So yea, there are old threads on grad school in this section, but both haven't been active in years. Plus, this is specifically for bitching about grad school, warning others against aspects of particular aspects of a particular university's bullshit one-size-fits-all curriculum, and so forth.

So here I go.

I'm at USC (South Carolina, not SoCal), and I fuckin' hate it. I let myself get recruited in, and I think the people who did so did it in part for their own good (since they knew I would kick ass and collect a shitload of data, enough to go way beyond a dissertation). I was told "tuition covered, field housing paid for, never have to TA, stipend of $24k/yr, full-time technician," etc...

Basically, everything started out seeming that way, but then the grant started to not pay for fees and shit. My stipend got knocked back to $20k. The university requires that I teach at least 2 semesters. I guess the bright side is that my field housing is still paid for (though it was really supposed to pay for me AND a tech, which it only did the first semester). Only had a tech for my first semester of classes, since then the techs have worked on data collection on stuff that has no relation to my dissertation, just peripheral studies written into the grant proposal that was funded.

The biggest shit that pisses me off is my advisor is shuffling money in a way that he probably shouldn't...to pay for stuff for other grad students' research in the lab. Well, that's kinda just the cause of what pisses me off the most...the TAing. USC's BIOL 102 labs are a complete crock of shit. They aren't labs. They're lectures made by the TAs under the label of "lab". Because of the fumbling of my grant money by the advisor, I was basically told last-minute I have to TA this semester. No prep mentally. Just "not enough money, you have to half-TA"...then right as TA orientation begins, "nope, you're gonna be a full-TA." The lab manual is fucked...no table of contents, just a bunch of pages with sections that just begin where they begin and end where they end. Syllabus is crammed full of shit jumping all over the place in any given lab from biodiversity to genetics and evolution to in-lab time for personal projects. When I was a Zo undergrad at NCSU, each lab was explicitly structure. There was a section of the lab manual that corresponded to EXACTLY what would be going on in that lab. There was plenty of time (most of the time) to finish your in-lab simple experiment for the week...you finish early, you leave early without a penalty. Here, the labs are crammed with so much shit, no one can get through it in the 2hr 45min. We have lab prep meetings weekly (even on holidays), over a set 3-hr period. Lab coordinator is routinely late, routinely emails us the materials the day before labs start, routinely fails to even explain all of what we're supposed to cover in our lab (lecture). I can't tell the students at the end of each lab exactly what we'll be doing in the next lab because....our lab coordinator doesn't tell us until all of the week's labs are over with, and only a month in we're already deviating from the syllabus because no one can cover the load of material.

I gotta go to sleep, I'll bitch about my Herculean field work schedule (even though I love doing field work) later.

2/9/2012 1:14:10 AM

As someone who was accepted to start a Ph.D. program studying herpetology at Auburn after getting a ZO degree, this definitely piques my interest. Here's my questions.

Mike, it sounds like you are totally dependent on your professor and the department for funding at the current time. Do you have any experience writing grant proposals yet? Have you begun searching for ways to get your own funding? Have you gone to the National Joint Herpetology/Ichthyology Conference yet? If so, how did your networking go? When I presented my research there in 2005, I was overwhelmed by how approachable and friendly the herpetology community was. What year of your Ph.D. program are you in and how many years do you reasonably expect to graduate in? Have you changed your dissertation focus yet since you first decided what you want to accomplish? If you feel like you have exhausted your support from colleagues in the department, would it be possible to switch to a thesis-based M.S. program, whereby you could go elsewhere for your Ph.D. with a school/department/adviser that is a better fit (as in an adviser that's actually a herpetologist not just a general evolutionary biologist that specialized in ornithology of radioactive birds)? I know you've done so much with herpetology in the Carolinas, I would assume that you could get an M.S. degree fairly quickly if that's an option. Also, from reading your bio, you're using two very different organisms (turtles and rattlesnakes) as models for your dissertation, so it's no wonder that you have an insane amount of field work. Not to mention that it's my understanding that using venomous snakes as ecological models is a very difficult thing to get funded. At the conference I went to, practically none of the graduate students were studying venomous reptiles. While I can understand the appeal (I did some telemetry of fer-de-lances in Costa Rica myself), seeing as the eastern diamondback is reclusive, uncommon, and incredibly dangerous, maybe it's time to consider the use of a different organism as a model or changing the focus of your dissertation. How much luck is your cohort Jen having with her eastern diamondback study (are you incorporating fire ecology into your studies as well)? Have you talked with your old SREL contacts about this and gotten feedback? Anyways, there's some food for thought, feel free to answer back in this thread or PM me about it further, I'd love to help any way I can, there's far too few herpetologists in this world.

