Category: grad school

Graduated AF: Modern Conveniences

I’ve been bouncing this blog post idea around for a bit. It definitely is not for everyone and I want to address that right off. Graduate student stipends are so varied even within a single university. Not everyone can afford to live on a grad student stipend alone. Not everyone can afford to spend money on some of the items I’m suggesting in this post. Loads of graduate students are still paying off loans from undergrad, or even accruing more as they study. I can’t address everyone’s financial status in one post. But I am privileged enough to be able to scrape together enough to afford some of the following every so often and have found that they can be a great help in regard to time and stress. And what graduate student wouldn’t want more time and less stress?

Several of the links in this post include referral links from the author. 

Continue reading “Graduated AF: Modern Conveniences” →

An Earnest Desire to Save the World

“TEACHER seeks pupil.
Must have an earnest desire to save the world.
Apply in person.” –Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

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As I continue to creep (crawl? stumble blindly? drag myself?) toward the completion of my PhD I have begun seriously contemplating what exactly I want to do when I grow up.  Progress has been slow and circuitous, much like this essay.  But I feel calmer than I did when I first realized “Be an ecologist!” had stopped being enough of an answer.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  

Regardless, I’ve been trying to take steps toward actually figuring this thing out for myself.  A bit of soul searching, a la Chelsea’s advice about a happiness brainstorm, really helped.  I’m happiest when I can travel but have a solid home base to return to, so I’m no longer prioritizing an academic career and the period of post-doctoral transience that usually comes along with it.  I’m happiest when I’m collaborating with lots of different folks who I can teach and learn from all the time.  I’m happiest when I can do public speaking and science communication, and I’d love to find a position where this is encouraged, valued, and incentivised.  I’m happiest when what I am working on makes a tangible difference.    Continue reading “An Earnest Desire to Save the World” →

Graduated AF: Summer Edition

I really don’t need to tell y’all how easy it is to sink down into the murky swamp of grad school. How many times have you sighed and resigned yourself with that well worn “Well, I’ll get to [enter cool/useful shit here] after [enter giant pile of stress and obligations]”? If I had a puppy for every statement I made over the past two years that ended in “…after quals are done.” then I’d give up blogging/grad school and be a full time puppy snuggler (I’m really good at hypotheticals). I acknowledge that Summertime as an academic can entail a wide variety of busyness levels, but for many of us it’s time to catch up and take control of our lives and routines. If nothing else, there are less meetings to be had, which makes a huge difference.

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Stick with us, we’ll be  your guides!

Rachel and I have compiled a (non-exhaustive) list of #AcademicSummer To-Do items that will help you make the most of your life while rocking out your field season, internship, research, etc. Continue reading “Graduated AF: Summer Edition” →