Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with academia

How do academia and industry collaborate?

gadha — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:31:21 -0800

I'm looking for non-traditional collaboration models between academia and industry (any field) or between companies/consortiums. Any pointers? As a personal project I'm trying to map out how academia and industry collaborate. It seems to me the de facto model is one in which academia either works on specific projects for industry (with IPR rights agreed on beforehand) or academics spin out a company. However, I'm interested in other, non-linear examples of different modes of collaboration. Examples or pointers both welcome.

How can I keep track of academic papers and my handwritten notes on them?

col_pogo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:28:29 -0800

What is the best hardware/software system for keeping track of a) hundreds of academic papers in PDF form and b) my handwritten notes on these hundreds of papers? Bonus if the answer integrates with some sort of citation management software. I am in a PhD program that requires me to read and take notes on a large number of papers. I can see myself in four years time simply drowning in printouts. My problem is somewhat similar to this previous question.

I don't like reading while sitting in front of my computer (typing hurts and easy internet access kills my productivity), so I tend to print out PDFs and take notes all over them while reading in cafes, libraries, on planes, etc. (Zotero's note system, for instance, isn't great for me because I don't like reading in my browser and typing notes). An ideal system would allow to me read much as I do, but make my notes--and interesting quotes and passages from what I'm reading--searchable for when I'm writing papers, studying for orals, etc.

The problem at that moment is that I end up with all these papers and notes that aren't easy to archive and can't be searched. I fear I don't have the discipline to properly archive all my actual paper notes, and hope that there's a technological fix out there for me.

I'd like advice on whether my best option is
a) a Tablet PC (with what software?)--one potential problem with this would be bulk and the distracting internet access.
b) an eBook reader that supports annotation (the upcoming IREX one?) with some sort of arching software to upload to.
c) One of those smart pens that records what you write (Previously). If these really work and can be integrated with good archiving/searching software I can see this being helpful for interviews and class notes, too.
d) Scanning notes taken on paper into my computer and archiving them from there. Something that sounds onerous and that I probably wouldn't actually do.
e) some brilliant technological solution that hasn't occurred to me.
f) knuckling down and getting a disciplined paper archiving system.

Could these options--a) in particular--be combined with Atlas TI? I love that QDA programs let me jump to specific tagged passages--and apparently the latest version has good support for PDFs. Or will OneNote--or some Mac program I haven't heard of--do this kind of thing better?

I have fairly atrocious handwriting, so OCR doesn't seem to work that well (in Evernote, for instance). I was impressed by Vista's handwriting support the one time I tried it, however--and I gather it learns from its mistakes.

I've heard Apple has a similar option, and would be willing to switch to using Macs if their handwriting recognition or the various note-taking programs I've heard about (Devonthink, Scrivener, Papers, others?) can be combined with some sort of note-capturing system.

I also take notes in lots of books. Any good ideas for capturing these notes that might fit with one of the above options?

Quit or Fail: How to pick up the pieces after academic and PhD abandonment?

Gaeacon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:44:59 -0800

How have you reconciled failure vs. quitting? How have you managed to pick up the pieces of your most passionate undertaking after dropping it? Is the desire to reinvent myself and undertake a new passion/direction just a mechanism to hide the pain of giving up? I recently graduated with a Master's (conciliatory?) in Ecology from a top program. For 2+ of 3 years I dealt with either crippling depression (I think I'll just stay in bed for the week...month...quarter) and second guessing my ability to succeed in my PhD program or the delusion that I could remain cavalier and continue shooting from the hip all the way to the hooding ceremony.

I got tired. I chose not to continue on the PhD path and decided to puruse my "true passion" - communicating environmentalism and inspiring social change within a broader audience. I've done tours of duty with two non-profits that vary widely in their sphere of influence and method of promoting environmentalism/conservation. I haven't been enthralled by either and find myself still looking at the horizon....

I have been feeling nostalgic - I miss collaborators/old friends, I miss exciting tropical field site, I miss comfortable fellowship, and I really miss feeling like I am creating my life rather than just floating by. At the time, I was convincing myself I wanted something different, something more in line with my dreams. Now I look back and think "I had it good! If I just did the work and didn't fall victim to the distraction of something bigger and better....if I would have dealt with the depression (self-induced I think), bad habits, cavalier attitude...I would be well on my way with research".