2/9/2012 2:00:00 AM

I just got accepted to UNC's library science program. School starts in six months, so I expect I'll be posting again here in seven months.

2/9/2012 7:11:13 PM

Damn, I complain about lack of time, then I get an essay's worth of questions.

Ryan...first off, no offense...kinda creeps me out when someone can track all of that info down! Though, I guess you can remember my real name and that helps, not difficult to find my profile on my lab webpage.

My funding comes from a big grant, actually...the biggest grant in my lab (other than the Chernobyl/Fukushima stuff). For a herp project, I have tons of money, but you'd be surprised how much gets taken right off the top by the university. Then, for the past few years it has paid my stipend and tuition. I travel a lot, and my field house is 2 hours from campus. My field house is 20 miles from my field site. I do field work 7 days/week when I'm not tending campus duties. For whatever reason (I think an additional post-doc started pulling their pay from the grant), there was a shortfall this term, which is why I am TAing to cover my stipend.

Yes, I've written my own proposals, but nothing funded yet. The grants that have funded my research have been composed and submitted by the people I work with. If there weren't this constant overwhelming demand from tracking upwards of 40-50 animals per week, plus constant lit reviews and lots of time spent traveling, I would get more time writing. Or attending conferences. Have not yet attended any of the real big meetings. Presented at Gopher Tortoise Council a couple of years ago. Presented at NCHS meeting. Have attended NCHS fall meetings regularly. Have done lots of outreach for groups from little kids to high schoolers to Master Naturalists to science educators. Possibly going to the joint meeting in BC this Aug, but I don't have an abstract written up yet and haven't checked the deadline, which I know is soon. Still don't even know if I have the travel funds.

Networking has been decent, though I have yet to really attend any of the big meets. It sucks, because I want to go, but there is really never down time. My field season is every bit of 365 days/yr.

I'm 2.5 years in. Very little coursework finished, but practically all of the data for my dissertation collected. I expect I should finish after a total of 5 years or so.

Yes, it's possible for me to downgrade since I'm skipping a MS. Believe me, I've thought of it, but I go through ups and downs that have still left me with hopes for the PhD. USC seems to shun MS students for whatever reason. The former Grad Director basically said MS students are a waste of the department's time, PhDs are all that matter. But I don't plan on teaching or staying within academia...been too turned off by all of that. I kinda had a foot in the door at UGA, kinda regret fucking that up. I think Kurt and Tracey were basically prepping me for a MS project on gopher tortoises, but the big offer came first from where I am now.

The box turtles/rattlesnakes are part of my research that's looking into risk perception on the human end and how they relate to the human dimensions of wildlife conservation. Basically, look at it as the turtles are modelling the so-called "cute and cuddly" herps on one end of the spectrum, and the "better off dead" rattlesnakes fall on the other end.

The status of EDB populations change drastically from place to place. I have no problem finding them...I've gotten damn good at that over the past 5 years, especially on my current site. They're not dangerous unless you're bitten. You don't get bitten unless you're not wearing your safety gear...you'll never catch me without it (unless I'm just cruising). I don't push my luck, and I believe that's the reason why all of my limbs are still intact. EDBs are a great organism to work with and there is a huge conservation priority that has been emerging. I know of several other grad students that have project on EDBs at the moment. I've seen things other people probably never have seen (and many people will never know). Jen is struggling big-time. She came in with no experience with rattlesnakes, or the vast majority of southeastern snakes in general. She has an awesome study, but it's been a rough start. Timing just hasn't worked in her favor, but things are looking up for her this spring. Yes, fire ecology could play a role in my dissertation, hand-in-hand with issues of habitat management. But that has come late in the game, and considering my field work might end this year, it will possibly not be carried out. However, there is potential funding in the balance that would make that happen...waiting to hear back, should know somewhat soon.

