I've never had any prof who talked directly like people communicate in corporate. What's wrong with you all?

So i’m thinking about starting college 24 male full time job. I want to get into computer technology information (2 year associate) to be a software analyst, but could reconsider to networking. i’m torn on to go to community college or do online. My community college only has 22% graduation rate the next closest is 45% while the online college im considering has a 75% graduation rate but people tell me community is way easier. to be honest im not that smart of a guy and had a lot of trouble in school so cheating just a bit would be ideal but i know i will have to put almost all the work in. also really really struggle with math.

As the kids say these days. So my employer just announced voluntary early retirement program for some of the faculty, many expect similar announcements for the rest shortly. I’m currently part of the unaffected faculty, on tenure track, nowhere near the age of voluntary early retirement. Anyone at an institution that went through something like this? Any thoughts as to what might be in store for me/the school in the future? TIA for your thoughts.

I’m applying to assistant professor jobs and have my first fly-out coming up. I recently read a blog saying I should NOT wear a backpack and should use a messenger bag. I found this a little surprising since most faculty I know in my field use backpacks, but they often get to stash those in an office and not carry around the backpack.

As some notes, I am ABD so maybe this is a situation where I should be doing whatever I can to look more like a “faculty member” and less like a grad student. But if I get taken on a campus tour with a messenger bag, I may be fiddling with it a bit (zero upper body strength). I appreciate any insight into this!

Hi, I'm a master student in psychology and doing a thesis, qualitative study using an assessment tool to analyze semi-directed interviews, the tool is in english , it has been translated in a few languages but not in mine, and I was wondering if I could just translate the interview and then just using the tool in english or if I really have to go through the process of translating the tool ? Thanks for the help

This is more of a vent session/PSA and not a question.

I don't know who popularized the phrase "I hope this email finds you well" as the opening to a cold email, but stop it. No one talks like this, and it's obvious you just sent a form letter or let an LLM write it for you.

"I hope this email finds you well" gets binned.

/rant

Worked with advisor for ~2.5 years during masters. worked independently, no hand-holding, got papers out (top venues, me first-author, him senior author), was productive (I think? I hope...).

Applying to PhD this cycle. Don't have anything starting Dec., so asked him if he could host me in his lab until I join a PhD next fall. No job offers either, and visa ending in Dec.

No response.

Followed up after a week.

No response.

I feel humiliated for not even getting a "no" response.

Fuck academics tbh.

p.s. I was never an official part of his lab since "he only pays PhD students", but still worked on my project voluntarily. I asked him if he would take me as a PhD, he said "you can apply, but I would have to see all applicants before committing to anyone", which does not signal confidence to me.

has anyone ever gone through the process of suing because of neoptism in a lab? Do you report it to the university or take it legally? And is having evidence from multiple colleagues beneficial in such a case? I am in germany

Hi, this is maybe a really dumb question but for my Master internship (France, Physical Chemistry) I was tasked with doing lit research on my topic to find a research gap (basically just finding out if two precursors we want to use have been used together previously).

When I look for articles mentioning both in Google Scholar, I find multiple pages of articles, just from this year alone. My professor said to rather use SciFinder and with the same query I get around 50 results.

I wanted to ask why is that? Does SciFinder pick just the "better" articles? Does Google Scholar return results for one OR the other OR both and not just the combination?

I´m just worried I will miss something during the lit research through SciFinder, since the results seem more sparse.

Thanks for any insight!

I’ve completed my undergrad and it’s been about a year and I have had trouble finding any work. I’m working a small radio job right now but from what I’ve been told, it won’t really go much anywhere. I thought about going back to school and getting a masters degree to become a professor. I told myself that if I never made it into the industry, then I could at least prepare people before me on how to get there. My goal is to teach animation, computer modeling, and basic techniques in drawing. I feel a lot of people like the basics when they come into school.

Hi everyone,

I am hoping some of you who have been through this (or know the process well) can give me a reality check.

