Archive for the 'Grad School' category

Advice for new grad school bloggers...

Mar 20 2012 Published by under Blogging, Grad School, Lab

So today I got an email for a cool cat named Darwin Foo, who is about to go to graduate school, on advice for starting up a blog.  Turns out Darwin has created a blog Darwin + Fu = My Equation For Life.  So Darwin, here is my advice to you and any other grad student bloggers.  Dear readers if you have any pearls of wisdom, feel free to contribute as well.

1. There are no rules to blogging, do whatever the hell you want.
2. Write for you! Mostly, its the most comfortable and its where you best stuff will flow from and you are creating an honest point of view.
3. Since you are not pseudonymous, be careful about how critical of things and people you are. Folks now know who you are, best not to slag off too hard on anyone you work with or where you work.
4. Go comment on other folks blogs and make sure to leave the link to your blog as a trackback, that way they can navigate to your blog and read you.
5. Feed the trolls, but not too much. I give the Tideliar some filet mignon from time to time, but he'll keep eating if you don't cut him off.
6. Have an RSS feed, that way I and others can add you into their Google Reader subscriptions
7. If you are going to research a topic, really research. For example, in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina famed rapper Kanye West publicly declared that then President George Bush didn't care about black people. Kanye was a bit hurried in his research and missed the mark by a bit. If he would have done his due diligence, he would have found out that George Bush didn't care about black people OR poor people. Lesson learned Kanye, do your homework.
8. Have fun, if its not fun, you aren't going to be able to do it.
9. Oh and when you get a following, make sure to throw some linklove in other people's directions. The ever lovable DrugMonkey was the first to throw me some linklove and make mention of my blog (which I surmise he found me from his comments section) and gifted me much of the meager following that I have today. So I will always be thankful to him, even though he holds me upside down and shakes out my lunch money every day.
10. The internet will turn on you one day. It happens to everyone but don't be surprised if they go all 4chan on your ass. Just deal with it. It will subside, unless you piss off the homeopathic people. Or doulas!

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Scientific Writing & Grantsmanship Skills

Mar 07 2012 Published by under Grad School, Grantsmanship

is really freaking lacking in most incoming graduate students and for the most part its because the poor noobs have no experience with it.  Most of these "kids" come out of undergrad having maybe written some lab or field reports and maybe a 5 page paper on some topic.  A few have actually done a senior's thesis and developed some basic modicum of scientific writing skills.  But universally, when it comes to writing any type of scientific proposal we have no clue.

Some universities are proactive and require students to take a class (usually during their first summer) on writing and grantsmanship where they can craft some basic scientific proposal.  This is immensely helpful for those whose qualifying exams are to author some type of grant proposal.  Sadly my institution puts no emphasis on this training and it is left up to the trainee and their mentor.  And judging by some of the St. K3rns that I work with, they are loathe to allow you to participate in anything that takes you away from the lab.

So dear reader, what are your thoughts on formal training in scientific writing and grantsmanship, did you undergo this, and would you think this would be a practical addition to the graduate school curriculum?

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8 responses so far

Yeah Boy!!!!

Feb 22 2012 Published by under Grad School

Everybody, stop what your doing.  That means you!  This is important.  I just had a major freaking breakthrough in my research, that has been three years in the making.  It isn't of Nobel magnitude but it definitely registers on the Hagen Das scale.  This is so freaking balling and opens up so many doors to me it well makes up for three years worth of:
-beating my head against the wall
-stomping my feet
-pissing
-and moaning
-whining
-throwing temper tantrums
-grunting at loved ones when they ask me how my project is going
-grunting at friends when they ask me how my project is going
-grunting at anyone in general when they ask me how my project is going

Its the sweet victories like today that make all the hard work, sacrifice, and obstacles worth it.  If you'll excuse me I'm going to go dance an Irish jig now.

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16 responses so far

Knowing when to seek help (and that it exists)

Feb 20 2012 Published by under Grad School

I know virtually all universities have counseling centers and readily make them available to undergraduate and graduate students alike, but feel like these resources are not readily known about.  When I was orientating I think I heard this topic broached for under three minutes and watched as my incoming grad student cohort (and I) rolled their eyes in feigned attention.  But that was really the last I have ever heard about the counseling program.  Now heading into the twilight of my graduate career I can honestly look back and say I should have made use of the counseling.

