Hello Phd

Turning over the last page of the calendar seems to naturally invite some reflection on the previous 365 days. When you look back at 2021, what went well? And what do you wish you could change in the coming year? This week, we take the opportunity to reflect back much farther – to our days […] The post 086. Five Resolutions for Happier, Healthier Scientists (R) appeared first on Hello PhD.

This week, we dive head-first into the mailbag to answer listener questions about grad school readiness, teaching experience, and more! Just Finished! Our first missive comes from Kaylee, who recently graduated! I just wanted to send an email to thank you for all of the hard work you have put into creating Hello PhD over […] The post 167. Mailbag – Am I Ready For Grad School? appeared first on Hello PhD.

It’s inevitable.  At some point in your research career, you’re going to get that sinking feeling. Your experiments will all fail, your PI will get on your case about finishing that paper, and your graduation date will drift maddeningly out of reach. So what can you do when your research starts to drag you down? […] The post 075. When Research Sucks (R) appeared first on Hello PhD.

The CACTUS Global Mental Health Survey asked valuable questions about stress, performance, and career goals for scientists. The data revealed plenty of room for improvement, as researchers struggle with harassment, work-life balance, and limited pay. But the study’s authors also asked more open-ended questions: Do you have any suggestions for organizations within academia or other […] The post 166. Want to Improve Research Careers? Scientists Have 5,434 Suggestions. appeared first on Hello PhD.

Most academics are overwhelmed, even the ones who are successful in terms of being productive researchers, busy teachers and efficient administrators. But, they seem like the norm and everyone who struggles is not, and this needs to be disrupted and changed. Research fellow/post-doctoral researcher, Africa. I’m worried about sexism in academia in general and this […] The post 165: A Survey Asked Researchers About Their Mental Health. Here’s What They Said. appeared first on Hello PhD.

Do you hear it? It’s the sound of hopeful scientists frantically typing out their grad school applications! They’re pondering the best format for a CV, scouring University websites to learn more about each graduate program, and begging their research advisors to PLEASE make the time to write that letter of recommendation! The silence you hear […] The post 164. The Essential Guide to Grad School Applications appeared first on Hello PhD.

The only thing harder than hiking for three hours into a remote boreal forest is realizing you forgot your sample kit back in the lab. For many researchers, running out of a reagent means walking down the hall to borrow more from a neighboring lab, but field researchers don’t have that luxury. They may be […] The post 163. The 3 T’s of Successful Field Research appeared first on Hello PhD.

When we think of scientists, we often think of the lone researcher plodding away at the bench late into the night.  We imagine Alexander Fleming scrutinizing his penicillium molds or Einstein pondering the latest equation he’s written on the chalk board. We go a step further when training new scientists: we ask them to complete an […] The post 056. Team Up for Speedier Science (R) appeared first on Hello PhD.

It’s 8PM on a Wednesday night, and you’re sitting in a quiet lab all alone. It’s your turn to present during lab meeting on Friday, and that familiar sense of panic starts to set in. What HAVE you been doing with your time? You flip back through the lab notebook and remember how you spent […] The post 162. Get More Done with LabScrum w/ Dr. Lisa May appeared first on Hello PhD.

All those feelings of excitement and possibility screech to a halt when you walk back into the lab to see your PI glaring over her reading glasses. She looks at her watch. “Hey, good to see you. So glad you could join us,” she drips with sarcasm. After missing a beat, you rally. “Yeah, sorry […] The post 161. Career Development is NOT a Waste of Time. We Have Proof. appeared first on Hello PhD.

You know it. You love it. It’s mailbag time! We answer real listener questions, plus a few questions no one is asking! Make it Meaningful The first question comes from Lexi, who is trying to choose between a PhD program that is ‘pure fun’, and one that will have broader impacts: I will be applying […] The post 160. Mailbag – Finding A Postdoc Overseas, Lab Equipment at Home, et al! appeared first on Hello PhD.

Imagine a tennis ball dropped on cement – it immediately bounces back to your hand. Now imagine dropping that same ball on a sandy beach. The bounce of a tennis ball on pavement is a form of resilience, but it’s important to note that resilience is not just an inherent property of the ball. Context […] The post 159. Cultivating Resilience w/ Adina Glickman appeared first on Hello PhD.

In 2011, a whopping 36,000 science and technology grad students earned their PhDs.  That same year, about 3,000 faculty positions were created.  So why did you feel like a failure when you decided to step off the tenure track? Taking the high road Scientists aren’t always as rational as we seem.  A rational person would […] The post 027. The Road More Traveled: Stepping Off of the Tenure Track (R) appeared first on Hello PhD.

It’s Friday morning, and you promised your PI a draft of your paper before the weekend. The trouble is, you lost a lot of time this week to distractions. Monday you had lab meeting and a few other planning sessions. Tuesday you worked from home but got sucked into cleaning the kitchen and folding laundry […] The post 158. Five Strategies for Defeating Distractions appeared first on Hello PhD.

Most graduate students look on their research advisors as a mentor – hoping for guidance on science, career, and life in general. But even a superstar PI can’t provide that kind of comprehensive mentorship for all students all the time, and those stellar advisors are rare indeed. That’s why EVERY student needs to think about […] The post 157. The Three Mentors You Need appeared first on Hello PhD.

It starts innocently enough with an email. This mail is with reference of your article published in the Journal of Cell Science, which is of good quality and making a good impact in the research field. In which you provided this email address to contact you. We would be glad if you submit your manuscript […] The post 156. How to Identify and Avoid Predatory Journals appeared first on Hello PhD.

At some point in your graduate training, you’ll want to host an event. For many students, that will mean inviting a speaker for a special seminar. For others, it might be an outreach event or a departmental retreat. But no matter the purpose, you’ll probably feel a little lost as you try to nail down […] The post 155. How to Plan A Seminar or Scientific Event appeared first on Hello PhD.

A PhD Plan sounds like an oxymoron, but charting a path to graduation is one of the most important things you can do as a graduate student. This week, we talk with Hugh Kearns of Thinkwell about why PhD planning is so challenging for students, and learn about some tools that can keep your research […] The post 154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns appeared first on Hello PhD.

If you went to graduate school before the turn of the millennium, you probable expected to (eventually) land in a tenure-track position at a University. You may have known a few peers who got teaching gigs, or *gasp* went into ‘industry positions’, but the expectation was to follow in your mentor’s footsteps. Today, lots of […] The post 153. Where Do PhDs Work? The Answer Shouldn’t Surprise You. appeared first on Hello PhD.

It’s time to open the mailbag once again to answer YOUR questions. First, we read a couple of emails from listeners who have put Hello PhD advice to work in their training, and they’re already starting to see the benefits. Nadia writes: Thank you so much for your podcast. I discovered Hello PhD at the […] The post 152. How Do I Explain the Bad Grades On My Transcript? appeared first on Hello PhD.