I am coming to the end of my PhD in management and I am wondering whether it is worth applying for the Global Talent visa under the Exceptional Promise route. I honestly cannot tell if my profile is strong enough or if I would be wasting my time.
Here is where I am at:

Two papers in 4* journals (the top ones in my field)
A book chapter

A special issue proposal that has been accepted

Two commentaries, also accepted - 3* journals

My supervisor has said they are happy to write me a reference, and I am now trying to find a second person.

Does this sound like enough for an endorsement? I would especially love to hear from anyone who applied at a similar early-career stage, whether it worked out or not. Any tips would also be really appreciated.

Thank you so much!

Presenting a poster in Vienna next month, my first international conference and the first time I've presented anywhere outside my own department... so yes, I'm overdoing it.

Two printed copies of the poster (one rolled in a tube as a backup), the PDF on a flash drive + in my email + in the cloud, and a 3 minute pitch I've practiced on my labmates so many times they mouth it along with me.

What I haven't figured out is the networking part. Coffee breaks especially, I don't want to corner anyone but I also don't want to spend three days standing next to my own poster. Advice from people who've done a few of these is very welcome, I'll take anything at this point

I did an undergraduate research project and here are my thoughts, seeking advice from more experienced ppl here. I sought a nice prof for the project, who allocated me a mentor. One look and I could tell the mentor wasnt the nicest, but it was certainly better than my previous mentor who threw me to another mentor which threw me to another mentor who told me to clean glassware. Whenever I asked my mentor qns, she would say read the literature. But come on, so many literature how to know which to read? Anyway, I just nodded. I didnt even know what was my research project about until halfway thru, when I asked for a sample of what the report, which the mentor said will send but never sent. Anyway, since i needed to do something about my OWN project, I sent the mentor my rough report, which the mentor simply glanced through. Fine. I guess im alone in this. But like I said, it is my own project so I am really trying to understand it inside out. I sought help from the prof who said the mentor will help you. But whenever I ask the mentor qns, the mentor is so scary, and im literally swallowing saliva as I talk to her. I've never experienced such a scary person before, neither can I report to prof who will side their permanent research staff compared to an undergraduate like me. I also cannot confide in my fellow undergraduate research mates since i know their mentor also scolds them. Anyone experienced this too? In a few weeks time, i have to give a presentation to external profs, and im hoping i will be fine. Is phd even worse? Maybe i shd just enter the workforce after my undergraduate so I dont need to deal with such shenanigans but I know workplace also has its cons like office politics.

When multiple researchers work on the same project, how do you handle situations where people interpret the same paper differently?

For example, one person might see a finding as supporting the main argument, while another thinks the study's limitations make that interpretation too strong.

Do you have a process for resolving these differences, or does it usually come down to discussion until everyone agrees?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what happened to a paper I found and cited about a year ago.

While working on the related work section of my research paper, I found a paper on Google Scholar that was directly related to my research. There weren't many closely related papers available, so I read it and included it in my references using the BibTeX citation provided by Google Scholar.

I remember that the paper looked a little suspicious, but I genuinely believed it was a real publication because I found it on Google Scholar and read it myself.

Now, my own paper has been published, and I recently tried to find that reference again. To my surprise, I can't find the paper on Google Scholar anymore. I also checked the accepted papers listed on the conference website, but the paper wasn't there. So far, I haven't been able to locate it elsewhere.

One possible way to investigate this is to check my Google search history from that period. I've already requested my Google history data, but retrieving and going through it will take some time.

Unfortunately, I'm also using a different laptop now, so I don't currently have access to the downloaded papers from my old machine.

This situation is worrying because the reference is already in my published paper. I'm concerned that the paper might have been fabricated or AI-generated, although I have no evidence to establish that this is what happened. To be clear, I did not use AI to generate this reference, I found the paper on Google Scholar and read it myself.

I want to establish what actually happened before drawing any conclusions. In the meantime, I thought it might be useful to ask the community whether others have encountered this problem and whether there are additional ways to investigate it.

Thank you for any suggestions or experiences you can share.

TL;DR: do editors have the transfer information in an elsevier transfer

Hello,

I am submitting a theoretical manuscript (very important to me). My coauthors & I made a list of journals we wanted to have our manuscript published in.

