed there seems to be an above average dislike for ones profession among academics. Most times (I'd say 95%) I ask a question about future career planning to be an academic, the top comment is \"Get a job that isn't being an academic - we all hate it here so you probably will as well\". I didn't enjoy my time as a software engineer but I didn't go around r/CScareers telling everyone to not aspire to it so what gives? Can anyone explain this?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "One of my professors said that she loves teaching and working with students but doesn't like all of the meetings that go with it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor was sexually inappropriate - how can I get around a letter of recommendation from him for PhD applications? Background: I finished my undergraduate a few years ago. Research was my passion, but this burned me out and I've been too afraid to go back. I'm also not in the US. Long story short, my advisor was a creep to me, I don't want to elaborate in case he's on this subreddit. I know he uses Reddit a lot. I didn't really work with anyone else in the department, and I have no interest in reporting it - it's well known, my department doesn't care. I also don't want to bring this up in a new application, I don't want to seem like I'm slandering someone - and frankly, it's probably irrational, but I'd feel unprofessional talking about it. I'm finally in a place where I want to apply for my PhD, but I don't know how to explain the fact I won't have a letter of reference from the person I did my undergraduate thesis with. I honestly don't even know who else I can ask for a letter from - it's been so long since I left that I don't think any professors would remember me. Does anyone have any idea how I can frame this without it coming off as unprofessional, or like *I* did something to sour the relationship? ​ Thanks Reddit.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Professor here. I'm so sorry for what you experienced. ***No one will care that you don't have a letter from your advisor.*** It's not something we check for or make note of. We only care that the letters are strong, which means they're written by people who know you and your work well. /u/po2gdHaeKaYk is exactly right. The real issue here is getting a minimum of three solid letters. Based on what you wrote, it sounds like other than your advisor, you don't know who else to ask. So, even if you asked him (don't), you'd still be two letters short. Definitely follow other posters' advice on how to approach faculty and provide them with enough materials to put something together. While I think you should remain optimistic--we really do want to help students--you should also be prepared to hear no. It won't be just because they don't remember you well enough. It's also because writing a letter puts our reputation on the line; we are vouching for you to our colleagues. If we vouch for students who end up plagiarizing, harassing other students, imploding, etc, our colleagues will no longer trust our judgment. **Candidate interviews are definitely field-specific**, so if your discipline doesn't have them, this may not even be something you ever have to address in person. I'd be surprised if anyone pointedly asked you, but if so, I like /u/sunia42's suggestion. The last thing I'll say is that you should think about why you want a PhD. (I don't mean to imply that you haven't, just encouraging you to keep doing so.) If you're considering working in industry, a PhD is rarely needed and the time spent in school can make you less competitive. If you plan to pursue academia, please understand that the job markets (in the U.S.) across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM are terrible and have been for a long time. Tenure track positions are becoming more rare, and recent grads must compete with PhDs who are still on the market 4-5 years after defending. Finally, if you don't know about the exploitation of adjuncts, you should look into it. Good luck with everything!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor was sexually inappropriate - how can I get around a letter of recommendation from him for PhD applications? Background: I finished my undergraduate a few years ago. Research was my passion, but this burned me out and I've been too afraid to go back. I'm also not in the US. Long story short, my advisor was a creep to me, I don't want to elaborate in case he's on this subreddit. I know he uses Reddit a lot. I didn't really work with anyone else in the department, and I have no interest in reporting it - it's well known, my department doesn't care. I also don't want to bring this up in a new application, I don't want to seem like I'm slandering someone - and frankly, it's probably irrational, but I'd feel unprofessional talking about it. I'm finally in a place where I want to apply for my PhD, but I don't know how to explain the fact I won't have a letter of reference from the person I did my undergraduate thesis with. I honestly don't even know who else I can ask for a letter from - it's been so long since I left that I don't think any professors would remember me. Does anyone have any idea how I can frame this without it coming off as unprofessional, or like *I* did something to sour the relationship? ​ Thanks Reddit.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "First of all, I’m very sorry about what you had to go through, OP. It’s sad it’s still happening in 2020. If you ask other profs who taught a class in which you did well, a very minimal thing they can do is what you were taught in the class and how you did, and what your performance means compared to the general student population. They can also explain the textbook and what they covered in the class. There are so many programs in the world and they vary so much, such information is very helpful for the people who go through students from all over the world. And many schools don’t have academic advisor program anyway so it doesn’t really hurt your case if you don’t get a letter from the creep. I hope this helps. And I hope you won’t have to deal with such awful people in your future career.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor was sexually inappropriate - how can I get around a letter of recommendation from him for PhD applications? Background: I finished my undergraduate a few years ago. Research was my passion, but this burned me out and I've been too afraid to go back. I'm also not in the US. Long story short, my advisor was a creep to me, I don't want to elaborate in case he's on this subreddit. I know he uses Reddit a lot. I didn't really work with anyone else in the department, and I have no interest in reporting it - it's well known, my department doesn't care. I also don't want to bring this up in a new application, I don't want to seem like I'm slandering someone - and frankly, it's probably irrational, but I'd feel unprofessional talking about it. I'm finally in a place where I want to apply for my PhD, but I don't know how to explain the fact I won't have a letter of reference from the person I did my undergraduate thesis with. I honestly don't even know who else I can ask for a letter from - it's been so long since I left that I don't think any professors would remember me. Does anyone have any idea how I can frame this without it coming off as unprofessional, or like *I* did something to sour the relationship? ​ Thanks Reddit.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "(a) I'm sorry. That is terrible and incredibly inappropriate and wrong. (b) I would request three letters from faculty that know you best beyond the POS faculty member. I'd give them a few weeks notice, full info on your career goals/work, etc., and then build a really, really excellent application letter/all that jazz. I'd think strategically about those letters. Think about what each faculty member could emphasize. When a student of mine asks for letters. I ask them to give me as much detail as possible, what they want to me to emphasize, etc. Best of luck to you and take care", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor was sexually inappropriate - how can I get around a letter of recommendation from him for PhD applications? Background: I finished my undergraduate a few years ago. Research was my passion, but this burned me out and I've been too afraid to go back. I'm also not in the US. Long story short, my advisor was a creep to me, I don't want to elaborate in case he's on this subreddit. I know he uses Reddit a lot. I didn't really work with anyone else in the department, and I have no interest in reporting it - it's well known, my department doesn't care. I also don't want to bring this up in a new application, I don't want to seem like I'm slandering someone - and frankly, it's probably irrational, but I'd feel unprofessional talking about it. I'm finally in a place where I want to apply for my PhD, but I don't know how to explain the fact I won't have a letter of reference from the person I did my undergraduate thesis with. I honestly don't even know who else I can ask for a letter from - it's been so long since I left that I don't think any professors would remember me. Does anyone have any idea how I can frame this without it coming off as unprofessional, or like *I* did something to sour the relationship? ​ Thanks Reddit.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I agree with all the other comments but just want to add if you have been working in the same field that you wabt to go into you can often get a letter of rec from a boss or supervisor from that job. Especially if they have an advanced degree. I wouldn't have it be your only leter of rec but if you need multiple it can be one of them easy.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Not sure I agree with the premise and what do you include in \"art subjects\"...? But if you are talking about the difference between \"sociology for engineers\" performance vs \"calculus for sociology\" honestly I'm from social sciences and been on a lot of course planing (committees, etc.) and this is due to the different NATURE of these classes. For example, ethics of biology is taught as \"introduction\" or \"option\" class while calculus for sociology is actually seen as a basic course that you will use again, so the requirements to reach are higher than in an option class. Considering this, professors ADAPT the class when there is a strong proportion of people from \"hard sciences\" in \"humanities and social sciences class\" or in classes reserved to them because they don't have the basic training to properly address concept and analysis of ideas/ social issues etc. Therefore, the level is lower than what is taught in our field classes tbh... Also, a lot of requirements from previous years are FAR away, so if you need to remember something you haven't touched in years, people have to re-learn some things they already learned to \"speak the language\" of math/ physics/ chemistry because you need those like a second language to master the classes. So you are comparing apples and oranges is my point... * Fun fact: a friend teaches philosophy to engineers and ,oh my she wants to scream sometimes because they very often approach ethical dilemmas like a formula to solve, something that has precise factors that will have a precise answer and well... ethics is basically THINK for yourself, no equation here. It's kind of hilarious to hear the answers she gets on some exams :p If you mean in a more general matter, like interest and hobbies well: \\- \"arts\" is not ONE thing, like social sciences, music, philosophy etc are WIDELY different fields with subfields so not to bind all together in a \"interested in all\" basket. The reason why so many educated people, no matter their background, go and study \"arts subjects\" outside their field is that...educated people are curious, creative, know how to learn and access knowledge and if we are talking about arts arts like painting, music, dance, etc, well art is universal! Everyone is attracted to arts in some ways, educated people just have better personal resources to pursue it and also have personnal traits that push them toward learning more and more! Why people keep out of \"hard sciences\": IMAGE: \"hard sciences\" have a very strong tradition of keeping people OUT with a elite-only image + some people see \"hard sciences\" as not very creative and very square where colorful people will be shut down. Tbh I've met people of all types (creative vs square, etc) in these disciplines at higher levels but most at lower levels (undergrad or market oriented master) do kinda tend to fit the profile :p \\-For educated people outside hard sciences, a lot consider it of low interest to understand the world, which we usually crave. We often hear people say it is too \"limited\" of an understanding and so a lot of people pick data they need and use it for their \"understand social issues\" research for example. It's not that it's not useful, it's more that people see it like \"why would I ask the grocery store how they made this bread if I just need this bread to make my sandwich??\". So people will dabble in it, read and go to conferences but it's more to find a fact to use for other stuff. We like that you provide these facts keep going! But we see it as something to be treated with tools we have or feed it and not as an end in itself. \\-I meet people or see in the public discourse that a lot of people with a background in \"hard\" sciences seem to THINK they master very well EVERYTHING and put down humanities and \"soft\" sciences as easy and something they mastered as a hobby while people of similar levels of studies but specialized in the \"art\" field concerned find their understanding very...superficial at best and problematic at worst. Of course it varies a LOT depending on the person and their education level but CRITICAL THINKING and knowledge (whatever the field) also takes years of work in the humanities and social sciences... It's not just I read this book on a social issue and understand it, therefore humanities are easy\". Sadly the most problematic comments I've heard in university were from engineers / \"hard sciences\" phds who seemed to believe that social phenomenons and politics all had ONE simple answer to solve the problem like \"oh yeah you can save world hunger with X\" or \"I think we should know more about this social issue but oh no I don't trust qualitative research...\" while quanti and quali both can be useful but some things just NEED one and not the other XD Like one professor once said: \"we won't find a cure for cancer with interviews but we also won't find the best way to support those patients with objective questionnaires...in sciences we need complementary approaches\". So what I'm saying is please don't go into the discourse that says \"one is better and harder than the other\" because sciences need each other to get better...", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Some of the humanities requires abstract thought that translates into the sciences (and vice versa), but the quantitative/discrete analytical skills doesn’t translate into the humanities??? That’s my guess, but this may not be the case. After having not done any literary analysis for 5yrs between high school and my last semester of college (I’m an engineering student), I definitely struggled in my African American studies class. The teacher taught at a graduate level for an introductory level class, making it even more difficult, but my friends in the humanities didn’t struggle anywhere near as much as I did.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think part of it is the prerequisite knowledge. For an introductory college humanities class, you need to be able to read, write, and think critically. For even a remedial math class, you need all of the above plus all the math you’ve learned up to that point. Someone who is good at math already has the skills to do well in other fields. They just have to learn domain-specific information. Regardless of your major, everyone will show up to an intro philosophy class with almost no philosophy background. You can’t show up to a calculus class with good critical thinking skills and no math knowledge expecting it to go well. The cumulative nature of math also explains the existence of courses like “calculus for social sciences”. A standard calculus track is teaching you some math you’ll use in your field but also preparing you for more math which is usually the hardest part. If someone doesn’t need more math, they’re better off just learning what they’ll actually need.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "My experience is exactly the opposite, speaking as someone who came from the performing arts into science. The so-called “soft skills” I learned in the arts always seems to be in high demand. Conversely, People with strong sciences suffer in the arts greatly, hence the demand for such classes.