Maybe it is mostly hindsight and the grass is greener type of thing. I can't rid the nagging feeling that "I want to quit PhD to pursue this, my real passion!" is really just a self-deception disguising "I am failing because I refuse to make positive changes in my life and would rather do nothing". I am tired of this "can't fail if I don't try" attitude, and I basically spend everyday of work at non-profit thinking about how I messed up.

How do I overcome this failure/quitting and regain creative control of my life? Where do I go next? I am drowning with real-world problems (paying bills, finding a new job) and feel like I am inevitably drifting further from pursuing my "true passion" - my supposed reason for getting out of PhD early!

I want to stop defrauding myself. I know that I was fully capable of doing the work I just "chose" not to. The worst feeling is not knowing if I was justified in that choice - was it because of laziness, fear of failure....or truly because I wanted to do something else (as I struggled for months to finally convince myself and then report to others) - it just all seems like lies

reference advice

crazylegs — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:32 -0800

What is the protocol regarding asking for academic recommendations? I am a recent PhD seeking a job in academia. I've been feeling badly about burdening my former MA and PhD advisors for job references, because I know they're very busy people. But I tell myself "hey, it's part of their job, don't feel badly". Well, yesterday I received an email from one of them that smacked me down pretty hard. She took me to task for a couple of other things, and said that the references were "a lot to ask" (I have sent her around 10 or 12, most of which could be an identical letter, sent to a different institution).
Is there any other way to go about this job search? It seems that my advisors are the best people to use for recommendations; as I am not yet published (and even if I were), who else is familiar with my work?
Did I do something wrong? The last thing I want to do is to alienate the people who, to some extent, hold my future in their hands.

Should I apply for the same university teaching job twice?

jkl345 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:58:20 -0800

Should I apply to the same academic position twice? I was a finalist and they ended up not hiring anyone after everyone had interviewed (the job wasn't cut because of budget issues or something like that). They just decided not to fill it and passed on me. The Backstory:
A year ago I applied for a teaching position at a cool university where I attended graduate school (many moons ago).

I applied after being urged by two former professors who knew my skillset and thought I could contribute to the school. I thought I had a good shot at the job and love the city and university, so I applied.

I interviewed and was declared a finalist for the job. I was offered another job at another school that was good, but I passed on it with the hopes that I'd get this dream job. I did the in-person interview, guest taught a class (which got rave reviews from the students and the teacher whom I was teaching for), presented to the faculty and then went home and waited.

And waited. Then sent a message to the search committee chair to check in, who said they were still making a decision.

Then I waited more. When my lease was coming up, I contacted them and asked if there was anything new. They said they were going to continue looking, that I was still a 'finalist' but that I should do what I needed to do and not wait for them.

It's several months later now and I checked in with one of the professors I knew and it ends up that they did not hire anyone (and not because of budget reasons). The professor said:

"...What happened is something I’ve seen happen frequently in searches (both here and in industry). The committee fell in love with one candidate (who really was unique and outstanding) and when that candidate turned us down, all the rest seemed to pale by comparison. Don’t take it personally … it was a function of the dynamics associated with that particular search. ..."

The professor also mentioned that for next year, they're going to have multiple similar openings to hire and added this:

"... And if you were not discouraged by your experience the last time, and are still interested, you should consider applying again. If you don’t want to, though, I’ll understand. One small difference this time around: I’m co-chairing the committee..."

The Dilemma:
Should I bother applying again or is that pathetic? I feel like this is going on a date with an ex.

I really like this school, the area it's in and I think I'm capable of doing this job well (it'd be a freaking uphill battle because of some bureaucracy/legacy staff issues but I could do it). I'm also still kinda bitter about what happened last year -- especially after the students gave such a high evaluation of the class I taught. It seems that I didn't get the job because of some political b.s. or something and that the administrators aren't really looking out for finding the best teachers. Part of the prof telling me that I could apply again might just be them trying to be nice, because they are a very nice person overall.