I have submitted it to journal A (most competitive), which rejected it but as an elsevier journal proposed to transfer it somewhere else. We agreed to transfer it to a journal that was not on our list (but high IF, theoretical, and quick responses like less than 15 days from submission to 1st decision). This journal (journal X) rejected it. Now there is a new transfer suggestion from elsevier that asks to publish our manuscript in the second journal of our list (journal B).

Do you think that there is a differences in chances for my manuscript to be accepted if I submit it as a transfer ? or should I do it as a new sumission to maximize the likelihood of a positive editorial decision ?

Hi everyone!

I'm a European Psychology graduate planning to apply to US Marketing PhDs (Consumer Behavior) in December 2027, targeting Stanford GSB, Haas, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, HBS, Questrom, etc.

I'd appreciate honest feedback on my profile, particularly regarding my undergraduate GPA.

Academic background:

• BSc Psychology: 6.55/10 GPA, by far my biggest weakness.
• Currently pursuing an MSc in Psychology, aiming for 9+/10.
• Academic and research stay at UC Berkeley.
• A couple of Berkeley professors told me that a strong MSc GPA would compensate for my undergrad record and that I shouldn't worry too much, but I'm still skeptical.

Research experience:

• Berkeley Haas: Working directly with a Marketing professor on an experimental consumer behavior project I proposed myself. We're developing it from scratch, meeting regularly one-on-one, with faculty funding offered for the first experiment. The goal is a first-author publication.
• Stanford GSB: Coauthoring an Organizational Behavior research paper with a Stanford GSB professor and a postdoctoral researcher.
• UC Berkeley: Second author on a submitted education research manuscript at a peer-reviewed journal (Impact Factor: 2.8). Not yet accepted.
• Other: Additional research involvement with another Haas professor on judgment and decision-making. I also have a personal relationship with a Consumer Behavior professor at a top-ranked European business school, potentially opening opportunities for further research collaboration and a strong recommendation letter.

GRE & LORs:

• Preparing with GregMat roughly 14 months before applications, aiming for 168+ Quant.
• Prospects for three strong academic LORs, potentially from Haas/Stanford GSB professors I've worked with and the European business-school professor mentioned above.

My main concern:

My undergraduate GPA is obviously weak, but I'm hoping a 9+/10 MSc GPA, 168+ GRE Quant, substantial research experience, and excellent LORs could compensate.

Questions:

1. Is a 6.55/10 undergraduate GPA potentially disqualifying at top Marketing PhD programs, even with a strong master's GPA?
2. How much could direct research experience, publications, and strong recommendations from Haas/Stanford GSB professors offset my grades?
3. Are top 10-20 Marketing PhDs realistic targets given my profile and its expected development? What should I prioritize over the next 14 months?

I'd especially appreciate feedback from current Marketing PhD students or people familiar with business-school doctoral admissions.

Thanks!!

Hello everyone!
I’m currently in the second year of my Master’s degree in Business Administration in Switzerland with a focus on Asian markets.

I’m planning to move to Japan 🇯🇵 for a few months to work on my Master’s thesis. I’m particularly interested in topics such as geopolitics, business internationalization, supply chain management, and relations between companies and governments.

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out which direction to take. I’m interested in all these fields, but I’m struggling to find the right research question, ideally something that would also be relevant to my future career.

If you have any advice or experiences you’d be willing to share, I’d love to hear from you! I’m especially interested in hearing about topics that could be worth exploring in the context of Japan and its relationship with Switzerland.
Thanks in advance for your help! 🙏

There's an open-specialization job I'm thinking of applying for in my field, but there's a current faculty member with some significant research specialization overlap (it's a huge department, with 40-odd faculty). I don't think the job is a retirement replacement, since they're associate, not full. I don't know them personally, although I'm familiar with their work. Should I mention them in my application? How? Or should I simply not bother applying?

I have a project.. due in 2 days. I need TWO people to interview regarding their opinion/views on bioremediation. Ti**mezone: UTC +8

Im a student from PISAY (Philippines Science High School) and is currently conducting a research documentary video about bioremediation. I need to interview two stakeholders to satisfy the rubrics… help..

