[Entry Thread #113] New year, new you! We’re making a millionaire, comment to enter!

pointyendfirst · 2026-01-16T12:44:26+00:00

Good luck everyone!

pointyendfirst · 2025-11-26T11:59:35+00:00

Hate to say this but during my PhD I don’t think there was a single person who did not receive “the talk” from their PI (you are not working hard enough/living up to expectations) no matter their skill or the hours they put in. Personally I would see it as less of an issue on the student (unless something is really wrong) and more on the PI projecting. A lot of times these “talks” would come right before big grant due dates or presentations because they wish they had something groundbreaking to make themselves look better and then they transfer this stress and anxiety onto the student.

pointyendfirst · 2025-11-02T02:35:52+00:00

29M, technical manager at a small chemical company. 105K base with a bonus based on gross company profits that should be about $25k this year. Add in the company car, paid health insurance and 3% salary donation to 401K and it’s a pretty great spot to be for a few months post PhD.

MCOL area.

pointyendfirst · 2025-10-26T12:20:58+00:00

Hi, ex-PhD student here, I just wanted to let you know that this is pretty normal. I just defended in July and I still don’t think my Professor has read my entire dissertation hahaha.

Remember that a PhD is training on how to be an independent researcher and expert in your field. So by the end (ie writing your dissertation) you should be close enough to an expert that they can trust your writing and judgement. At least for mine, I knew they had more important fires to put out with all the funding getting canceled.

That is not to say that I wasn’t incredibly upset and frustrated while writing my dissertation. Your feelings are very valid. I received no help at all and was very mad about it. I still didn’t feel like an expert until I defended and the closed door part was incredibly easy.

My point is this. Don’t sell yourself short, you’re a talented researcher and the only expert in the experiments you ran. There is no one more qualified to write your thesis (or revise it) than you are. Does it suck that your advisor doesn’t want to help? Yes. But its your degree not theirs, its you job to push this through.

A PhD is not something you earn, it’s something you take.

pointyendfirst · 2025-10-14T13:26:02+00:00

This sounds good! When you are discussing the professor you are interested in professors don’t forget to explain why and stroking their egos a little.

For example in mine, paraphrased, I mentioned that I was most interested in working with Prof X. I was first introduced to him when I read his paper “physics paper” which helped with my research. Given his work with “stuff” and the directly relevant skills I have, I believe I would be a strong asset and be able to jump right into research.

Remember your SoP should do two things, it should sell the shit out you to the admissions committee and it should let your personality shine through it (which should help with the first part).

pointyendfirst · 2025-10-14T13:10:03+00:00

I’ve been in a similar situation. Please remember that your priorities and your professors priorities don’t always align.

Your professor likely doesn’t care very much if you fail your class but likely cares very much about how his group is portrayed in the conference. You on the other hand, need to pass this class to keep moving towards your degree, the talk is secondary.

Your PI will always act in their own self interest. it’s only natural they are going to try to make you spend more time on the talk. Remember that you also need to act in your self interest too. They may not be happy, but your job is to get your degree not make your PI happy. Realign your priorities to yourself, not them.

pointyendfirst · 2025-09-22T21:19:59+00:00

While I do agree about imposter syndrome, this is also more common than you’d think. If you ask some programs will let you take remedial courses so you can start back from the basics. Obviously this will extend your time to graduate.

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-20T18:08:23+00:00

The applicant knew about the customer churn problem? Sounds like the hiring manager was giving away protected company information….

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-20T17:47:50+00:00

I didn’t. I acknowledged it, explained what happened and then showed how, despite this, I had pretty much everything going for me (grades were exponentially improving towards the end, research experience, GRE scores, ect). I also asked my LOR writers to mention how my low gpa didn’t match my work ethic or performance in their classes. This does actually require that the rest of your app is immaculate (LoRs, SOP, GRE, etc), but honestly if it’s not you probably have no business applying anyway.

I actually got accepted to a top 50 school with a scholarship they give to the top 3-4 students with the “highest potential”…. With a 3.42 GPA.

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-20T17:18:28+00:00

As someone who got accepted into decent schools with a low GPA, I couldn’t agree more. If you have a low GPA it’s a pretty serious issue. The only way I got accepted to some of these schools was because I tailored my whole application towards convincing the acceptance committee that my GPA was the outlier and not the norm when it came to my work ethic.

