hey_monkey
Banned
I'm also in English (well, rhet/comp) and I'll say it probably depends on the program. I know it's happened here, though, and we're pretty rigorous about course attendance and workload but people understand that life happens.
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Is there an MBA. graduate, doctorate crowd here on GAF?
- Thread starter Dr. Feel Good
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I'm also in English (well, rhet/comp) and I'll say it probably depends on the program. I know it's happened here, though, and we're pretty rigorous about course attendance and workload but people understand that life happens.
Kuriboi2k6
Member
Congratulations! I started my MBA at a school call Hamline in the twin cities last August. It's full time and a cohort but for the most part I've had a pleasant experience.
Just finished a brutal 6 months of 4 different finance classes and starting marketing this Thursday.
I still have no idea what I want my concentration to be however. 😩
Hi grad-GAF! I'm currently writing my Master's thesis in English part-time which will be done by Christmas. I also work as a highschool English teacher, so now that the summer is here I hope to get a lot of writing done. Dream is to get into a PhD programme so I could teach at a university one day, but positions are very few and far between here in Scandinavia. Might consider moving when the times comes.
I don't know which country are you from, but almost nobody even knows what a PhD is and doesn't care at all about doctors (outside of the health industry).
The Cool One
Member
I'm 1 year in to my master's program and I'm thinking of going to law school when I'm done. Currently studying for the LSAT which I plan to sometime next year.
Anyone here take the LSAT or in law school already
Anyone here take the LSAT or in law school already
There are a bunch of threads about going to law school if you do a search (on my phone ATM so can't). But you'll see a lot of people advising not to go ...
RumblingRosco
Member
Getting a PhD for the title is the worst idea I've ever heard related to reasons to justify getting a PhD. Seriously.
The Cool One
Member
i can't get discouraged by that, thanks for the reply.
i'll have my masters in chem next year so i'm hoping that helps, i'm going for patent law btw
Does anyone have experience with the GRE?
Planning to enter a master/possibly PHD program in engineering in 2018 and wondering how much this test can help/hurt your application? I'm from Canada so our schools here don't require it, so just curious about how the US views it.
I'm scheduled to write it in September. How did you guys prepare for it? Classes, practice books, free online resources?
Planning to enter a master/possibly PHD program in engineering in 2018 and wondering how much this test can help/hurt your application? I'm from Canada so our schools here don't require it, so just curious about how the US views it.
I'm scheduled to write it in September. How did you guys prepare for it? Classes, practice books, free online resources?
Dedication Through Light
Member
I only used the vocabulary book.
Golden_Pigeon
Banned
I am a graduate in arabic language and islamic sciences.
It's a 2-year program, so it don't mean very much. I am also graduating in philosophy.
It's a 2-year program, so it don't mean very much. I am also graduating in philosophy.
Thank you as well.
I'm also curious about the GRE question. I've gotta take the general exam and the English subject exam soon. One of my professors recommended that I read through the Norton Anthology of English Literature over the summer to prepare for it. I want to take a practice exam though. I'm guessing that like the SAT, just knowing how the exam is formatted helps.
iirc GRE is mandatory in the US for entering graduate studies. I took the test 5 years ago and went not too bad. Study the structure of the test so you are familiarized once you take it. If you have a math background you'll do ok. I found it very confusing but this is because I lacked in maths. Mind that way more people get near perfect scores compared to the amount actually admitted. There are many factors involved. I wasn't admitted to the program I was interested in but this didn't stop me from trying other options so I ended up in Europe. I think that your motivation and recommendation letter will play a very important role given what I told you aboutp erfect scoring. Do study, but other factors are important. This is my experience of course other gaffers might have a different opinion. Good luck and keep us posted. Btw: I'll be getting (hopefully) my PhD in computational neuroscience in no more than a year...
RumblingRosco
Member
The GRE isn't mandatory. Most programs require it, but it's not required by 100% of programs.