I’ll ask for your profession and full name. If you consent to be interviewed, i must also ask your consent to record the meeting through zoom or gmeet (Your camera can be off). We will NOT post any media gathered from the interview on any platform, and all that will be said will be used for educational purposes. thank you!

Hi everyone, currently looking at getting a postdoc in bioinformatics (just graduated from PhD). I’m a US citizen in the US

What’s the process to get one? I know that cold emailing PIs is the general advice, but how do you go about doing that especially if a position isn’t advertised?

Another question I have: is it easier to get a postdoc position than it was for PhD? I remember emailing a ton of profs for PhD admissions and didn’t get many responses back. For postdocs, I’m really applying only to labs where I’m a good fit and interested in the research.

Appreciate any insight!! Thanks

Hi looking for journal suggestions for two papers in Robotics. Constraints:

• Must be SCI/SCIE (not EI-only)
• Simulation only — no physical robot experiments (we can’t add real-robot at least at moment )
• Prefer fast review if you’ve had recent experience
• Robotics

What I’m asking:

1. Which SCI journals actually accept sim-only robotics without pushing for hardware?
2. Any recent first-hand timing (submit → accept) you’d trust?
3. Journals to avoid for this (desk-reject if no real robots)?

Open to IEEE/Elsevier/Springer SCI titles. Happy to reframe toward software systems / formal methods / safety if that helps. Thanks!

Hello as the question says I would like to teach I have a true passion for it but I don't want to do a PhD after my masters just to qualify for highly competitive tenure roles. Id rather just lecture but I'm afraid there is just to little job security in that sense.

Does anyone have any advice is it worth to do a PhD just for teaching tenureship?

First post ever on Reddit! Sorry this is long, but I’m looking for any and all advice on my post undergrad situation.

I graduated in June with a BS in Economics and I’m looking to pursue graduate studies. I’m debating an MBA or Master’s in Finance, but leading toward the MSF since my goal is to be a financial advisor (possibly, still figuring out what I want to do). I love being a student and don’t find myself ready to jump into a full-time position, especially since the jobs I’ve already applied to haven’t worked out.

For my application, I don’t have any solid professional experience other than a summer Marketing internship for a startup.

I was involved in various organizations and was president of an Economics club on campus. I built a strong relationship with the professor overseeing the club, and also received an A in the class I took with her (marketing). Definitely asking for a letter of recommendation from her, but unsure of who else to ask. I took 2 finance classes with a professor, who I introduced myself to and went to office hours twice, but didn’t really build a meaningful relationship (I also did okay in those classes, with B/-B grades). I also had a real estate professor that knew me by name, promoted my club every week, and I performed well in the class. Not sure which one I should ask, or if either of those are even a good option.

TLDR:

- Would taking the GRE be worthwhile for my application? Especially since I don’t have strong work experience?
-Should I ask my Real Estate Professor, whom I performed better in the class and knew decently well, or my Finance Professor whom I slightly knew but whose field is more applicable to my application?
-Is there another type of masters program that would make more sense for me?
-Should I say screw it to grad school and take the SIE and find a job?

Any and all advice is welcome! And if you took the time to read this I appreciate you. ☺️

I published a conference paper about five years ago, while I was a master’s student. I recently discovered that I might have submitted a version of the paper that was not the final draft. I do not have any information about those old files right now (I must have lost them). Some passages in the published paper included citations but were not properly paraphrased, and the paper also contained some reference errors. The methods and results are unaffected, but some of the wording is clearly not my own. I was shocked to discover this.

A description of the data, provided by one of my co-authors, also included citations but was not properly paraphrased. The conference was a one-time event, and the organizers have not held another one since. I also noticed that the paper has been cited three times by other researchers. I am now a PhD student.

The methods and results are accurate, but there are problems with the text, including plagiarism (because of not paraphrasing and citing). What would be the best course of action?

I want to send the conference organizers an email, but I’m unsure whether the conference paper can be corrected or retracted, given how much time has passed and the fact that it’s a conference paper.