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Is there an MBA. graduate, doctorate crowd here on GAF?
- Thread starter Dr. Feel Good
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I am currently looking into magnesium transporter and TRPM7 currents in Jurkat cells. I been performing whole-cell patch clamp and perforated patch on Jurkat cells with and without mutations in those channels I mention. Along with changing the external solution as well.
Haha frankly I just started this project about 2 months ago so I am still unsure of the details ¯\_(ツ_/¯
BTW I hate patch clamping. Even though I was able to pick it up "fast".
Do you have to manually suck to break the membrane?
I had to do that for a lab rotation and could never get the hang of it
Always so weird to me that you literally sucked open a whole in a cell haha
saveweyard
Banned
I see, I always liked immunology aspects. I actually did handle some macrophages for calcium imaging when I first started my lab rotation in my current lab.
Haha true dat. I guess after doing the same thing hours during a day, you should pick up fast on it
Well regardless, I wish you the best of luck and let me know when you get in
BTW we should keep in contact as fellow neuroscience students :3
I'll definitely stay in touch with you guys! Always good to hear from fellow neuro people.
Yeah, we have two different flow cytometers in our facility, one for regular flow and one for cell sorting. Each has three lasers for up to 8-9 colors. Things can get really complicated, real fast, especially when people don't bring in proper controls and then it's impossible for me to help them out with compensation of fluorescent spillover.
I do enjoy doing some immunoassays. We got a multiplex immunoassay instrument a little while back that's been fun to mess with.
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Yep, it took me a while to figure how much I should suck. I feel like I am just gently smacking my lips whenever I do it.
anyone here going to Allen Brain next week?
Dedication Through Light
Member
Was doing a western blot today and was wondering why my protein just wasnt transfering even after four hours...didnt know the new Immunoblot pvdf membrane I ordered had to be activated with methanol. Why cant bio rad include instructions with orders
The_Inquisitor
Member
I have 1 week left in my last course of my MS in EE. I am freaking the fuck out because I have the final next Monday and the project is due next Tuesday and I don't feel ready for either. Work has really been beating me up recently so I am behind on so much.
Was doing a western blot today and was wondering why my protein just wasnt transfering even after four hours...didnt know the new Immunoblot pvdf membrane I ordered had to be activated with methanol. Why cant bio rad include instructions with orders
Dont... all... pvdf membranes have to be activated with methanol first? But yeah that's an easy thing to forget about, at least you only wasted a day on it!
curiouscharles
Member
I've got my MA from a fancy school in London, UK.
But, it was mostly a box ticker for me personally, completely abandoned that profession / aspiration once I graduated with nearly $30,000.00 CAD in debt from my studies.
[debt paid, decision justified]
But, it was mostly a box ticker for me personally, completely abandoned that profession / aspiration once I graduated with nearly $30,000.00 CAD in debt from my studies.
[debt paid, decision justified]
For sure.
and man the last weeks of the term has been brutal :S haven't slept well in a long while. Hopefully the last two exams will go well. Fingers crossed
RumblingRosco
Member
Publishing is the best part of science! It's like, all that hard work and effort finally gets shoved out the door and out into the world so that it can get cited once by someone else in your lab three years later!
Curious if anyone has any thoughts on the worthwhileness of a PhD in IT? Recently completed my Masters in IT, but wasn't sure how much return on investment I would see if I attempted a PhD. Feel like a lot of advanced IT jobs look more favorably on experience over multiple degrees.
Edit: Part of me thinks it would be enjoyable - in masochistic sort of way - to get the PhD. The other part of me thinks I should just focus on programming/application dev in my own time, eventually making a career shift (in healthcare IT now).
Edit: Part of me thinks it would be enjoyable - in masochistic sort of way - to get the PhD. The other part of me thinks I should just focus on programming/application dev in my own time, eventually making a career shift (in healthcare IT now).
Laevateinn
Member
A PhD is a research degree. I don't really see what you would get out of it especially since you are thinking of it in terms of what jobs it will get you. What sort of research is there in IT? Do you want to be a professor? If not, I would try to start getting work experience instead.
shnurgleton
Member
I ground out a Masters in Comp Sci over the course of a calendar year. After graduation I got a job for over double what I made previously. Would make the decision over again in a heartbeat.
Dedication Through Light
Member
Yeah, it was my first time using pvdf, I usually used nitrocellulose.
My standard advice is to only do a PhD if you have a concrete goal that requires a PhD. Something like wanting to be a professor, a research scientist, a psychologist, work at a national lab, or some other job where most of the people have PhDs. It isn't really essential that you end up doing that after you graduate, but it's important to have a well-defined goal rather than a hand-wavy one.