I prepared for it by taking practice tests which were freely available at my undergraduate's library.
I have a problem or maybe it's just the morning hours of not being able to sleep. I feel empty and unfulfilling. Don't know what to do with my life currently.
Just a bit of info. I have a grant I can still manage with until the end of the year, I live in a country where I want to be in, and I received a second phd on friday (nothing fancy, just double-degree agreement), but I just don't feel like I am doing what I want to do. And I don't know what that is exactly. Something VR, rehabilitation, exciting for me.
Getting the second degree was also not really a happy moment anymore. Just a drop in the bucket because it was not a big effort anymore and that big stressful unknown like the first. So my mind wanders.
Should I write a book?
Should I focus on photography?
Should I continue research at a university?
Should I switch to a company?
Should I start my own company?
Shit is annoying as fuck because I just stroll to my office and scribble notes on what I might want to do. It's been weeks like this. It's 4am. I can't focus more than a few minutes/hour at a time.
Any tips on how to proceed and clear my focus?
Just a bit of info. I have a grant I can still manage with until the end of the year, I live in a country where I want to be in, and I received a second phd on friday (nothing fancy, just double-degree agreement), but I just don't feel like I am doing what I want to do. And I don't know what that is exactly. Something VR, rehabilitation, exciting for me.
Getting the second degree was also not really a happy moment anymore. Just a drop in the bucket because it was not a big effort anymore and that big stressful unknown like the first. So my mind wanders.
Should I write a book?
Should I focus on photography?
Should I continue research at a university?
Should I switch to a company?
Should I start my own company?
Shit is annoying as fuck because I just stroll to my office and scribble notes on what I might want to do. It's been weeks like this. It's 4am. I can't focus more than a few minutes/hour at a time.
Any tips on how to proceed and clear my focus?
RumblingRosco
Member
What are your PhDs in? What are your interests? What do you do for fun/as a hobby? What do you want to be remembered for? What goals do you have in your personal life? What do you care about?
UIs and usability for elderly and healthcare tech. Interests are kind of different in what I did. Maybe I am fed up with the healthcare area and would like to try some other fields but that is where I am good at. I care about helping others. I really do.
But on the other hand I do want to write songs, capture beauty of the world with a camera or words, and maybe just take my mind off of things for a while and focus on basic things.
I want to create more art than focus on statistics. This might just be slight burn out on all the research and I am crashing after doing years of the same thing.
I try and stay fit but hurt my back at the gym so now i am lazy in bed while I cannot walk a lot until it heals. Games are not good right now because summer makes me want to explore outdoors.
Not sure if I have a work goal or great ambitions but I want a family. A home.
Edit: not sure if this kind of talk belongs in this topic but I'll sleep on it an check in a few hours how I feel.
Simple exercise: Make a ranked list of your priorities in life. Like an actual physical list that you write down on paper. Limit it to the top 5 or top 10 to keep it manageable.
Once that is done, you can look at how each of those opportunities fits the priorities. Although you may find that in writing the list it becomes evident what you subconsciously want to do.
RumblingRosco
Member
I work full-time as a post-doc scientist in infectious disease research, but to scratch my creative itch, I run a YouTube channel that just broke 10,000 subscribers and I bake once or twice a week. There's no reason you can't continue with professional aspirations but also maintain mental health/satisfaction with your hobbies.
I would say, you find professional work that will satisfy your desire to help people (social work, developing new UI that makes healthcare more accessible/easier to use for the elderly/disabled, etc) and in your free time enjoy the weather outside during the summer (can't walk right now due to injury; no problem, find a book that you'd like to read or some lessons on khanacademy/udemy and sit outside while you read/learn). Once the nice weather is gone, get inside and focus on your writing/art (photography).