If I apply, should I just use the same resume/cover letter/materials? If I change things, it seems like the original was lies. If I keep it the same, it's like I didn't try applying.

Personally, how can I get over this resentment I feel?

Anyone have advice or experience with this or other things I should be thinking about?

Thanks for your help!

What makes a good academic scholar?

jfricke — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:32:08 -0800

Where can I find personal stories of popular scholars on their life as students, phd candidates and/or professors? I love my field of study and I am a smart student. But sometimes I feel like this might not enough. That there is something more I should have.

Thus, I am looking for personal stories of popular scholars on their life as students and/or scholars. An example would be Leon Lederman's Low Pay and Long Hours that is also quoted in another ask metafilter thread:

"It was probably five years after my PhD when I began to realize I was fairly competent. By year 10, I realized to my surprise that I was as productive as those best friends who brought me into physics, even though they understood much more than I did (...) Hard work--yes, it really accounts for a lot of the success. Most scientists aren't brilliant. Some are even very slow. Being solid is important--that means really knowing what you have to know even if it takes a long time. Many "brilliant" guys are superficial. Determiniation, doggedness and hard work are the characteristics that are highly valued in a group."

Although I am more interested in humanities or social sciences, personal accounts from any field are fine with me.

How to choose a grad school?

1024x768 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:52:33 -0800

How to choose a grad school? After a couple years of really blah experiences in the corporate world have convinced me it's not for me, I'm ready to go back to school.

My background and experience is primarily in computer science (as is my bachelors), but I've always had a dream of studying cognitive neuroscience to better understand how consciousness arises from the human mind.

I'm primarily interested in schools in the chicago area. Thing is, there are many different neuroscience programs in the area universities and I'm at a loss of how to narrow my selection. My ultimate goal is to study and research the brain/mind, which I'm assuming will involve getting a PhD in neuroscience or a related discipline.

How does one go about settling on a school/program?

Where can I get affordable online access to academic journals?

algal — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:16:27 -0800

Where can I get affordable online access to many academic journals? Generally only large university libraries have paid the expensive subscriptions for electronic access to academic journals. Sometimes these libraries let users access the journals online. But I am not affiliated with any university. Are there any libraries I can join by paying a fee, that would give me online access to many online journals? I need journals in biological and physical sciences.

Apparently you CAN level up beyond the PhD bonus round

Busoni — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:47:48 -0800

How does one apply for a postdoctoral position/fellowship/job? I have a cousin from overseas who would like to come to a school in the Boston/Cambridge area for postdoctoral work in Chinese. Since I hadn't even imagined there was such a thing as academic work after getting one's PhD, I also have no idea how one might go about applying for it. Is this done through the school, or department, or should she contact a professor directly, or … ?

Academic careers in the humanities.

ms.codex — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:26:23 -0800

Tell me why you decided NOT to pursue a PhD. My partner, an academic, thinks that the humanities departments in the US are suffering a major brain drain-- that smart students these days are drawn to law, consulting, science, investment banking, etc., and NOT to graduate study in the humanities. I'm inclined to disagree but of course I have no evidence for either view. I'm curious to hear the experiences of people who considered pursuing a PhD and an academic career (especially in the humanities, but all fields welcome) but ultimately decided not to. It seems to be common knowledge that it's a very tough job market out there for recent PhDs, and I'm wondering if that grim reputation has actually deterred people who are making decisions about graduate study and career paths. I'm also curious to know how prospective or current grad students weigh the pros and cons of a potential academic career-- the specific intellectual satisfactions versus any frustrations you think are specific to academia.

How should academic research view commercial pressures?

fcummins — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:57:44 -0800

What should the relation between academic research and commercial interests be? I have to take part in a panel discussion on the degree to which academic research should be informed or led by commercial needs. I have strong feelings about the pernicious influence of commercial interests on academic research, but I could do with some help in fleshing them out, concrete examples of cases where there is clear conflict, etc.

