We are all underpaid and underappreciated. That is almost the dictionary definition of academic jobs. We bounce from one barely acceptable contract to the next, hoping to finally land a tenure-track position that allows us to swim in money like Scrooge McDuck. But before that, science itself should be its own reward and sustenance. Sometimes though, we hear from a friend of a friend about a collea ...[Read More]
Mabi has seen a smattering of presentations at conferences. Some of those had the annotation “invited talk”. She wonders: How do you get invited to give a talk? Dear Mabi, Easy: get noticed. I don’t just mean that you should write a stellar paper. There might just be a chance that people miss it. Out of laziness, a crammed schedule or plain disinterest (wrongfully so, of course). ...[Read More]
Abasi really is in the final stretches of his PhD voyage. It’s time to pick the external member of his panel. This role is always a wild card: it could make your viva experience either a 1-hour short ego booster, or a 5-hours long living hell of questioning. He ponders: Who to choose as your external PhD committee member? Dear Abasi, Lots of variables to consider here, and potentially lots o ...[Read More]
Onnem is a big fan of a certain movie franchise about intergalactic space travel, heroism and self-development (with scenes that are depicted not very close by, and which did not occur recently *wink *wink). He smirks: Is there a dark side to obtaining a PhD? Dear Onnem, I think you’ve been spacing out a little too much these days. You’ve actually got things backwards: obtaining a PhD ...[Read More]
It’s Christmas! Time for celebration! Time to write your EGU abstract! Time to unwrap your presents! And for some, time to start writing yor PhD dissertation! Rudoplh is one of the lucky ones! But he has a question: How should I start on my PhD dissertation? Dear Rudy, What better time to get started on your dissertation than during the Christmas holidays? I recommend to start writing during ...[Read More]
Iiris is a bit indecisive. On the one hand, she wants to get as much science as she can into her thesis. On the other, she wants to actually finish her thesis in time, before unemployment inevitably comes knocking. She sighs: Should I do that one extra research project for my PhD, or just start writing the thesis? Dear Iiris, Definitely go for the extra research project. One cannot have too many. ...[Read More]
In a previous post I gave a cristal-clear explanation on what to write in a “teaching statement”, an essential document in your tenure-track application package. In this post I shall offer invaluable insight on an even more obscure document required for academic job hunters, by answering Inessa’s question: What should you include in your “diversity, equity, inclusion statem ...[Read More]
It’s the first time Stella is organizing a session at the upcoming, 2022 EGU general assembly. Tantalized yet nervous due to the possibility of a forced merger with another, uninspiring session, she exclaims: How do I get people to submit abstracts to my session? Dear Stella, Why don’t you write a post on this very blog? Oh wait, you’re not the first one to do that. Ugh. How uncr ...[Read More]
Long (mostly self-inflicted) working hours, low pay, one short-time contract after another and no long-term guarantee whatsoever. That is academic life for you, in case you haven’t noticed. Sooner or later all academics start to ask themselves the same thing that Gabby asks: What are the nicest alternatives to academia? Dear Gabby, My personal favourites are careers that involve telling acad ...[Read More]
Jesper has a lot of green on his mind. No not money, you capitalists. Nature. The environment. Basil and chives. With the recent advent of billionaires finding new ways to caress their egos, and in a totally-not-aiming-to-start-mining-other-celestial-bodies kinda way, Jesper has some troubled thoughts: Should we really colonize other planets? We are already destroying this one… Dear Jesper, Sure. ...[Read More]