I guess, it seems like you have a very common feeling post-grad school... the feeling of being lost and not sure how to transition to "normal" life. But, you seem to have quite a few interests and likely skills to help support several of those interests. It's just a matter of motivating yourself, I think, to take the first figurative step towards your interests.
P.S. I'm saying all of this having only read about two paragraphs about you, ever, so I could be way, way off base here.
opticalmace
Member
Nice. What did you say you were planning for the future?
I had a separate discussion with the lab professor and we talked about future possibilities here or companies he knows that are in my field.
I also told in that I want to do their current healthcare research but with my own added approach, so that I can express my ideas and wishes. If I do everything that others suggest, I will just end up being non-motivated.
I felt like I got that small pressure plate of my chest so that I can breath freely and not worry if I am a total fit for the lab.
And I've been guiding the students now in their respected research ideas. Feels good to guide someone that is just starting and does not know what to do.
I think I might stay in the research area because of the freedom even though it pays less. Especially in Japan, but I like it here, so I am willing to take that cut in salary.
I also told in that I want to do their current healthcare research but with my own added approach, so that I can express my ideas and wishes. If I do everything that others suggest, I will just end up being non-motivated.
I felt like I got that small pressure plate of my chest so that I can breath freely and not worry if I am a total fit for the lab.
And I've been guiding the students now in their respected research ideas. Feels good to guide someone that is just starting and does not know what to do.
I think I might stay in the research area because of the freedom even though it pays less. Especially in Japan, but I like it here, so I am willing to take that cut in salary.
This is very true. Very very true. A lot of work and little reward. I know a japanese granpa that has four. That is insane.
What about if you do it for the hat? Seriously, check this thing out:
Is that sweet or what? Intelligence stats go through the roof!
FortuneFaded
Member
Your intelligence has been permanently increased by 1
What topic? I would like to pick your brain.
At my university we didn't get to keep it, merely rent it. Kinda disappointed, but also considering the rental price, very glad I didn't have to buy it outright.
RumblingRosco
Member
My university had an option to rent the hood/gown/whatever comes with doctoral attire for about $150, or I could buy my own set for about $1,100.
I said fuck it to all of that and just skipped my commencement. I actually think I was working in lab at my post-doc the day my commencement took place.
Dedication Through Light
Member
1st week into the post doc and I feel like I dont know anything anymore, lol. But beyond that its so strange seeing how a different lab does things, some things with cell culturing that I think are unnecessary to do and some steps they do that I think are necessary and just different things procedurally. I dont want to do things my way and then be thought of as bad.
Oh well its nice meeting new people and fitting in. Hopefully I can quickly learn everything in terms of the field and importance so I can make logical decisions.
Oh well its nice meeting new people and fitting in. Hopefully I can quickly learn everything in terms of the field and importance so I can make logical decisions.
What about if you do it for the hat? Seriously, check this thing out:
Is that sweet or what? Intelligence stats go through the roof!
I tell everyone I'm in it for the hat. But if I'm being honest, there's a part of me that wants to hear "Dr." at least once in bed...
Not sure about Masters in Comp Sci. But if you can get into a top ~30 full-time MBA program, and you're not a complete weirdo, you're basically guaranteed a six-figure white collar job somewhere in the F500. Security and comfort will vary heavily by industry and by individual company. That said, if it's the part-time program at the random school down the street, you're probably better off with comp sci.
I work in a CS-related job where most of my colleagues have advanced degrees. My pay and job security are good enough that it doesn't really matter to me if I could have made more with a different degree. More money brings diminishing returns. Your happiness depends a lot more on whether you actually enjoy the work you are doing.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Still contemplating getting my Master's. Now since it's August I think I'm bordering for registration. I'm still not sure how I would do though. I mean it sounds like all the worthwhile degrees are in sciences and I'm terrible at science. I don't want to spend 20K + and flunk out, but I'm also desperate for money.
I also wonder if I'm doing this for the right reasons. I really just want to get out of my mom's house.
