Graduate School Thread. What is your... >Year in school >Subject

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>anyone other than undergrads
>on /sci/

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>8781244
>45
>Neurology
>Activating the neurons.
>Activating OPs and anons neurons.
>Activating all of the neurons.

>>8781244
>senior
>mathematics
>studying for first summer algebra qual
>probability
>not being poor

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>>8781244
>One year left for a Master's
>Aerospace Engineering (Structures)
>doing a project on acoustic metamaterials using periodic resonators
>see above
>thinking of getting another master's in acoustics, also learning some serious programming. Want to get a fun, stable, well-paying job, but not sure if I'm willing to move from my hometown, or if I even want to stay in the aerospace field
I'm open to advice

>>8781244
>1st year PhD track
>Chemistry / Materials engineering
>Electrode and electrolyte design, synthesis, and characterization for solid state batteries and multivalent ion batteries
>theres a solid state electrolyte that i just finished making that i want to test
>work in industry for some battery company. hopefully make enough to have nice material possessions.

got a long way to go senpai
>

>Last semester of masters in materials
>Trying to get a job
>Degrees in chemical engineering/materials
>Majority work experience in biotech
>Bio companies like my experience, but not my degree
>Materials companies like my degree, but not my experience

Shit's frustrating. Now I'm trying to deal with midterms while working on applications. Company research and writing cover letters are so god damn involved.

>>8781287
Holy shit you too?

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>>8781244
>Year in school
graduated my 2 BS's last year; dropped out of a PhD in CS; starting a PhD in financial math in the fall
>Subject
Math -> Financial Math
>Projects you are working on
Reading through a Complex Analysis book since I have zero background in the subject.
>Work you are currently excited about
Just tutoring some college kids.
>Hopes for the future after graduate school
Not being chronically depressed anymore and also maybe a well-paying job in New York or smth idk

>>8781384
Are you funding your Master's studies?
Asking so I can feel like less of a failure for my Master's studies not being funded.

>>8781384
you using Floquet-Bloch theory?

>>8783468
Yeah, paying out of pocket. Hopefully I'll get a job that'll give tuition assistance by the time I decide to go back for another degree

>>8783478
Yessir, my dude
>tfw all these french names I don't know how to pronounce

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>>8781244
>>Year in school
penultimate year of phd program

>>Subject
physics

>>Projects you are working on
experimental shit that have still not yielded me any publishable worthy results

>>Work you are currently excited about
nothing

>>Hopes for the future after graduate school
nothing i just want to die in my sleep everyday. occasionally thought of just jumping from my floor but too much of a pussy to do that

>>8781244
>first
>computer science
>nothing
>machine learning
>be a research scientist someday

>>8783516
>Yeah, paying out of pocket.
Thank you, anon. I'm gonna have to fund my two years of Master's studies until I can get PhD-level funding and I was starting to feel really inadequate. Appreciate your post.

>phd students pretending they know how many years they have left

>>8783565
>Average STEM PhD is between 5 and 6 years
>Have no idea how many years they have left
Sorry, lad. Not everyone plans in being in school for 10 years publishing a paper on what Shakespear meant by "fuck my arse backwards, love."

>>8783574
I have news for you. Most people who take an extra year didn't plan on it.

>>8781244
>22
>Geography
>Refugee
>Crime rates & population background
>Redpill EU

Is Geography counted as science?

>>8783582
And I have news for you. There are unforeseen obstacles to everything in life, even an undergrad degree. Just because the worst case scenario imposes delays doesn't mean one can't reasonably estimate how many years they have left, especially with the wealth of data on average graduation times.

>>8783613
What do those statistics really look like though? From my personal experience it's a lot more common for a persons phd to be delayed than their bachelors. I'd say about half the people I knew took a year longer than what was considered "ideal" for their phd program.

And yes they could estimate the length of time they had left and it was pretty accurate if you accept a possible error of approx 1 year.

>>8783636
So you concede that these students probably do know how many years they have left? Thanks.

Would appreciate any advice that can be given on these Ph.D. programs

University of Florida - Genetics and Genomics
Indiana University - Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology
UMass Amherst - Molecular and Cellular Biology
Iowa State - Genetics and Genomics

I just got back from a couple of departmental visits to grad schools I was accepted to in physics

Is it normal to feel completely retarded after these and feel as though they must have made some mistake by accepting you?