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Not sure I agree with the premise and what do you include in \"art subjects\"...? But if you are talking about the difference between \"sociology for engineers\" performance vs \"calculus for sociology\" honestly I'm from social sciences and been on a lot of course planing (committees, etc.) and this is due to the different NATURE of these classes. For example, ethics of biology is taught as \"introduction\" or \"option\" class while calculus for sociology is actually seen as a basic course that you will use again, so the requirements to reach are higher than in an option class. Considering this, professors ADAPT the class when there is a strong proportion of people from \"hard sciences\" in \"humanities and social sciences class\" or in classes reserved to them because they don't have the basic training to properly address concept and analysis of ideas/ social issues etc. Therefore, the level is lower than what is taught in our field classes tbh... Also, a lot of requirements from previous years are FAR away, so if you need to remember something you haven't touched in years, people have to re-learn some things they already learned to \"speak the language\" of math/ physics/ chemistry because you need those like a second language to master the classes. So you are comparing apples and oranges is my point... * Fun fact: a friend teaches philosophy to engineers and ,oh my she wants to scream sometimes because they very often approach ethical dilemmas like a formula to solve, something that has precise factors that will have a precise answer and well... ethics is basically THINK for yourself, no equation here. It's kind of hilarious to hear the answers she gets on some exams :p If you mean in a more general matter, like interest and hobbies well: \\- \"arts\" is not ONE thing, like social sciences, music, philosophy etc are WIDELY different fields with subfields so not to bind all together in a \"interested in all\" basket. The reason why so many educated people, no matter their background, go and study \"arts subjects\" outside their field is that...educated people are curious, creative, know how to learn and access knowledge and if we are talking about arts arts like painting, music, dance, etc, well art is universal! Everyone is attracted to arts in some ways, educated people just have better personal resources to pursue it and also have personnal traits that push them toward learning more and more! Why people keep out of \"hard sciences\": IMAGE: \"hard sciences\" have a very strong tradition of keeping people OUT with a elite-only image + some people see \"hard sciences\" as not very creative and very square where colorful people will be shut down. Tbh I've met people of all types (creative vs square, etc) in these disciplines at higher levels but most at lower levels (undergrad or market oriented master) do kinda tend to fit the profile :p \\-For educated people outside hard sciences, a lot consider it of low interest to understand the world, which we usually crave. We often hear people say it is too \"limited\" of an understanding and so a lot of people pick data they need and use it for their \"understand social issues\" research for example. It's not that it's not useful, it's more that people see it like \"why would I ask the grocery store how they made this bread if I just need this bread to make my sandwich??\". So people will dabble in it, read and go to conferences but it's more to find a fact to use for other stuff. We like that you provide these facts keep going! But we see it as something to be treated with tools we have or feed it and not as an end in itself. \\-I meet people or see in the public discourse that a lot of people with a background in \"hard\" sciences seem to THINK they master very well EVERYTHING and put down humanities and \"soft\" sciences as easy and something they mastered as a hobby while people of similar levels of studies but specialized in the \"art\" field concerned find their understanding very...superficial at best and problematic at worst. Of course it varies a LOT depending on the person and their education level but CRITICAL THINKING and knowledge (whatever the field) also takes years of work in the humanities and social sciences... It's not just I read this book on a social issue and understand it, therefore humanities are easy\". Sadly the most problematic comments I've heard in university were from engineers / \"hard sciences\" phds who seemed to believe that social phenomenons and politics all had ONE simple answer to solve the problem like \"oh yeah you can save world hunger with X\" or \"I think we should know more about this social issue but oh no I don't trust qualitative research...\" while quanti and quali both can be useful but some things just NEED one and not the other XD Like one professor once said: \"we won't find a cure for cancer with interviews but we also won't find the best way to support those patients with objective questionnaires...in sciences we need complementary approaches\". So what I'm saying is please don't go into the discourse that says \"one is better and harder than the other\" because sciences need each other to get better...", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "In my experience, it is much harder to be a good social sciences and arts teacher than a science/math teacher. I would say that most of my K-12 maths/sciences teachers were adequate but nearly all of my arts/social sciences/literature/history teachers, except one, killed off my interest in those subjects, so I ended up in university doing sciences. The exception was a university lecturer who taught a few high school classes and when I was in university, I found out that I have a lot of interests in those subjects, but I need to read the right authors and be taught by good teachers. Most of the good arts/social sciences teachers are in university. I suppose bad teachers drove better students away from arts/social sciences into natural sciences and because they are generally better, they can handle all subjects well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I totally disagree with this premise. Furthermore, philosophy OF science is huge.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "In my experience, it is much harder to be a good social sciences and arts teacher than a science/math teacher. I would say that most of my K-12 maths/sciences teachers were adequate but nearly all of my arts/social sciences/literature/history teachers, except one, killed off my interest in those subjects, so I ended up in university doing sciences. The exception was a university lecturer who taught a few high school classes and when I was in university, I found out that I have a lot of interests in those subjects, but I need to read the right authors and be taught by good teachers. Most of the good arts/social sciences teachers are in university. I suppose bad teachers drove better students away from arts/social sciences into natural sciences and because they are generally better, they can handle all subjects well.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm going to be a dissenting voice and say that this has not been my experience, and I have to wonder how many of the people who are saying this is the case have experience teaching and grading in the arts. My students from STEM fields have typically struggled more than those from arts and humanities backgrounds when it comes to communicating themselves clearly, engaging with and critiquing an argument rather than paraphrasing it, identifying and finding sources independently, and understanding subtext and irony. STEM students also are generally frustrated with the fact that there are multiple, but not infinite, correct answers to the problems posed in humanities courses. I think there are two things that might lead to the perception that STEM students have an easier time in the arts than vice versa. First, some people are good at both, and such people generally pursue careers in STEM fields, because such careers offer more social and financial capital than the arts. Second, most first-year courses on arts subjects are generalist courses, which has an impact on the difficulty of the course: e.e. most people taking Calculus I are in majors that will require them to take further calculus courses, whereas Introduction to English Literature will have a lot of students who will never take another literature course in their academic career. As for your point about courses like \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\", often such courses are focused on the practical applications of the math or science for a particular discipline: calculus for the social sciences teaches you the specific methods and techniques you need to know in order to do quantitative research in the social sciences, and biology for the arts might be a course that focuses on anatomy. I don't know about your institution, but the schools I've attended and worked at have offered the reverse: introduction to history and philosophy of science, Greek and Latin in scientific terminology, and so on...", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Why does it seem that students who have a science background or are more science-minded tend to do quite well in arts subjects but not vice versa? I was not getting any luck in getting an answer in r/NoStupidQuestions so I thought this would be relevant here I'm currently both a science and arts student and I have noticed this to be quite true in most cases. Arts student will complain about struggling through a math or science requirement, while science students in arts classes tend to fair better I noticed that institutions think this is the case as well as I also noticed that universities will have courses such as \"calculus for the social sciences\" or \"biology for the arts\" which is known to be less rigorous than the main calculus/biology class. On the other hand, I don't commonly see them offer \"philosophy for the sciences\" or \"sociology for engineers\". If science students wish to take arts classes, they are expected to enroll in the main class", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I dunno - I’ve met a lot of bio majors who have zero idea how to write a paper. I don’t think this is a fair statement at all.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is absolutely terrifying. How do you even defend yourself against that? And all it needs is someone with too much time on their hands. Buddy was sloppy, used his real phone number with his fake e-mail address, and used the same e-mail address to impersonate different people. But someone more prepared... god damn.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Holy shit.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "yeah. ITS CRAZY. that guy is sick.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Holy shit.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is absolutely terrifying. How do you even defend yourself against that? And all it needs is someone with too much time on their hands. Buddy was sloppy, used his real phone number with his fake e-mail address, and used the same e-mail address to impersonate different people. But someone more prepared... god damn.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "So I guess my new job market fear is being falsely accused of sexual harassment by a competing applicant https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html Have you guys read this? tl;dr woman gets coveted job at UMich and is waiting for spousal hire news; woman's colleague tries to sabotage her offer by submitting fraudulent sexual harassment complaints to UMich and spouse's current university (use archive.is or clear your cache for non-paywalled version) So I guess, outside of this dude being a fucking psycho which obviously most people are not, this experience really highlights how unprotected anyone who works in academia is. Starting with the fact that people wouldn't be so desperate for jobs if their career choice didn't leave them to languish in Lubbock, TX or go back to low-skilled labor.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I mean yeah, that’s what happens when we throw due process out the window and allow people’s lives to be ruined because of he-said she-said rumors And even if you’re found innocent, good luck getting the stain off your name Edit: I’m not a hateful person and I understand that it’s a complicated situation, but I think we need a system which works for everybody equally.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm lucky to be in a field where deadlines are usually more like suggestions. So “handling things successfully” is a very flexible concept. But seriously, everybody has 24 hours in a day. We all need to do what we can with the time and energy that we have. Read this, it might be interesting to you: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-awesomest-7-year-postdoc-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-tenure-track-faculty-life/", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Through a decision that was only partly in my control I’m no longer employed within an academic institution, and I wish I had your problems. I still work with various groups, mostly for free because I love science and I really want to improve and be better, and push the limits! Let me reassure you that if you do choose to leave unless you have something very fascinating and wonderful to do and achieve in life you will become very bored. The stress and workload of academia are worth it to be a part of the frontiers of human knowledge. Before you make any big decision, remember what got you motivated to do your studies, high five some of your students and talk to them about their lives, and go tell your department chair that he’s doing an awesome job. Then think about what you have and what you want in life very carefully. Fuck tiredness, go to the gym, roll into a new project, and rekindle your passions ❤️", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "There are many things I am required to do. Not to do to the best of my ability, just to complete. You have to prioritise your standards.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Through a decision that was only partly in my control I’m no longer employed within an academic institution, and I wish I had your problems. I still work with various groups, mostly for free because I love science and I really want to improve and be better, and push the limits! Let me reassure you that if you do choose to leave unless you have something very fascinating and wonderful to do and achieve in life you will become very bored. The stress and workload of academia are worth it to be a part of the frontiers of human knowledge. Before you make any big decision, remember what got you motivated to do your studies, high five some of your students and talk to them about their lives, and go tell your department chair that he’s doing an awesome job. Then think about what you have and what you want in life very carefully. Fuck tiredness, go to the gym, roll into a new project, and rekindle your passions ❤️", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "There are many things I am required to do. Not to do to the best of my ability, just to complete. You have to prioritise your standards.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Energy drinks and staying up till 5 am. Don't be me. Get a job at a better school (no matter how much you love students who are struggling) or get a job in industry.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m a postdoc too, and I think the first thing to recognize is there are things you *have* to do and many, many optional ones. Like, my job right now is to crank out papers. Second to that I will only accept jobs I legit *want* to do, like take on a summer student or outreach or a search committee. I’m not afraid to say no when it’s not a job I actually want to do. Second, a supportive supervisor who recognizes the above and won’t pile on random things that won’t help you with the primary goal makes all the difference. I’m sorry to hear you don’t have that, that can be overwhelming. :( Third, people don’t want to say this too loud, but a supportive life partner makes all the difference. My academic life became *way* easier once we met and moved in together because my husband doesn’t mind running laundry while he works from home, is really handy when things need fixing, and can cook dinner on nights when I need to work a little extra. Sure I will fold the laundry, make up by cooking the next night, etc, but the fact of the matter is I’ve outsourced a lot of non work related tasks to someone who doesn’t mind them, and that frees up so much mentally! I 100% acknowledge that this last point is not fair and our fields should not be set up so one supportive partner is so important to do your job. But I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a healthy chunk of my postdoc productivity right there.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Through a decision that was only partly in my control I’m no longer employed within an academic institution, and I wish I had your problems. I still work with various groups, mostly for free because I love science and I really want to improve and be better, and push the limits! Let me reassure you that if you do choose to leave unless you have something very fascinating and wonderful to do and achieve in life you will become very bored. The stress and workload of academia are worth it to be a part of the frontiers of human knowledge. Before you make any big decision, remember what got you motivated to do your studies, high five some of your students and talk to them about their lives, and go tell your department chair that he’s doing an awesome job. Then think about what you have and what you want in life very carefully. Fuck tiredness, go to the gym, roll into a new project, and rekindle your passions ❤️", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m a postdoc too, and I think the first thing to recognize is there are things you *have* to do and many, many optional ones. Like, my job right now is to crank out papers. Second to that I will only accept jobs I legit *want* to do, like take on a summer student or outreach or a search committee. I’m not afraid to say no when it’s not a job I actually want to do. Second, a supportive supervisor who recognizes the above and won’t pile on random things that won’t help you with the primary goal makes all the difference. I’m sorry to hear you don’t have that, that can be overwhelming. :( Third, people don’t want to say this too loud, but a supportive life partner makes all the difference. My academic life became *way* easier once we met and moved in together because my husband doesn’t mind running laundry while he works from home, is really handy when things need fixing, and can cook dinner on nights when I need to work a little extra. Sure I will fold the laundry, make up by cooking the next night, etc, but the fact of the matter is I’ve outsourced a lot of non work related tasks to someone who doesn’t mind them, and that frees up so much mentally! I 100% acknowledge that this last point is not fair and our fields should not be set up so one supportive partner is so important to do your job. But I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a healthy chunk of my postdoc productivity right there.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do you... Do it all? I've been at a crossroads with academia for more than a year now. I'm a post doc right now (courting industry jobs because my current environment has been toxic for my mental health). I love my topic, I love the IDEA of what academia could be for me, but I've seen very little of it materialize for me (I'm also tired of a post doc that looks good on paper but in practice has been unsupportive, and often hostile). I think I'm at a point where I'm tired of the weird facade academia makes everyone put on like they're at peak productivity and continuously improving (when my experience has been that a lot of it is hand waving). Tonight I was thinking about all the things I have to tackle this coming week and I wondered... Is this it forever if I choose to stay? Presentations/teaching, re-hauling analyses / manuscripts, meetings that go no where or at least feel that way, and all the other things that come with academia. Honestly writing it out doesn't make it seem so bad, but then there's the conflict of all the projects and things feel like they are ALL urgent or a priority, juggling deadlines, and unexpected things that come up, PLUS trying to have a life outside of work. How do you (honestly) deal with it all? I don't even have courses to teach besides occasional guest lectures and I constantly feel like I'm drowning with just my research commitments. I try not to compare my progress/pace with others but some days it's hard not to. But right now I actually do want to know how others manage to handle all these things successfully.