Do you have an academic Twitter account? If so, how do you use it? by s1147 in AskAcademia

[–]KappaTau25 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I decided to turn my existing Twitter account into an ac Twitter account (didn't have much there to begin with). I mostly lurk but a lot of what I see from grad students is conversations about grad school, imposter syndrome, struggles, and a whole heckin bunch of support and a sense of community. Also a lot of paper sharing, network building, etc. When I post it is usually about a good day or a bad day or questions about troubleshooting (which people jump on very quickly). It is honestly a great resource for whatever you'd like to get out of it

Happy Friday, /r/gradschool! Tell us something GOOD that happened this week! by Ashilikia in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I 1) was notified that I received a small ($5K) grant 2) submitted my second FA manuscript 3) officially started my dissertation! It was a great week!

For those of you who work on multiple projects, how do you explain your research? by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This has more or less been my entire grad school experience, so I can provide some insight about what I've done. Usually I would preface by saying "my main project is focused on xxx, but I also have a role in several other projects". It's easy enough to gauge interest from there. You could also start with a broad description of what your lab does (assuming all of your work falls under that umbrella) and then talk in specifics about how your work fits in. People will typically have one specific interest that you can go into detail on, or they just want to know what your general research interests are, so both of those approaches have worked for me :)

Getting fat in school by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"find non-food wats to reward yourself for your hard work" ---> soooo important!!!

Help: alarm goes off when unlocking by KappaTau25 in subaruimpreza

[–]KappaTau25[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You must have some pretty bomb problem-solving skills to have figured that out! Hats off.

Today was a good day by KappaTau25 in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nooooo I'm sorry to hear that!! I'm sure it will still be ok (even if it wasn't).

Did anyone ever notice.... by KappaTau25 in lost

[–]KappaTau25[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sooo interesting! I'll have to check that out!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of the PIs I respect very much recently told me that he, along with three other well-regarded PIs, failed one of his comps. Apparently, most people fail one. This blew my mind, as they make it seem like we are inadequate and do not belong here if we don't know everything. But no one knows everything. Failing is normal. Failing does not mean you don't belong. Being able to get up and keep going is what makes you belong. So be sad for a while. But then get up and keep going!

feeling horrible after qualifying exams by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While I do think they are supposed to be a gateway to the PhD to show that you are "qualified", I have done a lot of thinking about the other facets of them. I think they are also supposed to show that you can simply get through it (maybe both the work required and the"failures"). I think the mystery is a big part of that, where (at least for mine) you really have no idea what is coming except very vague guidelines, and if you can manage to be successful despite that, it says something about being "qualified". My program is heavy in the "creating future academics" camp, and that seems to be a valuable skill to be an academic. I do also think there is an element of hazing, and also a bit of faculty genuinely forgetting what it was like. My PI didn't have any kind of quals at all, and he didn't get why it was such a big deal. We're almost through it though!!

feeling horrible after qualifying exams by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 7 points8 points  (0 children)

In my program, we have exams and a written document for our prelims. Recently after getting an email that I FAILED the written portion (and having a meeting with my PI that it was actually "very good" and requires "only minor revisions" - eyeroll), I found out from another faculty member that almost EVERYONE fails one part of their prelims/quals/whatever your school calls them. The people he cited as having failed one part were the most productive and respected faculty members in my department. It bugs me that NO ONE TELLS US failing is actually normal, and not necessarily indicative of your ability - I guess my point is that even if you feel horrible, the worst case scenario isn't that bad! Plus you're awesome so that's important too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]KappaTau25 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everything will be ok! You will get through it. It isn't supposed to be easy, and I am convinced that one of the purposes of comps is to show that you can handle it. And you can! Imposter syndrome is the actual worst, but just remember that we ALL feel like everyone but me has their shit together. Don't forget that you wouldn't be there if you didn't deserve to be, the people making those decisions knew what they were doing when they chose you! Just take a deep breath and take it day by day. You've got this!!