>>8781244
>Fourth
>Computer Engineering, workin on masters related to medical technology.
>A meshnet where the routing is used for computation.
>see above, pretty fun
>Having a job that pays the rent and my favourtie food where I at least can eat a meal on a local restaurant during weekend.

Finishing year 1
Computer Science PhD
Markov Networks and Logic
All of my projects seem very interesting but I am focused on coursework at the moment, until Summer.
Hopefully get a research position at a big company doing ML/ symbolic ML related work

>>8781384
>0.5 (graduate courses while finishing senior year undergrad)
>aerospace engineering (controls + structures)
>fully funded masters + stipend + healthcare
ya I lucked out

>>8781244
>1 year master's
>Applied Math
>just my thesis
>nothing
>have money why did I go to grad school again

>>8785831
Nice senpai desu

>>8785923
What kind of applied math, senpai?

>>8785787
I felt the same way when I got flown out to UChicago. I would say try not to dwell on it too much. There are probably at least a few other students that feel the same way you do and it shouldn't hold you back from participating in a great program and doing what you love.

>>8783565
>non phd student thinking he's not a brainlet.

You are inferior to us. Never forget that.

>>8785787
if you don't suffer from temporary impostor syndrome in graduate school you're either extremely narcissistic or such a math god that you're just better than everybody in the entire country

you get over the feeling fast once you start working, especially if you're working with the people around you

>>8786649
If you inferred that I'm not a phd student you are correct, since I earned my phd a couple years ago. Making me your superior.

>>8783702
that's not what I said at all.

>>8786664
Extreme narcissist here, can partially confirm

>In the second half of my second year
>Chemistry, specifically computational chemistry/theoretical chemistry
>No real project yet... mostly I'm learning some random quantum theories and how to code better in the hopes I"ll figure out what the fuck to work on
>Not really excited about anything atm, since I haven't really started my research... just doing random computational chores for prof so far
>Hopes for the future? I doubt I have any in academia or being an actual researcher. But hopefully the data, numerical, and coding skills I will learn can help me get a job in another field

>>8786668
!!!!!!

You may have bested me this time...

>>8783565
this

>>8786668
Dr. Anon is Dr. Anon.

>2nd year M.S.
>paleontology
>trilobite ontogeny project (thesis), specimen imaging side project
>notsure.jfif
>off to better uni for Ph.D. in fall

12
Secondary college for electronics
School security system as final project (group of 3 people including me)
Get fucking rich with buildung and selling a comoany

>>8781244
Ayy whaddup plebs. Medboy here.

>2nd Year
>Archaeology
>Studying a group of shells, mapping the patterns
>Lots of field work in the future
>Hope to gain a PhD in Ancient Greek and Roman Archaeology

>having second thoughts about grad school
>deadline to accept an offer is in 2 weeks
>starting to think more and more I applied for the wrong reasons

Doushio...

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>PI said I was never gonna graduate
what happens when you stand up to their bullshit? do you get fired?

>>8791245
You can always drop out later if you decide you don't want to go through with it

>>8792861
Yes. Just graduate, and let that be a "fuck you" to your PI in itself

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>>8781244
>2nd year PhD Candidate
>High Energy Experimental Physics
>Charged Lepton Flavor Violation
>Position at Fermilab

>>8792872
That's true but there's also the opportunity cost that needs to be considered, I've been out of school for 2 years and working and while I've come to realize that I don't want to waste away in some meaningless, soul-sucking corporate job, it beats having to go back and live with your parents.

>>8793697
>not working full-time while going to grad school
Git gud

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>>8781244
>Year in school
2nd year masters
>Subject
Condensed matter theory
>Projects you are working on
High Tc topological superconduction in uranium cuprates.
>Work you are currently excited about
Employing category theory to describe and classify strong-correlated quantum phenomena.
>Hopes for the future after graduate school
Either stay in academia or get into superconductor/quantum computing research in the private sector.

>>8781244
>Year in school
first year
>Subject
Mechanical Engineering
>Projects you are working on
none
>Work you are currently excited about
none
>Hopes for the future after graduate school
none

I'm having doubts about engineering, wish I'd studied microbiology instead, that shit is so interesting.