Should I apply for SSHRC?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:58:58 -0800

How stringent are SSHRC's GPA requirements? Is it worth my time to apply for SSHRC? The application process is quite involved, and I could really be using that time to prepare for other aspects of my grad school applications. Also, the deadline is soon: Oct 1st. I am in my final year of undergrad, preparing applications for MA programs in philosophy. SSHRC wants, at minimum, an A- average in each of the last two years of study: I have an A+ (3.94) in my final year, and a B (3.0) in my penultimate year. I'm at U of T. In the 3.0 year, I wasn't really taking courses in philosophy, if it matters.

Sometimes it's worth it to apply for things even if you don't meet the mimimum standards, because other aspects of your application might set you apart, or the requirements are more of a wish list, or who actually gets through depends more on the competition for that year, etc. But I don't want to waste time applying for SSHRC if it's more or less certain I'm not going to get it. Any ideas?

(Anon because I'm embarrassed about that 3.0.)

Advice for the academic job market

k8t — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:52:31 -0800

Advice for going on the academic job market? I'm graduating in the spring from a social science PhD, therefore it is job marketing time. There are listings in my field, although not as many as there used to be. I'm looking primarily at TT R1s. Any wisdom from the academic MeFites for the process generally (CVs, cover letters, interviews, negotiations)? Thanks!

What are some good interdisciplinary grad programs in the environmental sciences?

geneva uswazi — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:31:58 -0800

I want to develop a strong technical background in environmental issues, but don't want to leave the social sciences - my first passion and the thing in which I know I have actual talent - behind. What are some grad programs that will suit me? I am a semi-recent college graduate ('06) with a degree in cultural anthropology, and I've spent now going on 2 years working for a hurricane relief and community development nonprofit in the Gulf Coast. During that time, I've developed a strong interest in certain admittedly diverse environmental issues - wetlands ecology, water resources management, food sustainability, environmental justice - the common thread between them being that they all figure prominently in the work that is being done in my community.

I have also developed a fascination for the technical side of things, which I've never had before - I would love to have the know-how for making or evaluating concrete project plans (for example, green building initiatives or a small urban agriculture concern, or a coastal restoration project - I haven't decided which technical area appeals to me most just yet). At the same time, I'm not satisfied unless I have a chance to think about the social impacts, policy implications, and economic challenges of a particular project. My work has brought me into constant contact with situations where "the science and the social" have to be considered together, and I have become super-passionate about becoming the sort of person who is well versed in both dimensions. "Whole systems thinking," I've heard it called, and that sounds all right to me.

So now I'm searching for a graduate program that will allow me to develop that dual expertise. I'm looking for environmental science programs that tout their "interdisciplinarity," not fully knowing whether that's just an academic fad that will leave me not quite specialized enough to do anything at all, or whether the eco-careers world will think it as valuable as I do.

There are several things I could see myself doing with that kind of training - going into policy analysis, translating scientific research information for policymakers, or being a consultant for sustainable design projects (I'd especially love to work in a "developing" country context). I'm open to suggestions on this front as well.

Are there grad programs you all might recommend that you think would be a good fit for me? I'm pretty taken with the Earth Institute at Columbia and the Nelson Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and am looking for others that come close to these in terms of the breadth of options/concentrations, integration of different departments, etc.

My sub-question, I guess, would be that I completely lack a natural science background. I haven't taken a science or math course since high school. Am I looking at a potential extra year (or more?) of remedial work in community college to increase my chances of getting into a program with any kind of natural science component at all?

Thanks for the help and for any related suggestions!

Avoiding the two-body problem...

Diagonalize — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:17:25 -0800

Anyone have career or life suggestions for a would-be “trailing spouse”? For over 4 years now, I've been in a wonderful relationship with a brilliant academic. He's currently a science postdoc at a top tier university and plans to stay in academia, which I am fully supportive of, but because academic jobs are so scattered and multiple moves common, I've found myself at a loss for what I should be doing.

Relatively fresh out of school, I'm at the point where a lot of options are still open. The man who would be professor is incredibly supportive and encourages me to do whatever I want, but when we first met, he was still in grad school, and I don't think either one of us fully realized how tough coordinating careers can be. We're not married, but we do live together, and I've already followed him across the country once. Plans for marriage and kids are in the future, but not just yet. In the meantime, I'm okay with being the satellite in the relationship, but I want to be satisfied and productive while doing it.

