Lena has just shown me her beautiful LaTeX thesis template, complete with chapter headings. Populating it with text and results isn’t so exciting so instead she is beginning to consider: How should I celebrate my PhD defence? Dear Lena, Once all the hard work of writing your thesis is done, you’re left with one task that may fall completely outside your experience – organising yo ...[Read More]
Hugo is trying to refute some hypothesis postulated by a rival research group, yet he is unable to actually unearth the factual evidence behind this claim. Frustrated by the lack of transparency, he groans: How is it possible that I come across unhelpful references in peer-reviewed papers? Dear Hugo, The publishers don’t care. Not really. As long as alumni jot down some names and an annum in brack ...[Read More]
Lis has been studying, investigating, deconvoluting, cross-correlating, referencing, inverting, plotting, database searching … and whatnot. With just a few synapses still firing at all cylinders and demonstrating an uninterrupted dispense of productivity, she wonders: Should I start my own (geodynamics…?) online video channel? Dear Lis, Why not? Everyone’s not working properly anyways in this day- ...[Read More]
Sitting here and enjoying the view on the third rock from the Sun, Nana wants to get into the details. The whole may be more than the sum of the parts, but those parts can be pretty interesting too: What’s the most important rock? Dear Nana, I so value your decision to contact me; I decided to take your question very seriously and do some actual research. Method: how many abstracts were subm ...[Read More]
After a year of being glued to screens, Matej can sadly only keep up with one tab at a time and asks with intense FOMO: What have I missed from vEGU 2021? Dear Matej, Oh, dear! This week has been truly intense, and I do not blame your Internet bandwidth for not keeping up with all the parallel discussions and science from vEGU. In fact, it turns out that on Monday the conference platform was taken ...[Read More]
Maddie is in the final stretch of her PhD track. Whilst finalizing the last couple of figures and jotting down the last couple of paragraphs for her thesis, she checks the institutional web pages for job opportunities ferociously. Coming up blank, she mutters: How important is a social network for obtaining a future job in academia? Dear Maddie, It is absolutely paramount. You don’t seriously thin ...[Read More]
First the worst, second the best, third the one with a hairy chest! Gemma used to chant that in the playground, but now she wonders if it also applies to PhDs. I am not happy with my PhD. Should I do a second? Dear Gemma, That sounds like a great idea! Everyone who’s finished a PhD knows they could do it again in half the time, unless you had a supervisor with supernatural managerial abiliti ...[Read More]
In the landscape of very competitive scientific funding, and with STEM research teams sometimes having more people with the name ‘Ben’ than women, Pierre asks what no one dares to even think: Can I increase the chances for my proposal getting funded if I co-write it with a woman? Dear Pierre, The funding game is one of low-odds and it seems you are looking for a loophole. No judgement ...[Read More]
Clodagh has attended a conference or two. After missing out on last year’s EGU virtual general assembly, she seeks some advice to promote her science, and herself, out there: Can you prepare better for a virtual meeting compared to the ‘old way’ for physical presentations? Dear Clodagh, Top of the morning to ye. On such soft day no less! Well, in my humble opinion, there’s two ways of looking at t ...[Read More]
“Everyone else is going. It’s so unfair. They just don’t understand. Everyone else’s supervisor said yes.” Denis has been sent to his scientific bedroom and he isn’t impressed. He contacted the Sassy Scientist via Tiktok to ask: My supervisor has banned me from going to conferences. What shall I do? Dear Denis, You supervisor is a mean, heartless seg-fault who w ...[Read More]