>>8793738
>first year
Just switch, fag. It only gets more boring from here

t. ME

>Freshman
>Bio and Mathmatics, but Bio is boring as fuck so I'm going for Honors Chem next year
>High school so no projects
>Not work, but the eoc and sat
>Not in graduate school, but once I do get out I hope to make a decent amount of money in STEM.

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>>8793998

>>8793812
But then I'd have wasted 4 years getting my Bachelor's.

>>8794380
>sunk cost fallacy
Sasuga /sci/!

I got rejected to all my choices /sci/
Why?

I got 3.45 gpa
2 years undergrad research
A publication submission
Good letters
156 156 on GRE

>>8795042
>I got 3.45 gpa

Isn't that a little low? The research experience sounds solid though, maybe you're aiming too high.

>>8795042
Your GPA is very low. The top schools won't look at anyone below 3.7. Also your GREs are extremely mediocre.

Check out this site to destroy self-esteem.

http://debarghyadas.com/writes/the-grad-school-statistics-we-never-had/

Dr. Anon here. Nuclear engineering, ask me anything.

>>8783254
> Financial """"math""""

>>8795042
from what, phd programs?

your GPA and GRE scores are too low. you're competitive as a masters student, but certainly not as a phd student.

>>8795104
that data is pointless because there's no racial break up.

>>8795111
What sort of jobs is nuclear engineering necessary for, and do you think those opportunities will increase or decrease in the future? Do you think you'll have to move/travel to find work?

>>8795104
>The top schools won't look at anyone below 3.7
What is it with this board and "top schools" and "elite pedigree" shit

people act like universities outside of the Ivy league don't even exist

>>8795128
You're a retard. There's none of that affirmative action bullshit in grad school because grad students are employees, whereas undergrads are just customers. When the school's paying the student to do research, they pick the most qualified candidate regardless of race. Furthermore, at the graduate level admission decisions are made by professors instead of admissions officers. That's why undergrad classes are diverse while graduate classes are mostly Chinese and Indians.

But facts don't matter to you, do they?
>>>/pol/

>>8795133

>What sort of jobs is nuclear engineering necessary for

An undergraduate or masters degree in nuclear engineering is almost totally worthless, but a PhD is surprisingly employable. This is mostly because the national labs employ a comparatively huge number of nuclear engineering PhDs.

>do you think those opportunities will increase or decrease in the future?

Nuclear engineering is absolutely going to die. I only hope it lasts long enough for me to retire first.

> Do you think you'll have to move/travel to find work?

I do have a job, and yes, I did have to move. It's pretty common for anyone with a phd to move, though. Rarely does anyone go to graduate school near where they grew up, anyway, so moving is just part of the game. I only recently started my first real job, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the (barely) six-figure salary that goes with it. It almost makes me feel like the phd was worth it. Plus, I've got these awesome robes.

>>8795128
how would that help, can you change race?

>>8795187
>Nuclear engineering is absolutely going to die. I only hope it lasts long enough for me to retire first.

That's sad to hear. Good luck, anon.

>>8795176
[citation needed] for those """facts""" of yours.

also, you outed yourself as a retarded undergrad. come back once you see what a grant proposal looks like and then tell me lab "diversity" doesn't matter with a straight face, faggot.

>>8795192
because then you can actually see if you are competitive or not. you think blacks need near perfect GRE scores and 4.0 GPA to get into ivy grad programs?

>>8795176
Why do people post about things they clearly know nothing about? This isn't reddit. You're not going to get any upvotes for your uninformed, but politically correct opinion.

>>8795281
Right, I remember that part of the grant proposal where I fill in the number of blacks in the lab. I'm halfway through a PhD in a group that's half white, half asian, all male. We aren't running low on funding for not being "diverse".

>>8795284
I've sat in on admissions committees for my department. I think I know more than you pal.

>>8795297
>Right, I remember that part of the grant proposal where I fill in the number of blacks in the lab.
Then you clearly haven't seen any proposals for government grants. Don't let that keep you from posting bullshit, though.

>>8795297
and i'm in a lab where a mexican student was taken with a 3.0 GPA and no GRE scores. since joining the lab he has been used as a poster child for lab diversity outreach/recruitment in proposals and helped put a stop to a 4 year funding drought for my adviser.

but do tell me how he was the best possible candidate when in reality he wasn't even competitive for admission into coursework only masters.