Graduate school can place an immense amount of physical stress on you what with all the long and strange hours (3:00 am time points suck).  But you are also under so much mental stress at some points in your training that it feels like the weight of the world rest upon your shoulders and one of them is about to pop out of socket from all the pressures.  Honestly it would have been nice to have someone to talk to (outside your normal circle of friends) to just open up to them when life gets too hard sometimes.  I know there is a stigma to seeking counseling and it sucks.  I have heard the quiet whispers about the folks who do and seen the damning stares that others have given them.  It is not fair to put these resources in place to aid those who are hurting and then condemn them for seeking help.

The purpose of this point is to remind folks that these resources do exist, and people are using them, and if you feel the need, you should too.  We all feel the weight of stress but we shouldn't feel alone.

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6 responses so far

But aren't we also exploiting them?

Feb 14 2012 Published by under Grad School, Lab, Mentoring

I hear the term "exploitation" being bandied around by trainees when they talk about the training regimen of life science research.  The pejorative seems to be tossed around a bit carelessly, I understand that the system sucks and that there are not enough PI jobs for all of us, but lets face it I'm not sitting in sweltering jungles of (insert 3rd world country) stitching together Nike sneakers for $5 a week.  Don't get me wrong there are exploitative PI's, they do exist, but I feel they are a minority.  I'm willing to wager for every Kern, there are at least 3-5 good bosses to work for.

But I pose a question for trainees to sit and chew on for a bit.  Are we not exploiting our PIs?  Do we not wholeheartedly consume their financial and intellectual capital to try and get us to the next step in the game.  Are we not sponging off them for their grant dollars, ideas and projects, collaborations, and other assets in order to take our science to the next level and then take off for our own greener pastures.  Some trainees even get to leave with their projects (or a piece of them) when they move on to take over their own lab (thus negating the feudal analogies that I here graduate students and postdocs whimper about).

There are PI's that will work you like a rented mule and cast you aside when you appear to show the faintest signs of a limp, but are we not also trying to squeeze every ounce of resources and advantages out of them as well?  It is a two way street after all.

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9 responses so far

For Safety's Sake...

Jan 31 2012 Published by under Grad School, Lab, Safety

I'm sort of in a bit of a pickle here dear readers. I work with someone who while nice and a pleasant well-meaning coworker, they also have a less than stellar track record with respect to safety. They have committed no serious sins of safety but have numerous minor infractions and seemed to have to told repeatedly that they are not doing something the right way. Minor radiation contaminations throughout the lab, working with volatile chemicals outside the hood, and spinning unbalanced rotors (at not too high of speeds but high enough to make me really concern) seem to be the majority of their infractions.

I keep the lab manager apprised of what is happening and try to correct the person myself when ever I see them committing or about to commit an infraction. While no safety violation was a fireable offense, the culmination of these little offenses is starting to lead to a characterization of the person as sloppy and unsafe. I'm extremely concerned and pissed off with this individual after their latest gaffe that ended up affecting me (not seriously though luckily).

I'm sort of at my whit's end and don't really know what to do next. My PI is aware of most of the safety issues but I think they will always tend to push it underneath the rug.

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19 responses so far

Looking deep within and ignoring the noise

Jan 17 2012 Published by under Grad School

(Hang on, someone is walking by me...You better not stop...That's right buddy keep on walking, don't even think about making small talk now...)

Taking time out to sit and just think has been so hard for me lately due to a busy workload.  I often like to take time just to find a quiet place to sit and reflect on the good, the bad, everything in between.  But constantly being bombarded by noise (lots of sound pollution from the lab), people, and a multitude of issues as work has cut down on my quiet time where I can reflect on my project.  Personally, I find it valuable to find a few moments to be introspective about my project and think about where it all came from, where it went sideways, and how its getting back on track.  Remembering the full spectrum of emotions that I have felt for my project (fear, loathing, outright resentment, and pure elation) gives me an appreciation for what I do and those that support me in my efforts.

I am actively trying to decommit from anything that does not advance my project or is not an immediate payoff to professional development.  I've paid my dues and done enough favors, now is the time to focus in on the finish line and let nothing else cloud my field of view.  What gets me to the finish line is what's important.  Everything else?  It's just noise.