That or be someone who is independently wealthy with nothing else better to do in their lives.
Gaf, sorry if this isn't graduate enough for this thread but my masters degree is not going well. At all. I work so hard all the time to just scrape through and I'm so stressed and I'm just not good enough and I barely see my friends or my family any more and I never have time to exercise and today my sensei chewed my out in front of a bunch of other people because my martial arts skills have atrophied and I hate everything and I just don't see the point in anything anymore and I don't wanna carry on and keep trying so hard at every area of my life only to fail at all of them.
I just feel so useless and pathetic.
So, people with experience here's my question: does it get any better? or is it all downhill from here?
I just feel so useless and pathetic.
So, people with experience here's my question: does it get any better? or is it all downhill from here?
eot
Banned
Or maybe it's just something you enjoy doing.
I hate being career minded, I don't think I could ever do it.
Laevateinn
Member
How long have you been working on your masters?
WhateverItTakes
Banned
I'm currently an undergrad with my masters next year, and yeah you're making everything sound terrifying!
Maybe the key is time management? I've had a load of assignments the last month and haven't done any exercise or even proper shopping. Meanwhile if I spent maybe 20 minutes at the start of the week nailing down when and where things would get done I would've probably found the time to do that shit.
But you're gonna be way more overworked than me. Projects are hard and there are low times, but the next breakthrough will be worth it. Hope this helps man, I'm pulling for you!
broscientific
Member
Any other former PhD students who mastered out in this thread?
Was going for a PhD in Biochemistry, left early with a masters 3 months ago, easily one of the best decisions of my life.
Was going for a PhD in Biochemistry, left early with a masters 3 months ago, easily one of the best decisions of my life.
I'm in school psychology now! Realized it's not for me.. so I just submitted all my applications for social psychology doctorate programs on dec 1st.
Edit: with that being said, there's such a shortage of school psychologists across the nation, so you should have no problem getting accepted. Best of luck!
It is often rough, yeah.
But then a few years later you see that your paper has been cited by 72 other articles on PubMed and you feel good about it as the memory of what a bitch to publish it was fades.
Feels like 500 years, but it's only been a couple of months.
Ah I'm sorry man! Please don't let me put you off from following your dreams, I'm just personally overwhelmed at the moment.
Time management would absolutely help, yeah. But I always get easily distracted by shiny things and really don't have the discipline to work at this stuff.
Cheers for the support! I'm just dealing with this at the same time my personal life is becoming a train wreck so it's a bit overwhelming.
Your edit is partly why I decided to pursue the field. All of my applications are for NASP-accredited schools, so I have the opportunity to work in a blue-heavy state.
Florida is on point for their programs. One of my choices includes a master's degree in HR once one finishes their EDS program.
If you enjoy learning or doing research, those are things you can do without being in a formalized degree program. If you don't plan to use the degree, I'd encourage some self-introspection on what you are looking to get out of it that you couldn't get from alternatives that are less demanding on your time and money.
i hear the first semester is usually the worst for a lot of people. hang in there man, you'll get the hang of it.
starting my master's next spring, super excited since I'll be moving for it and I'll have a gta position
Dedication Through Light
Member
Semesters with taking classes + teaching three classes + lab research + writing a research plan and doing a committee meeting were the worst for free time. Not enough hours in a day.
I definitely feel the heat nearing the end of my first semester. In some ways I feel like I have hit a wall where Physics has become too complex for me, but I could just be being hard on myself. Still I look around at the other students and they seem to be thriving while I feel like I am crashing and failing. For the first time ever I didn't complete an assignment because I just didn't have time and found it too difficult and it felt awful.
I should be studying for a final right now, but I don't even know what to do because the midterm totally blindsided me with what the Prof expected out of us. It felt so different from the assignments and the in class examples and even the textbook. I don't think I have ever gotten a lower mark on a midterm than I did with that.
Of course it is exacerbated by the fact that I have realized in doing computational work, that I really enjoy and have a passion for programming over physics. I am feeling some regret in choosing Physics over Comp Sci all those years ago and kind of just want to get started on trying to make myself a career in programming. At the same time I am one semester down on a Masters degree, it's really not that much more time in my life to complete it and I will gain skills and a credential from doing so. I am hoping I'll have some spare time over the summer with no TAing and no classes, just research to build on my programming skills as well.