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I feel the same way you do!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Nailed it. Adjunct indentured service. Its a pyramid scheme with the corporate wanks exploiting the proletariat just like most capital businesses in 2020. Don’t do it for cash or ROI on yer lame PhD. Get in and stay in the relationship for the only reason that martyrs...the kids.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yes, but you must be a business professor or the brightest most hardworking well-connected person in some other field.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Remember — those who tell you it’s possible and feasible are those who made it, and made it usually a couple of decades ago. Thus, their opinions are a product of their survivorship bias on top of an objectively easier ride. They’ve also never worked for a company for a single business day, and yet will tell you all kinds of false things about “industry” (ie, 99% of all work). Give yourself a real first-person look by talking to a lot of people who aren’t professors and work some non-academic jobs. Get away from the lab. Fuck the rules about not having an outside source of income during grad school. Do actually apply for some grants to see how shitty it is. Listen to the voice inside that tells what you actually like to do. I discovered a few unexpected things: I’d be happy doing a lot of different kinds of work as long as I am paid well and I can choose where I live. You can work a lot fewer hours & get a lot more schedule freedom outside of academics. There are smart people everywhere, and the smartest are not in academics. A lot of stuff in academia is actually quite stifling and lacked true freedom. You can teach and write grants outside of academia, if you really want to.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If by \"professor\" you mean a research professor at an R1 in the US (or similar position in a developed country like Germany or Japan) then unless you got your PhD at an elite university under a very well-known and well-connected advisor I say no, don't even bother trying. A possible exception to this is if you've built up a track record (either during your PhD or perhaps in your first postdoc) of getting a lot of grant money (institution and advisor be darned). If you mean \"visiting professor\" or some other fancy term for \"postdoc\" then those positions are easier to get but it's really just a postdoc, don't fool yourself (and you should only get a postdoc if you fit the criteria listed above for an R1 job). If you mean any faculty position down to adjunct lecturer at any institute of higher learning including obscure CCs and regional campuses then those are also easier to get. If you mean \"research professor\" at an institution in a developing country (including China) then my understanding is you have a much better shot. Especially in China where I believe they are going through their faculty hiring boom analogous to what the US went through during the Cold War, but I could be wrong. But those positions may be reserved for Chinese PhDs or people who are already internationally-known (to lend prestige). Remember, we're facing a demographic cliff in higher ed. There are *no* signs that hiring is going to pick up, and *lots* of signs that 50% of universities and colleges in the US could close forever in twenty years. Trying to be a \"professor\" in the sense that most people in academia mean it now is like trying to be a newspaper reporter 15 years ago. It's pretty bad but it's about to get much muuuuuuuch worse.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm a community college professor who worked in industry first. If teaching really is your jam, I might suggest going into industry but then teaching nights or online first as an adjunct. I wanted to try teaching and got on as adjunct fairly quickly to teach at night while working industry during the day. Absolutely loved teaching and got lucky getting a full time gig. Research is not my forte, so I'm exactly where I need to be. At the community college level you do realistically have to put in some time as adjunct because the full time positions usually don't open up all that often and we are going to usually hire people we know are good professors from our pool of adjuncts. Not always, but most of the time. I will say that right now in my department there is a lot of turnover happening with covid and online classes convincing a lot of the old guard to retire before they originally planned. We had three positions open up this summer and I haven't seen that before. Maybe look that route wherever you are. I'll add that PhDs get paid better, I only have my masters. I still can support a family of four off of my income, fwiw.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yes, but you must be a business professor or the brightest most hardworking well-connected person in some other field.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Beyond what others have said, in my experience people who left academia because they didn't find opportunities landed elsewhere pretty comfortably--after all, they're invariably smart people capable of self-directed work on projects with very long timeframes. In other words, they're quite valuable. The people I've seen most unhappy are those who, in retrospect, probably should have left earlier. But even that unhappiness was usually temporary. I also think there's a tendency to paint academia as a nirvana of the mind and industry or the private sector more generally as as an intellectual wasteland and both these stereotypes are way off.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yes, but you must be a business professor or the brightest most hardworking well-connected person in some other field.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m applying for a workforce education position in my subject area (diversity and inclusion) and it pays more in Year One than I would make as an Associate Professor at the R1 I am getting my PhD at. Twice as much as the post doc I applied for. 40 hour week. Long term potential. Will I research? No. But will I miss it? Might not. Academia is a pyramid scheme and those who have made it will disproportionality tell you it’s possible.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Is it even realistic/feasible to become a professor anymore? I have always wanted to become a professor. I absolutely love teaching and was fortunate enough to have my name published on some publications throughout undergrad and grad school. However, due to the current job market, it seems that all Academia is filled with now are burnt out people making below minimum wages as adjunct professors. I want to become a professor, but I also need to put food on the table for my family. Is it actually realistic to become a professor without being some research rockstar? (especially with projected college attendance) If not, is a lecturer position easier to obtain? I’m asking because I have a choice to either go into industry with my masters or get my Ph.D (and I don’t want to commit more time to grad school if the job market is as awful as people say it is).", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yes, but you must be a business professor or the brightest most hardworking well-connected person in some other field.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I'm an undergrad and I was invited to give a talk, expenses paid!! I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub, or against the rules, but no one around me knows enough about academia to be as excited as I am. This is going to be my fourth talk, but the first one I've actually be invited to without having to submit anything. I'm so psyched!! This is going to be amazing for my applications, and amazing experience as well.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Congratulations! Academia needs to be open to diverse voices, and it's critical that the workshop host institution isn't putting any barriers to your participation. How do you reach the podium? Is there a small ladder or a rope hung from the wall near the dais? Do they provide tall trees for your accommodation needs? Are they offering reimbursement in appropriate remunerative units, such as dollars or acorns?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I'm an undergrad and I was invited to give a talk, expenses paid!! I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub, or against the rules, but no one around me knows enough about academia to be as excited as I am. This is going to be my fourth talk, but the first one I've actually be invited to without having to submit anything. I'm so psyched!! This is going to be amazing for my applications, and amazing experience as well.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Well done! Knock ‘em dead!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I'm an undergrad and I was invited to give a talk, expenses paid!! I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub, or against the rules, but no one around me knows enough about academia to be as excited as I am. This is going to be my fourth talk, but the first one I've actually be invited to without having to submit anything. I'm so psyched!! This is going to be amazing for my applications, and amazing experience as well.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Fantastic! I'm curious, what will you be talking about?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I'm an undergrad and I was invited to give a talk, expenses paid!! I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub, or against the rules, but no one around me knows enough about academia to be as excited as I am. This is going to be my fourth talk, but the first one I've actually be invited to without having to submit anything. I'm so psyched!! This is going to be amazing for my applications, and amazing experience as well.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Well done! Knock ‘em dead!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Too vague.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Tell him to take a writing course so that he can improve his English, otherwise you’ll have to fire him since his communication skills are too opaque.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Is there a chance this might potentially be a language issue? If the student speaks English from a different part of the world, it's possible they are using normal/established politeness strategies that just don't translate well to your own English. In some Englishes it's quite rude to say \"no\" directly to a superior (even moreso in grad school, where a \"request\" from your supervisor is generally actually a command). In others there are simply differences in language that can come across weirdly (e.g. being told to \"kindly adjust\" to an inconvenience sounds rude, but is a polite form in Indian English). Obviously 30+ emails in a day is way too many (particularly if there's no urgent reason like a deadline), and there needs to be some course correction, as other people have said. But I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to malice or an attempt to manipulate, when it could simple be anxiety + other issues.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "A couple of random thoughts. I'm in economics. Simultaneous journal submissions are not allowed. Everyone knows that. I imagine if someone does it, they will be banned from all the journals involved. Word might get around to other journal editors who might be reluctant to publish you in the future. Is there a cultural difference here? You need to have a brief meeting explaining that this behavior is unacceptable. If the student tries to speak, you say to him, you're here to listen. Set the rules to get the research completed and published. He doesn't understand? He has to figure it out. If he gets it wrong, he's not making sufficient progress. Set goals the student has to meet to make sufficient progress. This is a working relationship. It's business first. It's great when you work with competent and personable colleagues, but this student is not your friend.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Are you a woman by any chance? In some ways it doesn't make a difference but I'm getting vibes... Anyway, I think you need to sit down and talk to him. Not \"you're manipulative\" but more \"I've noticed that we often agree something and then later you claim we agreed something different and argue with me, can you tell me what's going on here? Are you having a problem following my instructions?\" And then when he argues that he doesn't, you follow up with \"this is exactly the kind of behaviour I'm discussing. This has happened a number of times now and I need it stop. If you are having problems following my instructions, you should feel free to discuss that with me but I need you to do what we agree, in future\". Ditto \"You often use terminology incorrectly which makes it difficult to understand what you are trying to say. Please try to avoid using terminology you don't understand\" and then \"this is the behaviour I'm talking about\" and stick to your guns, but don't get down into the weeds with him - that's what he wants. If he doesn't stop you need to discuss with whoever is charge of the graduate program and you need to be willing to kick him off the programme. The trick with these things is not to wallow in the details because it sounds petty and silly. You need to identify the thing it is that he's doing and call it that and stick to that, giving an example where needed but without only describing his behaviour. Lastly, I'm also in the UK but I really recommend the Ask A Manager blog. She's American and not academic but honestly, people management is people management and she has some great advice for dealing with these difficult types. ETA before you talk to him about an issue, prepare yourself a little script. Practice it and don't let him drag you off it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I don't know about how it works at other universities, but where I am now we get briefly evaluated every year (nothing intense, it's basically just the advisor signing off on 'yes, this person is making satisfactory progress'). But that does imply that an advisor could say \"sorry, we're not renewing funding for this student this year\"-- if this student is such a bad fit for you perhaps that's an option?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Is there a chance this might potentially be a language issue? If the student speaks English from a different part of the world, it's possible they are using normal/established politeness strategies that just don't translate well to your own English. In some Englishes it's quite rude to say \"no\" directly to a superior (even moreso in grad school, where a \"request\" from your supervisor is generally actually a command). In others there are simply differences in language that can come across weirdly (e.g. being told to \"kindly adjust\" to an inconvenience sounds rude, but is a polite form in Indian English). Obviously 30+ emails in a day is way too many (particularly if there's no urgent reason like a deadline), and there needs to be some course correction, as other people have said. But I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to malice or an attempt to manipulate, when it could simple be anxiety + other issues.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Talk to him in person. Set some boundaries. Offer to not supervise them any more if they continue to abuse you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Stop asking him questions that he can hand-wave away. Enforce clear deadlines with well described outcomes. Communicate by email, so there is a written record. Be explicit when you dismiss something he's trying to manipulate you about, so there is no ambigueity, and redirect the conversation to what you want it to cover. You're his supervisor, not his undergraduate!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My PhD student constantly tries to manipulate me. We are in the U.K. and the subject is computer science. Whenever he emails or talks to me he uses weird wording and always tries to manipulate me to comply with something and then pretends it’s something else that we agreed on. He never says yes or no when I ask him about anything really. Always vague language. What can I do? I have reported him and nothing happens.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Don’t respond to his emails that includes this manipulation. You are his supervisor, yes?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Serious answer: 1. This is a problem most people have. You’re not alone. 2. start writing your thesis. Really. You should aim your thesis at a good graduate level, ie you, just before you started. When you start trying to explain what you know now, to the person who knows what you did when you started, trust me, you’ll see very quickly the expert you’ve become.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I still feel that way, years after finishing mine. It’s gotten miles better though. I think it just comes with time, because you slowly know your area more and more. My best advice is to try to read at least one paper a day, amassing your foundational knowledge. Use a reference management system so that you can see how much you’ve read and find things easily. And then write as much as you can so that you practice citation retrieval more until it comes second nature that X articles fit there. That’s expertise right there!