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1500 questions
47
votes
9 answers

Career prospects in theoretical physics after nightmare PhD

I will try to keep this as short and concise as possible. I am a 3rd year PhD student in theoretical physics (condensed matter theory) in a US university. I worked for a certain professor for a year and things seemed to be going well, until he…
ss1508
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7 answers

Is it ethical to "arm-twist" a faculty-member into passing more students or improving the class average?

I recently got "arm-twisted" [2] (by the department chair and the dean of faculty) into passing the whole (undergrad Math) class who appeared for the final (minus that one student who we all knew was not going to make it anyway) by the most lenient…
Ella
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47
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6 answers

How to get through the rigorous phase of PhD?

I am currently a PhD student working out research and also doing mathematics for my PhD research. Most of the time these days I spend on studying -- maybe 15 to 16 hours per day. I believe that I joined the PhD as an active student, but now I am not…
alha hu
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46
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4 answers

To enroll in to a PhD Program at the age of 65

As a retired school teacher, and to become a professor at a university. Is it okay to get into a PhD program at the age of 65 and complete it to become a professor? Or is it too late and I can’t get employed at a university?
Neil
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46
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8 answers

How do I filter out bad students from tutoring?

I'm a grad student and I do some tutoring on the side for money. It's a sweet gig and I do like helping people learn. However I have had plenty bad experiences tutoring. Usually the really bad things (people wanting me to cheat, not paying, etc.)…
user82358
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46
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10 answers

Can I get an office in a university as an independent scholar?

I have a math-related PhD but currently work as a software developer. One day, when I retire from software development, is it possible to "join" a local university's math/cs department as an independent scholar? All I need is a PhD student desk and…
Shuheng Zheng
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46
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6 answers

Why are there no computer-friendly versions of papers?

I believe that many people read articles from their computers. So, tiny fonts and many columns have no advantage. Why don’t journals make alternative computer-friendly versions of the articles? For example, with a gray background, single column,…
ThePortakal
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6 answers

Submitting to a journal as an undergrad but lying about academic status on bio

As an undergraduate I submitted a paper of mine to a reputable journal. Fearing that I would be desk-rejected for simply being an undergraduate, I stated in my submission bio that I was a PhD candidate. It turns out the paper is going to be…
Tom
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46
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3 answers

How often do professors regret accepting particular graduate students (i.e., "bad hires")?

How often PIs have to deal with "bad hires" in their lab/group? I sometimes hear the PI/trainee relationship be compared to marriages, where half ends in a divorce. There are also posts like these that reinforce this. Is there actual truth to this?…
Cornyvita
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7 answers

Tips for work-life balance when doing postdoc with two very young children and a one hour commute

I have a postdoc position in my dream lab with PI, who leads the field and has very cool projects for me. The thing is, I have two small kids (youngest is 3 weeks old) and I live one hour away from my prospective place of work. I have a great nanny…
neuron_chick
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46
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6 answers

Stack Overflow reputation in CV

Should I mention my Stack Overflow (and other Stack Exchange sites) reputation in my CV while applying for a post-graduate position?
Vikram
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46
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6 answers

Dress code in Japanese academia

I've been invited to a workshop in Japan, and I haven't been to an academic event there before. In my field in the UK, it would be normal to attend an event in "smart casual" wear, eg a polo top or open necked shirt. Should I expect this convention…
Flyto
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46
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5 answers

Contractions ("can't", "don't") in a mathematical paper

I am refereeing a paper (a good one) for a mathematical journal. The author repeatedly writes like this: "we can't do", "we don't know" etc. He is not a native English speaker, and this paper is his first paper in English. Question. I am going to…
reviewer
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15 answers

Professor gave me a higher grade than I deserved. What should I do?

During one of my undergraduate semesters I was pretty depressed (for various personal reasons) and was struggling with completing my coursework. One class in particular didn't have a final exam, there was a just a final essay to turn in worth 25% of…
Konduit
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46
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8 answers

Why don't academics bypass restrictions on the distribution of their papers the same way as an institutional open access policy seems to do?

I've learned that academics can ensure that their papers can be freely distributed, even when those papers are published at places that require transferring copyright, simply by granting a nonexclusive license to distribute the paper before signing…
O. R. Mapper
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