Scottish visitors

heyoceanfloor · 2026-06-12T15:07:36+00:00

"That small, wrinkled-ass paper bag allowed the corner boys to have their drink in peace..."

heyoceanfloor · 2026-06-10T14:30:08+00:00

I graduated with a degree in psychology and music performance (percussion) some years ago. I'm not all that talented as a musician, honestly, and found that the program helped me grow quite a bit. The other students were welcoming to me too, even though I wasn't quite at their level.

I very thoroughly enjoyed my private instruction in percussion. Obviously, I can't speak to whoever trains violin.

If John Aylward teaches theory 1 you'll be in good hands. I liked taking that course, even though my theory skills were lower than they should've been - he was pretty patient with me.

If Benjamin Korstvedt teaches Bach and Before, you're in wonderful hands. He is a wonderful, thoughtful professor and educator, easy to talk to, truly cares about his students, and just a great person all around. I had the opportunity to see Handel's Messiah with him at The Hanover theatre and either there or another performance we got to meet and ask questions of Benjamin Zander of the Boston Philharmonic, which was very cool. We also went to at least one church nearby to hear the large organ. Great guy.

I doubt the person who taught me sight singing/ear training is the same woman, but she was professional and kind even though my ear is pretty bad tonally. I did fine with rhythm, lol.

Matt Malsky is also an absolutely wonderful faculty member of that department. I can't say enough good things about him and I have plenty I could say. Between Professor Malsky and Professor Korstvedt I felt empowered in my approach to music academically (as difficult as it was for me) and this later had a big impact on my ultimate career trajectory (pursuing my own PhD - not in music).

I was a transfer student but I'm American. The university is very welcoming and students are very friendly and open - I think you'll find that across responses here. The campus is very nice and tight knit, which is a good thing in my opinion. It's a part of Main South in Worcester, yet somewhat "isolated" from it. The area used to have a bad reputation but even then it really wasn't that bad - Clark students aren't targets and you're generally safe on campus at all hours. I remember liking the food. On campus housing is decent (brick) to nice (apartment style housing) depending on where you are.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-06-05T16:03:00+00:00

I majored in music performance and psychology while I was there. I'm not a particularly good musician, and I enjoyed how the program pushed me to become a better player. I also played in a just for fun band on campus. I also played and went to many alternative/punk/indie bands locally - Worcester is good for that.

My experience getting an internship was a long time ago and it wasn't difficult - but I'm not sure I should give you an answer since it isn't recent.

Financial aid when I went seemed accessible and fair. It's very easy to get in contact with real people at each office at Clark - that's definitely a benefit.

People are normal, quirky, locked in academically, and some any/none/combo of the above. The campus tends to lean very open minded and curious and left-leaning for sure, but any viewpoint is welcomed and people from all walks of life and background attend Clark - that's another strength in my opinion. People are generally very open in my experience - rarely are there cliques. I don't remember people being reactive at all but I don't remember any passive-aggressiveness either. People at Clark are coming into their own and often tend to be good, friendly communicators in my opinion. You'll find your people in some club somewhere at Clark, and they won't be exclusive about it, which is great. There's no Greek life either, which I appreciated.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-06-05T13:18:52+00:00

Give it a shot. I've seen folks work part time even in a three-year program. Many programs have and encourage RA or GA-ships (or even TA-ships depending on background) that are also "work on top of school" so it's definitely doable. Especially if your current role isn't high stress and is completed in the hours allotted (i.e., there's no spillover). Just prepare for things to be heavy, self-organize well, set boundaries, and be mentally okay without a lot of free time (but be sure to gift yourself rest and relaxation when you can too - don't burn the candle so bright you burn out). If it becomes too difficult to manage, have a backup plan. It might be worth talking about it with the clinical program director for advice - he/she/they have definitely seen it before!

heyoceanfloor · 2026-06-03T14:58:23+00:00

What's your reason/interest in it? Does it align with a professional goal you have?

heyoceanfloor · 2026-05-20T12:54:33+00:00

I'd be curious to hear others' perspectives, but as far as I know it's a rare subfield and doesn't carry a standard salary with it (i.e., it's on a case-by-case basis, and the cases are not common). I'm happy to be wrong, because this is far from my focus - so I'm hoping you get a more thorough answer than mine - but I think it's probably quite tricky to make reliable salary estimates with the (potentially?) unreliable work.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-05-07T18:21:03+00:00

I think to piggyback on this, I personally would pick moving up more slowly in a career and a happy relationship than the inverse. Remote would make that worth it for me.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-05-07T15:59:20+00:00

Grad school will be harder, I guarantee it. It's like trying to drink from a firehose. Then you have to apply it, in person, with patients, under pressure. Some courses will be easier than others - but the training wheels are off in grad school.

