Catching Up

As you know, I haven't been keeping up with the blog. I haven't been reading blogs either- mostly because I'm not reading content through the blog reading apps these days. I'm more likely to read tumblr or see something Twitter, so I've missed out on happenings on the blogs. I realized it's been almost two years since I posted something over here! Let me catch up with some random bullets:

• D is in high school now(!) and I drive her to a performing arts school almost an hour away (two rounds trips every day). It is worth it for her to go this school, but also to get out of the local high school here which is 99% white. She loves her new school, but still has the same teen struggles. Her eating disorder never got too serious, but she's still coping with body dysmorphia issues. She's in therapy and it definitely helps.
• I've been advising students in our major, minor, etc for the past three semesters. I enjoy it, since students stop by to see me and talk about class scheduling, etc. It's a good fit for me since I like talking to people. 
• I still haven't gone up for promotion. In theory, I could have gone up this year, but I just need some more research productivity to strengthen my record before I can do that. And with my current commuting schedule that is going to be even more challenging than before (I'm in the car 20+ hours a week). I really need to get another grant funded, but I'm sure you know how hard it is to get those things written and submitted- and then they're usually not funded, either. To be honest, I don't even care that much about promotion- other than the salary increase. I'm not a star researcher and never will be and that's fine. I like to have some leisure time in my life. Wow, I am a slacker.

Otherwise, things haven't changed a whole lot around here. We still live in the same house, our newer kitty is hilarious to have around- H even likes her. D is growing up (she'll be 16 this year!) and I'm already thinking about how my schedule will be freed up when she goes to college (without the commuting). Time flies.  I won't make any promises about posting over here, so if I do it can be a little surprise for everyone. 

Student Death

It's been a sad week here in Small College Town.  One of our students was killed last weekend.  She was one of the best students I've had and just a genuinely nice person.  I've been trying to figure out how I wanted to blog about this, and think I don't want to say too much.  Just that this is so tragic and sad. And hit a lot of us at Small College Town U pretty hard.  H, D, and I went to the funeral together, along with several other faculty from my department. The family seemed appreciative that we came.  I just wanted to show support and let them know that we cared about their daughter and will miss her too. I can't imagine what pain they're trying to cope with, losing a child. Something that should really never happen.

I want to catch up a bit about other things in my life, but I'll write a separate post for that. Hope everyone's doing well out in blog land.

Failure

I was at a PhD oral exam this morning and the student failed. For the second time.  It's not clear what happens now, but s/he will not be getting a PhD in that program.

I have not served on many PhD committees, because my department does not offer them. I am on several committees in related disciplines, but few of them have gotten this far in the process (a few students dropped out before this stage) and the other one that is further along than this went well.  I would have been okay with passing him/her on my part of the exam, but a few other committee members felt the s/he did not even work to learn the follow-up material for theirs (and I agree).

I feel just terrible about the whole thing and keep wondering what went wrong- should the advisor have held back on the oral exam when the written exams were not stellar? (I think so!) Should this re-take have been postponed to allow more time for the student to prepare? It's not clear. We did not have the student come back in afterwards, but I saw him/her with her/his advisor afterward and gave her/him a hug (I'm the only woman on the committee, by the way). I told her/him to come and see me soon. I want to encourage this student to apply to another PhD program (maybe in my field instead), because s/he is smart and I think s/he could do it. But today is just NOT his/her day. 

This post may expire.... expired

I know I've been bitching about my RA a lot, and I really appreciate all of the input from everyone on both sides of the situation. I'm not seeking more advice, but just feel the need to vent. I have been torn about posting much of this, because I feel like I need to be specific to make clear what is going on. 

*poof*

Advice?

Things are NOT going well with my RA and I need to have a chat with him/her. It's not just the assistantship work, but also his/her overall performance as a graduate student. As of now, I am the default advisor, but I'm wondering that is the best thing.  This student will not continue as my RA next year unless s/he really buckles down and gets his/her s**t together. My question is this: should I just set up a meeting without being specific about what it's for and drop the bomb then or prepare him/her by explaining my concerns in an email before the meeting? Oh wise, internets... I await your responses!

Grad Student Dilemma (updated)

You may recall the RA drama of last spring, where a new student committed to taking my RA position and coming to Small College Town U. When s/he backed out at the last minute, I scrambled to find someone who had already applied to the program to fill the RA. The student I hired never saw the advertisement for the RA. His/her application did not express interest in my area, but instead mentioned an interest in a different area of research. H assured me that he had encouraged this student to mention that area because it would improve his/her chances of getting accepted into the program. In earlier communication with this student, s/he had told H that s/he wanted to work in my area, so when my RA became available, H suggested him/her. 