I should be studying for a final right now, but I don't even know what to do because the midterm totally blindsided me with what the Prof expected out of us. It felt so different from the assignments and the in class examples and even the textbook. I don't think I have ever gotten a lower mark on a midterm than I did with that.
Of course it is exacerbated by the fact that I have realized in doing computational work, that I really enjoy and have a passion for programming over physics. I am feeling some regret in choosing Physics over Comp Sci all those years ago and kind of just want to get started on trying to make myself a career in programming. At the same time I am one semester down on a Masters degree, it's really not that much more time in my life to complete it and I will gain skills and a credential from doing so. I am hoping I'll have some spare time over the summer with no TAing and no classes, just research to build on my programming skills as well.
WhateverItTakes
Banned
Try not to worry about how everyone else is doing, hard I know. I remember back in first year everyone else seemed really smart. Then by second year we'd all gotten to know eachother and hang out more, then I realised everybody was leaning on everybody else. I still don't like how I seem to be a lot slower than some people on my course, but in trying to clamp down on that. Gotta focus on getting the best out of yourself.
No worries dude, my degree is a bachelor's and a Master's rolled into one so anything you say can't stop me!
Literally. I asked my advisor what it would take for me to finish early. He really didn't look pleased.
Anyway, I feel you experienced academics might be able to help me here. So I'm studying chemistry, and have to pick a project for my master's year at some point next semester. How essential is the project choice to my options afterwards? I feel like I want to move into product development of some kind (not pharma though) so should I be looking at synthetic projects? Or, I'm pretty solid on nanotechnology (Thanks Kojima), so should I explore that and then be able to land a job in a different field?
Also the subject of publishing. Word I'm hearing from my Dad is that getting something published during the year might be the most valuable thing for your CV. How true is this? And if so, should I discard everything else and pick the project that had the highest chance of resulting in my name on a paper?
If you can help me SmartGaf I'd really appreciate it!
Laevateinn
Member
My first semester was pretty rough but I started to get the hang of things as time went along. Then all my time began to be taken over by research. Good thing you're just going for a masters.
My program is a joint M.Ed/EdS program, and I'll have my EdS after finishing my internship in June. Although I likely won't stay in this field (you never know, though..) I'm extremely thankful for the opportunities it has awarded me working with such diverse populations.
I will say though, there is definitely a reason as to why there is such a shortage in this field. I don't think programs in general do a good job of informing students what the field is actually like, not until you start practicum your second year. It's very, very, VERY much report writing and testing. It can very depending on the type of school district you work in, but I would say more often than not, most of your days will be spent writing reports.
Edit again: Speaking of NASP, I'll be at the NASP conference in February presenting research; if you're anywhere near San Antonio, you should check out the conference to get a feel for what it's like!
So does anyone on GAF have a second graduate degree here or what is the general opinion on a second graduate degree?
I currently hold a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and am considering getting a Master of Science in Finance degree. My main goal and primary reasoning behind this decision, is that I believe this will enhance my knowledge base in business principles and eventually assist with me earning a CFA. This would be absolutely vital in propelling me career wise as I currently work at a small investment trust and feel as if my lack of a financial background is a roadblock in advancing much further than where I currently am.
Any thoughts on whether this would be a worthwhile pursuit?
I currently hold a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and am considering getting a Master of Science in Finance degree. My main goal and primary reasoning behind this decision, is that I believe this will enhance my knowledge base in business principles and eventually assist with me earning a CFA. This would be absolutely vital in propelling me career wise as I currently work at a small investment trust and feel as if my lack of a financial background is a roadblock in advancing much further than where I currently am.
Any thoughts on whether this would be a worthwhile pursuit?
Romeeeeeeeeeee
Neo Member
Thinking about signing up for a 10 day free trial at lynda.com ..
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
RIP
good luck
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
So far having a Master's Degree has done zero favors for me in the job seeking department... I did frame it and put it on my wall though.
Bay Maximus
Banned
What kind of degree?
Do jobs in your field often ask for a master's?
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
M.S. in Education.
It's actually a requirement in the teaching profession after a certain point. You can start out without one, but they make you go get one later (I think you need one by four years after getting certified or something like that). I'm just starting out though.
EatinOlives
Member
Between my undergrad and graduate school, I've pulled through 17 semesters total. Seventeen.
Yikes.
Yikes.
RumblingRosco
Member
5 calendar years of grad school and 4 of undergrad for me. All together I was in school from the age of 4 until I was 27. So at the time of finishing my PhD, I had been in school for 23 years, or about 85% of my life. It won't be until I'm 47 years old that I will have spent more of my life out of school than in school.
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