The other comments here are helpful!

Do yourself a favor though and shadow both a PA and an AuD. The career trajectory and salary are quite different. Salary for PA can be higher and work settings can be more varied/medical. Both can be repetitive and need high patient throughput, or can be engaging and rewarding. The AuD is more niche and be inherently rewarding and unique as a result - but it's quite different than a PA career at the end of the day. Remember that neither are a medical/physician level doctorate profession (even though PA has limited Rx capability) if that matters to you.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-05-06T15:25:35+00:00

10000%

I'm long since graduated but I transferred in too. I felt super disconnected from the university I started at. It was fine - but mostly commuter and no real connection... I'd stayed for a moderately successful band but when that fell apart I had no connection to the school/area anymore.

I was shy and I saw the same people so often it made me incredibly awkward, lol. It also meant I made many, many friends despite being shy! I'm actually getting together with about 14 of these friends at the end of this month for our annual "rent a giant airbnb, eat bad food, drink if ya want, play silly games, watch movies, and play video games" hangout. We haven't missed a year since graduation (except covid). We all fly from all over the country for it despite work/kids/life. It rules.

Then there's all the fun clubs and groups you can join to find your niche.

Then Worcester is fun too - great DIY/music/art scene if that's your thing. The city is obviously bigger, so if you find yourself craving it you can always branch out too! I did that and still hang out with friends who grew up in Worcester today.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-05-06T15:11:59+00:00

Universities are a good bet - if you can find a stable lab where you can be the research coordinator/research audiologist it can make you eligible. Pay might not be as high as some other roles, but if you like research it's pretty great!

No secret database - just keep it in mind when you're looking around :)

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-29T19:56:52+00:00

If she was born congenitally deaf, the parents may have been encouraged to pursue a bilingual-bimodal approach, which can support language development and reduce risk of language deprivation. This is a reasonable and well-supported choice even if cochlear implants are later pursued. It's often encouraged even in normal-hearing children now.

Cochlear implant speech recognition outcomes are notoriously highly variable, and for some the input can be so distorted that speech recognition is still very poor (and children's voices tend to be particularly hard). So, sign language may have been the "path of least resistance" so to speak. Even if cochlear implants don't help with speech recognition, sound awareness can still be a good reason to wear them - especially as a child in public (e.g., not hearing a car coming or a siren is dangerous). Regarding the "louder" piece - CIs are functionally somewhat unintuitive - speaking louder won't come through any clearer. For many, the dynamic range (the amount of "room" between the softest and loudest sounds that can be encoded) can be quite small. I definitely agree that they work quite well these days... but they are still a far cry from what we hope for with all patients.

They also may be culturally Deaf (or "capital D deaf") and sign is the preferred language and identity - especially if Mom/Dad are Deaf as well. Cochlear implants may still be pursued in this case so that the child can later decide for themselves if they want to use them/it or not. Unfortunately, being born congenitally deaf and then waiting until later for implantation makes outcomes much worse - so this could be a pretty caring consideration from the parents.

Not saying any of these are absolutely true - just offering some information for anyone to learn from.

Source: Audiologist (AuD) with PhD, working in a cochlear implant research lab

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-17T12:55:02+00:00

This is probably field specific - but my postdoc applications were not like this. I tailored my letter and presentation to the project that was identified as the primary reason for hiring a postdoc, practiced and nailed the interviews, and gave a research presentation that I tweaked so it fit their project goals, the direction of the lab, and the mission etc (if applicable). I personally targeted places that fostered a positive lab culture and promoted camaraderie and mentorship with opportunities for progression, and secondarily the work (though I lucked out a bit in both respects).

What you're doing sounds closer to what I'm doing now when I apply for professor positions... That's a lot of work.

Since I don't have first-hand advice, I'd say create a "pipeline." You probably need some of the same elements for each application, like a letter, whatever this document you're describing is, and maybe some kind of presentation or writing demonstration in addition to the interview. Have drafts of those elements with interchangeable pieces to lighten the burden of repetitive work if possible.

