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Human: Show support for UC academic worker strike Fellow academic community- Please take a moment to show solidarity with the academic student workers on strike at UC right now. We are in the second week of the strike by 48,000 academic workers in the University of California (UC) system. The action is the largest strike of academic workers in United States history. The strikers are demanding a salary increase—from an impossibly low $24,000 a year to $54,000—to address California’s skyrocketing rents and other living expenses. Sign the letter to President Drake https://act.aflcio.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-academic-workers-at-university-of-california?source=direct\_link& Make a donation in the hardship fund if you can https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw ​ https://www.fairucnow.org/support/ Assistant:

Human: Show support for UC academic worker strike Fellow academic community- Please take a moment to show solidarity with the academic student workers on strike at UC right now. We are in the second week of the strike by 48,000 academic workers in the University of California (UC) system. The action is the largest strike of academic workers in United States history. The strikers are demanding a salary increase—from an impossibly low $24,000 a year to $54,000—to address California’s skyrocketing rents and other living expenses. Sign the letter to President Drake https://act.aflcio.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-academic-workers-at-university-of-california?source=direct\_link& Make a donation in the hardship fund if you can https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw ​ https://www.fairucnow.org/support/ Assistant: Wishing them much success! I doubt the NIH is going to match, so its up to the University to make up the difference here. Less admin should go a long way. I had 4 other roomates in a 3 bedroom during my PhD at a UC. Was at 17,000 per year in early 2000s. It gets old in your late 20s.

Human: Show support for UC academic worker strike Fellow academic community- Please take a moment to show solidarity with the academic student workers on strike at UC right now. We are in the second week of the strike by 48,000 academic workers in the University of California (UC) system. The action is the largest strike of academic workers in United States history. The strikers are demanding a salary increase—from an impossibly low $24,000 a year to $54,000—to address California’s skyrocketing rents and other living expenses. Sign the letter to President Drake https://act.aflcio.org/petitions/show-your-support-for-academic-workers-at-university-of-california?source=direct\_link& Make a donation in the hardship fund if you can https://givebutter.com/uc-uaw ​ https://www.fairucnow.org/support/ Assistant: Is this $24k an year, or $24k for 9-months? I gave two acquaintances at UCB (who joined PhD recently) and both mentioned they get paid around ~26 - 29k for 9 months. They're in EECS though, so that might be why

Human: Would you want to know your students are cheaters? I work for a company as a writer, and basically my job is to write people's college papers for money. I will not name the company, but it's one of the better-known ones that provide this service. I fell into this job during grad school when I was desperately poor and it's been so disillusioning knowing that stupid, lazy people can essentially just purchase college degrees. I hate my clients passionately. They are lazy, demanding, ignorant morons who often cannot even succeed in copying and pasting their assignment instructions from the syllabus. They aren't supposed to submit any identifying information, but because they're stupid and lazy, of course tons of them do, so I know their name, their professor's name, their university, etc. My question is, how would you respond if you got an anonymous email that basically said, "Student So and So has acquired the services of \[company\] to cheat on their paper, just wanted to let you know." I would probably be immediately fired if I ever did it, but my God do I want to. It's not just undergraduates, either. It's grad students, professional students...students in medical fields. Ugh. Assistant:

Human: Would you want to know your students are cheaters? I work for a company as a writer, and basically my job is to write people's college papers for money. I will not name the company, but it's one of the better-known ones that provide this service. I fell into this job during grad school when I was desperately poor and it's been so disillusioning knowing that stupid, lazy people can essentially just purchase college degrees. I hate my clients passionately. They are lazy, demanding, ignorant morons who often cannot even succeed in copying and pasting their assignment instructions from the syllabus. They aren't supposed to submit any identifying information, but because they're stupid and lazy, of course tons of them do, so I know their name, their professor's name, their university, etc. My question is, how would you respond if you got an anonymous email that basically said, "Student So and So has acquired the services of \[company\] to cheat on their paper, just wanted to let you know." I would probably be immediately fired if I ever did it, but my God do I want to. It's not just undergraduates, either. It's grad students, professional students...students in medical fields. Ugh. Assistant: If you're working for these companies you're as much a part of the problem as the students.

Human: Would you want to know your students are cheaters? I work for a company as a writer, and basically my job is to write people's college papers for money. I will not name the company, but it's one of the better-known ones that provide this service. I fell into this job during grad school when I was desperately poor and it's been so disillusioning knowing that stupid, lazy people can essentially just purchase college degrees. I hate my clients passionately. They are lazy, demanding, ignorant morons who often cannot even succeed in copying and pasting their assignment instructions from the syllabus. They aren't supposed to submit any identifying information, but because they're stupid and lazy, of course tons of them do, so I know their name, their professor's name, their university, etc. My question is, how would you respond if you got an anonymous email that basically said, "Student So and So has acquired the services of \[company\] to cheat on their paper, just wanted to let you know." I would probably be immediately fired if I ever did it, but my God do I want to. It's not just undergraduates, either. It's grad students, professional students...students in medical fields. Ugh. Assistant: The thing I can't help but wonder when people cheat like that is, what's going to happen for them once they're in a job? I've found that almost everything I remember writing about has ended up being useful in my career at some point; what do people do when they don't have that well of research and writing experience to draw from? Are they successful in their careers? Or are these largely the people who later complain that they couldn't get a job in their field and that college degrees are "worthless"?

Human: Trying to write a paper but feeling like I have nothing of value to contribute. How to get over this? Writing my first paper ever, also my first as first author. I did write a rough draft during the summer but then decided to add some more experiments and change the order of figures. For the last month or so I’m sitting on the new graphs and the old draft. I just can’t bring myself to write or make figures. I’m so scared that people will think my results are very obvious and I constantly feel that I made it so far on luck and now I have to prove that I really deserve to be here. My boss said this is plain old imposter syndrome and it won’t go away even after I write the paper. I’ll probably think they made a mistake in accepting my paper. He says it’ll take two three papers before I firmly believe in my worth as a scientist. That’s all fine but it does nothing to help me right now. I’m just staring at my old draft and can’t figure out how to proceed. Any advice is appreciated. Assistant:

Human: Trying to write a paper but feeling like I have nothing of value to contribute. How to get over this? Writing my first paper ever, also my first as first author. I did write a rough draft during the summer but then decided to add some more experiments and change the order of figures. For the last month or so I’m sitting on the new graphs and the old draft. I just can’t bring myself to write or make figures. I’m so scared that people will think my results are very obvious and I constantly feel that I made it so far on luck and now I have to prove that I really deserve to be here. My boss said this is plain old imposter syndrome and it won’t go away even after I write the paper. I’ll probably think they made a mistake in accepting my paper. He says it’ll take two three papers before I firmly believe in my worth as a scientist. That’s all fine but it does nothing to help me right now. I’m just staring at my old draft and can’t figure out how to proceed. Any advice is appreciated. Assistant: how do you know your paper have no value to contribute? even for your own self improvement in terms of writing, etc. Most good writer I know they didn't expect any values, at all. They let the readers determine that, and just let go after it publishes.

Human: Trying to write a paper but feeling like I have nothing of value to contribute. How to get over this? Writing my first paper ever, also my first as first author. I did write a rough draft during the summer but then decided to add some more experiments and change the order of figures. For the last month or so I’m sitting on the new graphs and the old draft. I just can’t bring myself to write or make figures. I’m so scared that people will think my results are very obvious and I constantly feel that I made it so far on luck and now I have to prove that I really deserve to be here. My boss said this is plain old imposter syndrome and it won’t go away even after I write the paper. I’ll probably think they made a mistake in accepting my paper. He says it’ll take two three papers before I firmly believe in my worth as a scientist. That’s all fine but it does nothing to help me right now. I’m just staring at my old draft and can’t figure out how to proceed. Any advice is appreciated. Assistant: Be kind to yourself and learn how to trust yourself.

Human: What is the strangest feedback you have received from a peer review? Make me laugh! Hi all, this evening I have the pleasure of going through the reviewer comments I received on a manuscript for a pretty notable journal in my field (a well respected society journal). One of the reviewers was adamant that four out of five of our figures were not mentioned in the main body of our manuscript text and appeared to come across angry about this in their summary (lol)... except they all were... many times! Perhaps the reviewer commented on our manuscript whilst half asleep, who knows! Slightly concerned our paper hasn't been reviewed properly but their other comments seem legit. What are some of the strangest reviewer comments you have received back on a manuscript? xD Assistant:

Human: What is the strangest feedback you have received from a peer review? Make me laugh! Hi all, this evening I have the pleasure of going through the reviewer comments I received on a manuscript for a pretty notable journal in my field (a well respected society journal). One of the reviewers was adamant that four out of five of our figures were not mentioned in the main body of our manuscript text and appeared to come across angry about this in their summary (lol)... except they all were... many times! Perhaps the reviewer commented on our manuscript whilst half asleep, who knows! Slightly concerned our paper hasn't been reviewed properly but their other comments seem legit. What are some of the strangest reviewer comments you have received back on a manuscript? xD Assistant: “Reading this made me very upset.” 😢

Human: What is the strangest feedback you have received from a peer review? Make me laugh! Hi all, this evening I have the pleasure of going through the reviewer comments I received on a manuscript for a pretty notable journal in my field (a well respected society journal). One of the reviewers was adamant that four out of five of our figures were not mentioned in the main body of our manuscript text and appeared to come across angry about this in their summary (lol)... except they all were... many times! Perhaps the reviewer commented on our manuscript whilst half asleep, who knows! Slightly concerned our paper hasn't been reviewed properly but their other comments seem legit. What are some of the strangest reviewer comments you have received back on a manuscript? xD Assistant: “The authors have yet to disclaim how results from this review will be synthesized”.... well, that’s because scoping reviews do not aim to synthesize data dear Reviewer 2

Human: PhD students: How do you manage to do your daily chores with such long hours? How does your daily routine look like? Non-native English speaker here. I keep on reading here that PhD students work for 11-13 hour workdays. My question is, give the high work hours how do you manage to do other daily chores that are a requirement of life. For example how do you manage to: * Cook * Shopping for groceries. * Clean home, laundry * Personal grooming: Thorough bath, skin care regimes * Exercise: You need at least an hour and a half for exercise and recuperation. * Maintaining a pet: if you have one. * Making repairs: Fixing your car, home, gadgets etc. * Maintaining relationships: Like calling parents, friends to find out how they are etc. * Caring for someone sick: If you are in that circumstance. * Do chores that can only be done during work hours: eg going to the post office, government offices, banks, doctor's visits, mechanic's visit to your house and so on. * Other chores that are skipping me at the moment. PS: I am asking because I am out of home from 8am to 9:30pm. I can't even brush my teeth or shampoo properly given the time even though I have my food, lunches prepared and home and other chores maintained. It sounds impossible that other people are doing so much with a more constrained time than me. I want to do a PhD and I don't know if it will even be possible to do the chores listed above if I can't do them now. So I am looking for inspiration for time management. Assistant:

Human: PhD students: How do you manage to do your daily chores with such long hours? How does your daily routine look like? Non-native English speaker here. I keep on reading here that PhD students work for 11-13 hour workdays. My question is, give the high work hours how do you manage to do other daily chores that are a requirement of life. For example how do you manage to: * Cook * Shopping for groceries. * Clean home, laundry * Personal grooming: Thorough bath, skin care regimes * Exercise: You need at least an hour and a half for exercise and recuperation. * Maintaining a pet: if you have one. * Making repairs: Fixing your car, home, gadgets etc. * Maintaining relationships: Like calling parents, friends to find out how they are etc. * Caring for someone sick: If you are in that circumstance. * Do chores that can only be done during work hours: eg going to the post office, government offices, banks, doctor's visits, mechanic's visit to your house and so on. * Other chores that are skipping me at the moment. PS: I am asking because I am out of home from 8am to 9:30pm. I can't even brush my teeth or shampoo properly given the time even though I have my food, lunches prepared and home and other chores maintained. It sounds impossible that other people are doing so much with a more constrained time than me. I want to do a PhD and I don't know if it will even be possible to do the chores listed above if I can't do them now. So I am looking for inspiration for time management. Assistant: Dude, people don't work that much. If some guy is on reddit saying "I work 13 hours a day", my response is "the 5 hours you spend per day on reddit in your office are not work". If you come in for an 8-9 hour workday and you actually WORK that time, which is like take a lunch or 2 shorter breaks but spend the rest of the time doing your shit not procrastinating or doing pretend work, you will be more productive than average.

Human: PhD students: How do you manage to do your daily chores with such long hours? How does your daily routine look like? Non-native English speaker here. I keep on reading here that PhD students work for 11-13 hour workdays. My question is, give the high work hours how do you manage to do other daily chores that are a requirement of life. For example how do you manage to: * Cook * Shopping for groceries. * Clean home, laundry * Personal grooming: Thorough bath, skin care regimes * Exercise: You need at least an hour and a half for exercise and recuperation. * Maintaining a pet: if you have one. * Making repairs: Fixing your car, home, gadgets etc. * Maintaining relationships: Like calling parents, friends to find out how they are etc. * Caring for someone sick: If you are in that circumstance. * Do chores that can only be done during work hours: eg going to the post office, government offices, banks, doctor's visits, mechanic's visit to your house and so on. * Other chores that are skipping me at the moment. PS: I am asking because I am out of home from 8am to 9:30pm. I can't even brush my teeth or shampoo properly given the time even though I have my food, lunches prepared and home and other chores maintained. It sounds impossible that other people are doing so much with a more constrained time than me. I want to do a PhD and I don't know if it will even be possible to do the chores listed above if I can't do them now. So I am looking for inspiration for time management. Assistant: Don’t work 11-13 hrs per day. That is a terrible work environment and you will burn out and your productivity will tank. Work 8 hrs per day and free time will open up when you do that. Don’t let your PI/boss request or make you work that much. That is not normal or healthy.

Human: Would it be appropriate to thank my therapist in my MA thesis acknowledgements? My therapist has a background in my field, before they switched to psychology, and has been an amazing sounding board for some of my ideas over the past couple years. They've genuinely helped me to recontextualize some ideas and open up new doors I hadn't considered before in my research, and given some great advice on how to keep my enthusiasm for my topic going. That's on top of the more typical stuff like helping me to manage my impostor syndrome and ADHD. Basically I wouldn't even be in grad school without them and I'd like to be able to thank them in my MA thesis' acknowledgements section (once I finish the damn thing... getting there). Just by name alongside friends and colleagues, not necessarily giving details on who they are. I'm quite open about being in therapy and not concerned about people knowing, but more worried that it would be inappropriate in the therapist-patient relationship, or that it might have repercussions for me or them that I haven't forseen. Anyone have experience with this? Assistant:

Human: Would it be appropriate to thank my therapist in my MA thesis acknowledgements? My therapist has a background in my field, before they switched to psychology, and has been an amazing sounding board for some of my ideas over the past couple years. They've genuinely helped me to recontextualize some ideas and open up new doors I hadn't considered before in my research, and given some great advice on how to keep my enthusiasm for my topic going. That's on top of the more typical stuff like helping me to manage my impostor syndrome and ADHD. Basically I wouldn't even be in grad school without them and I'd like to be able to thank them in my MA thesis' acknowledgements section (once I finish the damn thing... getting there). Just by name alongside friends and colleagues, not necessarily giving details on who they are. I'm quite open about being in therapy and not concerned about people knowing, but more worried that it would be inappropriate in the therapist-patient relationship, or that it might have repercussions for me or them that I haven't forseen. Anyone have experience with this? Assistant: I thanked the security guard that did the rounds late at night for the chats, snacks and company (Sometimes he stayed for hours talking). I also gave him a copy of my thesis. I didn’t mention he was a security guy (why would I?). If you are worried about getting your therapist in trouble do the same.

Human: Would it be appropriate to thank my therapist in my MA thesis acknowledgements? My therapist has a background in my field, before they switched to psychology, and has been an amazing sounding board for some of my ideas over the past couple years. They've genuinely helped me to recontextualize some ideas and open up new doors I hadn't considered before in my research, and given some great advice on how to keep my enthusiasm for my topic going. That's on top of the more typical stuff like helping me to manage my impostor syndrome and ADHD. Basically I wouldn't even be in grad school without them and I'd like to be able to thank them in my MA thesis' acknowledgements section (once I finish the damn thing... getting there). Just by name alongside friends and colleagues, not necessarily giving details on who they are. I'm quite open about being in therapy and not concerned about people knowing, but more worried that it would be inappropriate in the therapist-patient relationship, or that it might have repercussions for me or them that I haven't forseen. Anyone have experience with this? Assistant: You can thank anyone or anything. People thank their dog or coffee. You are right that there could be some negative perceptions. This shouldn't be, but it is.

Human: Why are only Ivy League schools pausing PhD admissions? Why are schools with the largest endowments pausing PhD admissions while other schools aren’t? Are there big differences in how PhD students are funded between public and private schools? Hard to decide about sending apps in when it feels like I’m just waiting for the programs to pull admissions. Assistant:

Human: Why are only Ivy League schools pausing PhD admissions? Why are schools with the largest endowments pausing PhD admissions while other schools aren’t? Are there big differences in how PhD students are funded between public and private schools? Hard to decide about sending apps in when it feels like I’m just waiting for the programs to pull admissions. Assistant: UT-Austin and UNC-Chapel Hill have also suspended PhD admissions this year in my field.

