where should i click on the "like" buttom for this last answer? Eve On May 27, 2015 5:55 PM, "Stephen L. Young" <sl...@cornell.edu> wrote:
> Wow! I couldn¹t think of any worse advise. If I had followed these > guidelines I would have not been anywhere near where I am today and would > have not met some of the most inspiring, motivating, creative, and smart > people, who have become some of my best friends and colleagues. > > Steve > > > > > > On 5/27/15, 6:56 PM, "Aaron T. Dossey" <bugoc...@gmail.com> wrote: > > >1) I wouldn't go to grad school for science these days. Universities and > >faculty are far too exploitative and the career opportunities requiring > >a graduate degree are far too few (especially in academia and > >government). Best to get out there and get a job and experience with > >those years, or even start your own organization or company. > >You may be interested in the articles and "Notes" posted on this page: > >https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Postdoc-Union/275402225908673 > > > >2) It is the responsibility (one of an ever waning list) of the faculty > >boss (referred to some as "mentor" or "adviser") to provide projects > >(well funded ones) for their students, then spend time TEACHING them the > >projects, techniques and science behind the projects. I would be > >suspicious of any lab that requires you to come up with your own > >project, especially if they require you to come with your own funding. > > > >3) If you do have project ideas, best to pursue them on your own time > >and well separate from the lab and/or involvement of any university > >faculty member. Basically if you know what you want to do and more or > >less how to do it, you don't need grad school: you need > >resources/facilities to pursue it. So, find (sit down for this) > >COLLABORATORS (not bosses) and some sort of funding or access to lab and > >equipment you need. You can even try crowdfunding, or like I said, > >start a company or non-profit. > > > >4) If you DO dive into graduate school for some reason: selecting a > >decent ethical faculty boss who actually cares about YOUR career (very > >rare) will be your most critical decision/task. the following are > >criteria and methods you should use: a) talk to as many people IN the > >lab and especially FORMER lab members as possible, b) ask the faculty > >boss how joining their lab will help your career, what you will BE > >TAUGHT, what projects are available and what FUNDING is driving those > >projects (and listen closely to the answers), c) ask if you would be > >allowed to pursue independent side projects without the faculty boss' > >involvement (ie: do a side project that's your idea with other students > >or other labs in your own side collaboration - this is critical to build > >toward an independent career in science, which is the main reason to go > >to grad school in science at all). This means publishing at least one > >paper without that faculty member and possibly even applying for a grant > >or two (toward the end of your term in the lab) without their name on > >it. If they say no, immediately find another lab. While many will tell > >you no one will do this and this is unusual and you shouldn't expect > >this freedom, that is nothing short of a lie. If you accept that lie, > >you will find out the hard way when you try to pursue your real career > >after grad school. d) Be SURE the lab or department will pay you a FULL > >stipend you can live on AND health insurance for at least 5 years while > >you complete your degree. e) be sure that no one in the labs you are > >considering has taken more than 5 years to finish their Ph.D. or 3 years > >for Masters. f) if you determine that a graduate degree is ABSOLUTELY > >REQUIRED for your career goals (think about this carefully) then do a > >Ph.D. rather than a masters. g) I do not recommend young professors > >without tenure, or working for older or higher ranking professors that > >also have adminstrative appointments on top of their professor job > >(things like also being the "director of the center for X" etc. I > >consider moonlighting and almost a guarantee that you'll never see them, > >which means you'll never learn anything or be taught anything by them > >which is the entire point of grad school). h) Also have a frank > >discussion about how authorship is handled in the lab AND if you are > >expected to write grants (don't do it if you won't be listed as a > >co-PI), and even about how patents will be handled... and get those > >things IN WRITING! > > > >5) Do not be placated, pacified, bribed, distracted or fooled by > >anything else. a LITTLE higher salary, a boss that smiles a lot, > >showering you with compliments, students (especially early grad students > >or undergrads) who say things like "they are SO nice to me, they let me > >go to conferences" (something they should all offer by default, at least > >1 conference per year for you to present at).. etc... can distract from > >the more important issue: how going to grad school will benefit your > >career and get you quickly into an independent science career within 2-3 > >years after graduating (max). > > > >Those are some good solid things that should take you a long way toward > >your next set of decisions which will be critical for your career > >success (or lack of it) for some years to come. What you decide to do > >at this stage of your career will have long lasting consequences. > > > >Let me know if you have further questions! > >ATD of ATB > > > > > >On 5/27/2015 2:21 PM, Emily Mydlowski wrote: > >> Hello all, > >> > >> I'm delving into the graduate school search (MS and PhD programs) quite > >> heavily and am seeking advice regarding approaching faculty with a > >>research > >> project. The system I'm interested in working on is that which has many > >> unanswered, interesting questions I would love to pursue. From a faculty > >> perspective, is proposing a project topic (too) bold of a move to a > >> potential advisor? > >> > >> Any advice would be much appreciated. > >> > >> All the best, > >> > >> Emily Mydlowski > >> Northern Michigan University > > > > > >ATD of ATB and ISI > >-- > >Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > >Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > >Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs LLC > >World's Largest supplier of Cricket Powder / Cricket Flour ! > >Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Food Ingredient > >Innovation > >ABOUT: http://allthingsbugs.com/People > >LinkedIn: > >https://www.linkedin.com/pub/all-things-bugs-dr-aaron-t-dossey/53/775/104 > >FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > >ISI: https://www.facebook.com/InvertebrateStudiesInstitute > >PHONE: 1-352-281-3643 >
