Overview of swantje on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of swantje

Signup date: 05 May 2008 at 6:11pm

Last login: 18 Dec 2008 at 9:08pm

Post count: 446

Recent Posts

something wrong with forum on my computer?

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

hi forum admin,

there's something wrong when i try to write posts (replies to posts) on this forum: my cursor gets lost halfway through my post and i can't write anymore. after a few minutes of waiting it reappears somewhere in the post and then i can continue for a bit, then it disappears again. what's going on? i've got a bog-standard windows pc and i'm using firefox.
it's driving me crazy.

thanks!

Quality of today's PhDs: article in Times Higher

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From missspacey:

British and US academics have less incentive to go abroad because the opportunities and pay in their own countries are very good.

But, for instance, if I wanted to go for a job in Canada, a Canadian applicant would be favoured before myself. This is stated on the job adverts. In my field at least, when I see foreigners in faculty positions in the US or Canada it's normally a non-tenured or non-tenure track position. Of course, foreigners will get jobs, particularly in subjects such as international studies, but it's much harder for a foreign applicant to compete in North American, than it is for an American or Canadian to secure a position here.

as far as i know this "preference" of nationals over foreigners is because it's outside of the EU. the same happens in the EU: employers must be able to prove that an EU external applicant is more suitable for the job than an EU applicant before they will be able to employ them. on the other hand, if an employer REALLY wants you they will be able to prove that you are the only applicant who can fill the position.

Quality of today's PhDs: article in Times Higher

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From missspacey:

Swantje, I'm talking about academic jobs, not PhD positions.
I did say for 'most countries', maybe I should have 'some', but I certainly didn't say 'all'.
I know of lots of people who have had no problems getting academic jobs in other countries - especially European countries.
But try further a field, for instance the US or Canada.

(if i read your post correctly you were talking about phd applicants)

i really doubt that. if you check out departmental websites they are full of foreigners, even in canada and the us. some aren't, and there's usually a good reason for that (crappy uni).
i have however noticed that, generally, english academics tend to not like going to live abroad. and if they do, then they tend to come back to the uk after a while. i'm at an international institute right now and english people (and americans) are always in the minority compared to all the other nationalities. i find that surprising.

Quality of today's PhDs: article in Times Higher

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From missspacey:

The prof. also mentions that it's harder for British PhD holders to get jobs, but I think this is more to do with the open-door policy that UK universities operate. Now I don't have a problem with that in theory - it means the best person gets the job regardless of nationality/citizenship. However, this policy is not reciprocal. Most other countries will favour citizenship or permanent residents, which places British PhD applicants (or other foreign applicants) bottom of the list.

not true. i know for a fact that foreigners have no problems getting phd positions in germany and the netherlands. even a lot of foreigners who don't speak the language.

Does it sound like my prospective supervisor is attracted to me?

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From me_me:

smrh - there was another post by me in this thread clarifying I would prefer to diffuse the situation if it is indeed harmful to my future career/professional development.

IF?

Does it sound like my prospective supervisor is attracted to me?

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

yikes! awkward situation.

Average age to have a first child for people who have phds?

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From shani:

On the other hand, in Switzerland (and in Germany too, I believe) you get paid to do your PhD (in most cases), and you don't pay any fees. So that sounds as if it were worse in Canada.

there are very few paid phd positions in germany. there was only one in my department (at a big uni). for funding you can try and get a position as a research assistant but those positions are also rare and you usually have to do stuff at work which is mostly unrelated to your phd. there is some funding, but it's mainly party/religious belief related (sucks for me...8-). on the other hand you don't have to pay uni fees as a phd student, so that's a lot of money saved. that's why i decided to try my luck in england, more funding opportunities!

Tell me something helpful...

