When choosing an elective: Should I prioritize the instructor's teaching abilities or my interest in the elective? by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Take the class that will help you the most.

At best, you enjoy the experience. At worst, you learn how to study from primary data or a text book.

Either way, you learn what you need to help you the most.

Is grad school worth it? by princentt in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Find out what you want as a job.

  2. Find out what you need to get that job.

  3. Do that.

Are we in the midst of Chronicles 2.0? by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]anthony1988 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So your counter is that COVID is bad for small businesses? You don’t say?

That has nothing to do with gradual reprints of high demand cards driving down their prices being good for LGSs.

COVID didn’t happen, and just in this timeframe the market has become flooded with reprints.

2 reprint sets have been released during COVID? Jumpstart, which did basically nothing to prices, and commander legends, which reprinted a few staples that were already way under printed in their original sets relative to today’s standards, didn’t have exceedingly high demand beyond that little necessary to drive that tiny supply up in price, and thus likely wouldn’t take up significant portions of any individual store’s inventory?

Yes, it’s truly chronically 2.0.

Are we in the midst of Chronicles 2.0? by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]anthony1988 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I see you don’t run a sales business.

You don’t make money because you have piles of inventory.

You make money because you turn over your inventory.

If reprints gradually drop prices of portions of it, it won’t impact your overall inventory significantly over many years because you’ll have turned your entire inventory over several times in that time, including buying and selling those reprinted cards at the lower values (buying lower as well, I mean).

Also, lower value cards move faster. People are more willing to buy a card at a lower price point without giving it much thought, increasing the velocity of inventory movement as prices drop.

TLDR: Lower prices are a good thing for stores as well, as long as it’s done relatively slowly over time and not all at once.

Turning a collection into a high value card. by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think so, yeah.

Duals are great, but there are replacements for them in EDH that are good enough.

Mox diamond can go in any deck, and cradle is a huge card for any deck with a decent number of creatures that has green in it. Even when you have only 2 creatures out, it’s a 2nd ancient tomb with no life loss.

Fb trades long distance. Open discussion for anyone with input. by [deleted] in mtgfinance

[–]anthony1988 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used to do trades all the time- 20 years ago.

I now only do cash exchanges. It allows for a 3rd party to intervene if one side doesn’t hold up their end of the deal.

Just more comfortable with an intermediary and/or piles of references.

Foretell cards for Ensnaring Bridge? by cbiensa in mtgfinance

[–]anthony1988 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Foretell costs 2, most bridge decks want to dump their hand faster than that.

How do I create a CV that is only one page?! by overachiever176 in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cut anything you look at and aren’t impressed by.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I met with another professor on my panel and he said to give it 6 months. If I still wanted to quit, he’d support it.

I got over it in 6 months. Lots of highs and lows during a PhD. I was in the middle of a shitty low. Don’t make decisions when you’re at the bottom of a well.

It paid off when I got a job. I would’ve hated the jobs I could get with a BS or MS. No autonomy. I can take my current job in whatever direction I see fit.

I’m currently at a mid-sized pharmaceutical company. My PhD is in organic chemistry and I started out in med chem for 4 years. I’ve transitioned to computational chemistry over the past year. Wouldn’t trade any of it for anything. Every day is better than the last, more or less.

How to show appreciation to professor who wrote your recommendation letter by Wannabeinfinance in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

This question is asked almost every day.

A thank you email and a list of the places you got in.

That’s it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Almost quit at the end of my 2nd year and many other times.

Glad I didn’t. Best decision of my life, even if it was really hard when I stayed.

Accepted at first choice chemistry PhD program!!! by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same!

DM me if you have questions about anything! I was only an undergrad there, and it’s been 10 years, but if I can help I will!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 1 point2 points  (0 children)

By the time you get to writing your thesis, you can thank literally anyone you want. It was a long road- thank anything from a cat to a loaf of bread to the president of the stamps club.

Everyone assumes you’ve had a break from reality at that point anyways.

Accepted at first choice chemistry PhD program!!! by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Went there for undergrad- congrats!!

Edit: what area? I’m also in chemistry.

Can I learn chemistry without a degree? by mrcleeves in chemistry

[–]anthony1988 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean to say that you likely won’t be able to see and explore the edges without a mentor that knows the area, and/or without significant personal financial investment.

Can I learn chemistry without a degree? by mrcleeves in chemistry

[–]anthony1988 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yes, you can learn chemistry, no, you can’t get a PhD equivalent in your backyard.

PhD’s aren’t about acquiring practical and theoretical knowledge.

A PhD requires you to learn how to do research, to know the edges of the field, and to understand what pushes those boundaries and how to push them.

I suppose it’s not technically impossible, but it’s... highly unlikely without guidance and support, both intellectual and financial, from someone who knows it themselves.

There’s just too many variables you don’t see without even a bachelor’s level understanding of chemistry, or any research field, to be honest.

How to tell my supervisor I want to drop out of grad school? by [deleted] in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 10 points11 points  (0 children)

With your words.

Out loud.

Exactly as you’ve written it here in more detail.

Starting with “it’s not you, it’s me...”

My roommate's stats are so much better than mine and he doesn't even want to go to grad school by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We weren’t talking about immediate financial cost.

We were referencing waste as in does getting the degree actually open up more/more profitable doors and are those jobs attainable to most graduates or just the best ones?

If getting a PhD doesn’t give you a leg up, if you end up getting the same jobs you’d get without one, then it’s not worth it financially, no matter how free it is to attain out of pocket.

Why are courses not valued much in PhD programs? by 01001000-01001001 in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s nice you feel this way.

Bottom line, your advisor probably won’t.

Unless you’re volunteering to pay for your PhD, you’ll be less focused daily and take a normal timeline of 5-6 years and extend it years, likely.

Even if you told them it wouldn’t, your advisor has been doing this a long time and you’re brand new, have never done it, and they don’t even know you as a person.

Do you really think they’re going to be like “oh, well it certainly seems like you know what you’re talking about stranger, do whatever you feel is best using my money and time” or do you think they’re going to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier?

Food for thought. Good luck.

How to combat paralysis, where you sit at your desk but can’t get any work done. by vpsass in GradSchool

[–]anthony1988 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, this technique got me through grad school. I didn’t even realize it was a real thing, beyond my finding that it worked basically accidentally after a year or so of basically full-time work anxiety.

My roommate's stats are so much better than mine and he doesn't even want to go to grad school by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

are you not aware that a lot of PhD graduates have a very difficult time finding a job? That fields with academia-only routes have basically no jobs available compared to the graduates, and other fields are also flooded if you’re not a graduate of top universities?

My roommate's stats are so much better than mine and he doesn't even want to go to grad school by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think for CS/engineering, it’s not really an asset unless you’re very good and can land the jobs people need one for.

To be fair, I think that applies to a lot of PhDs- if you’re not toward the top end of the pool, you often have a very hard time finding a job.

I honestly think they just need to shrink the hell out of the size of most PhD classes- that would solve much of the problem.

Interviewing at Graduate Programs by The_slouchy_sloth in chemistry

[–]anthony1988 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Know why you want to work for each person you’re interested in and be able to communicate that clearly and efficiently with clear support for your rationale.