If you do for some reason (which I cannot currently imagine) to go to
graduate school, here is some advice that will help you get the most out
of it without putting the future of your career at risk: 1) pick a very
HANDS-ON professor who spends a lot of time with his or her students and
postdocs (eg: they spend lots of time in the lab) in a successful lab
with a great reputation (lots of publications, with students and
postdocs who have left it and have successful careers currently who can
attribute it to having worked in that lab) and 2) insist that you ONLY
will work on work that is from the professor's own ideas - from their
grants and based on their ideas. Do not fall into the trap of working
for a professor who expects you to come up with your own projects. You
are there to learn from them primarily, and also to do parts of their
research. If you already have a certain skillset and can come up with
your own research projects and successfully execute them, you do NOT
need to be a student (at least in that lab). Pick a lab and a professor
who have a lot to offer you in the form of TRAINING, connections and
projects likely to be very fruitful.
IF and when you have your own ideas you want to pursue, keep a log book
of those and save those for when you graduate and are on your
own/independent. Otherwise, it can get ugly. Many professors will, to
put it bluntly, steal credit and reward for your ideas and independent
work. Might as well avoid that pitfall and keep everyone happy (and
keep you learning) by doing whatever work originates from the professor
- besides, it's their job to drive the research and come up with the ideas.
Basically, pick a prof and lab who seems to have YOUR CAREER INTERESTS
at heart and act like it.
On 1/30/2013 8:49 PM, Michael Garvin wrote:
All depends on what you want,
I went back at 35. Best decision I ever made. You can only go so far in the
scientific world with a BS. Fact of life. It's a card that opens doors. But
the most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing. If you can do that
with a BS, do it. If not, go back. And I agree with previous posts. Find
someone who is studying what you want and convince them you have a skill set to
offer. Worked for me.
M.
On Jan 30, 2013, at 4:18 PM, "Aaron T. Dossey" <[email protected]> wrote:
My advice is: forget about graduate school. Find a way to get going with your dreams,
passions interests and desired work rather than seeking "training" for it. I
am 35 and the only thing that would take me back to any kind of school would be if I
wanted to go to law or medical school, or some sort of professional training with a very
specific and targeted purpose in mind. I CERTAINLY wouldn't do something like a postdoc
or other similar type of temporary technician position. Life's just too short.
Consider positions with the government or even some sort of entrepreneurial
track (the latter is what I am doing now - or maybe work for or start some sort
of non-profit organization). Don't be afraid to apply for grants to do the work
you want to do, particularly private organizations/foundations who care less
about the unfortunate academic pyramid shaped ivory tower hierarchy or titles.
You might find some useful information in the articles posted on this facebook
page - email me if you would like me to send you a large list of them all in a
single email.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Postdoc-Union/275402225908673
Good luck and feel free to email me directly if you would like any more
specific information, etc.!
ATD of ATB
--
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs
Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation
http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/
http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs
1-352-281-3643
On 1/30/2013 4:31 PM, Sean wrote:
Having graduated with an abysmal GPA from Colorado State University back in
2000 ( wildlife
biology 2.7), I have found it very difficult getting into graduate school.
Two winters ago I
completed two graduate level classes at Oregon State: Forest Wildlife
Management and a
graduate Statistics course. Unfortunately just a B+ on the statistics but A
on the wildlife. Of
course I have a ton of field experience going back 14 years in lots of
different taxonomic
groups. Having just turned 36 I'm at my wits end trying to move forward. So
I am soliciting
advice. Would a non-thesis program like the field naturalist program at U. of
Vermont be
worthwhile? Frankly at this point I want to get into something permanent.
I'll always engage
my naturalists interest regardless of the employment I have. If I do
something unfunded (such
as non-thesis) I would really need to have good employment prospects coming out
of it.
Sage words of wisdom are welcome! I'm completely open to any and all advice.
My ideal
situation would be a thesis based M.S. on any of the many taxa I have
experience with (birds,
butterflies, amphibians, bats, plants etc).
-Sean
--
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs
Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation
http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/
http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs
1-352-281-3643
Michael Garvin, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
University of Alaska Fairbanks
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
17101 Point Lena Loop Road
Juneau, AK 99801
907-796-5455
[email protected]
--
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs
Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation
http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/
http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs
1-352-281-3643
