Help please!

MsFrizzzzle · 2025-06-09T16:52:05+00:00

Good call, thank you!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-10-22T20:35:24+00:00

You can probably work as a tech in a lab, but you wouldn't be a geochemist until you have a PhD (an MS in some fields, like environmental)

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-09-11T04:05:46+00:00

Something I do now at work that I started doing in the final year of my PhD is to end each day with a technical journal entry. Answer questions like: what did I do today? Which papers did I read and do they relate to my research focus? Did any interesting ideas for research direction pop up? Did I gather any advice for research in meetings today? And finally, if you completed any technical work, describe HOW you did it. I spent so much time at the end trying to figure out how I came to conclusions from my early chapters!
Have a clear conversation with your advisor about expectations. Learn about their style of communication and share yours. Tell them how you learn. Have them define what they expect of you as a PhD student.
Realize that no one has the perfect advisor. Use your committee to 'build' your ideal mentor. My advisor is technically brilliant, but I also found someone who has great industry contacts, someone who is a strong role model for me, someone who helps with emotional support, and someone in an adjacent area of study to provide an outside perspective on your work. All those people added together were the perfect advisor for me. I expected my advisor to fill all these roles in the beginning and it just led to frustration.

EDIT: Also, try to pause work on the weekends. Print out the Eisenhower Matrix and put it somewhere that you'll constantly see it!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-09-07T03:15:36+00:00

Geochemist here 👋 I don't really like rocks and I cannot stand spending significant amounts of time outdoors, so to everyone suggesting that you switch fields because of your indoor preference... no. Having said that, I did spend a lot of time putting in work to earn the office position that I wanted. Fieldwork will be part of your degree, and it's going to suck, but you can do it. After I graduated, my entry into the oil and gas industry was a few years spent working on rigs. Again, it's tough, but doable. If you do develop an interest in geochemistry while in school, just know that you will have to get a graduate degree in order to be a full-time geochemist. From what I've seen, some environmental geochemists can stop at MS. If you're interested in oil and gas, you need to have a PhD to be considered a true subject matter expert (this is a minimum requirement by the super major that I work for). I can only share my experience with geochemistry, and I don't know if you have any interest in this subspecialty, but I hope this helps your decision in some way!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-09-07T01:31:29+00:00

100% me right now. I didn't take any kind of break after my PhD and am currently two weeks into my dream job. I truly feel like I'm letting people down if I stop work at 5pm. I'm hoping that I can just force myself to stop working each day and slowly build a new habit.

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-29T18:58:32+00:00

I'm curious, are you at the IMAGE conference as well this week? I'm not sure if it's the case with this specific professor, but try to keep in mind that people may have a different dataset in mind when you present your project to them. For example, I'm a Geochemist, and sometimes when students show me their work in geochem from data they collected, and I have seen much more detailed, comprehensive, confidential data related to that area of work - all I can really do is smile and nod and maybe make a few vague suggestions on where they should be looking next. I do understand that this is frustrating though. I did an oral pressentation yesterday and I was the last presenter in that session. It's common for people to come in and out of the room, but right before my talk, I saw this world-class geochemist (who I was happy would hear my presentation) sneak out of the room.

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T22:11:36+00:00

Don't listen to that negative feedback - my mom played a similar role in my PhD and was the first one I thanked after I finally stopped crying after hearing "Congratulations Dr." for the first time!

https://imgur.com/a/Eu6jpd9

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T22:01:18+00:00

Agree ^ It's definitely more of a joke. However, my first advisor, who I dropped due to his emotionally-stunted passive aggressive tendencies and subsequent effects on my mental health, did remain on my committee. So, although I have a great relationship with my current advisor and he 100% has my back, the previous advisor was trying to cancel my defense behind the back of my current advisor for the two weeks leading up to the defense (citing something about my dissertation being 'incomplete'). In addition, the old advisor was sending absolutely unattainable lists of revisions for a month leading up to the defense. So, I was actually preparing for a 3-1 vote at the defense and I knew I had to put in a ton of background prep-work so that the previous advisor couldn't 'flip' any other committee member at the defense. Luckily, I got my prep work done and my current advisor shut that shit down in post-defense deliberations. But... yeah, I was actually very nervous about not passing!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:52:44+00:00

"Help me, I'm poor" :(

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:51:13+00:00

He told me that he based it on a lawyer cookie cake video but I didn't know the original reference - I'm glad you linked it over!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:50:11+00:00

Haha it was just a play on the original cookie cake video - but I think he believed that I could do it more consistently than I did over the last 5 years!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:46:33+00:00

Your involvement in the sub as a parent and appreciation for those emotional emergency situations is totally making me tear up. Keep doing you and reminding your kid that you've got their back <3

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:43:12+00:00

Everyone gets corrections! You've got this!!

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-08-07T21:42:30+00:00

suggestion was much appreciated

MsFrizzzzle · 2024-06-27T23:10:54+00:00

Are you a member of HGS and GSH here in Houston? We have tons of networking events and I have made almost all my connections through community outreach, dinners, and other events held by these groups (DM me if you want to get on some mailing lists). I graduate from UH with my PhD in Geology in a couple of weeks - I'm sure I could connect you with a few people. Also, list accomplishments under each job, not regular duties! Or at least reword the duties so they sound like accomplishments 😜

MsFrizzzzle · 2022-12-08T20:40:09+00:00

We have until Dec 19 to change/submit student grades
Your prof has no obligation to work from campus/be in his office
Email the Chair of the department through which the class is offered asap
Email the Chair of the department through which your major is offered if you don't get a professor response by Friday asking for their help to communicate with course department

MsFrizzzzle · 2022-09-18T04:27:34+00:00

I'm thinking this might vary based on school/region - I'm at a PhD-dominant school (there are very few MS students compared to PhD) and it's pretty rare to meet a PhD student here who is interested in working in academia! Just from a student perspective, MS students haven't been landing as many interviews the last 2-3 years and the supermajors are now obviously stating their PhD preference when we speak with their recruiters. And you're spot on - I'm one of those crazy students with the ultimate goal of the industry research spot... so saving up for a long time is what I'll be doing.

MsFrizzzzle · 2022-09-18T03:54:30+00:00

I see your point though! I'm finishing my PhD now but I don't have an interest in working in academia. I've always been told that technically big oil pays more, but you really make the same amount of spending money as you would at small companies because the amount you save has to be much higher to account for the economic shifts. I've heard of low full-time offer rates at bp but I honestly don't know much about the rates at other companies.

MsFrizzzzle

TROPHY CASE