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]
After spending about three decades in the hustle-bustle of Asian megacities, I landed up in a quiet European town to continue my research work as a postdoc. When you know you will not meet your family soon in person, you know that you will not get the food you love and, the climate that has guided you in the sun and shadow will be very different; you may expect a life struggle. Yet, people have di ...[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 can be tough realising you’re not on the path you want to be on. This week, we have Leiaka Welcome from the Colorado School of Mines showing us how a change of heart led her to start her PhD journey. Currently on social media (Instagram Reel, TikTok), there is a video trend where users are editing a video of themselves in a scenario with an audio sound where you can hear a classic record scratc ...[Read More]
The Geodynamics division of the European Geosciences Union is looking for a new Early Career Scientist representative (ECS Rep)! Our current ECS Rep (Anna Gülcher) will be stepping down at the EGU General Assembly 2022, which means that the amazing opportunity is open for you to take on this role! In this blog, Anna talks about the tasks involved in being an ECS Rep, the advantages of taking on th ...[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]
In June 2020 I made (my first!) blog post for the EGU blog on the topic of teaching, describing what I learned by for the first time teaching a full class on my own. It was at the time when teaching suddenly had to shift from in person to online teaching. Last quarter I was teaching again, but now the situation was the reverse. We had to move from online teaching back to in person teaching. In thi ...[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]
The first hybrid AGU meeting has everything one expects from the AGU – a long line to the registration desk and, a mile walk between the two ends of the conference hall, a large exhibit hall with NASA and their most-desirable calendars at the nexus, and our favorite poster hall to “network” with others – but with an added confusion, palatable emptiness, and no beer in sight! This week is a short b ...[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]