I've kept minimal contact with my buds of SREL/UGA. I hardly have enough time to keep up with my non-herpetological friends back home. But I know I could contact Kurt or Tracey anytime...I did my best to leave SREL on good terms, even though it could have been better. The two of them are great people and supported my decision for school. The few times we have talked, however, they did express concern about my grad life in general. I am overdue for a catch-up with them and the others I met in my brief time at SREL.


Did I answer everything?

2/9/2012 10:09:09 PM

Great info man, I had no idea regarding that bit about how universities skim off the top. 5 years is very ambitious, and if you make it in that time frame that is certainly something to be proud of in and of itself. Just don't get bogged down killing yourself trying to make it in 5, there's nothing wrong with pushing it back to 6 or 7 (though I certainly get that you aren't trying to hang around any longer than you have to). I think there should be two immediate priorities if I were in your shoes: finding money for a field tech/data tech, and presenting at that joint meeting. I was amazed at the amount of people that showed up to listen to my oral paper about my Costa Rica research, there was like 75 people there (and there were many oral presentations going on at the same time)! All of which were more than happy to crank up a discussion with me regarding the paper during the Q & A at the end, in the halls afterwards, or at the bar later that night (gotta love the herp crowd). 365 days a year field work is brutal, and I'm guessing it's going to take a long time to sort through and process all that data. I hope for your sake there's gotta be a way to make things easier on yourself, either through hired help or through talking with other students and professors at the meeting and learning things that will make your life easier. Either way, just keep at it man and try not to get too frustrated. I'm very envious of you.

So if you don't want to work in academia, what do you want to do?

2/9/2012 11:03:12 PM

Quote :

"I certainly get that you aren't trying to hang around any longer than you have to"

Yea, that. My primary advisor is a well-accomplished hardass who is about independence of his students. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and has busted his ass to get where he is today, but there is more stress to publish (peer-reviewed, highest impact journals) from him than to publish what you want or what you feel strongly about, which is sort of a moral dilemma for me.

Quote :

"two immediate priorities if I were in your shoes: finding money for a field tech/data tech, and presenting at that joint meeting"

Priorities get all sorts of fucked up when the university controls your life and you get mixed messages from everyone.

Quote :

"365 days a year field work is brutal"

You're tellin' me! I'm 2.5 years in and started field work on day 1. I love laughing at the other grads in the department when they moan and groan about how badly they wanted that one weekend in the one month they spent collecting data at their field site(s). I shouldn't be misleading, though. I take a week off each December to go to Florida with friends, plus a couple days for Thanksgiving and a couple days for Xmas in Charlotte.

Quote :

"I'm guessing it's going to take a long time to sort through and process all that data"

Yea, especially when I have no background in statistics. This is a major reason I have no real pubs out yet.

Quote :

"So if you don't want to work in academia, what do you want to do?"

Keepin' my options open, but there's possibly something in line that has to do with a fellowship I've applied for. There's someone big out there who has a lot of interest in what I'm doing, and I'm hoping the continued interest over the past 2.5 years will count for something in the long run...along the lines of a permanent job. But I don't talk publicly about this (and only talk about it privately with those close to me).

2/10/2012 12:43:26 AM

Try getting sick and your grad studies director doing his best to kick you out because he thinks you are lazy and not sick. At least I got that bastard to leave, but I've spent more time fighting for fair treatment than doing research. I got kicked out of labs because professors didn't want the hassle of trying to help me fight the program when there were tons of healthy students waiting for a position (BME admits way more students than they can support). My funding was taken away. They won't let me TA! At least you are given some opportunity to make money.

NCSU has been the worst decision of my life. I hate this place and never want to see it again.

2/10/2012 8:33:32 AM

Tough to teach a class with laryngitis. Also, tough to recover from laryngitis when you have to teach a class.

2/23/2012 2:24:37 AM

^^always the victim

2/23/2012 8:11:51 AM

^ lmao

2/23/2012 9:04:28 AM

If I can keep other people from entering this awful program, then I have been successful. I'm tired of them continuing to try to find as many barely legal ways to screw me over as possible.

Potential students, you have been warned. GTFO if you value sanity or have any medical issues.

At least the equal opportunity office has been great about helping me. That's the only good thing I can say about this university.

2/23/2012 11:27:51 AM

A couple things that I hate about grad school (I'm on my 5th year):

1. My PI will not publish anything (while you are in school) unless it is high impact. This means that you have 6 years to make something impact or you have to write up a paper after you defend.

