Just got the notification that I got in today. Booyah.

2/27/2008 8:39:28 PM

congrats, what program, towards what job?

2/27/2008 8:41:33 PM

thanks.

Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, focusing on marine ecology and habitat. I would like to use it to get into marine habitat mapping and consulting.

I work for the State of Florida right now in their Division of Marine Fisheries, and my job sucks/doesn't pay shit. It's time to make more money

[Edited on February 27, 2008 at 8:45 PM. Reason : n]

2/27/2008 8:44:30 PM

congrats

prepare for hell

2/27/2008 8:45:31 PM

ew you are like me young and doing grad school. prepare for about 90% of the people in the program being married and having kids.

2/27/2008 8:51:05 PM

hopefully that means they will be stable

I know most of the folks in the program I am going into, and they are cool people. Here's to hoping the depressing/crazy people are kept to a minimum. Well maybe not the crazies. crazy people can be entertaining

2/27/2008 8:57:03 PM

you're probably just as crazy and depressing and dont even realize it.

2/27/2008 9:25:31 PM

Quote :

"grad school"

sucks. I'm happy for you, but dude,

Quote :

"prepare for hell"

2/27/2008 9:29:57 PM

lock and load

2/27/2008 9:33:01 PM

MEAS has a reputation of Grad students not finishing their program. Also the highest turnover rate of faculty of any NCSU dept. Apparantly its a stepping stone for professors to get their entry-level research and grant experience, then they take off for better pay, leaving students whom are doing their thesis final edits. Used to date a MEAS grad student, hung out with all the atmospheric crowd, and they drank like fish, most of them were on their third advisor and 4th year. A lot of them got stuck with new 26 year old advisors and had to start completely new research projects. Best you get your own funding and find an advisor that's been there a while, and owns a house in raleigh and kids in wake county schools.

2/27/2008 10:06:13 PM

2/27/2008 10:11:17 PM

^^my potential advisor has been around a while and has a long history of getting funding, so i am optimistic. here's to hoping!

^ the middle one!

2/27/2008 10:14:43 PM

I am an MEAS graduate student. While the assessment above isn't 100% accurate, it's not too wide of the mark either. For the most part, the faculty situation is much more stable now. The department has just finished a large amount of faculty searches for all the department programs. Get to know your adviser, what they're up to, and what their expectations are and you won't have to worry about being abandoned. Note my funding comment below. Advisers don't normally leave behind people they have money invested in if they move to a different institution.

Quote :

"Apparently it's a stepping stone for professors to get their entry-level research and grant experience, then they take off for better pay"

Most of the faculty departures in the past 2 years that I'm aware of have been due to either retirement or firings. Of course, my initial adviser, left me high and dry when he left for Purdue during my 4th week of grad school. After that happened, I made sure I knew the intentions of who I was working for.


Make sure you have your funding for the duration of your education in writing before you even show up. I recommend that for any graduate student in any department.

Quote :

"Used to date a MEAS grad student, hung out with all the atmospheric crowd, and they drank like fish..."

Anyone I know? And, this is college, everyone drinks like fish.

Quote :

"Best you get your own funding..."

Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a grad student, an unproven researcher without even a master's degree, to get their own funding without the name of an proven and established researcher to back them up? Do you know how much of a nightmare it would be to deal with university grants and contracts on your own? For 99.99% of grad students, this isn't a realistic option.

[Edited on February 27, 2008 at 10:24 PM. Reason : grammar FTL]

2/27/2008 10:24:07 PM

i deal with Sport Fish Restoration grants now, and I know how much of a pain in the ass it can be. to get my own funding would be almost impossible, short of winning the lottery (which is almost impossible as it is). I have talked with my potential advisor at length and have a few good ideas for research, so i am optmistic

2/27/2008 10:29:37 PM

I'll give my advice if it's wanted....
otherwise, I'll just say "good luck"

good luck

2/27/2008 10:31:50 PM

i'll always listen to advice...