Human: Why are only Ivy League schools pausing PhD admissions? Why are schools with the largest endowments pausing PhD admissions while other schools aren’t? Are there big differences in how PhD students are funded between public and private schools? Hard to decide about sending apps in when it feels like I’m just waiting for the programs to pull admissions. Assistant: What schools are pausing admissions? In what programs?

Human: Is a Masters/PhD as a single parent of a toddler possible? I have a 2yo and am about to be divorced. I have been contemplating a career change to academia and/or wildlife sciences and wildlife management. I believe that in order to do this I would need a graduate degree of some sort. Is getting a Masters or PhD with a small, daycare-age child feasible? My soon-to-be-ex-husband is saying if I want to get my advanced degree I will have to give him full custody of my daughter because financially and time-wise its not possible. Advice? Comments? Anyone who has successfully done this and can advise one way or the other? Concerns and solutions? Assistant:

Human: Is a Masters/PhD as a single parent of a toddler possible? I have a 2yo and am about to be divorced. I have been contemplating a career change to academia and/or wildlife sciences and wildlife management. I believe that in order to do this I would need a graduate degree of some sort. Is getting a Masters or PhD with a small, daycare-age child feasible? My soon-to-be-ex-husband is saying if I want to get my advanced degree I will have to give him full custody of my daughter because financially and time-wise its not possible. Advice? Comments? Anyone who has successfully done this and can advise one way or the other? Concerns and solutions? Assistant: Possible yes, but I dont envy you the task

Human: Is a Masters/PhD as a single parent of a toddler possible? I have a 2yo and am about to be divorced. I have been contemplating a career change to academia and/or wildlife sciences and wildlife management. I believe that in order to do this I would need a graduate degree of some sort. Is getting a Masters or PhD with a small, daycare-age child feasible? My soon-to-be-ex-husband is saying if I want to get my advanced degree I will have to give him full custody of my daughter because financially and time-wise its not possible. Advice? Comments? Anyone who has successfully done this and can advise one way or the other? Concerns and solutions? Assistant: Really depends on location and support network. Being a single parent is hard but you’d have a consistent stipend and health insurance while a graduate student. I’ve had friends do it

Human: Discouraged Phd applicant on where to go from here. I got rejected from basically all of the Clinical Psychology Phd programs that I applied to. I am immensely interested in researching mental health/developmental disorders, as well as malignant brain development due to environmental stressors/trauma within marginalized communities. I have more specific research interests that I expressed in my personal statement as well, that I believe aligned with advisors I wanted to work with. I didn't apply to that many because I couldn't afford it and didn't qualify for the income waiver either that typically requires below poverty level indication. I've been trying to find full-time research positions since I graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in Psychology from a small university and I have been applying to a variety of full-time research assistant/coordinator/manager positions (*all around the U.S.*) since I graduated and have only gotten rejections and no interviews, even for positions I was clearly qualified for. The people that I've known to get these type of positions always have had some kind of connection from the inside to get in, which I do not. I ended up taking a full-time management job in the private sector, whilst volunteering in a research lab part time (*this lab does not have any full time positions*). I feel very stuck and discouraged especially as a BIPOC person, it seems like gatekeeping runs very deep in academia and full-time research/PhD opportunities for Psychology and Neuroscience are incredibly slim. Any advice on the next steps I should take to increase my chances of getting into a PhD next cycle? I would also be open to applying to Cog Neuro Phd programs as well. Thanks! Assistant:

Human: Discouraged Phd applicant on where to go from here. I got rejected from basically all of the Clinical Psychology Phd programs that I applied to. I am immensely interested in researching mental health/developmental disorders, as well as malignant brain development due to environmental stressors/trauma within marginalized communities. I have more specific research interests that I expressed in my personal statement as well, that I believe aligned with advisors I wanted to work with. I didn't apply to that many because I couldn't afford it and didn't qualify for the income waiver either that typically requires below poverty level indication. I've been trying to find full-time research positions since I graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in Psychology from a small university and I have been applying to a variety of full-time research assistant/coordinator/manager positions (*all around the U.S.*) since I graduated and have only gotten rejections and no interviews, even for positions I was clearly qualified for. The people that I've known to get these type of positions always have had some kind of connection from the inside to get in, which I do not. I ended up taking a full-time management job in the private sector, whilst volunteering in a research lab part time (*this lab does not have any full time positions*). I feel very stuck and discouraged especially as a BIPOC person, it seems like gatekeeping runs very deep in academia and full-time research/PhD opportunities for Psychology and Neuroscience are incredibly slim. Any advice on the next steps I should take to increase my chances of getting into a PhD next cycle? I would also be open to applying to Cog Neuro Phd programs as well. Thanks! Assistant: FWIW, in my experience lab managers are not an entry-level position necessarily. It’s something you’d get promoted to from a lab tech starting point. Did you do any research in undergrad? What does the PI of the research lab you are currently volunteering in have to say about your application results? Or your other letter writers?

Human: Discouraged Phd applicant on where to go from here. I got rejected from basically all of the Clinical Psychology Phd programs that I applied to. I am immensely interested in researching mental health/developmental disorders, as well as malignant brain development due to environmental stressors/trauma within marginalized communities. I have more specific research interests that I expressed in my personal statement as well, that I believe aligned with advisors I wanted to work with. I didn't apply to that many because I couldn't afford it and didn't qualify for the income waiver either that typically requires below poverty level indication. I've been trying to find full-time research positions since I graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in Psychology from a small university and I have been applying to a variety of full-time research assistant/coordinator/manager positions (*all around the U.S.*) since I graduated and have only gotten rejections and no interviews, even for positions I was clearly qualified for. The people that I've known to get these type of positions always have had some kind of connection from the inside to get in, which I do not. I ended up taking a full-time management job in the private sector, whilst volunteering in a research lab part time (*this lab does not have any full time positions*). I feel very stuck and discouraged especially as a BIPOC person, it seems like gatekeeping runs very deep in academia and full-time research/PhD opportunities for Psychology and Neuroscience are incredibly slim. Any advice on the next steps I should take to increase my chances of getting into a PhD next cycle? I would also be open to applying to Cog Neuro Phd programs as well. Thanks! Assistant: Might be different in the states, but what about PsyD and Counselling Psychology as alternatives? I'm hearing your research interests perhaps more closely align with clinical, but the overlap between counselling and clinical is increasing every year imo. But at the heart of all this, this sucks. I'm sorry to hear the application process wasn't what you were hoping for. It's absolutely normal and terrifyingly common, but it still, wholeheartedly, sucks.

Human: Do you ever feel too dumb for academia? I started a job recently as a junior researcher at one of the universities in my state. It’s a job made for recent undergraduates which helps someone get either into academia or help them decide if they want to pursue a career in research. I’m about two months into my job and I’m already struggling with how the people in it make me feel. I work directly under a Post Doc with a supervising professor, along with a few other researches scattered here and there. My biggest issue right now is that with my supervisor (post doc) I always feel like she’s looking down on me and she’s told me a few times already she needs me to take more initiative and get things done. My problem with that is that there ain’t always work for me to do everyday and what we need to get done is never laid out, exactly when she wants to do it and when it should get done. I’m grasping at straws and I’m trying to keep up with all the information they are telling me about the current study we are doing and I’m extremely overwhelmed. I feel like I’m 8 again sitting at the adults table not understanding anything they are asking me or what they are talking about. My biggest question for you guys is that do you feel this way too in academia? That people think you’re too dumb to understand everything or that if you don’t get what they are telling you right away it’s not worth their time to explain it. Assistant:

Human: Do you ever feel too dumb for academia? I started a job recently as a junior researcher at one of the universities in my state. It’s a job made for recent undergraduates which helps someone get either into academia or help them decide if they want to pursue a career in research. I’m about two months into my job and I’m already struggling with how the people in it make me feel. I work directly under a Post Doc with a supervising professor, along with a few other researches scattered here and there. My biggest issue right now is that with my supervisor (post doc) I always feel like she’s looking down on me and she’s told me a few times already she needs me to take more initiative and get things done. My problem with that is that there ain’t always work for me to do everyday and what we need to get done is never laid out, exactly when she wants to do it and when it should get done. I’m grasping at straws and I’m trying to keep up with all the information they are telling me about the current study we are doing and I’m extremely overwhelmed. I feel like I’m 8 again sitting at the adults table not understanding anything they are asking me or what they are talking about. My biggest question for you guys is that do you feel this way too in academia? That people think you’re too dumb to understand everything or that if you don’t get what they are telling you right away it’s not worth their time to explain it. Assistant: To answer your question, yes. I sometimes feel too dumb for academia. Felt that way a lot this week with some new colleagues. I'm also a full professor. So I think I somehow got by anyway. :D

Human: Do you ever feel too dumb for academia? I started a job recently as a junior researcher at one of the universities in my state. It’s a job made for recent undergraduates which helps someone get either into academia or help them decide if they want to pursue a career in research. I’m about two months into my job and I’m already struggling with how the people in it make me feel. I work directly under a Post Doc with a supervising professor, along with a few other researches scattered here and there. My biggest issue right now is that with my supervisor (post doc) I always feel like she’s looking down on me and she’s told me a few times already she needs me to take more initiative and get things done. My problem with that is that there ain’t always work for me to do everyday and what we need to get done is never laid out, exactly when she wants to do it and when it should get done. I’m grasping at straws and I’m trying to keep up with all the information they are telling me about the current study we are doing and I’m extremely overwhelmed. I feel like I’m 8 again sitting at the adults table not understanding anything they are asking me or what they are talking about. My biggest question for you guys is that do you feel this way too in academia? That people think you’re too dumb to understand everything or that if you don’t get what they are telling you right away it’s not worth their time to explain it. Assistant: Firstly, you're not 'dumb' at all. Some people are better at management than others, and it doesn't quite sound like you're getting the support you need to succeed here. Or you might just need more time to adjust to this environment. Keep asking questions, keep learning. Maybe ask for a sit down meeting with your supervisor to work through some of this?

Human: Academics taking the piss out of your accent at a conference The title says it really, I recently went to a conference where some of the other PhD students (and their supervisors) thought it was funny to take the piss out of my accent (east london/ essex- I know, I know). I played it off at the time, but it's been bothering me more and more. How are you meant to deal with these kinds of situations (unprofessionalism in a professional setting)? Theres not much I can do about my accent, and to be honest I really think it's irrelevant so long as what your saying makes sense. I think this is more of a rant than anything, so sorry. Any advice for when this happens again would be great. Assistant:

Human: Academics taking the piss out of your accent at a conference The title says it really, I recently went to a conference where some of the other PhD students (and their supervisors) thought it was funny to take the piss out of my accent (east london/ essex- I know, I know). I played it off at the time, but it's been bothering me more and more. How are you meant to deal with these kinds of situations (unprofessionalism in a professional setting)? Theres not much I can do about my accent, and to be honest I really think it's irrelevant so long as what your saying makes sense. I think this is more of a rant than anything, so sorry. Any advice for when this happens again would be great. Assistant: “Wow, my talk must have been great if all you can comment on is my accent.” “Excuse me, that’s nit very professional, is it?” “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you don’t get out much. (University) must be so isolated if my accent is hard for you to understand.” Don’t start fights, but don’t take crappy behavior either. There’s a lot of meaningless attempted gatekeeping at conferences. I think it’s time we all stopped being doormats for cliquey behavior.

Human: Academics taking the piss out of your accent at a conference The title says it really, I recently went to a conference where some of the other PhD students (and their supervisors) thought it was funny to take the piss out of my accent (east london/ essex- I know, I know). I played it off at the time, but it's been bothering me more and more. How are you meant to deal with these kinds of situations (unprofessionalism in a professional setting)? Theres not much I can do about my accent, and to be honest I really think it's irrelevant so long as what your saying makes sense. I think this is more of a rant than anything, so sorry. Any advice for when this happens again would be great. Assistant: That's fucked up and I'm sorry.

Human: Idea: Is reading papers on mobile in high demand? Researchers, scholars, PhDs, graduate students, bachelors, and students: Does anyone like to read papers when commuting on mobile? If I am planning to make a new product to read in a lightweight way, would you like to use that? Assistant:

Human: Idea: Is reading papers on mobile in high demand? Researchers, scholars, PhDs, graduate students, bachelors, and students: Does anyone like to read papers when commuting on mobile? If I am planning to make a new product to read in a lightweight way, would you like to use that? Assistant: I use my iPad to read on transit. Works well. I use the notability app.

Human: Idea: Is reading papers on mobile in high demand? Researchers, scholars, PhDs, graduate students, bachelors, and students: Does anyone like to read papers when commuting on mobile? If I am planning to make a new product to read in a lightweight way, would you like to use that? Assistant: I’d love it if I’d be able to annotate..make notes to self and be able to see an index of those later on….would make sense in the corporate space for sure

Human: 8 Classes Cancelled My boyfriend is in the first year in ON, Canada and his prof has canceled 8 classes this semester...that's four weeks of content that is still going to be on the exam still...is this allowed? I've looked at by-laws but the focus is on students and their academic procedures. Some of the classes she was in a conference, some she was sick and I understand shit happens, but all of them were canceled with less than 24hrs notice. 2 of the classes, the students were in class and she just never showed up. I'm an upper-year and I have never had a prof cancel more than twice. I just don't think this is professional or okay at all, but he doesn't know what to do. Assistant:

Human: 8 Classes Cancelled My boyfriend is in the first year in ON, Canada and his prof has canceled 8 classes this semester...that's four weeks of content that is still going to be on the exam still...is this allowed? I've looked at by-laws but the focus is on students and their academic procedures. Some of the classes she was in a conference, some she was sick and I understand shit happens, but all of them were canceled with less than 24hrs notice. 2 of the classes, the students were in class and she just never showed up. I'm an upper-year and I have never had a prof cancel more than twice. I just don't think this is professional or okay at all, but he doesn't know what to do. Assistant: 8 is a lot, which is always concerning, but >2 of the classes, the students were in class and she just never showed up. this is the biggest, biggest issue imo

Human: 8 Classes Cancelled My boyfriend is in the first year in ON, Canada and his prof has canceled 8 classes this semester...that's four weeks of content that is still going to be on the exam still...is this allowed? I've looked at by-laws but the focus is on students and their academic procedures. Some of the classes she was in a conference, some she was sick and I understand shit happens, but all of them were canceled with less than 24hrs notice. 2 of the classes, the students were in class and she just never showed up. I'm an upper-year and I have never had a prof cancel more than twice. I just don't think this is professional or okay at all, but he doesn't know what to do. Assistant: Definitely not okay. You can elevate this to the Office of the Dean of Students and/or the Department head.

Human: How do you keep track of/remember the papers you read? Hi, what's your system? Do you take notes? Divide the papers into different folders and highlight the most interesting parts? I've been doing my Ph.D. for 4 years and now I just started my post-doc, the things I read are piling and I'm not sure I'm capable of remembering *everything* Assistant:

Human: How do you keep track of/remember the papers you read? Hi, what's your system? Do you take notes? Divide the papers into different folders and highlight the most interesting parts? I've been doing my Ph.D. for 4 years and now I just started my post-doc, the things I read are piling and I'm not sure I'm capable of remembering *everything* Assistant: This is my secret: . . . . I don’t :) /s.

Human: How do you keep track of/remember the papers you read? Hi, what's your system? Do you take notes? Divide the papers into different folders and highlight the most interesting parts? I've been doing my Ph.D. for 4 years and now I just started my post-doc, the things I read are piling and I'm not sure I'm capable of remembering *everything* Assistant: I have a folder on my computer with each paper and my reading notes. They're titled by the authors' last name and year, so I can easily find my notes for a paper if I've read it already.

Human: Advice on improving Academic Writing! I'm trying to form a habit to practice academic writing regularly. My experience so far has taught me that I need to focus on following things: 1. Grammar 2. Critical Thinking:to form sound arguments and synthesize material 3. Overcoming procrastination: because I'm absolutely terrified of writing. I'm brushing up grammar and studying about critical thinking through MOOC courses. (I can link it up in the comments, if anyone is interested). However I've come to realization that I need to practice alongside learning all this. If not, this goal will easily take a backseat for me. Presently I'm trying to follow Patricia Goodson's Becoming an Academic Writer. (I also intend on going though books by Paul Silivia and Helen Sword) What I need help with: 1. I'm confused about what to tackle during these exercises (for example, setting aside time daily for writing). Should I work on some specific project or take on any random topic that comes to my mind? 2. What other aspects of writing and practice should I focus on? (About me: I'm a psychology undergraduate, looking forward to start MSc in Clinical Psychology. English is not my first language) Assistant:

Human: Advice on improving Academic Writing! I'm trying to form a habit to practice academic writing regularly. My experience so far has taught me that I need to focus on following things: 1. Grammar 2. Critical Thinking:to form sound arguments and synthesize material 3. Overcoming procrastination: because I'm absolutely terrified of writing. I'm brushing up grammar and studying about critical thinking through MOOC courses. (I can link it up in the comments, if anyone is interested). However I've come to realization that I need to practice alongside learning all this. If not, this goal will easily take a backseat for me. Presently I'm trying to follow Patricia Goodson's Becoming an Academic Writer. (I also intend on going though books by Paul Silivia and Helen Sword) What I need help with: 1. I'm confused about what to tackle during these exercises (for example, setting aside time daily for writing). Should I work on some specific project or take on any random topic that comes to my mind? 2. What other aspects of writing and practice should I focus on? (About me: I'm a psychology undergraduate, looking forward to start MSc in Clinical Psychology. English is not my first language) Assistant: Best way to become a better writer is to read more of what you're trying to write

Human: Advice on improving Academic Writing! I'm trying to form a habit to practice academic writing regularly. My experience so far has taught me that I need to focus on following things: 1. Grammar 2. Critical Thinking:to form sound arguments and synthesize material 3. Overcoming procrastination: because I'm absolutely terrified of writing. I'm brushing up grammar and studying about critical thinking through MOOC courses. (I can link it up in the comments, if anyone is interested). However I've come to realization that I need to practice alongside learning all this. If not, this goal will easily take a backseat for me. Presently I'm trying to follow Patricia Goodson's Becoming an Academic Writer. (I also intend on going though books by Paul Silivia and Helen Sword) What I need help with: 1. I'm confused about what to tackle during these exercises (for example, setting aside time daily for writing). Should I work on some specific project or take on any random topic that comes to my mind? 2. What other aspects of writing and practice should I focus on? (About me: I'm a psychology undergraduate, looking forward to start MSc in Clinical Psychology. English is not my first language) Assistant: Start a file of papers you enjoy reading because the writing draws you in, or just because you found them so easy to understand. Study them to figure out how the authors achieved that, and apply to your own writing.