I also wonder if I'm doing this for the right reasons. I really just want to get out of my mom's house.
I was accepted into a masters program in criminology and criminal justice policy but won't be able to go because I got a decent paying job and have to start making money.
Part of me wonders if its the right decision. I want to get it eventually because having a masters in the public sector gets you a lot of promotions.
I hope my references dont get annoyed if I have to ask them again.
Part of me wonders if its the right decision. I want to get it eventually because having a masters in the public sector gets you a lot of promotions.
I hope my references dont get annoyed if I have to ask them again.
Spending the summer twiddling my thumbs until I start my PhD. I got full funding in the UK which I'm still incredibly chuffed about considering how many of my postdoc friends have really had to struggle. It's gonna be novel being a student and not being poor as fuck. I'm continuing and expanding my masters research so I'm thinking the first year should be pretty chill.
Epsilon-delta
Banned
Look on the bright side, you got a free masters.
'free' ?
can't subscribe to that, although I did get some funding from the university with grants and such
thesaucetastic
Unconfirmed Member
I'm trying to apply for a masters in computer science (having a bachelors in mathematics is good, but it's not getting me where I want to go tbh). Anyone have any tips? I think I need to pad out my resume with more programming projects since my current job is just desk/secretarial work, so nothing really relevant to CS.
I'm also considering an MBA, but I think CS might be the better bet.
I'm also considering an MBA, but I think CS might be the better bet.
RedSparrows
Member
Don't wanna be 'that guy' but don't lean on that too much. Doctorate is a big shift.
MugiwaraCole
Member
Hey folks,
I am starting my PhD in the fall and have a couple questions. Just for some background I am currently doing my MSc and my defense is set for the first week of September but I have about 95% of the thesis written at this point and am mostly just waiting for edits from my supervisors and updating myself on some of the literature so things are pretty chill at the moment.
I have been thinking of things I can do to help get started for the PhD that begins a week after my MSc defense (yay). One obvious thing to work on is preparing my NSERC (Canadian national science award) application which is due in late September. Although I am still not sure what the finer aspects of my project are... I suppose I should get in contact with my new supervisor and get her input? I suppose she would want to see my proposal and make suggestions as well so probably a good idea. Any thing else I should be thinking about to get started on the right foot in the fall? I have already applied for TA positions and my living situation has been secured.
Just as a bit of background my PhD is a similar methodology (remote sensing of vegetation change) as my MSc but a much different question/subject area (MSc is concerned with recent Arctic vegetation growth in northern Canada while PhD is going to be about monitoring pest outbreak in southern Ontario that is affecting temperate/urban forests). I suppose a good idea would be to just find a bunch of papers on the subject and start reading, but thought I would check here to see if there was anything I should do that I was not thinking of.
I am starting my PhD in the fall and have a couple questions. Just for some background I am currently doing my MSc and my defense is set for the first week of September but I have about 95% of the thesis written at this point and am mostly just waiting for edits from my supervisors and updating myself on some of the literature so things are pretty chill at the moment.
I have been thinking of things I can do to help get started for the PhD that begins a week after my MSc defense (yay). One obvious thing to work on is preparing my NSERC (Canadian national science award) application which is due in late September. Although I am still not sure what the finer aspects of my project are... I suppose I should get in contact with my new supervisor and get her input? I suppose she would want to see my proposal and make suggestions as well so probably a good idea. Any thing else I should be thinking about to get started on the right foot in the fall? I have already applied for TA positions and my living situation has been secured.
Just as a bit of background my PhD is a similar methodology (remote sensing of vegetation change) as my MSc but a much different question/subject area (MSc is concerned with recent Arctic vegetation growth in northern Canada while PhD is going to be about monitoring pest outbreak in southern Ontario that is affecting temperate/urban forests). I suppose a good idea would be to just find a bunch of papers on the subject and start reading, but thought I would check here to see if there was anything I should do that I was not thinking of.
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