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

i love keanu reeves.

working: from home vs uni

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

Quote From dzinxy:

agreed on your wisdom of references... sadly references are required in most places in order to do pg study (not that i agree with the need for references cause in principle they prove absolutely nothing.. i've written enough of them for other ppl for their pg studies and work stuff to know that.. they are pure twaddle.. but hey no one told the emperor that he was naked either).. in theory your work should have enough 'legs' to get you to where you want to go without the need for cronyism .. k... that was my bit of idealism for the day.. now back to the real world..lmao

of course the 'peripheral players' are more known than the phd candidates.. goes without saying... which takes us back to useful/not useful categories which you argue against in your next paragraph

anyhoo i'm with missspacey on this one....no academic ever comes into the pg rooms so unless you spend your time hanging around the coffee machine you dont get much out of coming in everyday .. at least at my uni (which is also uk based)

collaboration is useful ..no deying that...

i think that a REALLY EXCELLENT reference will always stand out from the plethora of average references. i am also (still) not advocating useful/non-useful categorisation of people, i was using the terminology key versus peripheral players for your benefit. i don't think for example that time in the pg-room is wasted when there are "only" master's students there. i have collaborated with master's and phd students so far and it is not necessarily always true that the phd students were better or more advanced. i also think it's a mistake to ignore people who are "peripheral players" because not only can that change in the future, but some people don't necessarily promote (or want to promote) their research enough. this does not make their research any less interesting.

working: from home vs uni

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

======= Date Modified 24 Aug 2008 01:48:16 =======

Quote From dzinxy:

this of course depends on your field.. and whether ppl in your dept are generally a part of that field (as in a sub specialisation).. like you say fields are much smaller, insular and more distibutive than apparent at first... international conferences are a great way of getting to know them and whether you want to be a part of them .. but having said that if your work is placed on the boundaries of a few fields and the ppl in your dept are minor local 'players' and/or part of only one of the fields.. then the significance of being 'known' by them is of little import and impact upon your future (yep i know that is not the nicest way of viewing things - very instrumental.. but then so is the other side of the arguement)
however it does make sense to 'be known' in the dept if the aim is to remain at the same uni or roughly in the same geographical area ...

i've been to uni in two countries and going to my third now - so i'm not even thinking about staying at the same uni or even in the same country. IMO it is significant to be know by the people in your department. people on this board have mentioned having difficulties getting references for their next step because they were unknown in their department. not good. references are REALLY important. i got my position through references.

it is also important so that you can collaborate with other people in the department. even if they might only be "peripheral players", they're still more likely to be known than you. being known is also a better way of getting stuff like grants or being introduced to visiting "key players".

you're missing out on so many opportunities to network and get to know interesting people when you hide yourself away at home. you'd also be very surprised at how many people know each other, have studied with each other and kept in touch. it's not clever to sort people into useful/not useful for my future" categories.

working: from home vs uni

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

IMO it's extremely important to be visible and known in your department. even if you don't want to stay at the same uni later on it's important to be in the network. this is because the network is far more international than most people realise. everyone knows everyone and if they don't know you or can't enquire about you then you're going to find it hard getting a job later on. this is also why it's important to go to (international) conferences during your studies (i've been doing so for years and years now, ever since my 6th semester) so that you get to know the right people. socialising and occasionally asking questions after talks is really important. a good way of getting to know people is also writing them mails and asking for difficult to find articles. these kinds of mails can turn into interesting discussions on research.

i won't have office space in my first year, but i will certainly make sure that i show my face in the department every day and work in the PG room, even if it is less comfortable than at home. it's so easy to cut yourself out of the information loop and most people don't even realise how much they're hurting their careers that way...

Stipends and fees

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

i'm going to be funded by esrc and i haven't heard ANYTHING yet!!! i'm starting in 3 weeks - aaargh! but the uni did tell me that uni fees are paid by the esrc and that the stipend is for maintenance (rent, food etc). i'm going to have to borrow the rent money from my parents because i haven't got enough to pay in advance :-(

Average age to have a first child for people who have phds?

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

it depends on where in europe you're talking about. students start and finish studying early in england, earlier than in germany for example. in germany, you would normally get your a-levels at the age of 19-20, then (old system) another 5 years or more till you have a master. then add on a whole load more years for a phd (usually at least 5 years). i don't know anyone who completed their phd before they were at least 30. because of lack of funding people tend to be a lot older than that.

Being homesick

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

i'm grateful i'm NEVER homesick.

Laptops and PhD's

swantje 446 posts
16 years ago

don't get something with a huge screen or you'll never want to lug it around with you because it'll cripple you...