Because you’re worth it December 16, 2013
Posted by mareserinitatis in education, engineering, grad school, research, writing.Tags: advising, advisor, budget, funding, proposals
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I’ve gotten behind on blog reading, but I found a post by FSP from a couple weeks ago asking if grad students know what they’re worth.
I have a reasonably good idea of how much I cost as a grad student. I knew, at a minimum, I could throw my paycheck and tuition together. Also, after writing several proposals of my own, this has come to my attention once or twice. On one of my most recent proposals, I had a collaborator from a completely different field, and he needed a grad student to complete his research. I was rather stunned that this non-STEM grad student would make nearly half what a grad student in my field (well, either of them) typically makes. I’m glad I didn’t go into that particular field.
I am also aware that most STEM grad students are also cheap if you look at how much they could make going into industry rather than grad school. Let’s face it: tuition and a paycheck typically still doesn’t add up to a full-time paycheck + benefits + taxes…at least in one of my fields. (I’ll add that I’m not counting expenses for equipment use because, unless the student wrote the grant and is running the project, that’s the cost of running a project and not with having a student. The PI would still have that expense if s/he were performing the research him- or herself.) If money is the only thing you’re concerned about, how much you cost in grad school can be a bit disheartening when compared to your worth. On the other hand, knowing how much a PI typically gets for grants, the student is likely one of the more expensive items on the budget.
It surprises me, however, that this isn’t something most PIs discuss up front with their grad students. I understand that most people don’t get the opportunity to put together a proposal in grad school. It took me a while to get that because my husband, upon getting approval for his PhD project from his grad committee, sat down with his advisor and wrote it up for NSF. That was something he did even before he got deeply into his research. I had the erroneous impression that this was something pretty much everyone did on their way to getting a PhD. I have found out since then that this scenario may have been a somewhat unique case.
In reading the blogosphere over the past few years, I have frequently seen comments by professors about their students not understanding how expensive they are. It makes me wonder if some of that irritation is due to a lack of communication and would be alleviated by sitting down with the student and walking them through the process of writing a proposal and budget. Perhaps it’s naive, but I’m inclined to think it would help the student better understand the constraints, particularly financial, that their advisor may have.
Grad student advice: Picking a topic April 17, 2012
Posted by mareserinitatis in education, engineering, grad school, physics, research.Tags: advice, advising, advisor, dissertation, grad school, research
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It happened again yesterday: one of the email updates I received had a post from someone asking someone to give him a good topic for a dissertation.
It’s not an absurd question: some of us don’t have much if any guidance from advisors, though I get worried that this is indicative of a problematic advising relationship. I’m also not saying an advisor should give a student a topic (at least not for a PhD), but they apparently aren’t even addressing the topic with the student. However, I figured it’s a question worth addressing on the blog. If nothing else, I can post a link whenever I see the question pop up, which it seems to do with regularity.
The real simple answer, in my experience, is to start reading. Read journals in your field. Look at what interests you. Try to think of gaps or problems that aren’t addressed in the research you’re reading. And don’t forget to go back and read the references for the most interesting articles. Other ideas are to get involved in projects or try to choose something from a class project (I discuss this here). Generally, you’re going to be spending several years on something, so let your curiosity guide you. If it’s not interesting now, it certainly won’t be in four years. (In fact, even if it is interesting now, you might be sick of it in four years, but it’s best to make that four years as tolerable as physically possible.)
The question in my mind is whether you should talk to your advisor before or after you start doing this. Some advisors do give their students projects, but my experience in physics and electrical engineering is that most don’t. (My friends in the biological sciences, particularly medicine, have indicated that, in their fields, getting a topic handed to you is the norm.) However, even if your advisor doesn’t give you a project, s/he is likely to have an area of interest where they’d prefer you work. My MS advisor was very much the exception in that he expected his students to pick topics outside of his primary research area as a way for him to learn more about other areas. I think his rule of thumb was that it had to require electromagnetics…beyond that, you were pretty much on your own. On the other hand, if you had no particular interest, he did have suggestions, so he didn’t leave you hanging, either.