>>8781244
Junior undergrad here, looking for virology PhD programs to apply to. I saw some programs say the bio GRE subject test is "recommended". Is this a polite way of saying "required" or can I do without it?

If you have any other tips for applications tat'd be appreciated.

>Fourth-year in PhD
>Biophysics and structural biology
>NMR methodology to study protein structure/dynamics
>Trying to put out a manuscript but waiting on collaborators write-up so more nervous than excited
>Group leader/staff scientist/director in biotech industry

>>8795104
>Your GPA is very low. The top schools won't look at anyone below 3.7. Also your GREs are extremely mediocre.
I can't say that I've seen this, from helping with recruitment and speaking to PIs on admissions committees. GPA and/or GRE are typically used to screen applicants but, once applicants are past the screen, they are a non-issue. From what I've seen, the biggest factors in grad school admissions are publications (if any), research experience, letters of recommendation, and statement of purpose (in that order), followed by personal statement, then GPA/GRE.

>>8795140
>What is it with this board and "top schools" and "elite pedigree" shit

>people act like universities outside of the Ivy league don't even exist

Agreed, in research the Ivy League is really not all that big of a deal. Harvard is great for pretty much everything; and Columbia, Yale, Cornell, Penn, Princeton have their strengths and weaknesses. But, there are plenty of schools that have great programs and labs and students. Besides the obvious, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, and Berkeley, there's Michigan, UW-Madison, UT-Austin, UWashington, Duke, Vanderbilt, UChicago, Scripps, UCSF, UT-Southwestern, UIUC, etc. I'm sure I'm leaving some off the list, but you could easily justify going to any one of these schools over an Ivy League school.

>>8795042
Does this resemble your choices, Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Caltech.

I have a 3.5 GPA, summer's worth of experience in wound healing modeling, and a fourth year thesis on drug delivery microchips/immune response to said microchips. I'm scared my 3.5 GPA is going to hold me back from entering an MSc in biochem/biomed. Do you guys think so? My GPA was sunk by a handful of design courses that require a group.

I've seen anons saying they are applying to a PhD straight out of university, is this common? Here in Canada this very, very rarely happens in STEM fields.

>>8796384
I should also mention I am in two conference publications and a tentative journal publication.

I have a question: which path is less autistic for someone aiming to establish a quant/AI hedge fund?
>Oxford for undergrad; get a BA/MMath Mathematics and Statistics
>MIT/Princeton Masters in Finance
>MIT PhD in Artificial Intelligence
or
>MIT for undergrad; get a BA in Math, BA in Finance
>Oxford Masters in Mathematical Finance
>MIT PhD in Artificial Intelligence

University is worst meme ever.
It should always be a last ditch effort.

I'm just here to brag that I got into MIT for next year tbqh

>>8796529
For grad school?

>>8796533
yeah, Mech E masters

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I'm a Law student

>>8795090
>>8795104
Not in Europe. American have grade inflation so you fools think anything not above 4.0 is bad

>>8795128
There literally is not a single black grad student in my department, and we're one of the larger group 1s.

>Year in school
1st year

>Subject
Computer Science

>Projects you are working on
Epistemic Logic and Multi-agent systems

>Work you are currently excited about
I'm studying logical omniscience problem

>Hopes for the future after graduate school
Be a productive researcher

>>8795187
Another Dr. Anon here, Biomedical Engineering. Confirming the sentiments expressed in Dr. Anon's last response. Minus the robes. Those were expensive so skip the graduation.

>>8795305
What? For like R01's? No, you don't have to provide that information. For training grants? No, you don't have to provide that info.

>>8784799
No clue about any of those but you should look into Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

>>8793738
I'm studying microbiology and we've all got hard ons for microfluidic technology. You could consider putting your engineering stuff to work in a micro lab

Every fucking day I go to indeed.com and search jobs within 50 miles of me (St Louis MO) and you know what I see? People willing to pay over 50k a year for stupid shit like analyze this or 'come to manual labor'

while im here learning stupid book shit that can be googled/youtube 'engineering' FFS there is no end to the go to school -> get shit on by jews cycle