Wikipedia defines a Postdoctoral Researcher (postdoc for short) “a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies… The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pursue additional research, training, or teaching in order to have better skills to pursue a career in academia, research, or other fields.” I feel like … Continue reading
This guest post was written by Justin Hart. Justin is a second-year Master’s candidate at UNC-IMS in Rachel Noble’s lab. He collaborates with local stakeholders to study the effects of stormwater on coastal water quality. He was previously a fellow at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, where he studied beach health policy in … Continue reading
Graduating from college can be a daunting adventure. Your friends may be getting jobs, joining the Peace Corps, or living with their parents. But maybe you’ve decided to go to grad school! Hopefully you have some clear motivations and experience for doing so. Now, how do you start? Luckily, your friends at UNdertheC have all … Continue reading
Before attending your first scientific conference, you’ll get a lot of feedback. Most of that commentary is about science, fittingly enough. “Be prepared to see at least 17 big wigs in your audience,” your advisor warns. “That graph is kinda nonsense,” your grad student practice audience frowns. “Will green and blue make it tough for … Continue reading
Editorials about academia are quick to point out the startling gaps between earning a PhD and becoming a professor. Justin and Megan recently wrote about pragmatic ways current PhD students might respond to this roadblock, and it certainly is an alarming issue. Based on letters in major journals though, one is left with the impression … Continue reading
Funneling women into STEM majors seems easy enough. Add enough women in the mix, and (like trickle-down economics) those women will get tenure track positions, they’ll encourage the next generation and so on. In a perfect world, if a girl were interested in science, she would study science, and then she would get a job … Continue reading
As a grad student I often find myself in conversations with colleagues concerning job prospects, diversity, biases in science, and the difficulties of publishing. I’m lucky to be in a very diverse marine science department full of students from all types of backgrounds. We have more female grad students than male grad students around here, … Continue reading
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