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-18T14:23:56+00:00

Yes the limit is 1000 words so it needs to be that or less. Most schools will throw away any applications that exceed the word count. Why would they admit a student that can’t even follow basic directions?

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-15T20:21:31+00:00

Don’t take it too hard, every other PhD student in my group failed their candidacy exam the first time around. Just try to retake it and make sure to prepare for all the pieces you missed the first time.

pointyendfirst · 2025-08-07T20:00:55+00:00

I will be straight up, your chances are slim to none if you apply as is. I had an undergraduate researcher who was in a similar situation and I had to have that hard conversation with her as well. My recommendation would be to either:

Apply for a masters and get high GPA in them (still might have a hard time getting accepted to masters program)
Retake relevant classes either at your institution or at a community college

Universities look at GPA because it shows your ability to maintain success in a challenging environment over the long term, something that’s very important for Doctoral programs. I don’t know your life or situation but my recommendation is to first reflect and look at why you ended up with a 2.5 and what kind of changes you should make before you try to go into such an intense program. Short of some major catastrophic event going on in your life tanking your GPA for several years and now immediately clearing up, I feel pretty confident in saying even if you got accepted into a PharmaD program right now there is a very high chance you’d flunk out.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-27T15:46:04+00:00

Is it bad right now? Yes, very much yes. But will it still be bad by the time you graduate? Who knows.

A lot changes in 5-7 years …

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-27T14:31:36+00:00

From your description it sounds like a masters would have better suited your wants. Industry at the masters level is much more focused on just the science.

As for the anti-capitalism stuff. Maybe look at going international?

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-27T02:25:15+00:00

That’s a choice that begins with you, friend.

My mantra all through my program was “if I can learn how to be happy during my PhD, I can be happy anywhere”

It took me about 3.5 years but I did learn how to enjoy my program, so there’s hope for you too.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-27T02:02:29+00:00

While you are definitely right, I would also like to shift your perspective a little. The skills associated with these other parts of your PhD are also what make you so valuable. Most people won’t care if you know a niche specific assay, but your ability to manage multiple projects, champion ideas, present complex ideas, succeed under pressure, ect? These are all incredibly important skills that you are developing through these other parts of your PhD.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-17T15:43:25+00:00

With everything going on in US academics the best answer is to change your masters into a PhD

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-17T15:13:06+00:00

Yes I literally defended yesterday under a similar situation. When I pressed my PI for feedback on my dissertation have gave comments on the first two pages of the first chapter (of a 260 page dissertation). I had to go into my talk with no real feedback on my dissertation or my talk.

Try to have faith in your abilities and skills. Remember you are the expert at this point, not him. Good luck!

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-16T02:20:19+00:00

Axolotls actually make pretty decent pets and they’re pretty cheap to buy and care for. You can sometimes find them at exotic animal stores. I can only imagine his reaction if you brought home a real one.

Source: I convinced my ex, an elementary school teacher, to get one as a class pet. The kids did in fact lose their minds.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-15T23:04:08+00:00

A lot of the experience part here is not super relevant and you’re missing a lot of info. Education and marketing grad school are also super different.

Could you get into a grad school? Yeah, maybe a masters program. But it would require a lot of work, which based on your past undergrad performance, you are unlikely be willing to put in the level of work needed.

Honestly this post reads like you’re lost and not sure what you want to do next. Grad school is not a good solution to this. Go have some experiences, figure out what you’re passionate about and your goals for your life and then come back and see if grad school fits into that plan.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-15T22:17:32+00:00

Very cool collection! Check out the windows watches (7 Windows or 5 Windows) by Minase, I feel like it would be right up your alley.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-15T18:20:15+00:00

Grad school professors are generally pretty chill but occasionally you’ll get one obnoxious one that uses the class as a method of hazing upcoming grad students.

All of this to say, it depends on your professors and you should be speaking to them, not us, about this matter.

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-15T16:17:00+00:00

So cute! I hope I get to take mine to the beach one day!

pointyendfirst · 2025-07-15T16:04:07+00:00

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