Human: Do I warn student I'm about to report them for honor code violation? Today a student cheated on the final and I was notified by the student that sat next to him. I have additional supporting evidence. They also plagiarized parts of their final paper. I have prepared all my documents to submit to academic integrity. Do I give the students a heads up? Or do I just submit the report and wash my hands of the situation? Assistant:

Human: Do I warn student I'm about to report them for honor code violation? Today a student cheated on the final and I was notified by the student that sat next to him. I have additional supporting evidence. They also plagiarized parts of their final paper. I have prepared all my documents to submit to academic integrity. Do I give the students a heads up? Or do I just submit the report and wash my hands of the situation? Assistant: You need to consult your faculty handbook. Sometimes you do have to meet with them beforehand. You can always ask the Dean of Faculty or Students for assistance.

Human: Do I warn student I'm about to report them for honor code violation? Today a student cheated on the final and I was notified by the student that sat next to him. I have additional supporting evidence. They also plagiarized parts of their final paper. I have prepared all my documents to submit to academic integrity. Do I give the students a heads up? Or do I just submit the report and wash my hands of the situation? Assistant: If you’re going to go through with it you definitely should not inform them. Also once you report it you should not approach the student or try to follow up, the university will be the one investigating and you will be removed from the process unless they need you to simply provide supporting testimony. Edit: OP has reached an informed decision on this and I retract my opinion in case it might be misunderstood as trying to make them change their mind.

Human: Advise: My PhD advisor wants to publish my work to a Communication instead of a Full Paper I need a little advise. My PhD advisor has decided that my work should be a communication instead of a full paper very last minute. The work is definitely enough for a full paper (5-7 figures, work is novel, multiple experiments), so I don’t really understand his rationale. This is my first, first-author manuscript and I’m just a little disappointed. Can anyone share their perspective on a decision like this? Will a communication look worse on my CV? Assistant:

Human: Advise: My PhD advisor wants to publish my work to a Communication instead of a Full Paper I need a little advise. My PhD advisor has decided that my work should be a communication instead of a full paper very last minute. The work is definitely enough for a full paper (5-7 figures, work is novel, multiple experiments), so I don’t really understand his rationale. This is my first, first-author manuscript and I’m just a little disappointed. Can anyone share their perspective on a decision like this? Will a communication look worse on my CV? Assistant: I'm not sure why you're disappointed - a communication is just a slightly shorter article. As long as it still contains all of the information and data you want to share, there is really no difference. Communications are not viewed as inferior to full papers, so I really wouldn't worry about it. If you are concerned or confused, just ask your advisor what caused their change of mind.

Human: Advise: My PhD advisor wants to publish my work to a Communication instead of a Full Paper I need a little advise. My PhD advisor has decided that my work should be a communication instead of a full paper very last minute. The work is definitely enough for a full paper (5-7 figures, work is novel, multiple experiments), so I don’t really understand his rationale. This is my first, first-author manuscript and I’m just a little disappointed. Can anyone share their perspective on a decision like this? Will a communication look worse on my CV? Assistant: What field is this? I don’t know what a communication is. Is it like a brief report? Still peer reviewed?

Human: Is there any non-spamy way to send emails to research PI's asking if you can work in their lab? Is this a waste of time? Do professors even read these emails? I graduated with my B.A. in neuroscience and biochemistry about a year ago. I didn't have many research experiences aside from a year long self-designed project senior year and some in-class lab techniques. I desperately want to be working in a lab doing research in the biological sciences in Illinois (I don't have the finances to move), but have been unsuccessful applying to listed "research assistant" positions online. I've decided that my best bet is to email labs and try and convey my passion for research that way. On paper I don't think I look like a promising hire, but in person you can easily tell I'm excited about the work, and my advisers on previous projects have spoken highly of my dedication and hard work. Basically I feel stuck and need advice getting bites. Help? Assistant:

Human: Is there any non-spamy way to send emails to research PI's asking if you can work in their lab? Is this a waste of time? Do professors even read these emails? I graduated with my B.A. in neuroscience and biochemistry about a year ago. I didn't have many research experiences aside from a year long self-designed project senior year and some in-class lab techniques. I desperately want to be working in a lab doing research in the biological sciences in Illinois (I don't have the finances to move), but have been unsuccessful applying to listed "research assistant" positions online. I've decided that my best bet is to email labs and try and convey my passion for research that way. On paper I don't think I look like a promising hire, but in person you can easily tell I'm excited about the work, and my advisers on previous projects have spoken highly of my dedication and hard work. Basically I feel stuck and need advice getting bites. Help? Assistant: Hell yeah. They will love to hear that someone's interested in their work.

Human: Is there any non-spamy way to send emails to research PI's asking if you can work in their lab? Is this a waste of time? Do professors even read these emails? I graduated with my B.A. in neuroscience and biochemistry about a year ago. I didn't have many research experiences aside from a year long self-designed project senior year and some in-class lab techniques. I desperately want to be working in a lab doing research in the biological sciences in Illinois (I don't have the finances to move), but have been unsuccessful applying to listed "research assistant" positions online. I've decided that my best bet is to email labs and try and convey my passion for research that way. On paper I don't think I look like a promising hire, but in person you can easily tell I'm excited about the work, and my advisers on previous projects have spoken highly of my dedication and hard work. Basically I feel stuck and need advice getting bites. Help? Assistant: Target labs that you are interested in and have relevant lab experience in. Send an email referencing 2 or 3 current publications and mention your interest in working in the lab to gain experience. Briefly list a couple of relevant experiences of yours and let the P.I. know you will be on campus and would like to set up a time to talk with him/her and any available current lab members. Bring your resume and references.

Human: Young academics, do you read? If so, what do you read (e.g., books, articles, blogs)? If not, what other media do you turn to for information/data? I'm an academic. I'm considering publishing a few scholarly books. I also work with college students. Many of them don't read books. I don't think professors or older academics are aware of this. So, I'm wondering: Is this just my sample population, or are future academics not reading books in general? My decision to publish kind of hinges on this. Thanks Assistant:

Human: Young academics, do you read? If so, what do you read (e.g., books, articles, blogs)? If not, what other media do you turn to for information/data? I'm an academic. I'm considering publishing a few scholarly books. I also work with college students. Many of them don't read books. I don't think professors or older academics are aware of this. So, I'm wondering: Is this just my sample population, or are future academics not reading books in general? My decision to publish kind of hinges on this. Thanks Assistant: I don't read, and this is causing me massive issues I never learned how to read textbooks during undergrad, and the extent to which I read papers has usually been for assignments, and so the typical abstracts and conclusions method of reading. I'm about to start my Master's thesis, and it's demonstrated to me how screwed I am lol Moral is: if the answer anyone has to this question is 'no, I don't read', start now, and learn to do it well

Human: Young academics, do you read? If so, what do you read (e.g., books, articles, blogs)? If not, what other media do you turn to for information/data? I'm an academic. I'm considering publishing a few scholarly books. I also work with college students. Many of them don't read books. I don't think professors or older academics are aware of this. So, I'm wondering: Is this just my sample population, or are future academics not reading books in general? My decision to publish kind of hinges on this. Thanks Assistant: I'm in Comp Lit, books are here to stay. Also, if by college students you mean undergraduates, IME they don't read much (I know I didn't in undergrad). If you mean grad students, it could be your field/department.

Human: Former PhD supervisor presented a poster at a major conference based on my dissertation without telling me and put himself as first author - Is this unethical and how should I respond? Some Background: I graduated recently with my PhD and I have been trying to turn my dissertation chapters into published articles. My supervisor has been sitting on these manuscripts for months \(one since November \-\-\- 5 months ago\) saying he hasn't found the time to read them and send feedback. This is despite the fact that I stressed to him several times how critical these publications were to me getting a job and building a career \(I do not yet have any publications from my PhD time\). I was lucky enough to secure a post\-doc anyways, despite my publication record \(although I lost out on 3 before that specifically for that reason\), on the premise that these publications were forthcoming. The Current Issue: I was not able to attend a major conference this year, but a colleague contacted me to tell me they saw "my poster," which I didn't know I had. It turns out my former supervisor had made a conference poster based on a chapter from my dissertation without telling me. In fact, the graphs are copy and pasted from the chapter/manuscript that he "hasn't had time to read" since November. Moreover, he listed himself as the first author and as far as I can tell didn't even cite my dissertation \(My friend sent me a blurry picture of the poster\). He did list me as the second author. So, I could use some advice. 1.\) Is this unethical behavior? My instinct is that it's at least borderline unethical, but I don't want to blow this out of proportion. The fact that he did not tell me bothers me for several reasons including not knowing to add the poster to my CV \(which I need since he hasn't let me publish\) and the fact that I feel like he gave himself more credit for this work than he deserves \(Yes, it's his lab's research but I did a significant proportion of the work involved\). 2.\) Should I say something? If this is unethical behavior, I do not think I should let it slide as that will only encourage him to do stuff like this to future students, nor do I want to set a precedent of being a push\-over \(for myself and to others\). Also, he has been delaying publications for months and months and yet had the time to make a poster based on the work that he claims he hasn't had the time to get to. 3.\) If I am going to say something, do you have any advice on what I should say or how I should frame the issue? I am worried about how this will play out in the future. I no longer need a letter of recommendation from this person for jobs \(which is why I held my tongue in regards to previous issues I had with him\), but I do need to finish several publications with him which I really need for my career and to show my current job I wasn't BS'ing about having forthcoming publications. Thank you for any advice or suggestions! Assistant:

Human: Former PhD supervisor presented a poster at a major conference based on my dissertation without telling me and put himself as first author - Is this unethical and how should I respond? Some Background: I graduated recently with my PhD and I have been trying to turn my dissertation chapters into published articles. My supervisor has been sitting on these manuscripts for months \(one since November \-\-\- 5 months ago\) saying he hasn't found the time to read them and send feedback. This is despite the fact that I stressed to him several times how critical these publications were to me getting a job and building a career \(I do not yet have any publications from my PhD time\). I was lucky enough to secure a post\-doc anyways, despite my publication record \(although I lost out on 3 before that specifically for that reason\), on the premise that these publications were forthcoming. The Current Issue: I was not able to attend a major conference this year, but a colleague contacted me to tell me they saw "my poster," which I didn't know I had. It turns out my former supervisor had made a conference poster based on a chapter from my dissertation without telling me. In fact, the graphs are copy and pasted from the chapter/manuscript that he "hasn't had time to read" since November. Moreover, he listed himself as the first author and as far as I can tell didn't even cite my dissertation \(My friend sent me a blurry picture of the poster\). He did list me as the second author. So, I could use some advice. 1.\) Is this unethical behavior? My instinct is that it's at least borderline unethical, but I don't want to blow this out of proportion. The fact that he did not tell me bothers me for several reasons including not knowing to add the poster to my CV \(which I need since he hasn't let me publish\) and the fact that I feel like he gave himself more credit for this work than he deserves \(Yes, it's his lab's research but I did a significant proportion of the work involved\). 2.\) Should I say something? If this is unethical behavior, I do not think I should let it slide as that will only encourage him to do stuff like this to future students, nor do I want to set a precedent of being a push\-over \(for myself and to others\). Also, he has been delaying publications for months and months and yet had the time to make a poster based on the work that he claims he hasn't had the time to get to. 3.\) If I am going to say something, do you have any advice on what I should say or how I should frame the issue? I am worried about how this will play out in the future. I no longer need a letter of recommendation from this person for jobs \(which is why I held my tongue in regards to previous issues I had with him\), but I do need to finish several publications with him which I really need for my career and to show my current job I wasn't BS'ing about having forthcoming publications. Thank you for any advice or suggestions! Assistant: It's most definitely unethical to do something like this without checking with you first. However, I'd hold off on confronting your former supervisor about this until you're finished with the joint publications.

Human: Former PhD supervisor presented a poster at a major conference based on my dissertation without telling me and put himself as first author - Is this unethical and how should I respond? Some Background: I graduated recently with my PhD and I have been trying to turn my dissertation chapters into published articles. My supervisor has been sitting on these manuscripts for months \(one since November \-\-\- 5 months ago\) saying he hasn't found the time to read them and send feedback. This is despite the fact that I stressed to him several times how critical these publications were to me getting a job and building a career \(I do not yet have any publications from my PhD time\). I was lucky enough to secure a post\-doc anyways, despite my publication record \(although I lost out on 3 before that specifically for that reason\), on the premise that these publications were forthcoming. The Current Issue: I was not able to attend a major conference this year, but a colleague contacted me to tell me they saw "my poster," which I didn't know I had. It turns out my former supervisor had made a conference poster based on a chapter from my dissertation without telling me. In fact, the graphs are copy and pasted from the chapter/manuscript that he "hasn't had time to read" since November. Moreover, he listed himself as the first author and as far as I can tell didn't even cite my dissertation \(My friend sent me a blurry picture of the poster\). He did list me as the second author. So, I could use some advice. 1.\) Is this unethical behavior? My instinct is that it's at least borderline unethical, but I don't want to blow this out of proportion. The fact that he did not tell me bothers me for several reasons including not knowing to add the poster to my CV \(which I need since he hasn't let me publish\) and the fact that I feel like he gave himself more credit for this work than he deserves \(Yes, it's his lab's research but I did a significant proportion of the work involved\). 2.\) Should I say something? If this is unethical behavior, I do not think I should let it slide as that will only encourage him to do stuff like this to future students, nor do I want to set a precedent of being a push\-over \(for myself and to others\). Also, he has been delaying publications for months and months and yet had the time to make a poster based on the work that he claims he hasn't had the time to get to. 3.\) If I am going to say something, do you have any advice on what I should say or how I should frame the issue? I am worried about how this will play out in the future. I no longer need a letter of recommendation from this person for jobs \(which is why I held my tongue in regards to previous issues I had with him\), but I do need to finish several publications with him which I really need for my career and to show my current job I wasn't BS'ing about having forthcoming publications. Thank you for any advice or suggestions! Assistant: Anything can be presented, you can still submit your portion of the work for publication. In fact, you could present the same data yourself as long as you’re framing it from your perspective.

Human: What are the legal implications of posting a copy of a recent article or proceedings paper to websites such as Academia.edu or Researchgate? Also, what are your experiences with doing this in the past? Assistant:

Human: What are the legal implications of posting a copy of a recent article or proceedings paper to websites such as Academia.edu or Researchgate? Also, what are your experiences with doing this in the past? Assistant: Everyone seems terrified of the implications of this, and maybe this is a silly decision, but I post my articles to these places without fear and have never had a problem. I also do think it helps people to find my work, so in spite of problems with Academia.edu I have chosen to leave my stuff up there.

Human: What are the legal implications of posting a copy of a recent article or proceedings paper to websites such as Academia.edu or Researchgate? Also, what are your experiences with doing this in the past? Assistant: Different journals have different rules. I believe research gate has some info on which journals allow you to archive in such a manner, as do similar websites.

Human: When did you first start getting peer review requests and how did the frequency progress over the course of your career? For some reason, no one really ever discusses peer review, at least not in my immediate academic circles, so I'm just curious to hear others' experiences. I got my first peer review requests last year, around the time of my PhD defense. In the first year of my postdoc, I was getting requests maybe once a month on average. Just starting my second year, and I've been getting almost one a week now. Assistant:

Human: When did you first start getting peer review requests and how did the frequency progress over the course of your career? For some reason, no one really ever discusses peer review, at least not in my immediate academic circles, so I'm just curious to hear others' experiences. I got my first peer review requests last year, around the time of my PhD defense. In the first year of my postdoc, I was getting requests maybe once a month on average. Just starting my second year, and I've been getting almost one a week now. Assistant: If you are still a student and you are getting too many, you should turn them down. One or two per month is manageable but any more than that may be too much especially if it gets in the way of getting what you want: a job.

