As lockdown eases in many places, Stefan is beginning to think of an academic future away from his sofa. He asks the question: How much does university ranking matter when choosing a PhD position? Dear Stefan, Choosing a PhD program is tough. It’s a bit like getting married: for better or worse, until death us do part, regardless of the toe nail clippings on the table or refusal to ever take ...[Read More]
In the climb on the academic pyramid, Antonia wonders: How do you tell someone “you have not done enough to be included in the co-author list”? Dear Antonia, *arranges Yoda robe*: Big questions you have! Right place you came! I am sure you are not the first or the only scientist with that question. Since I feel generous today, I will leave here a template e-mail you can all copy and pa ...[Read More]
Ravi is done with his research, mentally. As he muses on a potential departure from academia – awaiting an unhackneyed sense of perspective – he asks: I want to leave academia! Where do I go? Dear Ravi, I am sorry to hear you’ve given thought to a termination of your academic career. After years of working in geodynamics, it sure shall be a great challenge to find new perspective ...[Read More]
On the matter of code choices, Alexa could have asked Siri, but instead chose an old-fashioned medium of enquiry compatible across all operating systems and wrote in to ask: Should I perform my research with an in-house code, an open source code or a commercial code? Dear Alexa, As a famous novel does not quite begin, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a geodynamicist in possession of a g ...[Read More]