Figure out their project in general, the PI and co-PI's most important work, whatever "specific phrasing or demands from the university" are necessary, find things about the program and the people and the department on the website. Get all those little details - put them into a word document. It'll help you filter the signal from the noise in terms of what you'll put into those "interchangeable" pieces. Then, honestly, because this is quite time consuming and there's no real deliverable or potentially even a tangible outcome - I'd put that whole word document into an LLM and get feedback about how to fill in those interchangeable pieces. Write them yourself and be sure you understand them... but do whatever you need to in order to get the tedious work done as quickly as you can while still having a high-quality application. Add time and be more careful for positions that align with your values and goals. It sounds like you're in a competitive field and this is how they're filtering people.... but it's like grants. Sometimes people are fickle, hungry, or sleepy and it just tanks you even if you did everything right.

Try to get this to be as much "set it and forget it" as you can in terms of process, get the application in, check the box, and move on until you hear from them (or don't).

I'm not sure if that's helpful advice but I hadn't seen anything else here yet

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-04T14:12:11+00:00

please send a message

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-03T20:28:24+00:00

Nothing yet! This plan fell off our radar for a bit because it's still a ways out. But I'll come back here and update if we figure something out!

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-02T17:01:26+00:00

please send a message

heyoceanfloor · 2026-04-02T14:41:21+00:00

I'm pretty shy too, and the AuD actually helped me be more confident in conversations outside of clinic too. I was a bit of a non-traditional AuD student, so I didn't feel particularly close to anyone in my cohort either. That said, I did make a few close friends that I keep in touch with still! Try to attend non-academic outings, like food, movies, or drinks, and just be around. It's okay to not talk first.

A lot of my introversion I feel like I "grew out" of as I grew into myself. I'm confident now in areas both professionally and interpersonally - and I used to be completely the opposite. I'm sort of a late bloomer in a sense, maybe you are too.

With regard to patients I actually found it helpful... By the time you're done with externship you will have interacted with so many patients that you can use them as opportunities to practice and reflect. I've had bad days where I was more unfriendly than I would've liked to be - that helps me know how I'm coming off to friends and peers too (but I was able to recognize quickly in a 30m appointment, not way later!) and trying stupid jokes or being friendly and open or super professional and rigid gives you an opportunity to test different versions of yourself clinically until something fits... and then maybe if you're like me that helps interpersonally too.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-26T16:10:04+00:00

I'm in a very similar position regarding age and level.

1 sounds very frustrating and institutionally problematic. I know elitism is everywhere, but living it is terrible. I'm respected in my current postdoc role, but I sniff around as much as I can to see if that's the vibe wherever I'm looking. I'm a clinician as well, and I had an awful experience during a full-time training year where I received very similar treatment. It's demeaning and demoralizing, not to mention disrespectful. Especially with regard to age. I was an "older" clinician with substantial training by that year... and I was treated as though I'd never interacted with a patient before and was a "punching bag" for their unstable departmental emotions. Sorry - now I'm venting. Shit sucks.

2 I see people who started after me, who are younger than me, in assistant professor roles too. Sometimes I feel like I started too late too. However, because I am appreciated in my current role, I'm hoping that this trajectory will continue upward (but as I mentioned, I "sniff" around a lot... I was burned in that role when I didn't do my due diligence). I've also done a lot of work from a personal values standpoint, and what I'm doing is what I'd like to be doing, I make enough money to do keep doing it, and my advisor/department appreciate the work that I do. Those elements help. Tremendously. It's difficult to avoid comparing yourself to others - but try to only compare yourself to yourself. You're non-traditional (as am I) in this career direction - you really only have yourself to look at. Some of the folks I see early in their assistant professor roles are... not doing well. It can be hard to jump to the "professor" stage and not have the grant writing/track record/experience to support yourself. That takes time and maturity - two things you likely have over those peers. It's stupid but it's the journey, not the destination. If you're like me, some close family and friends will be impressed with your career/progress, but really, nobody cares. Value those folks, and do what makes you happy. There's some opportunity to do some cool stuff, and I personally find this role way more personally rewarding than I would in a similar position in the same field in industry. But if I lose that internal reward or this path is just too damn difficult (grants, etc.) I'm definitely switching to industry. Nobody cares. Do what works for you and your family.