Human: When did you first start getting peer review requests and how did the frequency progress over the course of your career? For some reason, no one really ever discusses peer review, at least not in my immediate academic circles, so I'm just curious to hear others' experiences. I got my first peer review requests last year, around the time of my PhD defense. In the first year of my postdoc, I was getting requests maybe once a month on average. Just starting my second year, and I've been getting almost one a week now. Assistant: I started getting them after I published, from that journal specifically.

Human: [US][PhD][Stat]What to expect in academic job? Thanks for answering. I was asking this because I would be finishing my PhD soon and I am contemplating future career paths. I want to go in an academic position (My PhD is in theoretical Statistics) but there are some causes for concern and confusion. I like a. Thinking thoroughly about a problem. b. Reading related literature. c. Discussing the problem with knowledgeable people. d. Finding interesting research problem and their effects in society. e. Serving some administrative roles. f. Collaboration with people from different disciplines I am neutral towards a. Teaching. I have extensive instructor experience. I don’t particularly like teaching. I don’t hate it. b. Mentoring. I like collaborating more. My mentoring experience is arguably limited. c. Making money. More doesn’t hurt, but I am not dying for it. d. Not doing research. I want to do research, but most people don’t do research and make good money. I am perfectly content with a traditional job. I hate a. Publication pressure. Good research takes time and effort. I don’t work well under pressure. b. Grant demands. It is not as bad in statistics, but I want to be researcher for working on interesting problems. Grant writing shouldn’t be my main focus. c. Unpaid labour. If I am not paid in summer, I am not working for the uni in summer. No meetings, no administrative roles, not a single thing. My students can go do internships, I don’t care. d. Research trends. I am against towards jumping for any hot buzzword. Pivoting research fields to something else takes years. Research is not fast fashion e. Deceit. Selling something for what it is not to garner interest/citation/research funds has become all too common in recent years. I understand why people do it, but I don’t like it. TL;DR. I want to do research, preferably “myself” (not primarily via mentoring). If an academic job does not grant that, and expects me to teach/mentor/write grants/fill administrative duties, with time for research being something I am fighting for constantly, I don’t want it. Considering all of this, what do you recommend for me? Should I go to academics? Is it not for me? Assistant:

Human: [US][PhD][Stat]What to expect in academic job? Thanks for answering. I was asking this because I would be finishing my PhD soon and I am contemplating future career paths. I want to go in an academic position (My PhD is in theoretical Statistics) but there are some causes for concern and confusion. I like a. Thinking thoroughly about a problem. b. Reading related literature. c. Discussing the problem with knowledgeable people. d. Finding interesting research problem and their effects in society. e. Serving some administrative roles. f. Collaboration with people from different disciplines I am neutral towards a. Teaching. I have extensive instructor experience. I don’t particularly like teaching. I don’t hate it. b. Mentoring. I like collaborating more. My mentoring experience is arguably limited. c. Making money. More doesn’t hurt, but I am not dying for it. d. Not doing research. I want to do research, but most people don’t do research and make good money. I am perfectly content with a traditional job. I hate a. Publication pressure. Good research takes time and effort. I don’t work well under pressure. b. Grant demands. It is not as bad in statistics, but I want to be researcher for working on interesting problems. Grant writing shouldn’t be my main focus. c. Unpaid labour. If I am not paid in summer, I am not working for the uni in summer. No meetings, no administrative roles, not a single thing. My students can go do internships, I don’t care. d. Research trends. I am against towards jumping for any hot buzzword. Pivoting research fields to something else takes years. Research is not fast fashion e. Deceit. Selling something for what it is not to garner interest/citation/research funds has become all too common in recent years. I understand why people do it, but I don’t like it. TL;DR. I want to do research, preferably “myself” (not primarily via mentoring). If an academic job does not grant that, and expects me to teach/mentor/write grants/fill administrative duties, with time for research being something I am fighting for constantly, I don’t want it. Considering all of this, what do you recommend for me? Should I go to academics? Is it not for me? Assistant: Just out of curiosity, have you talked to your chair or advisor about this? It sounds like you are interested in being a research scientist and not a faculty member. If you are willing to pivot to applied statistics, there are a ton of research centers you could look at. I work in the social sciences and we employ statisticians.

Human: [US][PhD][Stat]What to expect in academic job? Thanks for answering. I was asking this because I would be finishing my PhD soon and I am contemplating future career paths. I want to go in an academic position (My PhD is in theoretical Statistics) but there are some causes for concern and confusion. I like a. Thinking thoroughly about a problem. b. Reading related literature. c. Discussing the problem with knowledgeable people. d. Finding interesting research problem and their effects in society. e. Serving some administrative roles. f. Collaboration with people from different disciplines I am neutral towards a. Teaching. I have extensive instructor experience. I don’t particularly like teaching. I don’t hate it. b. Mentoring. I like collaborating more. My mentoring experience is arguably limited. c. Making money. More doesn’t hurt, but I am not dying for it. d. Not doing research. I want to do research, but most people don’t do research and make good money. I am perfectly content with a traditional job. I hate a. Publication pressure. Good research takes time and effort. I don’t work well under pressure. b. Grant demands. It is not as bad in statistics, but I want to be researcher for working on interesting problems. Grant writing shouldn’t be my main focus. c. Unpaid labour. If I am not paid in summer, I am not working for the uni in summer. No meetings, no administrative roles, not a single thing. My students can go do internships, I don’t care. d. Research trends. I am against towards jumping for any hot buzzword. Pivoting research fields to something else takes years. Research is not fast fashion e. Deceit. Selling something for what it is not to garner interest/citation/research funds has become all too common in recent years. I understand why people do it, but I don’t like it. TL;DR. I want to do research, preferably “myself” (not primarily via mentoring). If an academic job does not grant that, and expects me to teach/mentor/write grants/fill administrative duties, with time for research being something I am fighting for constantly, I don’t want it. Considering all of this, what do you recommend for me? Should I go to academics? Is it not for me? Assistant: You should run as far away from academia as you can. Select literally the furthest thing you can conceptualize from academia, and pursue that instead, with vigor.

Human: How do you handle the perishability of your institutions email address on academic publications? So surely not a new issue, but what do you do about the fact that, after you've left your current post, the email address indicated on any and all publication you worked on becomes interwebs garbage leading enquiries to the great void of lost bits and bytes? Do you use a permanent, private address or the professional one to be left as is? Assistant:

Human: How do you handle the perishability of your institutions email address on academic publications? So surely not a new issue, but what do you do about the fact that, after you've left your current post, the email address indicated on any and all publication you worked on becomes interwebs garbage leading enquiries to the great void of lost bits and bytes? Do you use a permanent, private address or the professional one to be left as is? Assistant: You should be using ORCID. ORCID gives you an ID that spans institutions and name-changes. Should either change, people can use your ORCID to find your most up-to-date information and contact you.

Human: How do you handle the perishability of your institutions email address on academic publications? So surely not a new issue, but what do you do about the fact that, after you've left your current post, the email address indicated on any and all publication you worked on becomes interwebs garbage leading enquiries to the great void of lost bits and bytes? Do you use a permanent, private address or the professional one to be left as is? Assistant: I still have my undergrad email (gmail) from 2013 from my alma mater in India. I think things are changing and people are starting to recognize that even student email addresses are extremely important no matter how long it has been since the student graduated. Orcid is the only other dependable option.

Human: Is it possible to get research experience before grad school but after undergrad? Hi there, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I have already graduated from undergrad and am working a field position this summer. I would like to go to grad school but I didn't do any research during my time as an undergrad. Would it be possible for me to get experience working on any research, even though I'm no longer a student anywhere? Assistant:

Human: Is it possible to get research experience before grad school but after undergrad? Hi there, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I have already graduated from undergrad and am working a field position this summer. I would like to go to grad school but I didn't do any research during my time as an undergrad. Would it be possible for me to get experience working on any research, even though I'm no longer a student anywhere? Assistant: Absolutely, many businesses and their employees actively participate in research and publish papers at conferences and/or in journals. Without much experience you can be a research assistant, research intern, lab tech, lab assistant, etc. The issue you'll run into is that you typically need to show some good promise to get in as despite paying under \~30k/yr for all of the above. There is a ton of competition for these roles as they are considered good resume builders.

Human: Is it possible to get research experience before grad school but after undergrad? Hi there, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I have already graduated from undergrad and am working a field position this summer. I would like to go to grad school but I didn't do any research during my time as an undergrad. Would it be possible for me to get experience working on any research, even though I'm no longer a student anywhere? Assistant: Yes. I worked as a researcher for a year before grad school.

Human: I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. 😩 I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. I’ve done the research but I can’t get over a mental block to start writing. Any helpful hints out there? Assistant:

Human: I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. 😩 I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. I’ve done the research but I can’t get over a mental block to start writing. Any helpful hints out there? Assistant: Sit down with the attitude that you will write the shittiest shit ever to be shat, but you will start hitting keys and do it now. Zero expectations high word count. Edit later.

Human: I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. 😩 I’m writing a scientific review paper and I can’t get started with writing. I’ve done the research but I can’t get over a mental block to start writing. Any helpful hints out there? Assistant: For a review I'd say write down the take away message(s) of each of the papers you think should be cited in your review, then cluster those by broader topic (which would correspond to subsections), and in each cluster sort chronologically or otherwise logically, and then fix grammar and narrative.

Human: How far back do you go when referencing ? Shouldn't we always end up at the original source ? No one can give a clear answer. I am unclear on referencing and every year I aks no one can answer it , so I am hoping this year may bring about some clarity. ​ I read article A and it has some useful info I need that they cited from article B. I presume I am meant to go and read article B now....but then it looks like it has come from article C. This just goes on and on...what makes it harder I have found is no one can actually say how far you go back and or which one to cite. I can't help but wonder if it is easier just to cite A? Assistant:

Human: How far back do you go when referencing ? Shouldn't we always end up at the original source ? No one can give a clear answer. I am unclear on referencing and every year I aks no one can answer it , so I am hoping this year may bring about some clarity. ​ I read article A and it has some useful info I need that they cited from article B. I presume I am meant to go and read article B now....but then it looks like it has come from article C. This just goes on and on...what makes it harder I have found is no one can actually say how far you go back and or which one to cite. I can't help but wonder if it is easier just to cite A? Assistant: You should aim to cite the primary source(a) of your claim. If the claim your making is a well established concept and you’re limited in the number of references to use, then you could then cite a well regarded and comprehensive review that includes and explains those primary sources and write it “as reviewed by”. I’m in the camp of merging both and typically cite the primary source(s) and a well regarded and comprehensive review. I do it as that’s what I wish to find when consuming academic literature.

Human: How far back do you go when referencing ? Shouldn't we always end up at the original source ? No one can give a clear answer. I am unclear on referencing and every year I aks no one can answer it , so I am hoping this year may bring about some clarity. ​ I read article A and it has some useful info I need that they cited from article B. I presume I am meant to go and read article B now....but then it looks like it has come from article C. This just goes on and on...what makes it harder I have found is no one can actually say how far you go back and or which one to cite. I can't help but wonder if it is easier just to cite A? Assistant: Use the most reputable source

Human: I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. Any advice for a newbie? As the title says, I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. I won't be giving an oral presentation but posters I created will be shown. It's unlikely that any colleagues will be coming with me so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for what to do/ what not to do at the conference and any tips for networking and making the most of the trip. All help is appreciated. Thank you all. Assistant:

Human: I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. Any advice for a newbie? As the title says, I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. I won't be giving an oral presentation but posters I created will be shown. It's unlikely that any colleagues will be coming with me so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for what to do/ what not to do at the conference and any tips for networking and making the most of the trip. All help is appreciated. Thank you all. Assistant: Most conferences have a fixed time for poster viewing. When the time is for your presentation - be by your poster. You never know who stop for a look.

Human: I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. Any advice for a newbie? As the title says, I'll be attending my first scientific conference soon. I won't be giving an oral presentation but posters I created will be shown. It's unlikely that any colleagues will be coming with me so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for what to do/ what not to do at the conference and any tips for networking and making the most of the trip. All help is appreciated. Thank you all. Assistant: Talk to everyone. Follow up later with as many as you can

Human: Why does it happen that researchers are generally paid less than engineering graduates who code or work with softwares, even though the former have more academic experience? Research scholars or researchers put in more hours and accumulate greater experience. However, when it comes to wages, they are paid very low when compared to computer science graduates straight out of college. Can you explain this asymmetry? Assistant:

Human: Why does it happen that researchers are generally paid less than engineering graduates who code or work with softwares, even though the former have more academic experience? Research scholars or researchers put in more hours and accumulate greater experience. However, when it comes to wages, they are paid very low when compared to computer science graduates straight out of college. Can you explain this asymmetry? Assistant: Despite what people like to think, nobody is paid based on how smart they are or how much work they put in. They are paid based on 2 things: - The amount of money they make for the person paying them - The amount it costs to replace them (demand vs supply) When academics produce very little that makes money, and are easily replaced due to the massive supply of other PhDs pining after the academic jobs with no self-respect, willing to be paid the bare minimum to survive, they will be paid very little.

Human: Why does it happen that researchers are generally paid less than engineering graduates who code or work with softwares, even though the former have more academic experience? Research scholars or researchers put in more hours and accumulate greater experience. However, when it comes to wages, they are paid very low when compared to computer science graduates straight out of college. Can you explain this asymmetry? Assistant: Likely no one specific reason. However, in my opinion, a big factor is that said graduates are working at a business which produces goods that people pay money for. That is not often the case for researchers. For example, the goods researchers produce are often free for others (e.g., open source software, so that uptake is greater), or aren't fundamentally made to turn a profit (e.g., a paper).

Human: Is there a stigma on people who take their PhD in the same university they took their MA, undergraduate, and even where they plan to teach? I heard of a stigma existing, but it was from someone who wasn't in academia, so I wanted to ask the community what their opinion is on it. Assistant:

Human: Is there a stigma on people who take their PhD in the same university they took their MA, undergraduate, and even where they plan to teach? I heard of a stigma existing, but it was from someone who wasn't in academia, so I wanted to ask the community what their opinion is on it. Assistant: Let's be honest, we're a bunch of people who never left school. If you never left *the same* school, that's an issue with lack of perspective and institutionalisation.

Human: Is there a stigma on people who take their PhD in the same university they took their MA, undergraduate, and even where they plan to teach? I heard of a stigma existing, but it was from someone who wasn't in academia, so I wanted to ask the community what their opinion is on it. Assistant: Yes, it's not great, but in some situations it makes sense to. Like if you're offered full funding to stay at the same place for the duration of your education, that's hard to turn down. Just make sure to do a post doc or something elsewhere.

Human: Biology Professors and Students -- How long does it take to stop feeling like you are drowning in a new research subject? Since biology projects are so specialized and research at such a depth, joining a new project can feel really daunting. How long should it take a student to get to grips with the project/lab research and begin to be able to formulate novel hypotheses and furthermore design a study to test it? Assistant:

Human: Biology Professors and Students -- How long does it take to stop feeling like you are drowning in a new research subject? Since biology projects are so specialized and research at such a depth, joining a new project can feel really daunting. How long should it take a student to get to grips with the project/lab research and begin to be able to formulate novel hypotheses and furthermore design a study to test it? Assistant: I've been clueless about my project for 2 years and counting. Don't tell my PI.

Human: Biology Professors and Students -- How long does it take to stop feeling like you are drowning in a new research subject? Since biology projects are so specialized and research at such a depth, joining a new project can feel really daunting. How long should it take a student to get to grips with the project/lab research and begin to be able to formulate novel hypotheses and furthermore design a study to test it? Assistant: Well I've been one of the senior Co-I's on a project for about 4 years and it can still feel that way sometimes.....