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Your feeling are totally normal OP, even as people graduate and become postdocs. You're likely picking up more knowledge and experience than you realize. I've certainly had such experiences in physics (my field), and I'm sure the machine learning stuff is a bit out there. I think we all also have to give ourselves a little credit for just making it through 2020-2022. Languishing and feeling like you're not accomplishing anything has been a common experience for people during these times. I imagine it's especially tough for grad students who are in such a formative part of their careers. I'm bogged down in those emotions myself, trying to make progress on a physical apparatus for our research. The only advice I can give is to try to be kind to yourself, and as you suggest, really break down into simple incremental tasks you can do each week. Start that thesis document, even if it just meant copying another document and writing the title in overleaf. Look for an interesting reference or paper, even if you just read the abstract. Hang in there and know you're not alone.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I didn't feel like an expert until I defended and it was clear that I knew more about my work, it's highlights, flaws, and next steps, than every other person in that room. So, I wouldn't worry about the fact than in year 3 out of 4 you don't feel like an expert yet. You're not done.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Read the classic Dunning-Kruger paper to recognize that understanding the limits of your competence is a sign of competence. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626367/", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "How do I combat the feeling of \"I am not becoming an expert in anything\" during my PhD ? Hello Fellow Academics, I am a PhD student in my 3rd year (4 year PhD program) I have finished course requirements for my program and have been working on this research project for about two years now. Last year or so was particularly bad for me, zero productivity, motivation problems, this feeling of \"I was hoping to learn X from my PhD and be an expert in that, but I am no where being a close to an expert in anything\". On top of that, I have this constant feeling of not learning anything new. I had this feeling before and that lead to a lot of apathy towards my projects / PhD. I do not want to get there again. ​ Question : Do you all have similar feeling(s) ? Have you able to develop any habits that help combat this feeling ? stuff like : Read a research paper every week / Implement (in code) a new research paper every week ? ​ To give some context, I am doing my PhD in trying to solve problems in Computational Materials Science using Machine learning. I did my MSc. in Machine learning and want to keep learning more in that field. But I am not a Physicist. At this point I feel I can not call myself an expert in Material Science nor Machine learning.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I sort of am in a similar field and I think in general the key is to adjust your expectations a bit, and focus on gaining competency. Expertise is incremental. Also, computational materials science is sort of one of those fields that is almost more methods and process based than domain based, if that makes sense? So it might feel like you don’t know a lot about any one single specific problem, if you’re more focused on the process of how to solve problems.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You acted like a hothead, but not without reason. The conference screwed you. They can and should reimburse your expenses. Every conference I have been associated with would have done everything possible to at least make student participants whole in this situation. None would have have stooped so low as to involve your advisor. My advice is to just let it go. You weren't entirely wrong, but it's a battle you can't win. As long as you don't regularly make a practice of behaving like a hothead or getting worked up when the topic comes up, people will forget about it. I can't imagine there being any real consequences from this. I know that our Graduate Dean would laugh if someone brought this to him.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm very sorry you are going through this horrible situation. You acknowledge that you made a huge mistake, I think it is right. I don't know what you wrote in that email and if it was bad enough to justify they don't show any sympathy for what you are going through, although I am not that surprised considering most people in academia are from a very privileged background and are not likely to understand at all what you are going through. Anyways, here I what I would do if I were you: I think you should first write to the airline and hotel to politely ask for reimbursements. You are not the only one cancelling travel right now. You should then write to the conference organizers saying that you are very sorry for your email. That you are going through a very rough time right now but it is no excuse for what you said in that message. That you took action to be reimbursed by the airline etc. and shouldn't have burdened them with your personal issues. That you are again very very sorry. Send a separate message to your advisor to say that you are sorry you got them involved in all of this and that you sent an apology message to the organizers. You could ask the ombudsman to review these emails if they seem open to it. After that, keep your head up and power through. Time will pass and they will forget about it. Remember that you're a lot tougher than most of your colleagues and will get over this. Continue doing awesome work, that will be what people will remember in the end.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I understand that you might have kiss some boots to make things right, but honestly don't beat yourself up about this. Was it a bit unprofessional? Sure. But what the conference organizer did, first refusing to reimburse you and then forwarding your email, was far worse in my books. You are a student and it sounds like you are a good person going through a really hard time. What's their excuse for the way they acted? No decent human in your department will think poorly of you for this.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm very sorry you are going through this horrible situation. You acknowledge that you made a huge mistake, I think it is right. I don't know what you wrote in that email and if it was bad enough to justify they don't show any sympathy for what you are going through, although I am not that surprised considering most people in academia are from a very privileged background and are not likely to understand at all what you are going through. Anyways, here I what I would do if I were you: I think you should first write to the airline and hotel to politely ask for reimbursements. You are not the only one cancelling travel right now. You should then write to the conference organizers saying that you are very sorry for your email. That you are going through a very rough time right now but it is no excuse for what you said in that message. That you took action to be reimbursed by the airline etc. and shouldn't have burdened them with your personal issues. That you are again very very sorry. Send a separate message to your advisor to say that you are sorry you got them involved in all of this and that you sent an apology message to the organizers. You could ask the ombudsman to review these emails if they seem open to it. After that, keep your head up and power through. Time will pass and they will forget about it. Remember that you're a lot tougher than most of your colleagues and will get over this. Continue doing awesome work, that will be what people will remember in the end.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think the best approach is not to simply adopt this effusively apologetic disposition, which is an overcorrection on your part. Part of becoming a scholar is to stick up for yourself. If I were going to have a meeting with your PI and some director, I would say something to the effect that you regret how you responded inappropriately, but not that you did respond; that the conference organizers left you stranded, and that whatever issue they have is with you and not your PI, and that contacting them was inappropriate on their part. I would conclude by appealing to everyone's common humanity, that in the current reality that is 2020 people will be in difficult situations and need a little extra grace, especially financially vulnerable people like graduate students.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm very sorry you are going through this horrible situation. You acknowledge that you made a huge mistake, I think it is right. I don't know what you wrote in that email and if it was bad enough to justify they don't show any sympathy for what you are going through, although I am not that surprised considering most people in academia are from a very privileged background and are not likely to understand at all what you are going through. Anyways, here I what I would do if I were you: I think you should first write to the airline and hotel to politely ask for reimbursements. You are not the only one cancelling travel right now. You should then write to the conference organizers saying that you are very sorry for your email. That you are going through a very rough time right now but it is no excuse for what you said in that message. That you took action to be reimbursed by the airline etc. and shouldn't have burdened them with your personal issues. That you are again very very sorry. Send a separate message to your advisor to say that you are sorry you got them involved in all of this and that you sent an apology message to the organizers. You could ask the ombudsman to review these emails if they seem open to it. After that, keep your head up and power through. Time will pass and they will forget about it. Remember that you're a lot tougher than most of your colleagues and will get over this. Continue doing awesome work, that will be what people will remember in the end.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Professor here. Unless you called these people inappropriate names, I don't think you were wrong to send that email. And honestly, even if you did, CLEARLY your circumstances are above and beyond exceptional, and their behavior is objectively shit. So, if you were my student, I'd empathize with how embarrassed you felt, but I would actually be reassuring you that people make mistakes; you're under an extraordinary amount of stress; and it will eventually blow over. Perhaps I'd make noises at the conference organizers about \"disciplining\" you, but that would be more so for your benefit. They'd be a bit less likely to badmouth you or do something else petty if they thought you were getting formally reprimanded in some way. In reality, I'd stand beside you and **try to find some funding source to help you recoup those losses.** Has it not occurred to your advisor to do this? You still need the money! The only way I could understand your advisor's response is if he **1)** cares a lot about his ego and sees all students as extensions of that ego\\* and **2)** if you threatened to harm those people. The latter would be pretty inexcusable, but *I'm not sure what the hell \"corrective action\" even means for graduate students.* If you've already expressed remorse once to the organizers and your advisor, then try to forget about this nightmare. \\*While students do somewhat reflect on us as researchers, most of us understand that every once in a while you get someone who's a difficult case (**not you**). We don't assume that our colleague encouraged or trained a difficult student to be that way. After all, you're fully formed adults by the time you get to us. Good luck with everything.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is a tactic, conscious or not. When a system is broken and no one is going to devote resources to fixing it, the only alternative is to 'criminalize' those suffering from it and showing the brokenness. How inconsiderate of you to be poor. (Sorry, I'm mad about politics and mad about how you were treated. However you proceed, you are not the person who owes an apology here.)", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Professor here. Unless you called these people inappropriate names, I don't think you were wrong to send that email. And honestly, even if you did, CLEARLY your circumstances are above and beyond exceptional, and their behavior is objectively shit. So, if you were my student, I'd empathize with how embarrassed you felt, but I would actually be reassuring you that people make mistakes; you're under an extraordinary amount of stress; and it will eventually blow over. Perhaps I'd make noises at the conference organizers about \"disciplining\" you, but that would be more so for your benefit. They'd be a bit less likely to badmouth you or do something else petty if they thought you were getting formally reprimanded in some way. In reality, I'd stand beside you and **try to find some funding source to help you recoup those losses.** Has it not occurred to your advisor to do this? You still need the money! The only way I could understand your advisor's response is if he **1)** cares a lot about his ego and sees all students as extensions of that ego\\* and **2)** if you threatened to harm those people. The latter would be pretty inexcusable, but *I'm not sure what the hell \"corrective action\" even means for graduate students.* If you've already expressed remorse once to the organizers and your advisor, then try to forget about this nightmare. \\*While students do somewhat reflect on us as researchers, most of us understand that every once in a while you get someone who's a difficult case (**not you**). We don't assume that our colleague encouraged or trained a difficult student to be that way. After all, you're fully formed adults by the time you get to us. Good luck with everything.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "TIFU. How do I recover? Long story short and some details intentionally vague: * PhD student * invited to present at prestigious conference * conference organizers asked me to pay travel expenses and then submit reimbursement * conference cancelled (COVID), said they can no longer reimburse * this is where I fucked up: I need the money badly. I got the final \"no\" at an especially bad moment in my life. I sent an email that explained in gory detail that on top of everything else going on, my mom ODed and my younger sister is in foster care, and angrily demanding they reimburse me. I know I am in the right but that it was not the right way to handle it. * conference organizers didn't even reply to me, forwarded the email to my PhD supervisor and director of graduate studies and told them to \"address\" my \"misbehavior\" * PhD supervisor said he is \"disappointed\" and we need to meet with graduate school to discuss \"corrective action\" * I have talked to the ombudsman's office and they are pretty supportive and helpful * what I really need help with is: I regret that email so badly. I regret unloading all my pain on people who have nothing to do with it and more than that I regret airing my dirty laundry so that now the whole graduate school knows it. I know my PI is not really a nice guy, and I don't expect any sympathy from him. **How do I look these people in the eye knowing that everyone now thinks of me as a trashy loose cannon instead of the promising young student I was a few weeks ago?**", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm very sorry you are going through this horrible situation. You acknowledge that you made a huge mistake, I think it is right. I don't know what you wrote in that email and if it was bad enough to justify they don't show any sympathy for what you are going through, although I am not that surprised considering most people in academia are from a very privileged background and are not likely to understand at all what you are going through. Anyways, here I what I would do if I were you: I think you should first write to the airline and hotel to politely ask for reimbursements. You are not the only one cancelling travel right now. You should then write to the conference organizers saying that you are very sorry for your email. That you are going through a very rough time right now but it is no excuse for what you said in that message. That you took action to be reimbursed by the airline etc. and shouldn't have burdened them with your personal issues. That you are again very very sorry. Send a separate message to your advisor to say that you are sorry you got them involved in all of this and that you sent an apology message to the organizers. You could ask the ombudsman to review these emails if they seem open to it. After that, keep your head up and power through. Time will pass and they will forget about it. Remember that you're a lot tougher than most of your colleagues and will get over this. Continue doing awesome work, that will be what people will remember in the end.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "As someone who battles suicidal ideation and depression, I just wanted to say thank you for caring about your students. I’m sorry you’re hurting, but that student would be really touched to know you remember them. I don’t know if it’s allowed, but I’d encourage you to email the parents and share your memories with them and express your sympathy. Maybe that’s considered unprofessional, but if so, I’d say that’s really fucking sad as it further stigmatizes suicide. And the parents want to know, now more than ever, that their child is and was loved. Thanks for caring.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "i'm sorry for you loss. when i was an RA (resident advisor) i lost two of my residents in one year and it was awful. i am now a lot more forward about mental health with undergraduate students, i think that's really all you can do. poor mental health in our undergraduate students in a huge issue and i know there are many people in student affairs at every institution thinking about this and uncovering ways to approach it. definitely reach out to your university counseling services about this, they have people in place for situations like this.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Losing a student in any manner is very sad and difficult; sucide perhaps especially shocking and disorienting. I’m so sorry for your loss. Sad to say, if you remain in academia, this kind of thing happens from time to time and is always upsetting. I lost a former student about six years ago and still think about it. It’s definitely worthwhile to pursue grief counseling.