2.As much as he harps on us working hard and being self motivated, he spends a good chunk of his time consulting with big pharma and his broker to build his independent wealth. He hardly ever shows a personal interest in the group.

3. There is a huge gender disparity issue going on in the department, and much of the fellowships and funding gets funneled to lesser qualified female applicants.

2/23/2012 3:09:59 PM

I LOVE my grad program.

Only problem is the school might be going bankrupt and there's the chance it won't exist when I'm ready for my degree.

2/23/2012 6:49:38 PM

obviously you must not of been that sick (at hospital hooked up to oxygen)....

2/25/2012 3:04:02 PM

You are one of those assholes that makes fun of people with invisible disabilities I see.

2/25/2012 9:02:58 PM

People like lewoods have to wear their hardships like a crown of thorns. They define themselves by their misfortunes because they can get sympathy from them.

"I was a victim of this or a survivor of that."

They use their trials and tribulations in place of unique personality traits. Sympathy is just another form of attention and everybody loves attention – so if you can't make friends, get cancer. Or better yet, get some uncommon disease of dubious origin/existence. And never go out in public without wearing that ribbon proudly on your chest.

2/26/2012 12:23:49 PM

THREAD DERAIL SUCCESSFUL.

Really though, I thought this was about grad school woes?

My only woes were that I tried to work 20-30 hours a week with a 12 hour grad school course load without knowing what I was getting into.

2/26/2012 12:45:16 PM

I currently work 40+ hours a week and take 12 hours a semester. I'm not bragging. It's hell but I wanted to get it over with quick.

2/26/2012 4:20:26 PM

how you fuckers do that is beyond me. 40 hours during undergrad was bad enough

2/26/2012 4:53:43 PM

jesus christ umop-apisdn, that's awful.

2/26/2012 8:40:28 PM

Quote :

"I currently work 40+ hours a week and take 12 hours a semester. I'm not bragging. It's hell but I wanted to get it over with quick"

yep, I actually took 15 hours last semester....certain weeks are hell, but getting it over with in less than 1.5 years will be worth it.

2/27/2012 10:17:08 AM

do you guys mean to say you work 40 hours/week jobs? as in, not research.

2/27/2012 11:28:29 AM

Accountant in tax season job.

2/27/2012 7:34:39 PM

Got a moment of honesty from my primary advisor last week. I'm TAing this semester because I'm "taking one for the team." Those are his exact words.

Later in the conversation, I realize he's ultimately moving my roommate/labmate to my field site and calling an end to my field work. Why? Because she can't find diamondbacks at her own field site, and I've gathered so much data by capturing so many over the past couple of years that it's time to share the wealth. I'm kinda offended by it, but at the same time I'm ready to be done with field work. It hasn't been finalized yet...but seriously...she's just picking up where I'll be leaving. I don't even know what happens to the rights to publish certain things once she becomes involved. But I was basically told something much along the lines of "look at it this way, she'll have to give you authorship if she picks up anything you've worked on." I've worked so damn hard to create this bond with the personnel at my field site over the past couple of years, I'm having a hard time that I'm going to just be swapped out with someone who has failed to show the ability to do what is needed for the past year. And perhaps it's just me being greedy, but having her swoop in like this and basically not-so-explicitly granted authorship on things I might publish in the future from my long-term research is kinda fucked.

2/28/2012 1:54:40 AM

sucks

they're holding her hand since they fucked up and let someone in that has no business being there

2/28/2012 1:58:19 AM

dude, you are getting absolutely boned. i know a lot of people in a lot of programs around the country, and i haven't heard of anything this bad in the sciences.

2/28/2012 2:37:36 AM

i guess it kinda sucks but it is a solution to your year-round field work issue (honestly it sounds more like you're a glorified tech if you only do field work and don't have time for anything else)

you said you have most of the data you need already, so get out of the field and write it up and get out of there

i can understand that having to TA when you were originally promised funding throughout sucks, but the other bitching about grant $ doesn't make a lot of sense if you didn't write the original proposal -- it's not your $ so complaining about university overhead or shuffling of funds by your PI seems strange

i know that TA-ing is a total time-suck and the shitty manual and course coordination sounds frustrating, maybe look online for better materials for a similar lab at another school?

do you already have your dissertation committee formed? if so, try going to one of them about the publishing issue you're having with your primary advisor -- there also should be some sort of 3rd party ombudsman in your department or school that you could go to if necessary

good luck!