I'm female, in my mid-20's, with a B.A. in English and a truckload of interests, but no one all-consuming passion. I love writing, but have no particular experience other than my degree to prove it. I do have previous experience in university fund-raising, but it feels like institutional knowledge is key for advancing in any university admin position, and until the boyfriend gets a steady professorship, I probably won't be in any one place long enough for that. I really don't mind being an admin assistant, but it's not the kind of thing I want to do my whole life. I haven't entirely ruled out going back to school, but I'm not interested in conducting a long-distance relationship, and I'm also worried about making the two-body problem worse. I'm just not sure what kind of portable career options are open to non-tech people. If you have any suggestions or insights, especially into the “non-academic/academic” lifestyle, I'd love to hear them.

career advisor that specializes in academia?

ThiefOfSweets — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:14:15 -0800

looking for a career advisor that specializes in helping people find their area of academic research. I'd like to go back to academia, but not to my former area of study. I'm looking for a career advisor who will work with me, analyzing my values and areas of interest and matching that with areas of academic research. So most importantly - I'm looking for an advisor with encyclopedic knowledge of careers in academia, especially uncommon ones, and how to get to them. I'm mainly focused on the U.S, though if I find something interesting enough I might be open to working abroad.

Ideally I'd need someone who can work with me over the net/phone, since I'm abroad.

relevant books are welcome too!

How can I get a non-TT research gig?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:36:23 -0800

What can I do to get a researcher position? I am almost done with a quantitative social science PhD program with a focus on technology adoption antecedents, globally. I am 95% sure that I don't want to go TT. I'd love to work at Google Research, Microsoft Research, etc. But how do I get a job at a place like that? What sort of publications should I be trying for? What else can I do to beef up my CV and get noticed?

Canadian job application help

biffa — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:59:31 -0800

Canadian academic position, what goes in each of the cover letter, CV, research and teaching statements? I'm thinking in terms of content, level of detail in each, especially teaching and research statements, which are pretty foreign to me. Is it just detail or do they want stuff on top (e.g. mission statement style stuff)? Any advice appreciated.

MBA to academia?

howiamdifferent — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:17:22 -0800

Is completing my MBA a logical step towards a career in academia? I am currently pursuing an MBA degree while working full time. I am loving the theoretical part of business and I'm considering pursuing a PhD degree in a business-related field to become a professor.

Is completing the MBA program a logical step towards my goal? Or should I quit and pursue a traditional MSc/PhD program in business?

Please note that my undergraduate degree is in computer engineering.

Paper or Proceeding?

pseudonick — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:44:39 -0800

Academic Resumefilter: The proceedings of a conference I presented a paper to were published in a special issue of a journal (and the papers under went an additional refereeing process). Should I include these under "journal articles" or must these be listed as "conference proceedings"?

Grad school self-sabotage

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:47:25 -0800

Please, help me deal with a justified last-minute anxiety, regarding a Very Important oral presentation (end of the year research presentation), that will introduce a more than average research (due to personal problems, which interfered with academic work). Also, help me think about the right attitude to adopt towards my teachers on D-day. Hello, and sorry in advance for the length this may take. My story may be related to this one , this , and this as well

I am a student in my 1st year of grad school, in a country where university isn't expensive at all. My program doesn't make selections before accepting students in grad school, as their policy is to let them in and see their capacities, then selecting them for the next year (= about 30% of us end up making it into the next levels). In order to maximize chances to be selected, 1/3 of the students decide to divide the academic content of that first year, over 2 years, which I decided to do, very late last schoolyear.

Students are led to enroll in research and in the writing of something very similar to a scientific paper on their own, in collaboration with advisors as part of the credits, aside of full-time courses and internships 1 day a week. The program is known to be a tough one in its field. I made a research in collaboration with a very sweet and understanding advisor/researcher. She went along with the repetitive and irritating delays each of my writing pieces and experiments had to take, very gracefully, partly due to my sincerity and motivation towards work. These delays were the results of procrastination, and of a clouded mind about half of the time. These being heavily caused by social and performance anxiety as well as depression issues I have been dealing with in therapy, with medication, for 2 years now. It has gotten better, but my time management definately needs improvement
(These issues started showing up like never before only a few months into grad school.. which didn't leave me with a choice but to continue)
The problem is that all these delays got me horribly late for the presentation I needed to make at the end of the year (next monday to be precise), and as i had sent her the various parts of my writing separatel during the year, i ended up sending her the last and most important part exactly 2 days before due date, when all teachers would have access to it. Busy as she is, and having let me know that she wouldn't be very available these days, she trusted me to hand it it, and even found time to read it once, sending it back to me about 2 hours before i printed it.

