Recent content by cosmogirl

i like Serena: Certainly, working alone is difficult. Of course, I share my work with my adviser, but perhaps not enough. Usually I like to talk to him when I have some kind of a clear picture in my mind, or, better yet, some results. When everything is messy I try to avoid him :) probably not...

Thanks everybody for your helpful comments! mal4mac, I'm not in the UK, but I think everywhere things are very different now from what you describe. People who finish their PhD and want to find a programming job spend a few months looking for one and going through a grueling interviewing...

Thanks for your reply, mal4mac! The problem is, I have to finish this PhD anyway. Also, I enjoy doing research, I just don't enjoy the part where you're stuck on something for several months with no real progress in sight... And when I look around I see other PhDs are doing some useful and...

Hello everybody! I'm now in the second half of my PhD program, with 2 more years to go, and nothing to show for it. Sure, I've written two papers (which got zero citations), but the only good thing I can say about these papers, is that they are not the worst papers ever written...

It seems that the numbers I wrote were rather provoking. :bugeye: I have to admit the number 9 was incorrect, the correct upper limit is 8. Sorry for the mistake. Here's a (non)-repersentative sample of our recent graduates (not all papers as first author): The person who I thought had...

Thanks for the reply, vtakhist, but it doesn't solve the problem. In the UK there's typically no masters, except for some 1-year taught courses. Some UK students start PhD right after their bachelors, and then they only have 3 years for the whole business. Anyway, back to the original...

I have a marginally related question: in the UK, the PhD typically takes 3 years, whereas in continental Europe and most other places it takes 4 years, and in the US 6 years (the latter students take more courses, but still spend a lot more time in academia). Presumably, the UK students will...

As a general rule, joining the army just for the money doesn't sound like a good idea at all. It is a very heavy commitment, and even if you think you are ready to make it now, you don't know what will happen in a few years, and what plans and wishes you're going to have. And then it will be too...

I have a BSc in EE, but never worked in it, so take my advice with caution. :) I actually did a double EE-physics major, and decided to stick with physics, now finishing my MSc. 1. If you mean working in a lab versus theoretical work/simulations, there isn't much difference between EE and...

I assume that you are working full-time and do not want to continue to an MSc. Which, by the way, would be the right thing to do if you want to do theoretical physics. So I think you should reconsider, perhaps you can work and study simultaneously. Otherwise I really cannot see what is the point...

Thanks for your help Astronuc!

Hello all, I'm finally preparing to apply for PhD, so it is time to write a good CV. My situation: I'm about to finish my MSc degree (research based) and intend to apply to several universities in Europe, mostly in the UK and Germany. Do you think I should list the research projects I...

Thanks for all the replies! I have no idea how all this works, and your advice are really encouraging! I'm actually going to attend a conference soon, so I hope to use the (rare) opportunity to meet some people. Still, all this sounds a bit intimidating... How true! (especially the...

It really depends on what you're planning to do afterwards, but I would advise you to take an Optics course. I studied quite a lot of optics during my undergraduate degree, and for my graduate degree I went to another school, where there is no optics at all in the curriculum, so most people...

Hi all! I often hear that the most important part of conferences is getting to know people personally, and all that. But how do you actually do that? Is it common for an average grad student to pull some professor by his sleeve and say "hey, I'm working on something remotely connected to...