Human: Colleague forcing their way onto my manuscript ... I think? Hi all, I wrote a manuscript for the work I've done in the past year or so. I relied on some data generated by a previous student, so myself, him, and our PI are the only authors on the manuscript. My PI suggested that I send it to this 2nd author for review/editing/comments, and then a couple of other colleagues in the lab for internal review before the PI reads it himself. The first round goes great and my 2nd author returns great comments after a week worth of 2 back and forth. I proceed to send it to the next person, who's a post-doc turned research associate - too long of a tenure as a post-doc, he had to switch to being an RA. I get my comments back from the RA and I see that he has added himself as an author on my paper. I looked through the document and the comments/edits he's suggesting aren't any better/more thorough than what my 2nd author did. Mostly grammar/language and "cite this please" sort of commentary. I never discussed adding him as another author on my paper and I wasn't aware he was going to do it. From going through the document several times, I am also likely going to reject many of the edits as I don't think he fully grasped my paper and some of the comments are more confusing than helpful. I haven't told my PI yet and I'm unsure if he has looked at the document. From my personal knowledge, this being my first first-author manuscript, a person has to provide data for a figure or provide some extensive technical skill (bioinformatics, surgery) to receive authorship ... though I know this is also journal-dependent. I've reviewed/edited manuscripts from colleagues and other people on the floor before and never asked nor was offered to be an author. I am a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th author on several papers and for all of them I personally did work and provided data for a figure or several to guarantee authorship. Is this normal to grant authorship to somebody because they reviewed/edited a manuscript during internal review? Especially when this wasn't discussed before and the reviewer in question simply put their name on the manuscript without consent. Assistant:

Human: Colleague forcing their way onto my manuscript ... I think? Hi all, I wrote a manuscript for the work I've done in the past year or so. I relied on some data generated by a previous student, so myself, him, and our PI are the only authors on the manuscript. My PI suggested that I send it to this 2nd author for review/editing/comments, and then a couple of other colleagues in the lab for internal review before the PI reads it himself. The first round goes great and my 2nd author returns great comments after a week worth of 2 back and forth. I proceed to send it to the next person, who's a post-doc turned research associate - too long of a tenure as a post-doc, he had to switch to being an RA. I get my comments back from the RA and I see that he has added himself as an author on my paper. I looked through the document and the comments/edits he's suggesting aren't any better/more thorough than what my 2nd author did. Mostly grammar/language and "cite this please" sort of commentary. I never discussed adding him as another author on my paper and I wasn't aware he was going to do it. From going through the document several times, I am also likely going to reject many of the edits as I don't think he fully grasped my paper and some of the comments are more confusing than helpful. I haven't told my PI yet and I'm unsure if he has looked at the document. From my personal knowledge, this being my first first-author manuscript, a person has to provide data for a figure or provide some extensive technical skill (bioinformatics, surgery) to receive authorship ... though I know this is also journal-dependent. I've reviewed/edited manuscripts from colleagues and other people on the floor before and never asked nor was offered to be an author. I am a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th author on several papers and for all of them I personally did work and provided data for a figure or several to guarantee authorship. Is this normal to grant authorship to somebody because they reviewed/edited a manuscript during internal review? Especially when this wasn't discussed before and the reviewer in question simply put their name on the manuscript without consent. Assistant: I would tell the PI, it's their job to set this straight with the post-doc. For most journals this level of contribution would be against their rules for authorship. ​ And now you know for the future - when you ask for internal review, just make very clear when asking that it would be a favour and not warrant authorship.

Human: Colleague forcing their way onto my manuscript ... I think? Hi all, I wrote a manuscript for the work I've done in the past year or so. I relied on some data generated by a previous student, so myself, him, and our PI are the only authors on the manuscript. My PI suggested that I send it to this 2nd author for review/editing/comments, and then a couple of other colleagues in the lab for internal review before the PI reads it himself. The first round goes great and my 2nd author returns great comments after a week worth of 2 back and forth. I proceed to send it to the next person, who's a post-doc turned research associate - too long of a tenure as a post-doc, he had to switch to being an RA. I get my comments back from the RA and I see that he has added himself as an author on my paper. I looked through the document and the comments/edits he's suggesting aren't any better/more thorough than what my 2nd author did. Mostly grammar/language and "cite this please" sort of commentary. I never discussed adding him as another author on my paper and I wasn't aware he was going to do it. From going through the document several times, I am also likely going to reject many of the edits as I don't think he fully grasped my paper and some of the comments are more confusing than helpful. I haven't told my PI yet and I'm unsure if he has looked at the document. From my personal knowledge, this being my first first-author manuscript, a person has to provide data for a figure or provide some extensive technical skill (bioinformatics, surgery) to receive authorship ... though I know this is also journal-dependent. I've reviewed/edited manuscripts from colleagues and other people on the floor before and never asked nor was offered to be an author. I am a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th author on several papers and for all of them I personally did work and provided data for a figure or several to guarantee authorship. Is this normal to grant authorship to somebody because they reviewed/edited a manuscript during internal review? Especially when this wasn't discussed before and the reviewer in question simply put their name on the manuscript without consent. Assistant: couldn’t you just remove his name as subtly as he added it?

Human: If you take a break from academia and work on your own business or research startup, does that experience count when you return to academia? Does your previous experience count or do you need to start from scratch? Non-native English speaker here. This is probably a stupid question but I am curious. Case 1: Suppose I am at an assistant professor and I am an academic for 5 years. Now I leave academia and work on my business which fails after 5 years. Now I apply to become an academic again and the position asks for 5 years of experience. Will I be able to join it showing my 5 years of assistant professor position. Case 2: Same case but now, I want to apply to a position that is above assistant professor (say associate professor). It requires 8 years of experience. But I have 5 years of experience in academia and another 5 in a business. Will the business experience count? Case 3: Same case as case 1 but instead of working on a business I was working on a research business of mine (say a research biotech firm). Will the 5 years in the research firm count towards associate professorship where 8 years of experience is required? Assistant:

Human: If you take a break from academia and work on your own business or research startup, does that experience count when you return to academia? Does your previous experience count or do you need to start from scratch? Non-native English speaker here. This is probably a stupid question but I am curious. Case 1: Suppose I am at an assistant professor and I am an academic for 5 years. Now I leave academia and work on my business which fails after 5 years. Now I apply to become an academic again and the position asks for 5 years of experience. Will I be able to join it showing my 5 years of assistant professor position. Case 2: Same case but now, I want to apply to a position that is above assistant professor (say associate professor). It requires 8 years of experience. But I have 5 years of experience in academia and another 5 in a business. Will the business experience count? Case 3: Same case as case 1 but instead of working on a business I was working on a research business of mine (say a research biotech firm). Will the 5 years in the research firm count towards associate professorship where 8 years of experience is required? Assistant: It is unlikely that you'd even get a tenure track job much less credit for your time outside academia unless you've kept up your publishing and/or teaching. Every year hundreds of people in your field likely graduate with a fresh PhD, and you would compete with them for jobs. The time to do something like this is before graduate school or (on the side) after tenure.

Human: If you take a break from academia and work on your own business or research startup, does that experience count when you return to academia? Does your previous experience count or do you need to start from scratch? Non-native English speaker here. This is probably a stupid question but I am curious. Case 1: Suppose I am at an assistant professor and I am an academic for 5 years. Now I leave academia and work on my business which fails after 5 years. Now I apply to become an academic again and the position asks for 5 years of experience. Will I be able to join it showing my 5 years of assistant professor position. Case 2: Same case but now, I want to apply to a position that is above assistant professor (say associate professor). It requires 8 years of experience. But I have 5 years of experience in academia and another 5 in a business. Will the business experience count? Case 3: Same case as case 1 but instead of working on a business I was working on a research business of mine (say a research biotech firm). Will the 5 years in the research firm count towards associate professorship where 8 years of experience is required? Assistant: Will you be publishing? When you attempt to return to academia, how long ago was your last publication?

Human: Dealing with student haggling for grades I'll admit, I'm relatively new to the profession (yay, pun, moving on), but I am increasingly (in a relatively short term) seeing emails from students after grades are posted hoping to bargain for an increased grade. They use lots of strategies, but the overall bent is always "won't you reconsider my grade due to these special circumstances?" My consistent response is that they have been subjected to the same grading criteria as all other students in the class, and I haven't had any blowback from that (although it is something that raises my general concern level, mainly the possibility of a substantial amount of unnecessary work on my part if a grade is disputed). Those who've been in the game longer, do you notice a similar trend in increased requests to increase final grades? Any suggestions on preempting this wave of nagging? Assistant:

Human: Dealing with student haggling for grades I'll admit, I'm relatively new to the profession (yay, pun, moving on), but I am increasingly (in a relatively short term) seeing emails from students after grades are posted hoping to bargain for an increased grade. They use lots of strategies, but the overall bent is always "won't you reconsider my grade due to these special circumstances?" My consistent response is that they have been subjected to the same grading criteria as all other students in the class, and I haven't had any blowback from that (although it is something that raises my general concern level, mainly the possibility of a substantial amount of unnecessary work on my part if a grade is disputed). Those who've been in the game longer, do you notice a similar trend in increased requests to increase final grades? Any suggestions on preempting this wave of nagging? Assistant: Rule 1 of extenuating circumstances; notify before the exam. Coming in after the fact is not going to work. At least here in the UK this is also dealt with by the university centrally, not on a course by course basis.

Human: Dealing with student haggling for grades I'll admit, I'm relatively new to the profession (yay, pun, moving on), but I am increasingly (in a relatively short term) seeing emails from students after grades are posted hoping to bargain for an increased grade. They use lots of strategies, but the overall bent is always "won't you reconsider my grade due to these special circumstances?" My consistent response is that they have been subjected to the same grading criteria as all other students in the class, and I haven't had any blowback from that (although it is something that raises my general concern level, mainly the possibility of a substantial amount of unnecessary work on my part if a grade is disputed). Those who've been in the game longer, do you notice a similar trend in increased requests to increase final grades? Any suggestions on preempting this wave of nagging? Assistant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVvKnq5XT-g

Human: Former PI keeps asking me to do things/finish publication...I have switched careers. How do I respond? tl;dr at bottom. Hi everyone, I started medical school (at a different school) while I was finishing up my MS. My PI was very nice about letting me defend my thesis remotely, BUT my grades in medical school suffered, I lost sleep, didn't spend as much time as I should've with family, and forget about friends. The good news is that I successfully defended my MS thesis and received my diploma. The bad news? My former PI reached out to me a week after graduation asking me for help locating my old data/project so a new student could expand upon it. I replied with instructions where to find my old data, to which she said "Thank you! Can you put this in a PPT with all your graphs? Also, can you send the excel docs for this data (she must've not checked the file location which I stated in the email because all that info is readily available on the lab computers). She ends the email saying "I will send you another email shortly about turning your thesis into a publication." This part really put a nail in my coffin. I originally hoped to publish my work, which is finished, but life had other plans. Instead, I did my best and made it into a thesis, rather than graduating as a non-thesis student. The problem is that she teaches in the town that I hope to return and practice medicine as a physician in. I don't want to burn bridges but I am so tired of remediating medical school courses and I don't have the time or energy to turn my thesis into a manuscript. How can I reply politely while making it known that I simply cannot afford to do any of this? Thank you! ​ tl;dr: US Masters graduate being asked to continue work after graduating and switching careers. How to politely decline, so that I can focus on my grades and mental health, without burning bridges? Assistant:

Human: Former PI keeps asking me to do things/finish publication...I have switched careers. How do I respond? tl;dr at bottom. Hi everyone, I started medical school (at a different school) while I was finishing up my MS. My PI was very nice about letting me defend my thesis remotely, BUT my grades in medical school suffered, I lost sleep, didn't spend as much time as I should've with family, and forget about friends. The good news is that I successfully defended my MS thesis and received my diploma. The bad news? My former PI reached out to me a week after graduation asking me for help locating my old data/project so a new student could expand upon it. I replied with instructions where to find my old data, to which she said "Thank you! Can you put this in a PPT with all your graphs? Also, can you send the excel docs for this data (she must've not checked the file location which I stated in the email because all that info is readily available on the lab computers). She ends the email saying "I will send you another email shortly about turning your thesis into a publication." This part really put a nail in my coffin. I originally hoped to publish my work, which is finished, but life had other plans. Instead, I did my best and made it into a thesis, rather than graduating as a non-thesis student. The problem is that she teaches in the town that I hope to return and practice medicine as a physician in. I don't want to burn bridges but I am so tired of remediating medical school courses and I don't have the time or energy to turn my thesis into a manuscript. How can I reply politely while making it known that I simply cannot afford to do any of this? Thank you! ​ tl;dr: US Masters graduate being asked to continue work after graduating and switching careers. How to politely decline, so that I can focus on my grades and mental health, without burning bridges? Assistant: Just honestly say that you don't have time to continue working on it. If your work is worth publishing it would be nice for the science community to make a publication from it definitely. You can give all the resources (source file, data, etc) and say that you're ok that another master or PhD student finishes the work and that you are "only" a coauthor. This situation is very common.

Human: Former PI keeps asking me to do things/finish publication...I have switched careers. How do I respond? tl;dr at bottom. Hi everyone, I started medical school (at a different school) while I was finishing up my MS. My PI was very nice about letting me defend my thesis remotely, BUT my grades in medical school suffered, I lost sleep, didn't spend as much time as I should've with family, and forget about friends. The good news is that I successfully defended my MS thesis and received my diploma. The bad news? My former PI reached out to me a week after graduation asking me for help locating my old data/project so a new student could expand upon it. I replied with instructions where to find my old data, to which she said "Thank you! Can you put this in a PPT with all your graphs? Also, can you send the excel docs for this data (she must've not checked the file location which I stated in the email because all that info is readily available on the lab computers). She ends the email saying "I will send you another email shortly about turning your thesis into a publication." This part really put a nail in my coffin. I originally hoped to publish my work, which is finished, but life had other plans. Instead, I did my best and made it into a thesis, rather than graduating as a non-thesis student. The problem is that she teaches in the town that I hope to return and practice medicine as a physician in. I don't want to burn bridges but I am so tired of remediating medical school courses and I don't have the time or energy to turn my thesis into a manuscript. How can I reply politely while making it known that I simply cannot afford to do any of this? Thank you! ​ tl;dr: US Masters graduate being asked to continue work after graduating and switching careers. How to politely decline, so that I can focus on my grades and mental health, without burning bridges? Assistant: Just say you can't and you don't expect to ever be interested in publishing. Your PI can move forward with someone else as the lead author. It's field specific, but all my students are required to publish one manuscript before they can graduate and all data is owned by the lab (ie me or really, the university).

Human: PhDs: Was getting your PhD the most challenging thing you have faced in your life so far? If not, what topped It? No need to go into detail if you don't want to Assistant:

Human: PhDs: Was getting your PhD the most challenging thing you have faced in your life so far? If not, what topped It? No need to go into detail if you don't want to Assistant: Dealing with the egos of toxic professors was far more challenging than doing my PhD coursework

Human: PhDs: Was getting your PhD the most challenging thing you have faced in your life so far? If not, what topped It? No need to go into detail if you don't want to Assistant: Not by a long shot. It was actually one of the easier and most flexible jobs I've had.

Human: I submitted my thesis through turnitin and got a score of 27%, freaking out incase I fail because of it. I did a desk based piece of work which makes sense why some of the work is coming up highlighted. I also used one piece of work in particular to help guide my research but I referenced it. I used some of their sources in my work too and quoted both sources. If I used similar sources I always made sure to use additional ones. But most of the work is my own. The most highlighted is 2%. I’m just freaking out incase they think I’ve stolen the work. I’m pretty sure I didn’t plagiarise it. I did use the work of others to help guide my research. But I provided references for everything. I’ve never had so much highlighted before and it’s just left me really worried. Sorry for the structure grammar, I’m just freaking out. Assistant:

Human: I submitted my thesis through turnitin and got a score of 27%, freaking out incase I fail because of it. I did a desk based piece of work which makes sense why some of the work is coming up highlighted. I also used one piece of work in particular to help guide my research but I referenced it. I used some of their sources in my work too and quoted both sources. If I used similar sources I always made sure to use additional ones. But most of the work is my own. The most highlighted is 2%. I’m just freaking out incase they think I’ve stolen the work. I’m pretty sure I didn’t plagiarise it. I did use the work of others to help guide my research. But I provided references for everything. I’ve never had so much highlighted before and it’s just left me really worried. Sorry for the structure grammar, I’m just freaking out. Assistant: Turnitin is just a tool. Actual evaluation should always be done manually.

Human: I submitted my thesis through turnitin and got a score of 27%, freaking out incase I fail because of it. I did a desk based piece of work which makes sense why some of the work is coming up highlighted. I also used one piece of work in particular to help guide my research but I referenced it. I used some of their sources in my work too and quoted both sources. If I used similar sources I always made sure to use additional ones. But most of the work is my own. The most highlighted is 2%. I’m just freaking out incase they think I’ve stolen the work. I’m pretty sure I didn’t plagiarise it. I did use the work of others to help guide my research. But I provided references for everything. I’ve never had so much highlighted before and it’s just left me really worried. Sorry for the structure grammar, I’m just freaking out. Assistant: It rather depends on the rules of your institution. We allow 20% and begin to subtract marks once you go past that, but it also depends on what constitutes that 20%. If it's correctly cited, then there's no problem, but if it's not referenced then it becomes a much more serious problem. Turnitin allows you to break down the % to see what those parts are, so your 27% might actually be 19% of properly cited stuff, and 8% of things that might look like other things but actually isn't from them.

Human: Academics, what are your favorite news magazines? So I am a young adult who really wants to start learning and be aware of what is happening to the world around her. What are your favorite news magazines and why? Also, which ones do you hate and why? Assistant:

Human: Academics, what are your favorite news magazines? So I am a young adult who really wants to start learning and be aware of what is happening to the world around her. What are your favorite news magazines and why? Also, which ones do you hate and why? Assistant: It's not 'news' exactly, but I read the New Yorker -- it's a good mix of current events, investigative pieces and fiction and poetry. I also appreciate their editing and proof-reading policies, there's almost never mistakes and it reads very well.

Human: Academics, what are your favorite news magazines? So I am a young adult who really wants to start learning and be aware of what is happening to the world around her. What are your favorite news magazines and why? Also, which ones do you hate and why? Assistant: When I'm traveling I typically pick up a copy of either Scientific American or Popular Science depending on what has interesting topics that month. It's a bit dumbed-down and hyped-up coming to it from a scientific research background, but generally still pretty decent for things far outside my area. The economist also tends to be pretty good.