Having dealt with my time as usual, and being too busy re-reading my 60 pages long paper, in bad need of sleep, with shaky hands, I was adjusting and checkig my graphics, etc... I was horrified to see that she had underlined a single thing in each paragraph, and was asking me to reconsider them, the way I had expressed certain ideas but also a few key elements (such as all the statistics I had done, including the ones that didn't show any significant results)... I couldn't have gathered and edited all this information by myself, in such little time. I did all that I could, but ended up giving back a booklet that bears every proof of me being somehow slack and uncaring, etc.... (for the second half of the paper.. the first half being of a good quality). Some pages don't match the summary, some elements are missing... Overally, it isn't entirely bad, except that my instructors are probably laughing at the moment, thinking I gave them a work that lacked an average week weeks of re-reading, editing / etc. They are strict, and by no means would I be able to fool them by saying that these errors were technical (as a friend suggested).

Presently, I feel devastated, as I have felt every once in a while since school started.... Too well aware that my relationship to deadlines and to the assignments that I am given by professors is compulsory. And I know that my reason to procrastinate is merely a fear of disapointing them. (usually, as soon as I hand my work in, I purposefuly stay away about the topic, and everything related, despite enjoying my work and having picked it myself out of many others........ because I have been so very scared by the whole "adventure".)

In case it is relevant, I am a 23y female, and I decided during the last 6 months to make a change of major, in which i have been accepted thanks to the grades i got in the last years....; So my future isn't at stake here, as I will start a new gradschool program next fall, in another city, and am forsaking this field of study for now, for valid reasons (the other field offers more stable jobs, has better recognition, and it will probably match my personality much better). I intend on making solid changes, documenting myself sufficiently on time management and the likes, and dealing with all the lessons I learned the hard way, during the coming summer.

As a side information, my university doesn't really put health services in touch with teachers as it is the case in america, in order to help them out in difficult times.

I know there is no easy way to go through next monday, and am scared to be overwhelmed by emotions, because I feel like I have never wanted anything like this to happen. I am scared to death of the reaction my teachers will have. They will probably only ask questions, be cold, and let me go. But... even though my conclusions are alright and can be justified, I am really shaky. There is no way I can justify the poor quality of my work, because my personal life isn't of any interest to them.

Do you have any advice on what I could do or say to balance my emotions and be at my best ? Also, would it be acceptable to hand in another paper, that would have been corrected ? I cannot ask my advisor anything regarding this, as she has said she will be unreachable until the day of the examination. Thank you in advance, hive mind.

Do I need the PhD to work in industry?

alligatorman — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:42:47 -0800

I want a PhD in Mathematics, but I do not want to stay in academia. Is it worth it? I would like to go into industry immediately after getting my PhD.

My question is: Is it worth it? Will having a PhD give me opportunities that I can never have otherwise?

My interests are in discrete mathematics: combinatorics, graph theory, algorithms, etc. I've been told by someone who works in the computer tech industry that he knows of a lot of companies that hire mathematicians for work in algorithms, optimization and other things that I wouldn't mind doing.

Would I be wasting my time going for a PhD? Could I ultimately be doing work that a PhD does with just a Masters (ideally funded by the company) and some experience? If so, would I even be able to land a position with such prospects with just a Bachelors degree and no related work experience?

I want to continue to do mathematics that I find interesting, but I don't want to go through what's necessary to become a tenured professor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Looking to put together a self-study for Comparative Literature.

elfgirl — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:58:57 -0800

I'd like to study about Comparative Literature, but as I've looked around at CompLit university departments it appears that there isn't really anything like an introductory course or textbook. I'm not looking for a program to join, although the possibility exists that I may incorporate CompLit into a future graduate degree. Right now I'd like to learn a little about the foundations of field and the theories that underlie it; I'm particularly interested in translation theory.