2/28/2012 3:39:27 AM

Kill all the diamondbacks before she gets there. Then see what unfolds....

2/28/2012 9:21:48 AM

^^ this is a good point, being taken out of the field sounds like it's good for you.

the money/TAing stuff is bullshit.

2/28/2012 6:48:10 PM

Hey dere guyz.

I feel like me getting an MBA online shouldn't be in this thread.

3/6/2012 1:20:32 PM

tl;dr

3/6/2012 2:29:50 PM

Did my grad school at NCSU. Worst mistake of my life. Mostly because of my adviser though.
That and registration and records/ people at the department level in charge of class registries.

3/6/2012 6:03:38 PM

My Grad degree took a little longer than I had expected, but it was a complete change of focus/major.....drastically so. I don't have any complaints about the program at App. State, in fact, my teachers were awesome! Challenging, yet understanding and approachable. Not quite like my experience as an undergrad at NCSU. The only complaint I have is how much it has cost me. Student loans are the bane of my existence.

3/8/2012 10:51:45 PM

question.

If you had horrible grades your 1st time in college...im talking around the sub-1.0 level, but 8 years later you have a 3.80 at your new school, but your GPA is being drug down by the shitty grades from your previous school....how much do they look at how you did at your old school vs new school?

3/20/2012 5:32:29 PM

depends on a lot.

if it's science/engineering, i.e. research driven, it should be no problem. all it takes to get into a program like that is convincing someone w/ money that they should hire you.

if it's a field where admissions are done broadly by the department, then it's a different story, but still probably fine.

3/22/2012 5:05:07 PM

well Villanova University said go EFF myself. :/

3/28/2012 5:44:14 PM

you can think of it that way if you want to, but it won't do you any good.

3/28/2012 6:33:03 PM

It's looking like grad school might get put on hold. trying to get picked up as a nuclear test engineer...So might take a while for my HRD masters

3/30/2012 4:19:52 AM

Now being told that I might not be able to claim the roughly $4000 worth of travel expenses I've incurred since July of last year. That's 20% of my stipend alone, and does not include the costs I have not gotten reimbursed for (that I was originally told I would be) for commute.

If I don't get that money, I'm fucking done. I've dealt with too much other shit to now take that large of a financial blow.

4/11/2012 10:53:37 PM

Sounds like the shit my department has pulled on me, only they cut my funding short by 6 months more than once. Reason? They didn't like me working from home when I was sick (but never said anything about it before that).

Hopefully you don't have an awesome secretary that ordered food you could eat (they provided food for a required seminar series), only to have it stolen by your adviser's super bitchy wife (who didn't have food allergies) before you got there. I really should have reported the hostile work environment. This woman knew that eating my salad would mean I'd have to sit there and go hungry while everyone else was eating too.

4/12/2012 9:22:38 AM

^^ yeah i would leave too, that's awful.

4/16/2012 5:04:07 PM

god dammit i did something really stupid and checked thegradcafe about ndseg announcements... apparently people have been able to login to the results site and see their offer letter, even though they haven't gotten an email. i cannot login yet, though... so guess what i'm doing every 10 minutes now

4/20/2012 3:14:04 PM

lewoods when is the last time something that happened to you was entirely your fault?

4/21/2012 3:28:10 PM

^ you must not be in school. it is always the advisor's fault.

4/22/2012 5:40:59 PM

you must not be familiar with lewoods post history.

4/23/2012 9:38:25 AM

(it's not really always the advisor's fault)

4/23/2012 12:41:07 PM

UNC MBA- $92k
NCSU MBA- $41k
ECU MBA- $23k

all online. NCSU punishes you for being part-time.

Is UNC's online MBA really that good?

[Edited on April 23, 2012 at 11:01 PM. Reason : ya]

4/23/2012 11:01:25 PM

No

Unless your current employer is paying for you to get your MBA, do not get one

4/24/2012 8:10:01 AM

guys this thread is about grad school, not mbas.

4/24/2012 11:42:16 PM

I hate that my department and everyone in it (except my advisor) ignores me until I get the equal opportunity office involved. Guy stole part of my project so some undergrads could play with it and no one gave a shit.

4/25/2012 1:13:12 PM