Human: Ethical to review the same paper for two different journals? Tldr; I have a BS and am working with an a doctor (MD) to build my CV before I apply for grad school + get more research experience. MD now wants me to peer review manuscripts under his name to put on my CV. We received invitations from two different journals asking us to review the same manuscript written by the same authors. Since it’s a violation of ethics for authors to submit manuscripts concurrently to different journals for consideration, is it also a similar violation of ethics for reviewers to review the manuscript knowing they are submitting concurrently to different journals? Couldn’t find a clear answer online and MD is saying it’s okay, but would like clarification + second opinion. Assistant:

Human: Ethical to review the same paper for two different journals? Tldr; I have a BS and am working with an a doctor (MD) to build my CV before I apply for grad school + get more research experience. MD now wants me to peer review manuscripts under his name to put on my CV. We received invitations from two different journals asking us to review the same manuscript written by the same authors. Since it’s a violation of ethics for authors to submit manuscripts concurrently to different journals for consideration, is it also a similar violation of ethics for reviewers to review the manuscript knowing they are submitting concurrently to different journals? Couldn’t find a clear answer online and MD is saying it’s okay, but would like clarification + second opinion. Assistant: "MD now wants me to peer review manuscripts under his name to put on my CV" How are you possibly going to put that on your CV since you are reviewing under his name, without exposing everyone? (MD, authors, journals, and most importantly yourself)

Human: Ethical to review the same paper for two different journals? Tldr; I have a BS and am working with an a doctor (MD) to build my CV before I apply for grad school + get more research experience. MD now wants me to peer review manuscripts under his name to put on my CV. We received invitations from two different journals asking us to review the same manuscript written by the same authors. Since it’s a violation of ethics for authors to submit manuscripts concurrently to different journals for consideration, is it also a similar violation of ethics for reviewers to review the manuscript knowing they are submitting concurrently to different journals? Couldn’t find a clear answer online and MD is saying it’s okay, but would like clarification + second opinion. Assistant: I would tell the AEs that it’s a double submission.

Human: How do you handle imposter syndrome? I'm about to finish my first year as a PhD student and I received a master's degree in a related field previous to this, so this is not my first graduate school/research experience. I deal with imposter syndrome here on a near-constant basis. It feels like my questions or ideas are not received well or in the same way as other graduate students in my lab or department by faculty members, and I have a hard time articulating what I'm trying to say/do. I get interrupted a lot when I try to join in academic conversations when my peers don't, with the end result of me feeling like my original thoughts were dumb/unimportant to begin with and that it is now the expectation when I open my mouth. I feel awful, slow, and completely out of place- it's starting to give me anxiety in every aspect of research and school! What tips/techniques do you use when you start to feel this way? I try to remind myself that I'm still learning and not to compare myself to others, but I don't feel I can talk to the other graduate students about this when they generally receive such positive feeback/reception in their interactions. Assistant:

Human: How do you handle imposter syndrome? I'm about to finish my first year as a PhD student and I received a master's degree in a related field previous to this, so this is not my first graduate school/research experience. I deal with imposter syndrome here on a near-constant basis. It feels like my questions or ideas are not received well or in the same way as other graduate students in my lab or department by faculty members, and I have a hard time articulating what I'm trying to say/do. I get interrupted a lot when I try to join in academic conversations when my peers don't, with the end result of me feeling like my original thoughts were dumb/unimportant to begin with and that it is now the expectation when I open my mouth. I feel awful, slow, and completely out of place- it's starting to give me anxiety in every aspect of research and school! What tips/techniques do you use when you start to feel this way? I try to remind myself that I'm still learning and not to compare myself to others, but I don't feel I can talk to the other graduate students about this when they generally receive such positive feeback/reception in their interactions. Assistant: Impostor syndrome never really goes away apparently. Even professors still get it sometimes. Also just please remember that sometimes you might feel dismissed if others interrupt but remember that professors are trying to improve your ideas and thinking. That is sometime that people will always do in academia— working towards improving each other’s ideas. And if other students are doing that, they are could be overcompensating for their own impostor syndrome.

Human: How do you handle imposter syndrome? I'm about to finish my first year as a PhD student and I received a master's degree in a related field previous to this, so this is not my first graduate school/research experience. I deal with imposter syndrome here on a near-constant basis. It feels like my questions or ideas are not received well or in the same way as other graduate students in my lab or department by faculty members, and I have a hard time articulating what I'm trying to say/do. I get interrupted a lot when I try to join in academic conversations when my peers don't, with the end result of me feeling like my original thoughts were dumb/unimportant to begin with and that it is now the expectation when I open my mouth. I feel awful, slow, and completely out of place- it's starting to give me anxiety in every aspect of research and school! What tips/techniques do you use when you start to feel this way? I try to remind myself that I'm still learning and not to compare myself to others, but I don't feel I can talk to the other graduate students about this when they generally receive such positive feeback/reception in their interactions. Assistant: I believe in you

Human: Research projects during potential covid-19 shutdowns Hello, I work in research as a technician and will be entering grad school soon. Our University has started sending out informational emails about classes potentially moving to online only formats and labs going into "hibernation" so the University can close campus. If this were to happen, what would be the consequences for labs running time sensitive studies? We use animal models, so it could be a massive waste of funding and well trained animals to have to shutdown. Has anything like this happened before? What kind of actions (if any) do you think governmental grant issuing agencies and universities would/should take to mitigate the effects of shutdowns on research? Assistant:

Human: Research projects during potential covid-19 shutdowns Hello, I work in research as a technician and will be entering grad school soon. Our University has started sending out informational emails about classes potentially moving to online only formats and labs going into "hibernation" so the University can close campus. If this were to happen, what would be the consequences for labs running time sensitive studies? We use animal models, so it could be a massive waste of funding and well trained animals to have to shutdown. Has anything like this happened before? What kind of actions (if any) do you think governmental grant issuing agencies and universities would/should take to mitigate the effects of shutdowns on research? Assistant: It will depend on your university's individual protocols. I would hope ours would let us send in a skeleton crew to at least keep animals alive, if not experiments going.

Human: Research projects during potential covid-19 shutdowns Hello, I work in research as a technician and will be entering grad school soon. Our University has started sending out informational emails about classes potentially moving to online only formats and labs going into "hibernation" so the University can close campus. If this were to happen, what would be the consequences for labs running time sensitive studies? We use animal models, so it could be a massive waste of funding and well trained animals to have to shutdown. Has anything like this happened before? What kind of actions (if any) do you think governmental grant issuing agencies and universities would/should take to mitigate the effects of shutdowns on research? Assistant: This has happened before. During the government furlough NIH employees were not allowed to work ( unless essential). It affected a lot of experiments, and there was nothing anyone could do about it

Human: How do you remember or keep a track of every research paper you read? I just started graduate school and am reading a bunch of relevant research papers nowadays. However, I'm not sure how long will I remember all the stuff I'm reading and want to make a system to record the main points from the papers I read. Do researchers commonly use software such as Mendeley and Endnote to keep a track of papers they are reading and making notes simultaneously? Is there any other system you use or know of that can help me effectively read and note information from the papers I am reading? Assistant:

Human: How do you remember or keep a track of every research paper you read? I just started graduate school and am reading a bunch of relevant research papers nowadays. However, I'm not sure how long will I remember all the stuff I'm reading and want to make a system to record the main points from the papers I read. Do researchers commonly use software such as Mendeley and Endnote to keep a track of papers they are reading and making notes simultaneously? Is there any other system you use or know of that can help me effectively read and note information from the papers I am reading? Assistant: I usually realise I've read the paper already when I am about half way through the results section....

Human: How do you remember or keep a track of every research paper you read? I just started graduate school and am reading a bunch of relevant research papers nowadays. However, I'm not sure how long will I remember all the stuff I'm reading and want to make a system to record the main points from the papers I read. Do researchers commonly use software such as Mendeley and Endnote to keep a track of papers they are reading and making notes simultaneously? Is there any other system you use or know of that can help me effectively read and note information from the papers I am reading? Assistant: The book, critical reading and writing for post grads, really helped me. It suggests a method for synthesising your reading into what it means to you, and so how to be truly critical about the content.

Human: What heterodox opinions do you hold in your field? I.E. where does your understanding of or belief about something diverge most from that of the consensus (or at least plurality) view? What position of yours is in greatest disagreement with those of your colleagues? Assistant:

Human: What heterodox opinions do you hold in your field? I.E. where does your understanding of or belief about something diverge most from that of the consensus (or at least plurality) view? What position of yours is in greatest disagreement with those of your colleagues? Assistant: It is actually rather important to read the writings of a bunch of dead white men.

Human: What heterodox opinions do you hold in your field? I.E. where does your understanding of or belief about something diverge most from that of the consensus (or at least plurality) view? What position of yours is in greatest disagreement with those of your colleagues? Assistant: That there may be a biological or genetic basis that influences one’s political ideology.

Human: Burnt out - want to quit research project (somewhat venting - mainly asking advice on how to talk to PI about burnout) \[Recent Graduate BS - 2020 - USA\] I've been with this lab for 2 yrs as an undergrad and started a research project with them for my senior dissertation. They wanted to turn the project into something publishable and I agreed thinking I could do it. We had bumps along the way with figuring out how to do our project and it somewhat changed so now it's just taking longer to complete. I've since graduated in 2020 and am still working on this with them (2yrs on this project) but after I graduated, I really just wanted to move on and have the project passed on to another undergrad to finish, though I know I've made a commitment to create this paper with them. I honestly don't care about having my name first on the publication at this point - which was something that enticed me at first being an undergrad. I'll be starting graduate school in fall and really want to cut ties with this project. I just feel like it's being dragged out and I want to focus on a project that's more my own. I'm not sure how to approach my PI about this - like it'll probably look bad since I'm going to do more research in grad school right? And if I drop out of this project it won't look good on my resume or something, or say something about me as a researcher? I'm not sure if it's a bad thing that I don't care about it would I look if I stop this project, I just want to be done with it. Assistant:

Human: Burnt out - want to quit research project (somewhat venting - mainly asking advice on how to talk to PI about burnout) \[Recent Graduate BS - 2020 - USA\] I've been with this lab for 2 yrs as an undergrad and started a research project with them for my senior dissertation. They wanted to turn the project into something publishable and I agreed thinking I could do it. We had bumps along the way with figuring out how to do our project and it somewhat changed so now it's just taking longer to complete. I've since graduated in 2020 and am still working on this with them (2yrs on this project) but after I graduated, I really just wanted to move on and have the project passed on to another undergrad to finish, though I know I've made a commitment to create this paper with them. I honestly don't care about having my name first on the publication at this point - which was something that enticed me at first being an undergrad. I'll be starting graduate school in fall and really want to cut ties with this project. I just feel like it's being dragged out and I want to focus on a project that's more my own. I'm not sure how to approach my PI about this - like it'll probably look bad since I'm going to do more research in grad school right? And if I drop out of this project it won't look good on my resume or something, or say something about me as a researcher? I'm not sure if it's a bad thing that I don't care about it would I look if I stop this project, I just want to be done with it. Assistant: In research, there is always going to be an ongoing project. You might be working on 5 at a time in various stages of publication. This is just the nature of the job. Just move on and make sure to discuss authorship and how to keep in the loop regarding publication before you leave, preferably in writing. PIs understand the nature of research and the revolving door for students.

Human: Burnt out - want to quit research project (somewhat venting - mainly asking advice on how to talk to PI about burnout) \[Recent Graduate BS - 2020 - USA\] I've been with this lab for 2 yrs as an undergrad and started a research project with them for my senior dissertation. They wanted to turn the project into something publishable and I agreed thinking I could do it. We had bumps along the way with figuring out how to do our project and it somewhat changed so now it's just taking longer to complete. I've since graduated in 2020 and am still working on this with them (2yrs on this project) but after I graduated, I really just wanted to move on and have the project passed on to another undergrad to finish, though I know I've made a commitment to create this paper with them. I honestly don't care about having my name first on the publication at this point - which was something that enticed me at first being an undergrad. I'll be starting graduate school in fall and really want to cut ties with this project. I just feel like it's being dragged out and I want to focus on a project that's more my own. I'm not sure how to approach my PI about this - like it'll probably look bad since I'm going to do more research in grad school right? And if I drop out of this project it won't look good on my resume or something, or say something about me as a researcher? I'm not sure if it's a bad thing that I don't care about it would I look if I stop this project, I just want to be done with it. Assistant: I’m in this story and I don’t like it. Hoping someone can give us some advice.

Human: How are labs going to keep employees in this time of ease of remote work and high industry wages Masters level information who was working in an academic setting and recently acquired a position in industry/consulting for a 50% pay increase. During my time interviewing over the last few months all of the academic labs I discussed with payed well below the starting rates in industry. So I’m curious if the academic wage is so non-competitive (especially for below non-PhD positions) how is academia going to sustain itself? Obviously some positions are on site so PI’s get to set their wage by local standards, but in the analyst realm nearly everything is remote. How do labs plan to recruit long term masters-level analysts? Is there any discussion about this issue in the high-level academic circles? Assistant:

Human: How are labs going to keep employees in this time of ease of remote work and high industry wages Masters level information who was working in an academic setting and recently acquired a position in industry/consulting for a 50% pay increase. During my time interviewing over the last few months all of the academic labs I discussed with payed well below the starting rates in industry. So I’m curious if the academic wage is so non-competitive (especially for below non-PhD positions) how is academia going to sustain itself? Obviously some positions are on site so PI’s get to set their wage by local standards, but in the analyst realm nearly everything is remote. How do labs plan to recruit long term masters-level analysts? Is there any discussion about this issue in the high-level academic circles? Assistant: when i told my PI i was resigning, he said i'd be losing the opportunity for more people to know my name i'm now making almost triple the take home, have 500+ connections on linkedin, and laugh my way to the bank

Human: How are labs going to keep employees in this time of ease of remote work and high industry wages Masters level information who was working in an academic setting and recently acquired a position in industry/consulting for a 50% pay increase. During my time interviewing over the last few months all of the academic labs I discussed with payed well below the starting rates in industry. So I’m curious if the academic wage is so non-competitive (especially for below non-PhD positions) how is academia going to sustain itself? Obviously some positions are on site so PI’s get to set their wage by local standards, but in the analyst realm nearly everything is remote. How do labs plan to recruit long term masters-level analysts? Is there any discussion about this issue in the high-level academic circles? Assistant: This is happening outside of STEM, too. A former colleague who is in the humanities/fine arts with an MFA just got a sweet tech gig. I teach interdisciplinary humanities and have been in academia for 21 years. I have somehow managed to make less money once I finished my PhD, even though I’m now at a pretty decent R2 in a full-time faculty position (non-TT, though). Today I applied for a job as a remote proofreader for a marketing company. Starting pay is $10K more than I currently make.

Human: How do you deal with impostor syndrome and general self-doubt in academia/research? Hello everyone, I am a female undergraduate in physics at a reputable university. I will be graduating in a year and am starting to look at PhD programs. Recently I joined a new research group in a subject that I am highly interested in, but do not have a lot of background in. Prior to this I was in a research group for a little over a year, but in a completely different field. The second I heard back from the new group I basically had a panic attack: I felt fraudulent, like I somehow tricked them into saying yes; thoughts that I'm not smart or accomplished enough keep crossing my mind even still. I've heard of impostor syndrome and realized that what I'm experiencing is consistent with some of the things I've heard about it; however, just recognizing that what I'm experiencing is normal doesn't help very much. I feel a lot of self-doubt and I find myself avoiding the work for the group because I'm afraid of not understanding something and looking stupid. I know a lot of graduate students go through this, so what are some tips to help get over this self doubt and fear of failure? Assistant:

Human: How do you deal with impostor syndrome and general self-doubt in academia/research? Hello everyone, I am a female undergraduate in physics at a reputable university. I will be graduating in a year and am starting to look at PhD programs. Recently I joined a new research group in a subject that I am highly interested in, but do not have a lot of background in. Prior to this I was in a research group for a little over a year, but in a completely different field. The second I heard back from the new group I basically had a panic attack: I felt fraudulent, like I somehow tricked them into saying yes; thoughts that I'm not smart or accomplished enough keep crossing my mind even still. I've heard of impostor syndrome and realized that what I'm experiencing is consistent with some of the things I've heard about it; however, just recognizing that what I'm experiencing is normal doesn't help very much. I feel a lot of self-doubt and I find myself avoiding the work for the group because I'm afraid of not understanding something and looking stupid. I know a lot of graduate students go through this, so what are some tips to help get over this self doubt and fear of failure? Assistant: Check this out: PhD in Progress: Episode 17 - “WE’RE NOT MORONS!” – FACING IMPOSTOR SYNDROME It's an episode from a podcast called "PhD in Progress" that is hosted by some senior PhD students from Princeton who talk about different issues facing graduate students a different themes for each episode. This episode is all about imposter syndrome, but I highly recommend listening to the rest of the episodes too if you are a PhD student or are thinking about becoming one.