Any suggestions of texts or journal articles would be welcome. If there are any course materials available through OpenCourseWare or Berkeley's webcasts (or something similar), that would be fantastic. I've looked through both of those sites, but because of the interdisciplinary nature of Comparative Literature and the fact that there doesn't seem to be a conveniently labeled foundational course, it's hard to know what would be a good starting point.

See Ya! Thanks for the PhD

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:56:59 -0800

I am getting a PhD in two years from a top research university. What I can I do now to help me get a job outside academia when I graduate? I am a newly minted PhD candidate (just passed my quals last week!) at a R1 social science department. I love my dissertation topic, my adviser is great, my prospects for graduating in 2 years are almost certain ... but I want to leave academia as soon as I get my PhD.

Four years ago I entered the program fully determined to follow the standard path: dissertation, job, tenure. However, over time I have come to realize that I do not want the life of an academic. I want to be doing policy work, not researching it. I have nothing against a life of research, but it just isn't my dream life anymore.

If my adviser found out of my change of heart he would be very disappointed and probably pretty displeased. Needless to say, I haven't told him yet.

My question is this: What can I do now to maximize my chances of getting a job at a think-tank, government, non-profit, consulting company after I graduate in two years?

How do I go about changing tack in my career and getting back into academia?

shewhoeats — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:40:50 -0800

I'm desperately bored working in the legal information sector and want to go back to university/get into academia, but I'm not quite sure how to get there. Very long winded background below. I currently am working as a law librarian/researcher in a law firm in London, but am desperately bored and stifled in my job. I've always wanted to be an academic/professor/lecturer (or whatever word you want to use), but up until now it's not something I've given much attention to as a serious idea (for various, primarily economic, reasons). The longer I work in the corporate sector though, the more I come to think that I would be much better off in an academic environment.

I did a humanties undergraduate degree (English Lit and History) in Brisbane, Australia, and at the time didn't have the financial stability to be able to support going straight into a purely academic Masters/Phd program, and was also keen to get some 'real world experience' rather than going straight into more education. In an attempt to do something vaguely academic that would still help me get a job, I decided to study for a Master in Information Management, under the not so brilliant justification that I liked books and libraries, so surely I'd like working in one. (yes, I know, not so bright). I finished my MIM in 2005, just as I moved to London, and had no trouble getting information work here. I've been working as a law librarian, in a number of different jobs since then, but am bored to death. I can't bear the tedious work and the beauraucracy of working in a law firm, and I need to do something more intellectually stimulating.

I now live in the UK, with no intention of going back to Aus any time soon, and there are more opportunities than I could wish for, but I have no idea how to go about catching any of them. I am really very interested in information, the web, how we use information now, etc (see the work of http://mediatedcultures.net/, http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/, etc) and would very much like to go back to uni to study them formally, but I'm just not quite sure how to go about doing it.

I'd like to go back to uni as a phd student, but I (a) don't have the money and (b) can't really do it until I'm a UK citizen due to the extra costs to study as an international student (I'm eligible for citizenship in 2 years time).

I want to do work now that will help me in achieving these career goals, but I have no idea how to go about it. There is a Research Assistant position that I'm very interested in, and I think I have the skills for, but I know I don't have the experience (or at least nothing recent). I haven't had the opportunity to do any academic work in the last 3 or so years, as I was trying to make a go of the actual work thing and have been working hard at my job.

So I guess my questions are:
Would a university consider hiring someone for a research position that hadn't been already doing academic research in the area/has been working in the corporate sector for a few years?
Would I be able to take the skills from my undergrad + MA and successfully apply them to a research assistant position? Or am I going to be way out of my depth?
Are there different types of jobs I could use as a way in to academia?
Or should I just suck it up and wait out the two years and apply to do my phd then?

The only thing I know for sure at the moment is that I desperately want to get out of the corporate sector, but I want to make sure that my next job move will get me closer to my goals, rather than further away... Thank you to anyone who made it this far for any help, suggestions, comments...