Now that this student is here, s/he is sticking to this other area of interest. This is all fine and dandy, but I really wanted an RA who would also work with me as a thesis advisor and work on a thesis related to this grant. This puts me in an awkward situation. I do not believe in forcing grad students to do thesis projects that they are not interested in, so if the student wants to work in this other area that's fine, but I won't get as much out of his/her work for the project. I have money to fund a student for two years, but s/he isn't doing a thesis related to the project, I feel like I'd rather find someone else for next year. This is also not ideal, because I would have to train the new person later. I also hate to tell this student that s/he won't have an RA next year if s/he isn't going to do a thesis related to the project (s/he would still have a TA). I don't even know if my RA knows that s/he was last-minute replacement and I hate to share that, but this is really a problem.

Any ideas? Help!

ETA: I had a talk with RA this morning and I think we are on the same page now. S/he is willing to do a thesis connected with the project and this doesn't exclude the other area s/he had been talking about. I am feeling much better about things now. I think s/he will be a good student!

It's official

I need to hire a new RA for the Fall. I'm very disappointed, because this person seemed like a great fit and a great person to have a grad student. The reasons for the change of plans were vague, so I just told them that I hoped that everything was OK and how much I appreciate the advanced notice. Still- it's a bummer- I'll have to advertise again. 

Where Addy becomes "Dear Addy"

Well, it's happened again. A blog reader has emailed to ask a question! This time it's about career advice (!) I got his permission to post his email, so here it is:

Hi there,

My name is Eager Teacher* and I want to be a college professor. I have been surfing the net looking for good sources on this topic. I am currently enrolled in an MBA program, that I am solely in to attain a "useful," masters.

My fear is that I am not going to be able to get a job teaching. I don't know where to start. I currently earn 60k/year as an accountant and I need to maintain this salary. I will have my masters done next year and I want to go right into teaching. Is community college or adjunct teaching my only option?

I was also wondering, what does teaching really entail? I want to be a professor because I want to teach, I am not as interested in research. I do understand research is crucial to being a well paid professor, so I can do it if i need to. Should I start now, what should I do research on?

What is an average week like? How many hours do you teach, and what else do you do? Do you work over the summer?

Like I said, I saw your blog and I thought I'd shoot you an E-mail. Thanks for listening.


My reply:
Thanks for your email. I would like to post your email on my blog if you don't mind so that others can give their input, as well. It sounds like you are in the business field (since you are getting your MBA). That is not a discipline I am too familiar with, but I would think that you need a PhD for most full-time positions. You can probably teach part time with an MBA, though. The most important thing you should do is to talk to some of your current professors to get more specific advice. If you earn a PhD and land a tenure-track job in business, you will certainly be able to earn more than your current salary. I know that the faculty in the business school at my university sometimes make double what I make! I'm sorry I don't have any specific advice- I think you are really better off talking to someone in that discipline. Let me know if you have other specific questions I might be able to answer.


His follow-up:
Feel free to post my E-mail. any input would be great. I do have more questions. I am trying to get a day in the life perspective, of what I might expect if teaching adjunct vs full time. Also, have you been published, if so, how do you start the process?


More from me:
For a day in the life perspective, it would actually be useful to read some more academic bloggers and hear about what we all go through on a day-to-day basis. Yes, I have published several papers. Since I am in a science discipline my papers are always based on studies I've done. You should look at journals in your discipline and see what kind of papers are being published. Hopefully some others will comment here!

If you have advice for Eager Teacher, please post some comments! This is the sort of thing that needs many perspectives....

*Obviously, my ridiculous "Dear Abby" style pseudonym!

Advising dilemma

I want to tell you about Master's student that I am currently advising (we have a small Master's program and no PhD) This student is in his/her 3rd year, so has used up all his/her funding. Let's call this student, P. P is an OK student, but does not seem well-suited for a PhD. Well, P is applying for PhD programs and has listed me as a reference. My dilemma is this, do I:

1. tell P that I don't feel comfortable writing a letter for him/her?
   
2. write a letter, but be brutally honest?
3. write a letter that says I recommend this student for a PhD (when I don't?)
4. write a letter that says anything good I can think of, but isn't glowing?
   
5. some other option that I haven't considered?

I am in a bind here for a few other reasons. This student is from a distant country (here on a student visa) and has chronic health problems. If P is no longer a student, s/he will have to go home where treatment is not readily available. However, if I write a glowing letter, P starts PhD work and is clearly not up to snuff, my own reputation could suffer. I already have a good idea of what I will likely do here, but still wanted to hear your thoughts.

Tech Tags: academia advising