Human: How do you deal with impostor syndrome and general self-doubt in academia/research? Hello everyone, I am a female undergraduate in physics at a reputable university. I will be graduating in a year and am starting to look at PhD programs. Recently I joined a new research group in a subject that I am highly interested in, but do not have a lot of background in. Prior to this I was in a research group for a little over a year, but in a completely different field. The second I heard back from the new group I basically had a panic attack: I felt fraudulent, like I somehow tricked them into saying yes; thoughts that I'm not smart or accomplished enough keep crossing my mind even still. I've heard of impostor syndrome and realized that what I'm experiencing is consistent with some of the things I've heard about it; however, just recognizing that what I'm experiencing is normal doesn't help very much. I feel a lot of self-doubt and I find myself avoiding the work for the group because I'm afraid of not understanding something and looking stupid. I know a lot of graduate students go through this, so what are some tips to help get over this self doubt and fear of failure? Assistant: Never ever stop asking questions if you don't understand something. Especially if the new group is doing something you have not much experience in, see every question you ask as a vote of confidence in your colleagues or advisors. Make sure the questions are meaningful where possible, but even just asking to have something repeated if you didn't grasp it is not something you should be afraid of, or at least ask where you can read up on the subject.

Human: How succesful are you with ADHD here in Academia with an emphasis on the STEM fields? I am looking for motivational, success stories of those people who have tamed their symptoms using planning, organisational systems, and even meds. What worked for you? Assistant:

Human: How succesful are you with ADHD here in Academia with an emphasis on the STEM fields? I am looking for motivational, success stories of those people who have tamed their symptoms using planning, organisational systems, and even meds. What worked for you? Assistant: I got diagnosed the second year of my PhD (chemistry). I just finished my degree. I don't want to undersell it--it was brutally hard. Grad school is not set up to be ADHD friendly in many ways. But it is possible and I think there are things you can do to make it easier and to set yourself up for success.

Human: How succesful are you with ADHD here in Academia with an emphasis on the STEM fields? I am looking for motivational, success stories of those people who have tamed their symptoms using planning, organisational systems, and even meds. What worked for you? Assistant: I'm at a R1 and definitely struggled before I was diagnosed! I especially had a hard time following through/completing projects, and as a result it's taken me longer than average to finish. I also found that things like writing just take me longer than they take other people. Three main things have helped: 1) The forest app, where I set a timer and can't use my phone for a set amount of time. 2) Actually using a planner and laying out schedules and tasks. 3) A lowish-dose Adderall prescription.

Human: 1st Year PhD - Removed From Project Until recently I was a 1st year PhD student working on my project. However, I was dismissed following my viva under the guise of "poor writing" in a continuation report for transfer into the 2nd year. Initially shocked at this sudden change from my supervisor, as we meet weekly to touch base and my writing ability has never been raised as a concern. Going back through the assessors feedback comments from the initial draft, it was generally positive or constructive. i.e make figure x larger, move paragraph y above z. Overall, the report and oral viva were praised for well thought out discussions, sound methodology, good results and clear progression/future plans (all documented) with just a vague "introduction is poorly written". However, when pressed the assessor could not/would not expand on this, dismissing me with "its all poor" contrary to the feedback he himself had provided! I was told my only options at this stage are to "withdraw from your course, or submit an MPhil but I will not accept it". Thus I am appealing this verdict. After speaking with various staff and peers it has become obviously clear to everyone who has heard the situation that you would not remove someone for poor writing, if that is indeed the case. Institutional guidelines recommend to advise relevant training, workshops, exercises and teaching to address a students weaknesses. I believe this serves as wrongful dismissal/ not adhering to due process of the university. So I've raised this further to the senior staff. It has also come to my attention that the lab I was part of is notorious for politics and shady conduct. The student who had the project before me was bullied into leaving. In addition to a high staff turn-over, improper conduct and breaches of contract. From what I hear the uni does nothing about it because the head brings in too much money. "Poor writing" just seems to be the excuse to get rid of me, or the project is cursed! Advice on how to navigate this matter would be appreciated. If the appeal goes through it's doubtful I'll get my previous post/project back as there is too much bad blood. I wouldn't be comfortable remaining at the university if I was moved to another lab/project, if there is systematic abuse and underhanded deals going on. My supervisor is not happy about me digging around/appealing so wouldn't give me a shining reference so seek positions elsewhere. I've kept and backed up logs of meetings where no measures were put in place, emails where the supervisor, team and peers have all said the report was of a good standard, and presentations where no concerns were raised. At its core it began as a wrongful dismissal and academic appeal, but the more I look into it, ask around and hear from others experiences with the lab. There's documented evidence of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment/bullying among other serious allegations that the university HAS known about ...but have just brushed under the rug because they bring in too much money! Not what I would expect from the 18th ranked UK University. Assistant:

Human: 1st Year PhD - Removed From Project Until recently I was a 1st year PhD student working on my project. However, I was dismissed following my viva under the guise of "poor writing" in a continuation report for transfer into the 2nd year. Initially shocked at this sudden change from my supervisor, as we meet weekly to touch base and my writing ability has never been raised as a concern. Going back through the assessors feedback comments from the initial draft, it was generally positive or constructive. i.e make figure x larger, move paragraph y above z. Overall, the report and oral viva were praised for well thought out discussions, sound methodology, good results and clear progression/future plans (all documented) with just a vague "introduction is poorly written". However, when pressed the assessor could not/would not expand on this, dismissing me with "its all poor" contrary to the feedback he himself had provided! I was told my only options at this stage are to "withdraw from your course, or submit an MPhil but I will not accept it". Thus I am appealing this verdict. After speaking with various staff and peers it has become obviously clear to everyone who has heard the situation that you would not remove someone for poor writing, if that is indeed the case. Institutional guidelines recommend to advise relevant training, workshops, exercises and teaching to address a students weaknesses. I believe this serves as wrongful dismissal/ not adhering to due process of the university. So I've raised this further to the senior staff. It has also come to my attention that the lab I was part of is notorious for politics and shady conduct. The student who had the project before me was bullied into leaving. In addition to a high staff turn-over, improper conduct and breaches of contract. From what I hear the uni does nothing about it because the head brings in too much money. "Poor writing" just seems to be the excuse to get rid of me, or the project is cursed! Advice on how to navigate this matter would be appreciated. If the appeal goes through it's doubtful I'll get my previous post/project back as there is too much bad blood. I wouldn't be comfortable remaining at the university if I was moved to another lab/project, if there is systematic abuse and underhanded deals going on. My supervisor is not happy about me digging around/appealing so wouldn't give me a shining reference so seek positions elsewhere. I've kept and backed up logs of meetings where no measures were put in place, emails where the supervisor, team and peers have all said the report was of a good standard, and presentations where no concerns were raised. At its core it began as a wrongful dismissal and academic appeal, but the more I look into it, ask around and hear from others experiences with the lab. There's documented evidence of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment/bullying among other serious allegations that the university HAS known about ...but have just brushed under the rug because they bring in too much money! Not what I would expect from the 18th ranked UK University. Assistant: Who is your funder?

Human: 1st Year PhD - Removed From Project Until recently I was a 1st year PhD student working on my project. However, I was dismissed following my viva under the guise of "poor writing" in a continuation report for transfer into the 2nd year. Initially shocked at this sudden change from my supervisor, as we meet weekly to touch base and my writing ability has never been raised as a concern. Going back through the assessors feedback comments from the initial draft, it was generally positive or constructive. i.e make figure x larger, move paragraph y above z. Overall, the report and oral viva were praised for well thought out discussions, sound methodology, good results and clear progression/future plans (all documented) with just a vague "introduction is poorly written". However, when pressed the assessor could not/would not expand on this, dismissing me with "its all poor" contrary to the feedback he himself had provided! I was told my only options at this stage are to "withdraw from your course, or submit an MPhil but I will not accept it". Thus I am appealing this verdict. After speaking with various staff and peers it has become obviously clear to everyone who has heard the situation that you would not remove someone for poor writing, if that is indeed the case. Institutional guidelines recommend to advise relevant training, workshops, exercises and teaching to address a students weaknesses. I believe this serves as wrongful dismissal/ not adhering to due process of the university. So I've raised this further to the senior staff. It has also come to my attention that the lab I was part of is notorious for politics and shady conduct. The student who had the project before me was bullied into leaving. In addition to a high staff turn-over, improper conduct and breaches of contract. From what I hear the uni does nothing about it because the head brings in too much money. "Poor writing" just seems to be the excuse to get rid of me, or the project is cursed! Advice on how to navigate this matter would be appreciated. If the appeal goes through it's doubtful I'll get my previous post/project back as there is too much bad blood. I wouldn't be comfortable remaining at the university if I was moved to another lab/project, if there is systematic abuse and underhanded deals going on. My supervisor is not happy about me digging around/appealing so wouldn't give me a shining reference so seek positions elsewhere. I've kept and backed up logs of meetings where no measures were put in place, emails where the supervisor, team and peers have all said the report was of a good standard, and presentations where no concerns were raised. At its core it began as a wrongful dismissal and academic appeal, but the more I look into it, ask around and hear from others experiences with the lab. There's documented evidence of abuse of power, discrimination, harassment/bullying among other serious allegations that the university HAS known about ...but have just brushed under the rug because they bring in too much money! Not what I would expect from the 18th ranked UK University. Assistant: Good luck. Make sure you have all your paperwork, in order where possible, and organised in a way that is easy for an administrator or department head to read but difficult or impossible to pick holes in or disprove. Your future is difficult because in academia the academics are never wrong, only the students. For the foreseeable future you're a lawyer. Be prepared to act like one until you get a good outcome.

Human: I need to hear success stories of mentally-ill people in academia I see threads on here semi-often of people asking how to apply to grad school with a mental illness that affected their GPA or what not. I really need to hear some success stories right now, from people on here who have made it through academia with a mental illness, or know someone who did. I want to know it's possible, because I can't see myself doing anything but academia, but everywhere I turn it seems absolutely impossible. Assistant:

Human: I need to hear success stories of mentally-ill people in academia I see threads on here semi-often of people asking how to apply to grad school with a mental illness that affected their GPA or what not. I really need to hear some success stories right now, from people on here who have made it through academia with a mental illness, or know someone who did. I want to know it's possible, because I can't see myself doing anything but academia, but everywhere I turn it seems absolutely impossible. Assistant: I have depression and anxiety disorder that developed during graduate school. It was a struggle to recognize what it was, and I received (and am still receiving) treatment. I finished with a PhD and I have a career in academia.

Human: I need to hear success stories of mentally-ill people in academia I see threads on here semi-often of people asking how to apply to grad school with a mental illness that affected their GPA or what not. I really need to hear some success stories right now, from people on here who have made it through academia with a mental illness, or know someone who did. I want to know it's possible, because I can't see myself doing anything but academia, but everywhere I turn it seems absolutely impossible. Assistant: This is a great TED talk about a woman who dealt with schizophrenia while in academia. Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but her experiences are pretty inspiring https://www.ted.com/talks/eleanor_longden_the_voices_in_my_head

Human: Student asking for a job reference on IG? I had a former student reach out to me on Instagram for a reference for a job (consent to provide my contact info to the position, not a letter of reference). I taught this student in two labs, and I have a good idea of their work ethic and skills. If they had emailed, I would’ve provided a reference happily. But the way they reached out - on a social media site that I have more personal things on - and the fact they didn’t spell-check their message before they sent it off (my name was incorrect despite being right there) has put a bad taste in my mouth. It feels unprofessional of the student. Any advice for how to handle this? Any experience with this yourself? Thanks! Assistant:

Human: Student asking for a job reference on IG? I had a former student reach out to me on Instagram for a reference for a job (consent to provide my contact info to the position, not a letter of reference). I taught this student in two labs, and I have a good idea of their work ethic and skills. If they had emailed, I would’ve provided a reference happily. But the way they reached out - on a social media site that I have more personal things on - and the fact they didn’t spell-check their message before they sent it off (my name was incorrect despite being right there) has put a bad taste in my mouth. It feels unprofessional of the student. Any advice for how to handle this? Any experience with this yourself? Thanks! Assistant: I got a cold request from a dude on Instagram once. It was so freaking weird. Like, why there? I'm not even using my real name on there (like, completely different). Like, IG pm : Hello dear sir professor Doctor grand mufti, could you help me with [insert field of expertise].

Human: Student asking for a job reference on IG? I had a former student reach out to me on Instagram for a reference for a job (consent to provide my contact info to the position, not a letter of reference). I taught this student in two labs, and I have a good idea of their work ethic and skills. If they had emailed, I would’ve provided a reference happily. But the way they reached out - on a social media site that I have more personal things on - and the fact they didn’t spell-check their message before they sent it off (my name was incorrect despite being right there) has put a bad taste in my mouth. It feels unprofessional of the student. Any advice for how to handle this? Any experience with this yourself? Thanks! Assistant: Instagram sure is a weird way to contact you. LinkedIn would have made sense but IG? On the other hand, perhaps times are just changing. Is there any chance that he was simply unable to find an email address to contact you on?

Human: Academics: Do you or did you have a topic that you wanted to write about that you saved for "after I get tenure?" As I understand it, the purpose of tenure was [at least originally] to allow academics the freedom to publish controversial research without fearing that their jobs were in jeopardy. I was wondering if this ever actually happens today. I'd be interested in either topics you are/were avoiding publishing on, or just whether you have an idea of how common this is. I imagine this is more relevant in the Social Sciences and Humanities, but I'd be interested in responses from anyone. Assistant:

Human: Academics: Do you or did you have a topic that you wanted to write about that you saved for "after I get tenure?" As I understand it, the purpose of tenure was [at least originally] to allow academics the freedom to publish controversial research without fearing that their jobs were in jeopardy. I was wondering if this ever actually happens today. I'd be interested in either topics you are/were avoiding publishing on, or just whether you have an idea of how common this is. I imagine this is more relevant in the Social Sciences and Humanities, but I'd be interested in responses from anyone. Assistant: BDSM in urban China. It kept popping up on the periphery of my completely unrelated research, I'd like to follow those threads.

Human: Academics: Do you or did you have a topic that you wanted to write about that you saved for "after I get tenure?" As I understand it, the purpose of tenure was [at least originally] to allow academics the freedom to publish controversial research without fearing that their jobs were in jeopardy. I was wondering if this ever actually happens today. I'd be interested in either topics you are/were avoiding publishing on, or just whether you have an idea of how common this is. I imagine this is more relevant in the Social Sciences and Humanities, but I'd be interested in responses from anyone. Assistant: Not a specific topic per se, but I would like to branch out into fields that I really enjoy but am not properly trained in. Like math or philosophy or some interesting part of physics. I'm a TT chemE professor at the moment. Even after tenure I'm pretty sure that won't happen, as I simply don't know the prerequisites. But it would be fun. Edit: per se, not persay.

Human: Can I choose the initials I want to use when publishing a paper? I am about to publish my first paper but there is a little question bothering me. I have two middle names, but I'd like to use only two initials when my name is abbreviated, as many authors with two middle names do. Example: "Last AB", not "Last ABC" However, I've read the "instructions for authors" of many journals, and none of them says anything about choosing the initials you want to use, you just have to put your full name and (I suppose) they abbreviate it by themselves. Can someone please clarify for me how it works and how people manage to choose the way journals publish their initials? Thanks! Assistant:

Human: Can I choose the initials I want to use when publishing a paper? I am about to publish my first paper but there is a little question bothering me. I have two middle names, but I'd like to use only two initials when my name is abbreviated, as many authors with two middle names do. Example: "Last AB", not "Last ABC" However, I've read the "instructions for authors" of many journals, and none of them says anything about choosing the initials you want to use, you just have to put your full name and (I suppose) they abbreviate it by themselves. Can someone please clarify for me how it works and how people manage to choose the way journals publish their initials? Thanks! Assistant: Identify yourself however you wish - just keep it consistent from paper to paper or it gets irritating.

Human: Can I choose the initials I want to use when publishing a paper? I am about to publish my first paper but there is a little question bothering me. I have two middle names, but I'd like to use only two initials when my name is abbreviated, as many authors with two middle names do. Example: "Last AB", not "Last ABC" However, I've read the "instructions for authors" of many journals, and none of them says anything about choosing the initials you want to use, you just have to put your full name and (I suppose) they abbreviate it by themselves. Can someone please clarify for me how it works and how people manage to choose the way journals publish their initials? Thanks! Assistant: I have two middle names and I don't use either for publishing, since my last name is uncommon enough.

Human: Could I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code? Hello everyone! Recently I read a paper that was very similar to the project I would like to carry out. They work with a group of plants and I have data for other species so I would like to replicate their study with my data. Could/Should I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code or is it not normal to ask for this? Assistant:

Human: Could I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code? Hello everyone! Recently I read a paper that was very similar to the project I would like to carry out. They work with a group of plants and I have data for other species so I would like to replicate their study with my data. Could/Should I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code or is it not normal to ask for this? Assistant: Yes, and people should give you code. Ideally they should have put it in a public research repository or something like GitHub. If they refuse (as sometimes happens), complain to the journal if they have data/code sharing obligations that come along with the publication.

Human: Could I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code? Hello everyone! Recently I read a paper that was very similar to the project I would like to carry out. They work with a group of plants and I have data for other species so I would like to replicate their study with my data. Could/Should I write an email to the author of the paper asking for the R code or is it not normal to ask for this? Assistant: It's normal to ask for code, and they should give it to you. Nowadays, one would expect they put it on github with their paper ideally even. They don't have to help you with *your* study, but they have a duty to give you all necessary to replicate what *they* have published.