2/27/2008 10:33:59 PM

so be it....

you are going to have a lot of pressure from your mentor/advisor to do research that is closely related to their own (especially at the masters level, but not so much as the doctorate level). This isn't at all uncommon because chances are you will choose an advisor/mentor that has similar interests as you...or vice versa.

My advice to you comes in the form of a warning. While you are doing this research (possibly for your thesis) try to avoid falling into the trap of limiting yourself by becoming too involved in your advisor/mentor's research interest. In essence, I'm telling you to not be 'tricked' into doing your advisor's/mentor's work for them. While it is many times easier to take their advice on things (research in particular) because they are very knowledgeable in that area, there is an extremely thin line between working on a project that you are both interested in.....and doing their project for them.

Even though you technically get credit for it, you will lose interest very quickly if it's not a subject that you are passionate about. Writing a thesis or a dissertation is a pain in the ass in and of itself. It's only worse if you're doing someone else's work....




Also, there is something else that I should warn you about. This doesn't happen all the time, but it still happens occasionally. It's a shitty thing to do...but it happens:
Sometimes if you are a really REALLY good researcher, advisors/mentors will 'hinder' your progress in graduate school so that you will stay in school and keep doing research for them. They will hinder your progress by sticking you with side projects, advising you to take classes that you don't need or want to take, or giving you added responsibilities such as managing their labs, etc....
Again, there is a very thin line between gaining experience and responsibility.....and being overly burdened with other people's work. Just keep a watchful eye out.

2/27/2008 10:45:40 PM

seems like solid advice

2/27/2008 10:58:39 PM

Hey man, I'm an MEAS grad student as well, focusing on tropical meteorology and climate...congrats and welcome

2/27/2008 11:02:28 PM

LOUNGE THREAD IN CHIT CHAT!

2/27/2008 11:03:05 PM

solid advice for any field

2/27/2008 11:05:29 PM

^^^^^ very solid advice

I've got a buddy doing a PhD and his advisor constantly hinders his progress b/c he is a workhorse that ALWAYS gets the job done... I've seen him screwed over COUNTLESS times now by him...

For majors that pay really well after getting a masters... pay for it yourself... NCSU is cheap as balls and I've heard from many sources that your thesis doesn't mean a whole lot if your not doing a PhD off of it... so just get more loans, roll through fast, take what you want and get out and pay back the loans in the first year... it's amazing how fast you can payback $10k when your making $65k

2/28/2008 12:13:35 AM

^ good advice

2/28/2008 12:15:14 AM

Aha, props on getting in.

I was just told today that I was accepted into the grad school for an MS in Civil Engineering focusing on Structural Engineering. I'm going to keep these research warnings in mind. I've heard that this stuff happens, but I haven't heard much about it being an issue in the CE department.

From here I guess I'll be learning a whooole lot about what I'll be doing in the CE department. Should be the most awesome, stressed, hospital-laden period of my life. <3

2/28/2008 12:29:30 AM

ahahah, stress like you've never seen before...

40 page hw's that you still probably won't get completely correct...

120+hr projects stacked 2 or 3 deep...

3 hour exams that you need more time for...

serious strain on any relationships you have... you will have time for A) school B) Sig_other C) friends D) personal time... pick 2 and only 2

2/28/2008 12:33:06 AM

Oh yeah I've got no relationships as an issue (hahaha).

Shit I don't even know any friends who wanted to continue on to go to grad school.

I'll be mostly working on school and spending time with my family when I can.

I am not a social butterfly, I am totally what the grad school is looking for, a workhorse. That's why I'm glad EMCE posted what he did. I'll have to keep a sharper eye out for stuff like that in the future.

2/28/2008 12:41:47 AM

Quote :

"40 page hw's that you still probably won't get completely correct... 120+hr projects stacked 2 or 3 deep... 3 hour exams that you need more time for..."

Reminds me of a grad class I taped for DE folks.

The professor would spend 3-9 class periods on a single eqn/idea

And of two tests for the semester, there'd be two questions on each test.

Every single class session, I thought at least once 'Man...I'm glad I'm not taking this'. Never mind that I actually learned something, and heard terms that I then went and read up on in my free time

2/28/2008 12:43:06 AM