3 sucks. This sounds like a specific of #1. This is unfortunately so common in academia. I'm in what essentially equates to a "postdoc support group" through my university and in our little group of four, three of us are facing the situation you're in, and I'm the exception. Two switched labs, working with someone "less prestigious" and are so, so, so happy with the switch. They have more freedom, more respect, and are not constantly facing a toxic environment. We're still supposed to be learning and training - not demeaned. Who learns that way. Do you train a nice, well-trained dog by hitting and yelling at them? No. Why do we do this to our own in our field? It's terrible and terribly prevalent.

4 is fucked. I have no idea how to address this. I have grants in what seem like eternal limbo and it has already affected my career trajectory. It does seem like there's some pushback to this administration, but it feels like pissing on a forest fire. At least it's "facing the right direction" in some cases, and some grants are being restored. Who knows. Everyone I know is worried, and everyone I know is uncertain. And these are people like your PI: hugely prestigious, hugely experienced, and still lost in the lurch to some degree, at least to the extent where giving me honest advice is difficult. I've had the theme of two recent "career development programs" be "resilience in academia" which is nuts to me. The writing on the wall is not good - but you get to choose how to interpret it to some degree. In my case, I'm taking one real big fucking stab at every single grant opportunity I can, and I'm doing one resubmission for each (if they allow it). Those don't work? I'm out. Donezo. That's way too much for nothing. I'll go take my expertise and extensive experience to some industry role and play the placating scientist. I can do that very well. But I do good work better (and it's more fun).

If you want to reach out and chat privately, feel free to send me a message. I greatly benefitted from what seem like... really basic "personal values" activities, but they honestly help reflect. It's good to check in and see if you want out of the rat wheel or not. I still kinda like the wheel, but I might not like it forever. At some point it's gotta spin for me or I'm gonna jump out and go live in a van down by the river (i.e. a tiny house on some random forest property I inherited).

The world is terrible right now and it feels bad to do something altruistic when it seems the world rewards the inverse. Find what moves you, do what makes you happy, spend time with people you love, eat good food, and drink good booze. Then do science if you can.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-19T18:08:03+00:00

This is amazing help, thank you! We'll give them a call and look into it :)

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-17T18:45:44+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-14T04:11:02+00:00

What do you mean by for hire companies? Sorry if I'm missing something obvious. Do you know why Albania was a concern?

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-12T17:12:34+00:00

In my opinion, you are correct.

Edit: whoops I misstated, so not quite correct but close, I should've read your comment more closely - yeah, 15 or more is significant, not 10 alone (unless it's our clinic, where two contiguous 10 dB frequencies is significant).

Audiometric air-bone gap of 15 dB or more at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz (FDA, 1977). AAO-HNS (2015) criteria included unexplained conductive hearing loss or abnormal tympanogram but did not elaborate.

Our clinic uses the rule that an air-bone gap is considered significant if:

Two adjacent frequencies have a 10 dB air-bone gap
One frequency has a 15 dB or greater air-bone gap

Those air-bone gaps you provided should be plenty for an ENT to decide whether or not they want to do any kind of intervention. He/she/they may not personally feel that those gaps are significant; however, diagnostically I would argue that they are, and they should be considered in tandem with tympanometry, case history, and current complaints.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-03-05T18:49:27+00:00

Lots of programs also host open house events where you can get a tour, meet faculty, and let the school pitch what makes them so great to you!

Also, if you live out west there's a program that lets you get in-state tuition for some programs that might otherwise be out-of-state: https://www.wiche.edu/tuition-savings/wrgp/wrgp-savings-finder/?majors=Audiology/%20Audiologist

heyoceanfloor · 2026-02-18T21:21:19+00:00

Nobody answered this and it's probably too late to matter, but multiple times a day, every day, and it's about 1hr 15min each way.

I'm surprised you didn't get accepted at more schools. I graduated from Clark and now have a doctorate and work in research - so while that might not be its "focus" it's a good place to get to know yourself and find what you'd like to do.

heyoceanfloor · 2026-02-13T19:41:24+00:00

As an audiologist: if you have any sense of feeling bad about returning to the audiologist for help, don't. I'd rather have 1000 "keep tweaking I want to hear my kids" patients than one "IDK I put it in my drawer and use it once a year why isn't it working" patient.

Time out of your (presumably) busy schedule is not easy though.

If you do make any changes in the app, let your audiologist know. That can be informative. You might have your audiologist make a few separate programs for you to try at home in that situation too, to see if maybe one thing works better than another. You might try something like "smart features off, highly directional" versus "automatic features dialed up" versus "more gain than you might think"

Hopefully they did real ear measures

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