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Rip", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I’m really sorry for your loss. Losing a student or former student is incredibly difficult, and I hope you feel like you have folks to talk to right now. I lost two students by suicide within quick succession. I was close with both, but particularly the second. He would always eat lunch in my room and was one of those kids we had to drag across the finish line to graduate. I felt a lot of guilt because after he graduated he would message me on social media to chat, but I never really felt comfortable with talking online. In hindsight, he was clearly very lonely and needed someone to talk to. I wish I had recognized it then, but I didn’t. I tried to channel the guilt I felt by telling myself I’d do better for the next student who needed me, but this didn’t really help resolve my pain. The pain is still there nearly five years later, but it’s not nearly as acute as it was for this first half a year. If you get the chance, attending a funeral was helpful for managing my grief. The first student did have a funeral and I felt a lot more closure being able to spend time with other members from our school community. The second student didn’t have a funeral, and it seemed like it was more difficult to resolve my grief without the social/ceremonial aspects of saying goodbye with others. It’s tough to continue moving forward after losing a young person. Take stock of the resources available to you and make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Sorry again for your loss.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Rip", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I have lost 3 students over the course of my teaching career - one of them by suicide. It still bothers me, and I still sometimes wonder if there is anything I could have said or done to make a difference. As others mentioned, use any counseling services available to you. I also have a Google doc where I write down the student’s name and things I remember about them, so I know they won’t be forgotten.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Rip", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I had a lab mate die by suicide years ago, someone I coincidentally had known for years outside of academia. It came as a huge surprise, but their family was careful to tell people after the fact that, while devastated, it wasn't a complete surprise to them. This person had been dealing with issues for years and hid them from the wider world very well. At the time, that they died by suicide really bothered me. I couldn't wrap my head around it. With some hindsight, I feel about it more like the two kids I knew form high school who died in a car crash. The outcome is such a tragic waste of potential, but the cause wasn't really within the victims' control.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Loss of a student TW: suicide Hi all, So sorry for the sad subject, but I could really use some advice. I'm a TA, and I found out recently that one of my students died by suicide a couple months ago. They were a student that I interacted with and met with a lot, and who I genuinely really cared about. I found out that they had passed away from a university-wide email announcing the recipients of posthumous degrees (not saying that I should have been on the list of people informed, but it was a rough way to find out). Has anyone else experienced this, and how did you handle it? It's hitting me pretty hard, and I'm really struggling. Thanks <3 (cross posted to r/GradSchool but I'm not sure it went through)", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Rip", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I feel like everyone else here is ignoring the social aspect. It's incredibly annoying when someone you interact with closely is so far detached from reality. Your description made me lol - that other people correct them and they don't accept it. I guess you could try being more explicit. More \"I am leaving academia\" and less \"I'm not interested in teaching or postdocs.\" It sounds like your advisor would be convinced you're looking for permanent research only jobs in the latter case :).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Go into industry and chill until your burn out has passed. It will after a couple years and you may even start reading for fun again. No lie! It happened to me. You don't owe anyone other than your family anything. Move on if it serves you.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Really don't see what the problem is here.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Your PI is just a PI. Don’t let them have any affect on your life other than a positive one (as much as you have control of this…). When you’re in the thick of it it’s hard not to see them as an all knowing entity, even if they’re actually a POS (speaking from personal experience…), but the further away you get the more you realise they’re just a person, and their opinion means nothing unless you want it to.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yeah I'm in the \"so what?\" camp. Similar position: about to wrap up in a social science field, have always been a good student, and am completely disinterested in remaining in the academic world, at least in the R1, research-focused world of TT jobs and postdocs. My advisor literally today emailed me an announcement for a postdoc in DC even though I've made clear that I'm in a holding pattern for at minimum a year, completely disinterested in moving to a totally different region of the country while my wife would have to stay where we are at present. I could be annoyed by that ... but I'm not. Because my advisor cares about me and wants to see me be successful. That doesn't translate perfectly because he's from a different generation than me with different priorities and with wildly different level of commitment to the academic world. I'll politely thank him for forwarding something, and then delete the announcement--I have no interest in that position. But I do appreciate that he sent it. Your advisor is looking out for you, just doesn't \\*get\\* you. That's annoying, but it's not like you're telling us he's refusing to write LORs for other jobs. I know my advisor would write a LOR that extolled my virtues -- even if he said \"but Jack-ums *should* be doing academia!\" Something to learn about industry: once you do get a job in industry, NO ONE is going to care about your advisor's LOR any more. Your future recommenders will be your bosses in industry. So just get this job and don't sweat the advisor.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Your PI is just a PI. Don’t let them have any affect on your life other than a positive one (as much as you have control of this…). When you’re in the thick of it it’s hard not to see them as an all knowing entity, even if they’re actually a POS (speaking from personal experience…), but the further away you get the more you realise they’re just a person, and their opinion means nothing unless you want it to.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I feel like everyone else here is ignoring the social aspect. It's incredibly annoying when someone you interact with closely is so far detached from reality. Your description made me lol - that other people correct them and they don't accept it. I guess you could try being more explicit. More \"I am leaving academia\" and less \"I'm not interested in teaching or postdocs.\" It sounds like your advisor would be convinced you're looking for permanent research only jobs in the latter case :).", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is a non problem. You don’t have a blood contract with your advisor. Get your degree then do whatever it is you want.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You're leaving academia. Find a job you actually like. Their opinion really doesn't matter if you're leaving the profession anyways.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "My advisor is in denial I'm in my final year of my PhD in a social science field, and I've been a very successful student. I've published three solo-authored articles, won a prestigious grant, and have several more papers in the pipeline. The problem is, I'm completely done with academia. I have completely lost my drive for research, and I've never enjoyed teaching. I have always feared the early-career instability and stress of getting tenure, and I have no desire to sacrifice my personal life or anything else for the sake of academia. I've been on the market twice and actually received a tenure track offer. However, I turned it down for many reasons, including that my chronic anxiety became debilitatingly bad as soon as I received the offer. I also have a two-body problem and am not willing to live apart from my spouse for an infinite amount of time and deal with the constant stress of being on the job market over and over until we find a solution. Although I turned down a tenure track job (!) and have mentioned to my advisor several times that I don't want a teaching-heavy job, don't want a postdoc or other temporary gig, and am interested in industry, he is in complete denial. Others in my department know I plan to leave, and when the topic comes up, he tells them they're wrong! Even now that I've given up on the academic market and have begun seriously applying to nonacademic positions, he keeps pushing me to stay another year and try the academic market again. I'm at my wits' end and don't know what to do. Any advice would be appreciated.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Your PI is just a PI. Don’t let them have any affect on your life other than a positive one (as much as you have control of this…). When you’re in the thick of it it’s hard not to see them as an all knowing entity, even if they’re actually a POS (speaking from personal experience…), but the further away you get the more you realise they’re just a person, and their opinion means nothing unless you want it to.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Just saw in this thread somewhere that this is in France. I'm from France and in academia so here are some tips. I won't speak about who's right or wrong here, but only the exact next legal steps you could take. No need to waste time on a lawyer in France. They have the full right to fire you for any reason (which could also be that they're just generally not satisfied) as long as you're still in probation period. If you can still survive in the lab beyond the probation period, then you're set and stable for this year at least. Now let's speak of the case where you either resign or they fire you. You must have come through 'Visa Talent Chercheur'. If it is already validated, you can stay from 3 months to 1 year in france without issues even if you're fired. Beyond that, if you do not have another position, you gotta go back (or become irregular, and I don't advice that). Now in that time, you could first do student jobs (you're considered a student while in phd in france). Be sure to have on you certificates that you're a student before you get fired, so that you can still get those jobs even if fired. Those jobs will keep you fed at least. At the same time, look for a new phds. I would advice in this part to resign and get the recommendation from them, as its extremely important in France to have a french recommendation for a phd, and expect that if you don't have it, your new phd PIs would definitively ask your old PIs about why you didn't continue with them, so expect trouble there. That's why again, OP, you should definitively get a letter of recommendation before leaving. Another option is getting a job in industry. Kind of tough as the company recruiting you would need to get a work permit for you, but still an avenue of possibility. EDIT : added my country", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It sounds like there is a major lack of communication between the PIs and students (yourself). Their expectations have not been made clear, and thus you've been unable to meet them. The fact that they won't tell you in what ways they want to see improvement from you sucks. You're still a STUDENT, and they are there to guide you. As much as people talk about grad school being hell, it shouldn't be because of your advisors. Grad school is so hard and so much work, and your advisors should be there to help you and answer questions. If you don't see yourself getting along with your current advisors and being happy doing your research, I recommend you leave. Things are only going to get harder. I'm sorry you're going through this, and I know how hard of a decision this is going to be for you. I went through something similar, and to have your advisor threaten to fire you without the ability to explain yourself feels so shitty. I wish you the best of luck!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Please do not listen to people saying this is ok. What you have described is a super toxic environment. I know people who had the same issue. They join a lab and are expected to know everything and start producing results the same week. They were then fired during the probationary period for not producing enough. You have come from another country with another language, it should be expected that it takes you time to adjust and understand the project. One should not have to know everything about the project when joining a new lab! It is for them to provide some guidance and training. Then after you can continue reading! Please do not feel guilty regarding this. This is the supervisors fault. I would advise you to leave this position. This is a huge red flag and shows how they will resort to firing you as the first option instead of talking to you and communicating what you want. I know it’s risky to leave now but honestly even if you stay there could be so many issues down the line. What if they refuse to publish your results because they are unreliable? They could make your time hell there. In terms of animal experiments, what they did was hugely unethical. It should have been made clear that you would do surgery. Also in the lab I am in many people have not managed to work with the mice. It has been very hard for people and that should be expected. There is an adjustment period for new members. Any good and kind supervisor will know that. Anyone telling you to accept this has been sucked into the academia mindset where we are supposed to know everything and produce results instantly. We are not robots, we make mistakes and it is normal even as a postdoc to need time to adjust. Your supervisors sound cruel and completely unempathetic. They are concerned only for their project. They do not care to try to mentor you. Even the nice supervisor still agree to try to fire you. I just wanted you to know that the ‘mistakes’ they talked about were completely normal things to do when starting out. Don’t feel like a bad scientist because of what they said. I know how horrible it can be when supervisors talk to you like that. You deserve better.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I would not resign. If they are going to fire you make them fire you. Don't give them the easy way out. That way they have to be accountable for the decision.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Get out of this manipulative and abusive position. Your lab should be a team, and your advisors should be.... advising! They made a list of things that they want you to work on but won't show it to you? They're lying about people saying negative things about you? They are threatening to fire you over discomfort with an ethically questionable animal experiment that you werent prepared for? Are these people five years old? RUN! If this is how they treat new students, get out now. There is no scenario where this get better. A PhD is hard, and it takes a strong relationship with a strong support network. You will never find that with these people.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Go to your graduate school. They are there to represent graduate students. Like HR but for students and on your side.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Please do not listen to people saying this is ok. What you have described is a super toxic environment. I know people who had the same issue. They join a lab and are expected to know everything and start producing results the same week. They were then fired during the probationary period for not producing enough. You have come from another country with another language, it should be expected that it takes you time to adjust and understand the project. One should not have to know everything about the project when joining a new lab! It is for them to provide some guidance and training. Then after you can continue reading! Please do not feel guilty regarding this. This is the supervisors fault. I would advise you to leave this position. This is a huge red flag and shows how they will resort to firing you as the first option instead of talking to you and communicating what you want. I know it’s risky to leave now but honestly even if you stay there could be so many issues down the line. What if they refuse to publish your results because they are unreliable? They could make your time hell there. In terms of animal experiments, what they did was hugely unethical. It should have been made clear that you would do surgery. Also in the lab I am in many people have not managed to work with the mice. It has been very hard for people and that should be expected. There is an adjustment period for new members. Any good and kind supervisor will know that. Anyone telling you to accept this has been sucked into the academia mindset where we are supposed to know everything and produce results instantly. We are not robots, we make mistakes and it is normal even as a postdoc to need time to adjust. Your supervisors sound cruel and completely unempathetic. They are concerned only for their project. They do not care to try to mentor you. Even the nice supervisor still agree to try to fire you. I just wanted you to know that the ‘mistakes’ they talked about were completely normal things to do when starting out. Don’t feel like a bad scientist because of what they said. I know how horrible it can be when supervisors talk to you like that. You deserve better.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Go to your graduate school. They are there to represent graduate students. Like HR but for students and on your side.