Human: Worst academic paper you've ever read? Hello guys! I need to find a very poorly written academic paper (topic not important). It should be bad in terms of writing/structure/vocab/coherence. Habe any of you come across a paper like that recently? If so, please send it my way! Thanks in advance :) Assistant:

Human: Worst academic paper you've ever read? Hello guys! I need to find a very poorly written academic paper (topic not important). It should be bad in terms of writing/structure/vocab/coherence. Habe any of you come across a paper like that recently? If so, please send it my way! Thanks in advance :) Assistant: My thesis

Human: Worst academic paper you've ever read? Hello guys! I need to find a very poorly written academic paper (topic not important). It should be bad in terms of writing/structure/vocab/coherence. Habe any of you come across a paper like that recently? If so, please send it my way! Thanks in advance :) Assistant: The papers on Space Transition Theory had me rolling my eyes. Worst shit I read my entire undergrad.

Human: Advice on how to include or document code into a dissertation Hi, the core of my dissertation is not coding. However to do all the studies I had to write a series of scripts to handle the data for either visualizations or any sort of analysis. For the niche group of researchers in this topic, we consider these pieces of code could be useful. So, besides including a github repository with mys scripts, could anyone share tips on how to include this type of work? Is it an appendix the best alternative? Or is this worth a chapter? Assistant:

Human: Advice on how to include or document code into a dissertation Hi, the core of my dissertation is not coding. However to do all the studies I had to write a series of scripts to handle the data for either visualizations or any sort of analysis. For the niche group of researchers in this topic, we consider these pieces of code could be useful. So, besides including a github repository with mys scripts, could anyone share tips on how to include this type of work? Is it an appendix the best alternative? Or is this worth a chapter? Assistant: Apart from the appendix, which is a good idea, you can also create project for your dissertation on Open science foundation or Zonedo and link your GitHub repo, to make it more visible for researchers.

Human: Advice on how to include or document code into a dissertation Hi, the core of my dissertation is not coding. However to do all the studies I had to write a series of scripts to handle the data for either visualizations or any sort of analysis. For the niche group of researchers in this topic, we consider these pieces of code could be useful. So, besides including a github repository with mys scripts, could anyone share tips on how to include this type of work? Is it an appendix the best alternative? Or is this worth a chapter? Assistant: Appendix

Human: My research was published but I do not know what my authorship level is. How do I find out? I recently published my undergraduate research work in Information Theory at this conference called IEEE ISIT 2022. I looked up the published paper, and my name is at the first and then the other authors' names follow. Does this mean I am the first-author of the paper? Or what kind of author level do I call myself? How do I figure it out? It was a paper written primarily by me but my professor and two other students also helped. Assistant:

Human: My research was published but I do not know what my authorship level is. How do I find out? I recently published my undergraduate research work in Information Theory at this conference called IEEE ISIT 2022. I looked up the published paper, and my name is at the first and then the other authors' names follow. Does this mean I am the first-author of the paper? Or what kind of author level do I call myself? How do I figure it out? It was a paper written primarily by me but my professor and two other students also helped. Assistant: If your name is first on the list than that generally means that you’re first author. Congrats 🍾 OP

Human: My research was published but I do not know what my authorship level is. How do I find out? I recently published my undergraduate research work in Information Theory at this conference called IEEE ISIT 2022. I looked up the published paper, and my name is at the first and then the other authors' names follow. Does this mean I am the first-author of the paper? Or what kind of author level do I call myself? How do I figure it out? It was a paper written primarily by me but my professor and two other students also helped. Assistant: Smart people in academia, ver 2.0 …

Human: Is it a bad idea to get a PhD in philosophy? I’ve been debating which graduate degree to get for years. I have an undergrad degree in French, and I’ve bounced around in ideas, thinking about getting a grad degree in Linguistics, social work, French, TESOL, on and on. The main issue for me is passion vs financial security. The things that would give me the most job options are uninteresting to me, and the things that do interest me…not a lot of career options. It’s not that I need to make a lot of money, to be clear. It’s the fear that I’ll get the degree and not be able to support myself at a minimum and pay off my debt, if I can’t find a job. Philosophy seems like the worst fit for this! It’s not a versatile degree! But it’s the most interesting to me. I know I love language, and I think studying philosophy of language would be fascinating. My mind works very abstractly, I love the theoretical and abstract, and I love living an examined life. I think it might be the perfect fit. When I think about what I would think about my life when I’m nearing my end, I don’t want to think, “man, I paid off that debt fast. I really bought a lot of good stuff, too.” I want to think, “I tried to understand. I didn’t go blindly through this life. I didn’t focus just on the money. I really wanted to live an examined life, and I did.” And I also want to feel like I excelled at something. And I think I would excel in academia, in this field. Yet, money is a thing. Lol. Any thoughts? Especially from people studying or working in philosophy? Assistant:

Human: Is it a bad idea to get a PhD in philosophy? I’ve been debating which graduate degree to get for years. I have an undergrad degree in French, and I’ve bounced around in ideas, thinking about getting a grad degree in Linguistics, social work, French, TESOL, on and on. The main issue for me is passion vs financial security. The things that would give me the most job options are uninteresting to me, and the things that do interest me…not a lot of career options. It’s not that I need to make a lot of money, to be clear. It’s the fear that I’ll get the degree and not be able to support myself at a minimum and pay off my debt, if I can’t find a job. Philosophy seems like the worst fit for this! It’s not a versatile degree! But it’s the most interesting to me. I know I love language, and I think studying philosophy of language would be fascinating. My mind works very abstractly, I love the theoretical and abstract, and I love living an examined life. I think it might be the perfect fit. When I think about what I would think about my life when I’m nearing my end, I don’t want to think, “man, I paid off that debt fast. I really bought a lot of good stuff, too.” I want to think, “I tried to understand. I didn’t go blindly through this life. I didn’t focus just on the money. I really wanted to live an examined life, and I did.” And I also want to feel like I excelled at something. And I think I would excel in academia, in this field. Yet, money is a thing. Lol. Any thoughts? Especially from people studying or working in philosophy? Assistant: Please, don’t. It is not worth it. Also: passions tend to turn into chores if your livelihood depends on it. Academia is pretty toxic and extremely precarious, too.

Human: Is it a bad idea to get a PhD in philosophy? I’ve been debating which graduate degree to get for years. I have an undergrad degree in French, and I’ve bounced around in ideas, thinking about getting a grad degree in Linguistics, social work, French, TESOL, on and on. The main issue for me is passion vs financial security. The things that would give me the most job options are uninteresting to me, and the things that do interest me…not a lot of career options. It’s not that I need to make a lot of money, to be clear. It’s the fear that I’ll get the degree and not be able to support myself at a minimum and pay off my debt, if I can’t find a job. Philosophy seems like the worst fit for this! It’s not a versatile degree! But it’s the most interesting to me. I know I love language, and I think studying philosophy of language would be fascinating. My mind works very abstractly, I love the theoretical and abstract, and I love living an examined life. I think it might be the perfect fit. When I think about what I would think about my life when I’m nearing my end, I don’t want to think, “man, I paid off that debt fast. I really bought a lot of good stuff, too.” I want to think, “I tried to understand. I didn’t go blindly through this life. I didn’t focus just on the money. I really wanted to live an examined life, and I did.” And I also want to feel like I excelled at something. And I think I would excel in academia, in this field. Yet, money is a thing. Lol. Any thoughts? Especially from people studying or working in philosophy? Assistant: Anthropology and/or Qualitative Research options may be a good fit? You are unlikely to make a lot of money, but you may find fulfilling and stable career options especially in academic circles who need a good qual. person.

Human: Would it be unethical to establish an "authorship ring" if everyone actually contributed intellectually? Suppose 3 friends who work in the same field (Avery, Billie, and Charlie) come to a mutual agreement: They agree to always include each other on papers related to their shared work. They discuss the projects, make suggestions regarding analysis and interpretation, and help each other write the discussion and introduction sections. Would this be considered unethical for any reason? It seems to me like a great way to boost publication count, strengthen networks, and the "many hands make light work" principle. Assistant:

Human: Would it be unethical to establish an "authorship ring" if everyone actually contributed intellectually? Suppose 3 friends who work in the same field (Avery, Billie, and Charlie) come to a mutual agreement: They agree to always include each other on papers related to their shared work. They discuss the projects, make suggestions regarding analysis and interpretation, and help each other write the discussion and introduction sections. Would this be considered unethical for any reason? It seems to me like a great way to boost publication count, strengthen networks, and the "many hands make light work" principle. Assistant: This reminds me of the husband-and-wife British screenwriter team, Peter Ling and Hazel Adair. Sometimes they worked together, but when writing solo, they would still credit the other so that the other's list of credits could be boosted. (The storyline for the *Doctor Who* story *Hexagora* is credited to both, but only Ling actually worked on it.)

Human: Would it be unethical to establish an "authorship ring" if everyone actually contributed intellectually? Suppose 3 friends who work in the same field (Avery, Billie, and Charlie) come to a mutual agreement: They agree to always include each other on papers related to their shared work. They discuss the projects, make suggestions regarding analysis and interpretation, and help each other write the discussion and introduction sections. Would this be considered unethical for any reason? It seems to me like a great way to boost publication count, strengthen networks, and the "many hands make light work" principle. Assistant: Do you know Nicolas Bourbaki?

Human: For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? I tried with Nvivo and it was very difficult in terms of contacting technical support and installing the software. I'm a beginner with "Atlasti", and have considered it for my qualitative analysis, specifically for thematic analysis. For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? Assistant:

Human: For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? I tried with Nvivo and it was very difficult in terms of contacting technical support and installing the software. I'm a beginner with "Atlasti", and have considered it for my qualitative analysis, specifically for thematic analysis. For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? Assistant: Frankly Google sheets was the best tool we used.

Human: For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? I tried with Nvivo and it was very difficult in terms of contacting technical support and installing the software. I'm a beginner with "Atlasti", and have considered it for my qualitative analysis, specifically for thematic analysis. For those who have done qualitative research with thematic analysis, is Atlasti a good tool for this purpose? Assistant: It’s less feature rich than Nvivo, and I find it a bit harder to use. The online version is quite good for coding, but it’s even more light weight. Frankly, none are that hard to use once you get used to them. Maybe watch some more videos about people using them to try and find your groove.

Human: What is the biggest turn-off in academia that aspiring PhD students may not know about? Assistant:

Human: What is the biggest turn-off in academia that aspiring PhD students may not know about? Assistant: That there are no jobs, that you will be competing with soul drained workaholics so deep in the Stockholm syndrome they take any attempt at reform as a personal attack. That funding is a joke and meritocracy is a myth, that crafting a grant and obfuscating the truth is often the best way to get money. That it is a world of celebrities with all the trappings of a bad reality show.

Human: What is the biggest turn-off in academia that aspiring PhD students may not know about? Assistant: That you spend all that time actually doing research so you can graduate and go into academia or industry and spend all your time doing paperwork.

Human: How should we handle canceled conferences on our CVs? Like many conferences upcoming, a conference of mine was canceled for May due to COVID-19 concerns. Can I still put it on my CV? On one hand, it was peer reviewed and accepted... but on the other hand it seems a little disingenuous to suggest the work was presented and the conference went ahead as planned. Is there a tasteful way to leave it on the CV, but reference that the work was accepted but not presented due to the conference being cancelled due to natural event (i.e. coronavirus). Obviously, this is not a new event, but as a junior scholar I am not sure how to handle it. Thanks! Assistant:

Human: How should we handle canceled conferences on our CVs? Like many conferences upcoming, a conference of mine was canceled for May due to COVID-19 concerns. Can I still put it on my CV? On one hand, it was peer reviewed and accepted... but on the other hand it seems a little disingenuous to suggest the work was presented and the conference went ahead as planned. Is there a tasteful way to leave it on the CV, but reference that the work was accepted but not presented due to the conference being cancelled due to natural event (i.e. coronavirus). Obviously, this is not a new event, but as a junior scholar I am not sure how to handle it. Thanks! Assistant: I guess for people like me in Computer Science, conference publications are actually archived official papers, so we just put it as a publication on our CV. I understand not all conferences are like that though. Sorry to hear tho, one of my conferences was cancelled and another one is in talks of being cancelled and i’m a little heartbroken about it.

Human: How should we handle canceled conferences on our CVs? Like many conferences upcoming, a conference of mine was canceled for May due to COVID-19 concerns. Can I still put it on my CV? On one hand, it was peer reviewed and accepted... but on the other hand it seems a little disingenuous to suggest the work was presented and the conference went ahead as planned. Is there a tasteful way to leave it on the CV, but reference that the work was accepted but not presented due to the conference being cancelled due to natural event (i.e. coronavirus). Obviously, this is not a new event, but as a junior scholar I am not sure how to handle it. Thanks! Assistant: I title the section on my CV as Published Abstracts and Professional Presentations. So for conferences that publish their abstracts (such as in a journal supplement), I format them like a publication. The abstract was accepted, published, and accessible, so I would not feel a need to edit that information. For other conferences, the suggestion of using accepted instead of presented is fine. You could also add something like *(conference cancelled)* at the end.

Human: What is better second author or second to last author? Suppose you worked a lot on a paper but cannot be first or last due to PI-ship reasons. Which position would you take second author or second to last author? Assistant:

Human: What is better second author or second to last author? Suppose you worked a lot on a paper but cannot be first or last due to PI-ship reasons. Which position would you take second author or second to last author? Assistant: In any case, write an author contributions statement into your paper :)

Human: What is better second author or second to last author? Suppose you worked a lot on a paper but cannot be first or last due to PI-ship reasons. Which position would you take second author or second to last author? Assistant: In my field, the order is based on contributions to the paper. So higher in the authorship means more contributions (as determined by the other authors or the first author specifically). I’d rather be second than second to last, but it would also be based one what I did and not just what I want. Also it’s rare in my field to have more than four authors anyway, although it still does happen.

Human: Presenting a paper at my first academic conference, nervous about what to expect. Advice? I have recently finished my MSc and will be presenting my dissertation as a paper for a panel discussion at a conference this weekend. It is a small conference so I am not expecting any "big name academics". First of all, if anyone has any advice on presenting papers in a panel that would be great. Secondly, if anyone has any academic networking tips that would also be great. I will be at the conference all weekend, I would ideally like to find some professors that are looking for research assistants...my anxiety makes it difficult for me to network! Assistant:

Human: Presenting a paper at my first academic conference, nervous about what to expect. Advice? I have recently finished my MSc and will be presenting my dissertation as a paper for a panel discussion at a conference this weekend. It is a small conference so I am not expecting any "big name academics". First of all, if anyone has any advice on presenting papers in a panel that would be great. Secondly, if anyone has any academic networking tips that would also be great. I will be at the conference all weekend, I would ideally like to find some professors that are looking for research assistants...my anxiety makes it difficult for me to network! Assistant: Expect no one to show up, expect people to grandstand in their questions and not really ask anything but instead summarize their own very tangentially-related thoughts, expect your panel-mates to run way over time, expect people to be on their phone and half-asleep. You might have better luck than the above, but a LOT of panels are like that. The best things you can do are to finish under the allotted time and not read straight from the paper in a monotone without looking up.

Human: Presenting a paper at my first academic conference, nervous about what to expect. Advice? I have recently finished my MSc and will be presenting my dissertation as a paper for a panel discussion at a conference this weekend. It is a small conference so I am not expecting any "big name academics". First of all, if anyone has any advice on presenting papers in a panel that would be great. Secondly, if anyone has any academic networking tips that would also be great. I will be at the conference all weekend, I would ideally like to find some professors that are looking for research assistants...my anxiety makes it difficult for me to network! Assistant: Congratz! Not sure how much time you have but make sure you're at least a minute short of the limit when you practice. Too many people spend 15 of their 18 minutes covering background everyone already knows and then are forced to rush through the empirical findings that everyone wants to see.

Human: When to announce TT job on social media? So, I'm in the amazing position of having accepted and signed a written offer for a TT faculty position. The question is, when is it appropriate to make a more public announcement, like on Twitter? I'd love to make this news known widely to my broader professional network. Since accepting my offer, my new department has already reached out to ask about my lab space requirements and accepting grad students, so it sure seems official. Although my position is supposed to be "approved by the Board of Trustees" which should just be a formality, but... Maybe I'm overthinking this. Opinions? Thanks in advance! Assistant:

Human: When to announce TT job on social media? So, I'm in the amazing position of having accepted and signed a written offer for a TT faculty position. The question is, when is it appropriate to make a more public announcement, like on Twitter? I'd love to make this news known widely to my broader professional network. Since accepting my offer, my new department has already reached out to ask about my lab space requirements and accepting grad students, so it sure seems official. Although my position is supposed to be "approved by the Board of Trustees" which should just be a formality, but... Maybe I'm overthinking this. Opinions? Thanks in advance! Assistant: I’d wait until the Board approves it. I’m sure it’s a formality, but you really have nothing to lose by waiting until then. Alternatively, you could announce it as “pending Board approval“.

Human: When to announce TT job on social media? So, I'm in the amazing position of having accepted and signed a written offer for a TT faculty position. The question is, when is it appropriate to make a more public announcement, like on Twitter? I'd love to make this news known widely to my broader professional network. Since accepting my offer, my new department has already reached out to ask about my lab space requirements and accepting grad students, so it sure seems official. Although my position is supposed to be "approved by the Board of Trustees" which should just be a formality, but... Maybe I'm overthinking this. Opinions? Thanks in advance! Assistant: Go for it, you already signed the contract :)