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Labor Pains

Jan 03 2012 Published by under Grad School, Lab

You ever heard the old and slightly offensive saying, "Don't tell me about the labor pains, just show me the baby."  Well I currently trying to push through some very labor intensive experiments that will hopefully pay huge dividends for my project.  This could be a colossal bust though and the boss wants to see the baby (aka the data) ASAP.  I sometimes wonder if PI's lose touch with how long it takes to get some experiments done, nor am I faulting them for this.  I just find it interesting sometime how far they can be off the estimated time frame.

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Repost: The 11th Commandment

Nov 18 2011 Published by under Grad School, Lab

The Laboratory Manager is a unique position in the lab and a quite stressful one. Lets face it, you take shit from three sides: THE MAN (the PI), the front lines (folks working at the bench in the lab), and THE BUREAUCRACY (accountants, safety folks, HR, etc). So while they are balancing satisfying this week's whim that the PI has a scientific boner for, they are also calling to get the -80 repaired, making sure everyone has their radiation safety training certificates documented, getting PO's to order all the shit you need, and whats that there is an internal audit going on? Hopefully the PI treats the Lab Manager like gold because they are the constant in the lab. Grad students, postdocs, and techs, they come and go, but this person stays with the PI throughout most of their career if not all depending on circumstances. So from a PI's perspective THE MAN wants to keep the Lab Manager happy.

So why should you guys on the front line keep the lab manager happy? Um, maybe because they order all of your stuff, which entails going through mounds of paperwork and red tape. They make sure you have the basic essentials in the lab and all the stuff in the lab is working. I have had the misfortune to spend six months working for a horrible lab manager who I considered to be nothing more than a piece of shit. Orders were not regularly placed, in fact one month it took three and half weeks to get her to place an order. So its hard to do work when you run out of pipet tips and lets face it, THE MAN doesn't care if you are out of tips, he wants that data right fucking now. And all this person cared to do was play on their new iPhone all day.

Luckily I have moved on from that lab and lab manager (both of which essentially crashed and burned since I left). I now have the good fortune of having an amazing lab manager, she will bend over backward to make sure everyone in the lab is happy and everything is running smooth. In return, I will fucking rape and pillage like Attila the Hun to keep her happy. I routinely intercept vendors so they don't bother her (although that didn't turn out so well), take them to lunch and pitch in any time a new piece of equipment needs to be set up or calibrated, in essence just be a good fucking labmate. These people work hard to make you happy and hopefully successful, watch out for them and they'll watch out for you.

Now as far as the third front, THE ADMIN, they just don't give a fuck about the Lab Manager. Man, sometimes you just can't go R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

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4 responses so far

Desk Inheritance...What does this mean?

Nov 10 2011 Published by under Grad School

Its always weird taking the desk of someone that is no longer at your institution, especially when they leave stuff behind. Does what they leave behind serve as an additional burden of extra shit you have to toss out when moving your stuff in? Or is it there to serve as meaning, sort of material legacy of those who have resided at that desk and their experiences along the journey. Going along this abstract line of thought, maybe each item is to have some meaning to me.

Dear reader, here is what the last graduate student left at/in/on/around my desk and what meaning it may have for me.

Item: Chai green tea
Meaning: Graduate school is difficult and sometimes stress, make sure to relax and enjoy the process.

Item: Broken ruler
Meaning: I guess you should play by the rules and the ruler could serve as a metaphorical measuring stick for success. But does its broken state mean that the former inhabitant of my desk and or I have lower threshold for success? Mystifying.

Item: Picture of some ugly kid
Meaning: It takes a village to raise a child, but I'm not paying child support.

Item: Blank CD-RWs
Meaning: You should treasure your memories and maybe you should be enriching your life experiences. And also backing up your data.

Item: Half eaten bag of Soft Batch cookies.
Meaning: Despite some people's rough and crinkly plastic demeanor, lies a soft and somewhat stale personality???

Item: A three and a half foot tall stack of journal articles.
Meaning: One can never stop learning, or the lazy jerk was too tired to throw them in the recycling bin.

Item: Booger
Meaning: You gross motherfucker

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7 responses so far

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