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Read your contract to the last letter. I hope you're in Europe, if you are, maybe your contract has clauses saying who pays what if there's a contract rupture. I'm in France, and I think my contract says that after a period the university needs to pay for some of my costs if they end the contract. Maybe it varies with university??? I don't know, but READ your contract and ask rather for legal advice. Having said this, and from a human point of view. Can you imagine working with those people for 3+ years? I hope you're able to transition to something else with the least amount of problems for you. The best of luck!!!!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Fired? Hi All. Sorry for the long text in advance, but I reaaaaally need help. &#x200B; I need help understanding what's happening because I am completely lost. Here is what has happened. &#x200B; I started my PhD in another country about a month and a half ago. My two supervisors got a grant and I was able to get the position after the interviews. An important thing to know is that they work in different universities and is a multidisciplinary project, so the science they do is completely different and I was told I would have to go from one place to the other regularly. &#x200B; My first month was completely in my first supervisor university and everything went super well. We really got along, I was getting super positive feedback, I really connected with my coworkers, ... This supervisor measures our performance with a KPI thing on an excel and he told me he was super happy and that he was really surprised with how well I was doing. &#x200B; After that meeting, I was told I had to go 5 days to the lab of my other supervisor. This is when things started to get weird. I arrived there and I was getting a weird vibe from my supervisor but it was the first time we met in real life so I didn't think too much about it. She starts to show me the place and tells me that she wants to show me some IT stuff. I told her that I didn't bring my work laptop from the other place but that I had brought my personal laptop (I know this is my bad, I just assume she was going to give me one, but again completely my bad). She told me something like \"don't worry, I will send you the manuals and you can let me know if you have an issue when you go back\". After that, we started doing some work that day and everything was ok. &#x200B; The next day, we had to prepare to do some experiments with animals to extract their organs while there were still alive. Just to be clear during the interviews I was only told \"you will have to work with organs and biological samples\". So during that experiment, I felt pretty bad, told her that I was going out for a while and then came back and told her that I was sorry that I felt very uncomfortable with that. She told me to go home and to contact my other supervisor because she thought that he should know. I did that and went to sleep. &#x200B; The next day, I was able to that experiments but I was starting to receive a lot of random negative comments from this woman like \"I feel you are absolutely not interested in this project\" out of nowhere. She also told me things like \"you are not taking notes\" that at the time she told me that I was not taking notes but at other moments I was taking notes, she also said things like \"you can use your time to read papers\" that is something that I was also doing but not exactly at the moment she told me that. &#x200B; Days went by and, honestly, our relationship kind of went to this place of not really talking that much. Now I know it was a super stupid move from me. I did everything that she told me to do but I recognise that I didn't do more than what she told me to. &#x200B; The last day I was there she told me to meet her at her office. There she started saying things to me like \"I don't think you are a good student\", \"I don't think you will be able to find collaborators\", \"This PhD is going to get harder and harder\", ... To those things, I didn't really answer a lot of things other than \"sorry, the next time I come here I will try to improve\". &#x200B; The next day I had a holiday but the \"nice supervisor\" called me to go to his office. So I went and he was there waiting for me with the other supervisor on zoom. I go in and he tells me \"For legal reasons we have to record this\" (I knew things were not going well at that point). &#x200B; They started to accuse me of multiple things. Some things were true, for example, the fact that I left that day at the experiment. Other things were half-trues, for example, that I didn't take my work laptop (which is true but she didn't tell me it was a problem). Some things were lies, for example, the \"nice supervisor\" told me that he received very negative feedback from my coworkers. I later checked with them and they promised me that they gave very positive feedback in fact. And some things were absolute bullsh\\*t, for instance, they were questioning why I was living in a town and not in the city. &#x200B; After that, they told me that I was fired. They told me that if I resigned they would write me a \"somewhat good\" recommendation letter for another place but that if they had to fire me they would not do that. After a couple of minutes of discussion, I told them to give me a couple of weeks to prove to them that I can work better. They talked about it and that I had a week and a half to do it. They told me that they were going to write a list of things they want me to do, but that they were not going to give that list, I had to figure it out. &#x200B; After that, I talked with my coworkers and they presented a letter to the \"nice\" supervisor telling them that they don't agree with that decision and that they never gave negative feedback and that this letter is there to prove that they want to give positive feedback about me. Something else that I discovered while talking with my colleagues is that this supervisor started to ask them HR questions (like \"do you think he is reliable?) the day after I left the experiment with the animals. &#x200B; The next day (today), my supervisor told me to go to his office. We sat down and gave a list of very general and broad stuff like \"don´t assume, ask first\", \"think before you act\", \"recognise your mistakes\", ... He also told me that I should try to focus on impressing the other supervisor not him. I thanked him for that list (even though it was not the list they wrote the day before and it was more like \"tips\"). I also told him that I don't know what I am going to be able to do in just one week and a half, he agreed to that. He also told me that he thinks that their decision to fire me was not the best way to handle it, but that if they don't fire me now they cannot fire me for the next 9 months. He told me that he thought I had a chance of doing it. &#x200B; This supervisor has money for hiring more students without the other supervisor. I asked him if he saw changing me to another project as an option (so basically me not working with the other supervisor). He told me that he does not see it as an option because \"that is too easy and you have to learn to work with different kind of people\", which is kind of true (i guess). I have been doing my work, reading papers and sending very nice emails to show that I care. I am going to go next week to the other university to show that I care (I cannot go more because of COVID). I have apologized to both of them for not being able to prove how much I like this position. But, honestly, there are not that many things one can achieve (at least in my field) in a week and a half. &#x200B; I am very worried. I came from another country, I have contracts here now for two years (apartment, phone, health insurance, ...), I really like the project that I am doing, the coworkers are really nice, .... &#x200B; I would like to know your opinion. Do you think I have options of keeping the position? Do you think they just gave me this week and a half to \"show that they tried to let me improve but I didn't\"? &#x200B; Thank you so much for reading my story. Please don't hesitate to comment!! I really can use all the help and tips I can get!! &#x200B; PS: I know I have not given a lot of specific details, but I would also like to stay as anonymous as possible just to avoid potential problems. But if you think that there is something important that could be missing please let me know! &#x200B; Thanks again", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Go to your graduate school. They are there to represent graduate students. Like HR but for students and on your side.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The professor is completely entitled to his personal opinions and beliefs. That’s one of the things that makes America great. Free speech. Could you imagine how many great scientists would have be thrown in the dirt and have their careers ruined for having ideas that are perceived outlandish by the general public? Einstein, Nikola Tesla, etc. I’m not saying that the professors claims and beliefs do or don’t hold any validity, but in order for people to speak freely, they inevitably risk offending people. What you should do if you disagree with his position on certain subjects is use that noggin of yours to argue back. Shoot down his arguments and counterarguments with logic and reason. Cite some experimental data and extrapolate some possible conclusions from the data/evidence that’s available. That is in fact what scientists do, isn’t it? If you are truly confident that your position on the matter of which the professor disagrees with you on is somehow more correct or reasonable, explain to him how. As an intellect, you should be excited to converse with someone whom you disagree with. It’s an opportunity for you to update your perception of reality and prove or disprove some of your presuppositions. As a chemical engineer, I’d hate to be in a workplace where it’s an ideological echo-chamber. That’s not an environment that’s likely to foster growth nor provide opportunities for you to test your knowledge. Since when did scientists want to take the easy way out of a challenge? Come on.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Report to a journalists or write an email to the university or write a Twitter thread. Many things you can do or write a medium article.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I am extremely uncomfortable with the mentality that if someone has an egregious idea that I don't like that I should try to ruin their life.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Is this person your peer? If so then tell them to stop. If the person is not your peer then why does it matter to you? How do you know it is actually the person that you think it is and not a bot? Having the same photo and username is not proof enough. Email the prof in question and ask them if this is their twitter. A good opening: >\"I noticed @-blah posting conspiracy theories on twitter under your name and image and thought you should be aware of this.\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You may disagree but I find it disturbing that you want to out him in the name of censorship. It's too totalitarian for me. I grant anyone to have opinions outside of their classroom and I value viewpoint diversity, *even if I totally disagree with one viewpoint being promoted.* Hopefully the university has a very strong free speech policy. I admit too, I'm a bit shocked by the amount of Yeah Go Get Him attitudes here.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Is this person your peer? If so then tell them to stop. If the person is not your peer then why does it matter to you? How do you know it is actually the person that you think it is and not a bot? Having the same photo and username is not proof enough. Email the prof in question and ask them if this is their twitter. A good opening: >\"I noticed @-blah posting conspiracy theories on twitter under your name and image and thought you should be aware of this.\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The professor is completely entitled to his personal opinions and beliefs. That’s one of the things that makes America great. Free speech. Could you imagine how many great scientists would have be thrown in the dirt and have their careers ruined for having ideas that are perceived outlandish by the general public? Einstein, Nikola Tesla, etc. I’m not saying that the professors claims and beliefs do or don’t hold any validity, but in order for people to speak freely, they inevitably risk offending people. What you should do if you disagree with his position on certain subjects is use that noggin of yours to argue back. Shoot down his arguments and counterarguments with logic and reason. Cite some experimental data and extrapolate some possible conclusions from the data/evidence that’s available. That is in fact what scientists do, isn’t it? If you are truly confident that your position on the matter of which the professor disagrees with you on is somehow more correct or reasonable, explain to him how. As an intellect, you should be excited to converse with someone whom you disagree with. It’s an opportunity for you to update your perception of reality and prove or disprove some of your presuppositions. As a chemical engineer, I’d hate to be in a workplace where it’s an ideological echo-chamber. That’s not an environment that’s likely to foster growth nor provide opportunities for you to test your knowledge. Since when did scientists want to take the easy way out of a challenge? Come on.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I think you should let it be. As scientists, shouldn't we use science to disprove their conspiracy theories? It feels unethical to say this person and many phd students relying on the funding provided by him should suffer as long as they do not actually target someone or some group.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm pretty liberal, but I'd like to take a second to tell you go pound sand. Tenure exists exactly for this reason. We have to protect the most outrageous speech and political beliefs so that on the very rare occasion that a new Galileo comes around he doesnt get banned for not \"promoting reason, truth and evidence.\" Galileo was a heretic and many people found his views abhorrent at the time. Without tenure and similar protections, we risk a group think mentality taking over and ultimate stagnation. I have no doubt this prof is a moron, but you are the bigger moron for wanting to tattle on him for making you uncomfortable. Grow up. If he hasnt threatened anyone, incited violence or otherwise violated the law he has every right to be a moron. People like you are very dangerous and a threat to science more than one moron. Put your pitchfork away and go find something else to do.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Science professor at major US university promoting capitol rioters, election disinformation, COVID conspiracy theories, etc. on Twitter. Who do I report this to? I recently came across the Twitter account of an academic research scientist (professor at a well known university) and saw that he has thousands of tweets promoting all sorts of insane conspiracy theories, pro-Trump propaganda from extreme right wing news sources, and even conspiracy theories about COVID-19. The COVID stuff is really shocking because it is not that far from his field of research! He looks to be a mid-level professor. This is disturbing to me. Scientists are supposed to be promoters of reason, truth, and evidence. What this person is doing is the antithesis of that. This Twitter account is under his real name, but it seems to be flying under the radar because he is only following a bunch of right wing propagandists. He has no followers in his field and isn't following any other scientists. I have verified that it is indeed the professor's account. His username is a science term from his field, and he has posted some slightly less inflammatory things publicly on facebook also where his photo is visible. What should I do in this situation? Contact his academic department? Retweet some of his stuff to draw attention to it? His research is funded by the US government and I don't think a conspiracy nut and propagandist should be in charge of a federally funded research lab.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "So you're trying to get a guy fired for committing thought crime. Really exemplifying what's great about the academy, bro.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I am in some mash up of drug discovery, computational chemistry, and computational physics. Honestly, methods papers don't get the love they deserve and more people need to run replicates to ensure that their simulations have not gone into weird phase space. Also a lot of experimentalists have no clue what a simulation can and can not show.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm in public health nutrition. Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are gross. People talk about how they are super effective as a public health intervention because \"low socio-economic status populations bear the brunt of the burden of disease associated with SSB and they are most 'price sensitive' to the taxes and so they are most effective where they are needed most.\" I don't *deny* any of that's true, but hearing all the \"equity is important, we must respect the individual!\" public health practitioners basically say \"This intervention works by leveraging the fact people are poor to make them behave in the way we think they need to,\" is *so* gross and is textbook paternalism. If asked about this aspect they'll say that the taxes can go back into public health interventions that will better the health of the community like that makes it less gross. It doesn't. Fund your interventions in ways that don't raise funds by burdening those already so burdened in the name of helping them.