Therefore, as you’re looking at topics, be sure to check in with your advisor on a fairly regular basis to make sure that you’re not going too far astray (been there, done that) as well as making sure they still ‘buy in’ to your project (done that, and it’s not fun when they aren’t terribly interested). You also need to take into consideration whether or not you have the facilities and equipment and, probably, funding for your project. If you want to go into a certain area and need funding, you’ll likely need help from your advisor. It’s also a good idea to do this early because it gives you an idea of how invested your advisor is in your project and how well you communicate. Figure it out early before you get four years into a thesis project only to have your advisor tell you you’re an idiot and won’t be graduating. (Yes, it does happen.)
The take away message should be that you should try to use your curiosity and creativity to find a project, and that you need to make sure your advisor buys into it. Don’t ask total strangers as they’re so far removed from the situation, you’ll never get anything useful.
Some of my readers are wise in the way of advising, so I’m curious what they have to add.
Advisor Red Flags: choosing your project May 26, 2011
Posted by mareserinitatis in engineering, grad school, research, science.Tags: advisor, communication, funding, project, red flag
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I’ve been thinking about student/advisor interactions this week, and I started wondering if I should list some of the red flags I’ve seen over time. These are the little comments or interactions that I’ve observed. I would like to say that these are things you should watch out for when choosing a grad advisor, but, sadly, they may not show up until you’re hooked on to a particular advisor.
Today’s red flag is what to be afraid of when approaching a grad advisor about a potential dissertation project. I admit that, for some people, this isn’t going to qualify: some people’s advisors choose their projects for them. However, there are some advisors who feel that their students should choose their own projects. I generally believe this is a good thing, but it can lead to problems if you don’t choose the ‘right’ project.
You see, the frustrating thing is that some advisors say they want their students to choose their own project, but they won’t give the student any guidelines for the project. No ideas of where to look, no feeling for what the advisor is comfortable advising. And, rather than trying to flesh out these details if they aren’t comfortable with the idea you’ve developed, you get one of the following responses:
1 – I don’t have funding for that.
2 – I don’t think that’s a good idea. *silence*
3 – (sometimes) This would be a better project.
One and two are bad…three depends. The first response means: I have no interest in your project, and I’m not going to take the time to show you how to write a grant. (Before you say the advisor may not have money, there is a better response. Read to the end.) If you’re planning on becoming an academic, this is a sign your advisor isn’t interested in your research and isn’t going to be a good mentor, either. The second one means the advisor may let you do the project, but they probably won’t be giving you much in the way of constructive feedback as the project progresses. They may not outright forbid you to do that, but they are going to be rather passive aggressive about helping you along.
The third comment is neutral. It may be good or it may be bad, depending on how your advisor works with you. If it’s something related to what you’re interested in but is a bit more cutting edge, it may be great. If it’s a pet project the advisor wants done, run away. I’ve seen both scenarios. The slight redirection worked out well. The other one happened to a friend who spent two years working on the project before it became obvious that nothing was going to ever come of it. He put a significant amount of effort into it, didn’t really enjoy the research, and ended up paperless at the end. He finally went in and blew up at his advisor, who let him finish up his original project and finally graduate. (Fortunately, he wasn’t looking at a job in academia or he may have had a tough time after graduation with lack of papers.)
So what are good responses? There are two responses that let you know you’ve hit the jackpot.
1 – I think that’s a good idea (and maybe, “although we want to try to look at it from this perspective”).
2 – Let’s see if we can get some funding to do that.
Either one of these is a good sign. It means they will (hopefully) be supportive by providing feedback. The second is even better, as it means the advisor is (hopefully) willing to show you the ropes and provide some mentoring opportunities.
I know the common advice on grad school is to know what you want to do before you go in. If you are that far ahead of the game, then being able to pitch your idea before you start is an excellent way to gauge how an advisor feels about an area of research. The downside is that you may really click with an advisor who may not be into a particular field of research. If you’re stuck on that area, you obviously don’t want to work with them, but if you find someone who is good to work with, you might be able to find something they’d be okay with. Sounding like you’re too focused may make them think you wouldn’t be interested in working with them. Being too focused and pitching ideas can have its drawbacks, especially if that person isn’t good about keeping people informed about their current research interests.
If you’re already with an advisor, it’s pretty important to make sure early on that you can communicate with them and that they’re giving you at least a little guidance in choosing your project. If they aren’t, that can also be a red flag.
What responses have you seen to project ideas and were they positive or were they red flags?
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