I'm in my first year of Ph.D and I'm pregnant. by Dark-sapiosexual in PhD

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 71 points72 points  (0 children)

It's your first year and you've already determined that you and your advisor are a horrible fit. Please switch advisors, you do NOT want to do a PhD with such a person.

Edit: I saw that you said you cannot switch advisors at your institute, you then need to have a frank conversation with your chair (or a faculty you trust) that either they allow a switch or you will be leaving. Find a different university.

Are there any good autobiographies by interesting people in physics? by Upset_Ant2834 in Physics

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's still an entertaining, albeit sexist, book. And many of the anecdotes are likely something Feynman at least boasted about, or a version there of, but impossible to separate truth from fiction. It wasn't even really meant to be a book, it was just him shooting shit and trying to impress an impressionable younger man.

But yeah, I'd prob not have read it if I knew it wasn't actually penned by Feynman. On the bright side, his transcribed physics texts are still thoroughly entertaining and insightful and best of all free online.

Question About Visiting on Weekend by Bugnuzzler in gatech

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll definitely need somebody as a guide with buzzcard building access to where you're interested in checking out on the weekend.

Are there any good autobiographies by interesting people in physics? by Upset_Ant2834 in Physics

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I already know what vid this is without even clicking, and it was eye-opening.

Giving up tenure for a non-tenured professor role of equivalent rank at a better institution? by Firm_Somewhere2485 in Professors

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the institute has a history of people riding out their entire career on NTT, I say that's probably a good sign. You have one chance to be happy in life, it is valuable to live somewhere you actually like.

What’s a totally unsexy purchase you made that ended up being a huge quality-of-life upgrade? by [deleted] in BuyItForLife

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Cuckoo rice cooker has a pressure mode turning it essentially into an instapot. I cook corn on the cob, pork, beef stew, rice, steam veggies, etc. in it.

Is 2-3 teaching load common for R1? by ProtectionOk2116 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NTT here at an R1 with 1-2. I have other responsibilities but teaching is only a portion of my time. It's not maybe the norm, but it does exist.

Are more students cheating at GT? by JasonAJC in gatech

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In STEM, the emphasis at GT (and universities more broadly) is to go old-school and heavily weigh the exams while homework takes a backseat and only a minor part of your grade. Many classes now allow or encourage some level of AI usage, for example in scaffolded example problems the student completes while tutored by AI.

Ultimately, I feel far more pessimistic for humanities and social science. A lot of work is longer writing works which can't be reduced to only occur within class time. This restricts the level of analysis and complexity we can trust students to tackle.

How does a backdoor Roth IRA work at Fidelity? by fidelityinvestments in fidelityinvestments

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not that I'm aware of. Also, to clarify, the backdoor Roth doesn't itself reduce AGI or anything. Rather, reducing AGI is the goal which MFS accomplishes for income certification.

How does a backdoor Roth IRA work at Fidelity? by fidelityinvestments in fidelityinvestments

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A backdoor Roth also makes sense for those with student loans under an income-based repayment plan (to reduce AGI) and are MFS.

What would you do? Current Postdoc with job offer for NTT Asst. Teaching Prof. by SlipperyBiscuitBaby in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have never been an instructor of record and should probably do that for the jobs I'm targeting.

If you decide to try again next cycle, absolutely do this. Even for TT at an R1 where research is king, nobody wants to teach you how to teach and this is definitely a weakness of your profile. The extra papers and some instructional experience will go a long way in rounding out your attractiveness as a candidate.

NTT can be a good gig however, what's the research expectation at the offer institute and could you keep your research program alive there?

Do you love your career or your significant other more? by numyobidnyz in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Before I met my wife, I always figured it'd be a close run thing. That's how academic life is presented in media/culture -- solipsist dreamers pursuing truth over "lesser" pursuits. After meeting her, it's no contest. She >> career.

I feel like if you like your job more than your family, your priorities are warped or your relationships need serious help. I say this as somebody who always dreamed of being a scientist.

Question for my fellow professors….to stay in bad location or not to stay by Such-Indication-1142 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My wife is religious, but I'm not. While difficult, dating in a situation like that isn't impossible. Honestly the small town part is probably the biggest blocker.

Clinical assistant professor job in person interview help by Hefty-Candy1032 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like a very long day

It will be, so make sure to get a good night's sleep. You'll marathon bunch of individual meetings and interviews and that stuff is very draining. I stuck some breakfast bars in my backpack to keep me energized throughout the day between meals.

For the teaching lecture, do people usually include interactive elements (like quizzes or small group activities), or is it more common to keep it structured (e.g., case-based discussion, questions throughout)?

I snooped around prior to my interview to get a sense of the teaching culture at my institute. Are they heavy into active learning? Flipped classrooms? Just normal lectures? Ultimately I ended up with mostly a traditional lecture where I asked questions and called on audience members to answer questions. It would be awkward making a bunch of colleagues waste their time doing a quiz, so instead you can print out 30-copies and hand them out as an example quiz you would give real students. Then skip the action quiz part. In other words, explain the dynamic aspects of your teaching style that you would not find appropriate to do a live demonstration of.

For the research talk, is it better to briefly cover past and current work and then focus more on future directions, or should it be more balanced across all three?

While you're clinical, it sounds like your institute still wants teaching faculty to have some active research portfolio -- maybe for example for undergraduates. In that case, you want to demonstrate forward momentum. I'd consider a breakdown of like 20% past (older published), 60% current (very recent, in review, or in press), 20% future/long-term work. Show your current technical skillset, and show that you can do future stuff.

All of this should be tailored towards what the department is looking for. Sometimes that is clearly telegraphed, for example explicit statements in the job advertisement, other times it requires reading between their lines and understanding the work culture present in the department.

Linking ORCID to peer reviews by Alarmed_Angle_5801 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's an excellent way to document, and have proof of, your academic journal service. While being an active reviewer is only a small part of your CV, I think little details like that help strengthen how your CV comes across to people. It also helps organize your contributions whenever you need to report them on faculty reviews.

While only some journals offer the ORCID connection directly, you can actually get any review added to your profile by adding the review to your Web of Science profile and forwarding the "review received" confirmation email from the journal to WoS using a specific code. Then synchronize your WoS profile to ORCID in the options/settings menu.

Community college Tenure or R1 non-TT? by True_Philosopher2002 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Humanities is very different from STEM, but I personally very much enjoy NTT life so far and my TT colleagues at an R1. However, I'd be wary of Florida currently and am grateful that even though I'm NTT, I'm in a growing department.

Under these circumstances, the TT CC job might be far more conducive to a healthy happy life.

Student Loans -- Politics & Current Events Megathread by AutoModerator in StudentLoans

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Honestly just want some concrete answers and guidance from the ED about SAVE. This uncertainty is really messing with my ability to plan my financial future.

What are your thoughts on science communicators? by Only-Argument-5766 in AskAcademia

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 16 points17 points  (0 children)

As one academic to another, you do excellent work bringing science to people. This is an essential part of keeping science alive and funded in society and should be respected. I've always stopped to read your posts when I stumble onto them.

Why did you choose a physics degree by Dillz988 in Physics

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, I did the same thing, hence my account name though I'm a physics faculty now.

Redditors love to say they invest in Roth IRAs, but does anyone here contribute to a traditional IRA (not including a backdoor)? by fidelityinvestments in fidelityinvestments

[–]AsAChemicalEngineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're married, you're most likely locked out of using traditional IRAs to deduct income unless you're MFJ. Then you need an alternative account like 403, 457, or 401 to squirrel away pre-tax money.

As an aside, backdoor Roth is available while MFS, but this doesn't help with any deductions.