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Social work: That the answer to most of our research questions is this: people need more resources and structural systems/capitalism will never allow it. Individual interventions only go so far and will never fix the problems that throwing money at them will. All of our implications sections should just say: we need a more equitable society/eat the rich. But people won’t say it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Lots in education, somehow, still think that schooling is primarily a psychological process in which social forces don't matter. Similarly, Theories and approaches, especially in contemporary neoliberal america, get stripped of their original social and political commitments. I saw a syllabus for a course on Critical Pedagogy and it didnt have a single reading by Freire or any other progressive. Critical Literacy gets transformed into \"Critical Thinking\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Social work: That the answer to most of our research questions is this: people need more resources and structural systems/capitalism will never allow it. Individual interventions only go so far and will never fix the problems that throwing money at them will. All of our implications sections should just say: we need a more equitable society/eat the rich. But people won’t say it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Nuclear structure: literally stamp collecting. Who are these 100+ gamma-ray transitions at 0.001% intensity going to help? No one, that’s who. Pain in the butt to end up with a level scheme with 300+ transitions, just for it to be added to the database in 10 years. What’s the use?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Anthropology has the unique ability to counter the racist narratives and beliefs that its responsible for creating in the centuries past. The current emerging beliefs and endorsements in anti-anti-racist rhetoric, White supremacy, race patterned disparities, and the like have a special place in Anthropological education, and can be effectively combated by educating the public on the nature of the human condition and all that it does and doesn't entail. Instead, Anthropology suffers from an overrepresentation of White liberals who will continue to focus on non-White others, placing them on shelves to collect dust, and studying *anything other* than the ways that they themselves reproduce that culture of racial homogeneity within the academic field -- rendering Anthropology virtually useless and undermining any Anthro department's ability to secure funding, advance research in critical areas, or do anything of substantive importance beyond its basic requirements of studying what it means to be human on a biological and cultural level. What a waste.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Lots in education, somehow, still think that schooling is primarily a psychological process in which social forces don't matter. Similarly, Theories and approaches, especially in contemporary neoliberal america, get stripped of their original social and political commitments. I saw a syllabus for a course on Critical Pedagogy and it didnt have a single reading by Freire or any other progressive. Critical Literacy gets transformed into \"Critical Thinking\"", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Social work: That the answer to most of our research questions is this: people need more resources and structural systems/capitalism will never allow it. Individual interventions only go so far and will never fix the problems that throwing money at them will. All of our implications sections should just say: we need a more equitable society/eat the rich. But people won’t say it.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "What's your unpopular opinion about your field? Title.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Organization Studies/Science (yes, it matters, and i used to be active at the intersection). I'm no longer active as a researcher, luckily. Not only is most research utterly irrelevant for people managing organizations, I've come to find it increasingly less important what people managing organization need or want. Fuck 'm.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Ma’am I know a guy (37M) in my program who just got his PhD and has literally dated solely undergrads throughout his degree under more ethically questionable circumstances and nobody bats a fucking eye except me and my girlfriend because the dude has other major red flags nobody else for some reason sees. So yeah send it", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Do what makes you happy.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You won't face any social backlash or issues for breaking rules. The \"don't date your students\" rules are meant to prevent 50 year old professors from trying to get with 20 yo undergrads or the PhD students that are in their department.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I remember in my undergrad there was an elder student living in the halls as a TA. I suspect he was on some spectrum of Asperger’s or even Autism. He was older, socially awkward, not really I’m good shape, and clearly single (likely a virgin). Always appeared at parties and wanted to talk to girls but too shy. For him, I can see dating life was a real struggle. If you have the opportunity, you should go for it as there doesn’t appear to be any real conflict.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Don’t let your life slip away while your doing your PhD, have some fun and enjoy yourself!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Do what makes you happy.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Yay! I say go for it. You’re not faculty and as long as you’re not teaching him, it’s all good", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Do what makes you happy.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You won't face any social backlash or issues for breaking rules. The \"don't date your students\" rules are meant to prevent 50 year old professors from trying to get with 20 yo undergrads or the PhD students that are in their department.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Dating struggles as an older phd student...to date or not to date? Dating as an older non-traditional phd student has been hella hard. Recently divorced and I’m in my 40’s (f). I’m currently in my 3rd year in a mathematics program. I met a really great guy who’s also a non-traditional student and is studying English. He’s in his 40’s too and divorced. The catch? He’s in his junior year of undergrad at the college I teach in. I’ve never taught him and won’t teach him at all. No supervisory responsibility or anything like that. In fact, we met at the food hall on campus! I want to give this a go but I don’t want backlash. Thoughts?", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You're not really a faculty member are you? So I think you should be fine. Even then, you should be fine regardless.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Data collection sometimes doesn’t entitle someone to authorship, depending on the field. However, if she wrote large portions of the paper (and if she has some kind of proof, like time stamped past versions, a document with an accessible editing history, emails, etc) she should fight for authorship. If this threat was made in writing, I would save it in case. Here’s what I would do if I were her and had proof I wrote a significant portion of the paper: First, talk to PI. Get as much of this meeting recorded or in writing as possible. Document everything via email. Try to keep things as amiable and professional as possible. Explain that, seeing as I wrote a large part of the paper, I am entitled to authorship regardless of my future contributions. Bring up the professional organization authorship guidelines if they exist in my field (most fields have these. E.g., as a psychologist, I’m beholden to the ethical authorship standards of the APA). Also politely showcase my proof that I wrote the paper if PI is unreasonable. If PI won’t listen, go to step two. Step two: go to department head or chair. Show proof of PI’s threat, proof of my work on paper, proof of meeting with PI, and a copy of professional organization guidelines. Record or get in writing everything in this meeting as well. Explain that removing my authorship is unethical. If this person pushes back, explain that, if this were to happen, I would have no choice but to report the behavior to the professional organization directly. (Such a report would be a big problem for the PI and possibly the department itself). If that doesn’t work, report everything to the professional organization itself. Fair warning, this plan would burn some bridges. It also might result in the paper simply never being published. The PI can’t publish without crediting the writer as an author, but they can just not publish the paper at all.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is unethical but, as you are seeing, does sometimes happen. Without knowing all of the details, here is my rough recommendation of how to proceed: 1. Have a discussion with the PI to discuss order of authorship. Your girlfriend can note her contributions to the projects, aim to get a sense of other people's contributions after she left, and ask for fair inclusion. In general, if a person did all of the data collection and wrote most of the manuscript, they should be first or maybe second author. There are a whole range of reasonable reasons to be lower in the order of authorship (e.g., she did data collection for one of several studies to be included in the manuscript, her work had issues and needed to be redone, the writing was insufficient and someone else needed to re-write the manuscript, etc.). It would help to have a better picture of everything. Still, so long as the manuscript contains her original work and ideas, she should be listed as an author. 2. Hopefully Step #1 works. If it doesn't, it's worth elevating to someone at the university. The department chair or faculty liaison to graduate students may be worth having a conversation with. It's possible that they can provide some perspective, broker an agreement, or read the PI the riot act. If your girlfriend's graduate student assistantship was part of a graduate student union, it may be worth talking with a union rep, too. The ombuds office on campus is an anonymous resource for talking through concerns like this, and may be familiar with campus-specific resources for navigating this kind of concern. 3. I hope that some sort of arrangement can take place before the paper is published. That said, if the paper is full of your girlfriend's original work and is published without her listed as an author, it is worth contacting the editor of the journal it is published in. Any evidence that demonstrates her contributions is worth saving in order to show to the editor in the event that this is necessary. I don't know what would come out of contacting the editor, but hopefully this is something they would take seriously. While the authorship of papers sometimes changes as the paper evolves (people join the team, leave, take on new responsibilities on the project, etc.), threatening to drop someone as an author as a retaliatory measure is never okay. If they did the work, they deserve the credit, period. I'm sorry that your girlfriend is going through this, and I hope she gets an agreeable resolution.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "That is unethical, as others observed and can be reported to the campus Research Integrity Officer as a case of plagiarism. The PI cannot remove an author simply because they quit.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "This is unethical but, as you are seeing, does sometimes happen. Without knowing all of the details, here is my rough recommendation of how to proceed: 1. Have a discussion with the PI to discuss order of authorship. Your girlfriend can note her contributions to the projects, aim to get a sense of other people's contributions after she left, and ask for fair inclusion. In general, if a person did all of the data collection and wrote most of the manuscript, they should be first or maybe second author. There are a whole range of reasonable reasons to be lower in the order of authorship (e.g., she did data collection for one of several studies to be included in the manuscript, her work had issues and needed to be redone, the writing was insufficient and someone else needed to re-write the manuscript, etc.). It would help to have a better picture of everything. Still, so long as the manuscript contains her original work and ideas, she should be listed as an author. 2. Hopefully Step #1 works. If it doesn't, it's worth elevating to someone at the university. The department chair or faculty liaison to graduate students may be worth having a conversation with. It's possible that they can provide some perspective, broker an agreement, or read the PI the riot act. If your girlfriend's graduate student assistantship was part of a graduate student union, it may be worth talking with a union rep, too. The ombuds office on campus is an anonymous resource for talking through concerns like this, and may be familiar with campus-specific resources for navigating this kind of concern. 3. I hope that some sort of arrangement can take place before the paper is published. That said, if the paper is full of your girlfriend's original work and is published without her listed as an author, it is worth contacting the editor of the journal it is published in. Any evidence that demonstrates her contributions is worth saving in order to show to the editor in the event that this is necessary. I don't know what would come out of contacting the editor, but hopefully this is something they would take seriously. While the authorship of papers sometimes changes as the paper evolves (people join the team, leave, take on new responsibilities on the project, etc.), threatening to drop someone as an author as a retaliatory measure is never okay. If they did the work, they deserve the credit, period. I'm sorry that your girlfriend is going through this, and I hope she gets an agreeable resolution.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Data collection sometimes doesn’t entitle someone to authorship, depending on the field. However, if she wrote large portions of the paper (and if she has some kind of proof, like time stamped past versions, a document with an accessible editing history, emails, etc) she should fight for authorship. If this threat was made in writing, I would save it in case. Here’s what I would do if I were her and had proof I wrote a significant portion of the paper: First, talk to PI. Get as much of this meeting recorded or in writing as possible. Document everything via email. Try to keep things as amiable and professional as possible. Explain that, seeing as I wrote a large part of the paper, I am entitled to authorship regardless of my future contributions. Bring up the professional organization authorship guidelines if they exist in my field (most fields have these. E.g., as a psychologist, I’m beholden to the ethical authorship standards of the APA). Also politely showcase my proof that I wrote the paper if PI is unreasonable. If PI won’t listen, go to step two. Step two: go to department head or chair. Show proof of PI’s threat, proof of my work on paper, proof of meeting with PI, and a copy of professional organization guidelines. Record or get in writing everything in this meeting as well. Explain that removing my authorship is unethical. If this person pushes back, explain that, if this were to happen, I would have no choice but to report the behavior to the professional organization directly. (Such a report would be a big problem for the PI and possibly the department itself). If that doesn’t work, report everything to the professional organization itself. Fair warning, this plan would burn some bridges. It also might result in the paper simply never being published. The PI can’t publish without crediting the writer as an author, but they can just not publish the paper at all.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It depends on the extent of her contribution. Just data collection isn’t necessarily enough, but if she contributed significantly to the analysis and writing she’s an author. If she can’t work something out with her PI, next steps would be to see either the director of graduate studies for her program or, if the grad students are unionized (rare in the US) a union rep.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "That is unethical, as others observed and can be reported to the campus Research Integrity Officer as a case of plagiarism. The PI cannot remove an author simply because they quit.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "If she wrote the majority of the paper, she is definitely entitled to authorship, perhaps even first-author, given that she also did data collection. Was she involved the data analysis portion?", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "A bunch of comments are debating whether she should be author. This is beside the point. If the professor is threatening to deny her authorship because she's leaving the group, it implies that authorship is deserved. Full stop. If the paper isn't completely finished then it isn't going to get submitted unless she or someone else resumes the work. So it sounds like someone else is going to have to pick this up, and it would be difficult to prevent the PI from changing the author order. It would be shitty/unethical/unprofessional to remove the graduate student from the paper entirely. u/jogam has a couple of ideas that seem to be pretty good to me.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Authorship denied because of sudden quitting My gf has been working as a graduate research assistant for about a year now. Her PI tasked her with a paper and much more work. In the end the work was bearing too much on her and she decided to quit abruptly. The problem is there is a paper that is practically finished but the PI is threatening to deny her authorship and may only put her in the acknowledgements even though she did all the data collection and wrote the majority of the paper. This seems highly unprofessional to me but I am not in the field of acadamia. I would like to know others opinion on this.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "It depends on the extent of her contribution. Just data collection isn’t necessarily enough, but if she contributed significantly to the analysis and writing she’s an author. If she can’t work something out with her PI, next steps would be to see either the director of graduate studies for her program or, if the grad students are unionized (rare in the US) a union rep.