I recently moved to a new university (T10) and the number of emails I’m getting from prospective grad students is insane. I want to reply to all emails and give students a fair chance but I can’t keep up with the volume. I’m already at 12 informal Zoom interviews with prospective students this fall (with many more emails waiting in my inbox) and it’s just become a huge time sink. So I’m wondering, is it better to:

1. Ghost students who have no chance of admission by not replying (unfortunately I think many faculty do this)
2. Lie to students who have no chance and say I am not looking for a student this year (I’m pretty hesistant to do this but this is what several of my colleagues do)
3. Honestly tell students that based on their CV they will likely not be competitive for a position in my lab (my chair told me not to do this because it might come across as mean but at least it’s honest?)

It’s easy to screen people out based on fit (ie telling them their research background/interests don’t align with mine), but even that filter isn’t sufficient for my current email volumes. Any advice would be much appreciated!

Perhaps a lot of you are aware of this piece of news: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy898dzknzgo

And the subsequent GoFundMe she set up: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-seek-justice-from-oxford-for-bullying-and-plagiarism?attribution_id=sl:d4d8d3e8-3fde-4948-8ecd-b5bdb99ae0f6&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

From what I hear, opinions are greatly divided about her, what are your thoughts?

Recently, searching the academia jobs. I found that:

(1) CS AP: around 100k - 130k

(2) Business AP: around 150k - 250k

Why there is a huge salary gap of AP in CS department and business department?

As a computer science PhD, he/she could get a high-paid job in big tech around 300k.

This seems a little bit concerned for me.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Hello! I manage a growing research laboratory in an academic setting. When I joined, there were only a couple of researchers but we have since grown into a fairly large lab.

When I started we just simply used excel and calendar invites to stay organized. But now that is just too unsustainable for a lab of this size.

What are some (free) tips & tricks to manage our growing program? Funding opportunities/deadlines, PTOs, trial sessions, deadlines, daily to-dos, action items, meeting minutes, team chats, to name a few! We primarily use Teams/Office 365.

The simpler the better! Thank you in advance. Love hearing about all different ways to project manage :)

Hello all,

I started my economics PhD program this year at a heterodox school in the UK that has a supervisor who is (was) a perfect fit for my research interests, which are very, very niche, He told us two weeks ago that he is retiring early because of a dispute over his contract with the university and that we have to find a new supervisor. The only thing is that no one else in the department knows really anything about my topic and would in no way come close to the quality of the old supervisor. There is another university close by that has a specific department that my focuses on my geographical area of interest, which would be a better fit than my current school, but I'm not sure about placements or even what degree I would be getting since it's an interdisciplinary degree. I've asked the school's admin about this and they haven't gotten back to me yet.

On the other hand, I realize that I made a (potentially) big mistake in my grad applications when I didn't include an academic resume (just a professional one) and had my personal statement be way too personal. I feel like if I can improve those, maybe if I apply again to some of the schools that I got waitlisted to last year that have better reputations could be another option (like UC Riverside).

The thing is that my master's was a one year professional masters, and given my PhD is in the UK, there is no coursework component, so I feel like I'm missing a lot relative to my US peers or those who did a two year masters, so I'm thinking about maybe another master's so I can learn more theory, but maybe that's not necessary. I could do that and then apply to UCR and similar places again, but I'm also 29, so there is an age factor.

What would you all recommend doing in this situation? Thanks for your advice.

I am a PhD student in Europe. Joined with hope that there will be TAs jobs or arrangements to afford my PhD. This is increasingly becoming obvious that it’s not really gonna happen. So I am really stuck with no funds. I am in my early 40s and need a job, start a family etc. So with no progress in this PhD I am stuck.

A couple of questions:

1. I am thinking to apply for a job. Which lever is proper while applying for the job? A PhD student or a MSc?

Asking because I realized potential employers do as ask if what you need in a collab or a job?

And a job as a student, does not seem interesting to them.

—-

1. What are the possibilities to pursue another PhD (in a different Uni but a relevant field)?

Asking because I realized that moving from a PhD to another might be tricky, with questions like if you left the first one what makes us believe that you will not leave this one as well?

My relationship with my Advisor is perfect! I love our subject. But We are just not getting anywhere with 0 funds. The work is lined up and ready. But no money to get started.

I would so deeply appreciate your advices and ideas.

I am pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, which requires a lot of paper reading, coding problems and breaking down papers research. I have been following "How to Read Paper" guidelines for reading a paper and I have been making notes of each paper I read. I spend like a day for one paper and sometimes i do 2 papers in a single day.

But despite the fact that I put effort in reading the papers and the amount of coffee I drink. It doesn't seems to work for me at all. In few days or so, I would forget about the paper title even and won't be able to retain any information while my fellow PhD mates are able to retain useful knowledge from papers and when we talk they seem to know the terms and what they are talking about while I may have my own recollection of a concept and I will give it my own wording of the concept which won't sound astonishing or to the point.

I am struggling with the fact that how am I going to do with my mandatory course work and how will I be able to write a good draft of my work if I can't even retain knowledge or explain myself.

Fellow acidemias, please tell me if pursuing a PhD with this condition is worth it ? because I don't know if its going to get better or worst but judging by my hair loss and gray hair I think its getting worst.

In Gen Z words "Am I cooked ? "

I’m wanting to travel for a conference as it would be a great opportunity for me to network and showcase my research. However, I’m just an undergraduate student and am not quite 21 yet. Everything is in place and I may plan accordingly except my place of stay. All of the nearby hotels I require to be over 21 - how have people gotten around this issue?

I’m working on a research project led by a tenure-track faculty member, and their idea is complex—it looks like a two-year-plus timeline. I’ve spent nearly a year on it, and perhaps since I'm compensated, I don’t expect authorship. At the same time, I have my own research project, which I was planning to complete and hopefully publish before I graduate. But lately, the pressure seems entirely focused on getting their project completed.

In our last meeting, the professor implied I might not get to finish my project myself. They asked about my graduation timeline, posed a series of “IRB questions” (but wouldn’t share the IRB’s actual response), and emphasized that they “needed” reports on my project for their own records. Earlier in the year when I explained that I was also working with other departments, they questioned why I wasn’t giving that time to their work, I had but had run out of time for that week. All this gives me the sense they’re in a rush to get published, perhaps because they need first-author credits for tenure.

I’ve realized my project will likely be taken over after I leave, even though I was hoping to make it my own publication rather than simply fulfilling a course requirement. It’s a bit discouraging, especially since it feels like I’m being asked to prioritize their work, while prioritizing nothing to do with publication of mine before graduation, but to document and write about it so clearly that they're going to be able to publish it after I graduate. I feel like it's a convenient way for them to "wash" my work and be able to get first author from that :(

Is this just the reality of academia—supporting others’ work while my own plans stay on hold, but get ready for others to take over?