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Honestly, if he was annoyed and still kept his office door open, it's on him. It doesn't sound like you disrespected any boundaries. I also agree with everyone else. This is what profs get paid for and most of us love to see our students try hard and get rewarded for their efforts (this doesn't always mean get A's)", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Depends really. The obvious answer is 'of course it's irritating' because we're human and to get interrupted multiple times per day is plainly irritating. But there are caveats. If it's just a teaching semester then it's less problematic. If you're in the midst of also writing something up then it can be hugely disturbing (isn't it for you?). But, my key thought is that it depends on the reason. I get monumentally irritated when asked things where the answer is PLAINLY and LITERALLY in the course book (or equivalent). This shows laziness disrespect for my time in equal measure.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Office hours are there to be used, but I CAN get frustrated if it feels like the student is using them like a crutch instead of working through it on their own. As long as you're listening and putting in the work, rather than thinking office hours are a substitute for working on your own, you're fine.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The only time I get annoyed is if students don't try in class, don't read the syllabus (I'm one of THOSE), or don't come to class... then come to my office all the time. I actually appreciate when students are in my office hours. To me that shows that they are making an effort and truly care about the class. I've had a few that are the \"only ones\" as well.... and they did well in the class as a result of asking lots of questions!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Office hours are there to be used, but I CAN get frustrated if it feels like the student is using them like a crutch instead of working through it on their own. As long as you're listening and putting in the work, rather than thinking office hours are a substitute for working on your own, you're fine.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I wish some of my students visited this often because they need it!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Office hours are there to be used, but I CAN get frustrated if it feels like the student is using them like a crutch instead of working through it on their own. As long as you're listening and putting in the work, rather than thinking office hours are a substitute for working on your own, you're fine.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Honestly, if he was annoyed and still kept his office door open, it's on him. It doesn't sound like you disrespected any boundaries. I also agree with everyone else. This is what profs get paid for and most of us love to see our students try hard and get rewarded for their efforts (this doesn't always mean get A's)", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Office hours are there to be used, but I CAN get frustrated if it feels like the student is using them like a crutch instead of working through it on their own. As long as you're listening and putting in the work, rather than thinking office hours are a substitute for working on your own, you're fine.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Yo professors, do you ever get annoyed at students that visit you every day during your office hours? Taking my discrete math class this semeseter, easily the hardest class ive ever taken. im a junior &#x200B; im literally visiting my professor every day (he says if his office door is open, hes open to meet). &#x200B; Am i annoying him by visiting him every day? I need a C+ in this class and this class is FUCKING HARD. &#x200B; so do yall get annoyed at students that meet every single day? &#x200B; he did tell me im the only student that visits /meets him on teams via online during office hours..", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Depends really. The obvious answer is 'of course it's irritating' because we're human and to get interrupted multiple times per day is plainly irritating. But there are caveats. If it's just a teaching semester then it's less problematic. If you're in the midst of also writing something up then it can be hugely disturbing (isn't it for you?). But, my key thought is that it depends on the reason. I get monumentally irritated when asked things where the answer is PLAINLY and LITERALLY in the course book (or equivalent). This shows laziness disrespect for my time in equal measure.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Have you read Andrew Kay's essay called \"Fanning the Flames While the Humanities Burn\"? From your post it doesn't sound like you're in the humanities, but in this essay Kay talks at length about the seeming frivolity of hyper-niche research that doesn't seem to affect anyone else and the commiserate disheartenment. It's definitely worth a read, even if you're not in the humanities. Edit: The Kay article is actually called \"Academy's Extinction Event.\" \"Fanning the Flames\" is a response to it by Anastasia Berg. They're both worth a read, but I wanted to make sure I was referencing the correct piece.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "That isn't just your field. Research is incremental, the more you understand how those small steps translate into large understandings, the sooner you can see the importance in your own small steps. If you're looking for big findings, go back in time, not to a different program.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "> But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? It could be depression from current state of the world getting to you; but it could also be a deeper truth reveling itself to you as well. Practically speaking not enjoying the work you are doing, or seeing the value of the work you are doing is a sign that in the long run you will not be happy in a *very* demanding career. Back before I did my graduate studies a couple of my colleagues (I was a programmer at the time) advised me to avoid research into computer science since \"all of the low hanging fruit has been plucked, and most people are not happy with making an incredibly small improvement to a known solution.\" They weren't wrong and I ended up doing my graduate studies in a computer science adjacent field (computational science and engineering) where the focus is less on the incremental improvements can be more on the big problems (e.g., climate change, public health, etc.). My experience has generally been that those thoughts don't really go away. Some people thrive looking at incredibly niche topics purely due to the intellectual joy they experience; however, other people enjoy knowing that their work has a measurable (if small) impact upon the broader world around them. If you are in the category it might not be such a bad idea to explore interdisciplinary (or even transdisciplinary) research if you want to stay adjacent to where you started. Of course, there's also nothing wrong with changing disciplines as well! I've known people over the years that started in A, got their PhD in B, ended up in C as professors, and eventually retired a couple more steps removed!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "That's what depressed me. Plus the idea that any good, scholarly work I create will be read by a few hundred people, tops.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "You are coming into the world at a very strange time. There are times of stability where people focus on themselves, and times of instability where their attention is necessarily turned outwards to the systems that surround them. America has been in the former basically for the entirety of our parents generation so they’ve given us a set of expectations for life that were made for a static prosperous time. The world we are prepared for is not the world as it is. We will need to deal with much more complex and difficult and borderline dangerous work than they ever had to face. Do not hold yourself to their ambitions, they are just telling you what they understand of their world, however their entire model and understanding has been shown to be obsolete. For your own sake, persist with your career, you’re gonna need it in the times ahead. I would offer a suggestion, that your source of discomfort is not that you are focused on your work, but that you sense you need to gain an awareness of what’s going on with the world. I think there are many people that feel this way right now. Please continue to explore your understanding of the world, I suggest History to give you perspective that we are not alone as people in the distant past have been in our shoes, make your own opinions, and think of ways you might influence the system for good. All while you simultaneously do your work and I assure you will feel more complete. Your feelings are 100% valid, not because your work is unimportant but because current events have become more important relatively. Our parents generation can't help us as they have no perspective. Look to our grandparents or great-grandparents generation for guidance on how to exist and be happy in a troubled world. All you need to be happy in life is friends, food and shelter, we still live in good times, we are just restless because we are pushed to ridiculous standards. You're very lucky to have made it into a graduate program, there are many which are not giving funding for 2020-2021 cycle. This is a great time to be in a graduate program, as normally the downside of graduate school is the opportunity cost of working in the prosperous industry job market. So on the bright side, you're not missing out on anything.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Use your position as an academic to organize and agitate for societal change.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Have you read Chomky's essay on \"The Responsibility of Intellectuals\"? If not, I'd think you'd enjoy it: https://chomsky.info/19670223/", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "That's what depressed me. Plus the idea that any good, scholarly work I create will be read by a few hundred people, tops.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "The truth is, I think, that most of us wont do any truly revolutionary research. What we will do is contribute to a larger body of knowledge. Every bit of research is something that wasn't known before. It might not make a huge difference now but the little things build up over time. I think too that many, if not all fields are tied to real world problems once you dig into them.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "I work seems pointless I recently graduated undergrad. I was super diligent and got to publish my senior thesis to a conference. I just recently spoke at a conference on said paper. I am enrolled in a masters program, I know I want to be a professor/researcher and do a PhD and the whole shebang. But with the conference, listening to everyone’s presentations on small details of hypothetical scenarios ... I am just left thinking, is any of this important? Why am I spending my time on this, when the world is going to crap? I don’t think that I dislike research... I think that I need to move to another field that is a little more applied and tied to real world problems. Has anyone else felt this way before? Would love to hear stories. Maybe I just depressed at the pandemic/climate change/political environment etc. Edit: rip title, “MY work”", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I'm a professor in education. My work is very practical and I do a lot of work in schools. I chose that. On the one hand, the research may not be widely read and we repeat each other a lot. BUT what I'm doing now affects kids right now. I can find motivation all the time (except really existentially threatening times). I would not be able to keep that up if I was doing basic research.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "\\> keeping me grounded and sane Dunno which sub you’ve been browsing m8 but it sure ain’t this one", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "🏆", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Congrats Dr. Smallthingsrock", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "🏆", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Congrats Dr. Smallthingsrock", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Thanks for your support, r/AskAcademia Just have to share that I successfully defended a PhD in deep-sea microbial ecology today. I wanted to say thanks to this community for keeping me grounded and sane over the last year or so. This sub has been my resource for many things including planning my next steps. So thanks y’all for sharing your experiences and expertise.", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Excellent, congratulations. What was your topic, if you don’t mind me asking? Did some subsurface micro far inland that turned up isolates very similar to those found in distant ocean water columns— personally, I’d love to revisit any number of related topics— consortium, quorum sensing, extremophile traits, metabolism etc. Miss just growing new stuff in the lab.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I had a kid in grad school, a kid when I was on the job market, and a kid my first year of a TT job. The key for me is setting boundaries. So I work really hard (no social media, no distractions, etc) during work hours. And I don’t work on weekends or after work. So far it’s worked well for me and I’ve been quite productive. It’s allows me to also stay present for my kids. It’ll help if you have a very supportive spouse too. (Sometimes I would need to write on a Saturday and my husband would take kids to the zoo etc). For me it was all about deciding that having a family was way more important to me than the subject of history. I got really lucky, but I really believe you’ll never regret having a child.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I started my PhD with an 18 month old. Graduated in five years, which is pretty standard in my field. Got a TT and now as I work to tenure my son is old enough to take care of a lot. It’s not the worst.", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Thanks everyone. This thread has made me feel better like I don’t have to choose between a family and a career path PhD", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "I had a baby in my second year of PhD. Like you, I was concerned to tell my PI and worried about how it would all work out. Everything was great! Financial strain, yes, as I took a semester off my RA position. But I honestly think it was way better than waiting until my early years of being an assistant professor. My hours were super flexible, my professors all understanding, and I was able to minimize stress to have a great pregnancy! It wasn't planned, but I wouldn't trade the timing, honestly. CONGRATULATIONS!!!", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Congratulations! I actually think that on the whole academia trajectory, having a baby in graduate school is the very best time. You have a degree of flexibility around your work that is unlike most other jobs. The only downside is the money -- it can be hard to afford childcare and an extra bedroom. Some wise words from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which I wholeheartedly agree with: &#x200B; >*\"Work-life balance was a term not yet coined in the years my children were young; it is aptly descriptive of the time distribution I experienced. My success in law school, I have no doubt, was in large measure because of baby Jane. I attended classes and studied diligently until 4 in the afternoon; the next hours were Jane's time, spent at the park, playing silly games or singing funny songs, reading picture books and A. A. Milne poems, and bathing and feeding her. After Jane's bedtime, I returned to the law books with renewed will. Each part of my life provided respite from the other and gave me a sense of proportion that classmates trained only on law studies lacked.\"*", "role": "assistant" } ]

[ { "content": "Pregnant during PhD program Hi everyone! I just found out that I’m pregnant. My husband and I are over the moon, but the anxiety is starting to creep up on me. I am finishing up my second year of my PhD program in biology and the baby will be due in the beginning/middle of my third year. Quals are at the end of the third year. I am really lucky and I have a really supportive PI who cares about his students, but I’m still scared about how he is going to handle it. I’m also scared about how I will handle being a mom and a grad student. I guess I’m just asking anyone who has gone through something like this for advice. What can I expect? And a bit of reassurance that you all made it through. Thanks!", "role": "user" }, { "content": "Congratulations to the new addition to your family! Our first was born during the last year of my PhD, while I was writing my dissertation. You figure out how to make it work -- sometimes that meant rocking him in his stroller so he wouldn't cry too much while I took scans in the library, or sitting up a pack-and-play in my lab and working off-hours. I don't have much advice other than to have the perspective that you are an adult making an important life decision -- you don't have to ask anyone's permission, and an advisor who reacts negatively to that isn't an advisor you want. When we found out we were pregnant, I let everyone know that (after some parental leave) I would be working weird hours, which would mean my communication would shift away from in-person and towards email, Slack, etc. I gave junior students and trainees my phone number, since I would no longer be as accessible. I still fulfilled my obligations (teaching etc) but with a different schedule, and different priorities. To be honest, I actually accomplished a lot more after my first was born, because I learned to use the research time I did have (which was reduced to be sure) more efficiently. Before I may have been working a lot more hours, but a lot of that time was poorly used. Don't expect to be able to work as many hours, but do plan on using the hours you do have more efficiently. During the first several months, little one will be sleeping most of time though (except of course at night when you are trying to sleep 😉) Now, I'm in my 2nd year of postdoc. Our second was born during my first year, and I've never been more productive, even though some days, between the toddler and 6mo-old, I only work a few hours. I think as long as the PI is seeing productivity, they're typically fine with some accommodations or weird working schedule. It took some time to get used to being more efficient (and learning to say \"no\", learning to delegate to collaborators, etc), but it will be worth it.", "role": "assistant" } ]