Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with phd and money

You mean I get a say in salary talk? Wha?

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 09:25:57 -0800

I was recently contacted by a recruiter and in the last month have been through several interviews, the last taking place today. Now, the recruiter's called to ask if I am ready to take the next step and has asked about my salary expectations. What? I am a recent English PhD, and have been sniffing for non-academic job opportunities for a few months now, while I continue to teach part-time. I make okay money teaching. It's hardly exorbitant, but it is enough to live off for now. I like working in an academic environment, but I am well aware of how dire the job market is these days.

The recruiter contacted me. After a couple of initial interviews, I completed a sample assignment with which they were pleased. Today I met with a couple more people and they seemed very pleased with me and the work I did for them. Not long after the interview, the recruiter (he works in-house) contacted me to ask about my salary expectations.

He had asked about this before. I didn't give him a number, noting that I felt I was well-qualified for the position. They were actively looking for people with humanities grad experience (for the writing and analytical skills), and I've got that for sure. But, I acknowledged that the position was entry level and I knew that going in.

Today when he called back I back-pedaled again, not wanting to be the first to throw out a number. He gave me a range back, which was a bit lower than what I was hoping—say $5-$10K less than what I thought was my realistic expectation. He said that is the standard salary for the entry level people in my position, but acknowledged that they value my PhD. Also, most of the people in this job have MAs, rather than PhDs. He also suggested that there is ample opportunity for advancement.

Now the ball's in my court. How do I come back? I'm in the happy position of not needing the job, absolutely, but my part-time teaching is not 100% reliable, especially in the summer months. The stability would be nice. I do have a list of the benefits and they're agreeable to me, but I am not sure what value they hold in relation to the salary, or what value my PhD has for them. Long story short, I'm not 100% I NEED THIS JOB PLEASE TAKE ME but I am certainly interested enough that I want to play ball.

So, how do I play? I'm used to part-time academia, where you are told how much you will be paid and that's the end of discussion. I've checked out GlassDoor and done some googling but it produces a huge range of salaries. For this position, there's one listed at this company on GlassDoor that is significantly higher than the number I was quoted, but it doesn't say that person's experience or how long they were with the company.

Funding for a Ph.D. in Belgium

Blasdelb — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:46:03 -0800

I'm looking for scholarships or fellowships that could fund, or help fund, a molecular/microbiology Ph.D. in Belgium for an American. I am currently an American graduate student who will now suddenly be graduating with M.Sc in Microbiology with a thesis at the end of spring. I was just recently the Co-Coordinator for an international conference where my efforts particularly impressed the most awesome P.I. ever. He had already looked into finding a way to bring me to Belgium two years ago at the last conference when I was first applying for schools, but now that I will be a free agent again we are looking into it more seriously. The only problem then and now is that, while he has no problem finding money (his lab is gorgeous and rolling in it) all of his sources of student funding are at least EU citizen specific, and many of them are Flemish citizen specific.

I do have a few things going for me,

My CV does not look so bad, I am on some publications, have significantly more experience than is usual for my age, and have been on some impressive sounding committees.

I speak a little bit of French and really want to work on it

This would be research that is plausibly in an area of national need (The Navy, Army, VA, and assorted defense contractors are beginning to dabble in it)

The P.I. is a rising star in the field and a general all around badass who has made a lot of crazy shit work.

There are companies with venture capital and defense cash which might be interested in me doing a project of theirs in his lab.

The University may have funding for at least part of the time that I'd need it

The significant challenges are that,

A Ph.D should have 4 years of funding at least plausibly available.

European Ph.D. funding seems largely inaccessible

American funding for a Ph.D. abroad seems largely non-existent

So far I've found the Belgian American Educational Foundation and he has found the Study in Flanders Fellowship, though they are both only for a year. The Fulbright Scholarship has the same problem but also requires a goal to be plausibly accomplished at the end of their year.

He is also now looking for other possible European and Belgian sources of funding, including possibly a Marie Curie Fellowship, and is more familiar with the companies than I am, but I'm hoping to find any American sources I may have overlooked. Do you have any ideas?

Really this is all kind of new and bewildering for me, I was a C- student in high school who went to a hippy college in the middle of the woods with no grades to get away from that, even the idea of international scholarships is entirely new and weird to me.

Should I quit my job to live abroad with my girlfriend who will be working on getting her PhD?

cad — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:38:47 -0800

My girlfriend's company has offered to pay for her PhD. However, for one reason or another, they would like her to get it abroad (outside of the US). Should she accept? Details inside. My girlfriend (K), and I have been dating very happily for about two years and have been living together for one. We've discussed our future and it's clear that both of us are in it for the long haul. We're both 25 and are just beginning of our careers.

K is a scientist currently with a masters degree in a low level position of her company. She is happy and earning a modest salary. K is extremely smart with a ton of potential. She was recently approached by an executive within her company who stated they would like to pay for her PhD. Although she hasn't been given a significant amount of detail yet, they stated her schooling and living expenses would be paid. They said she could essentially choose the location anywhere outside of the US (Let's assume K will be able to get into the school of her choice). Sounds great! Right?

Well, I'm not doing too shabby for myself either...

I'm currently in a four year IT leadership program within a Fortune 500 company and will be "graduating" next fall. This program has enabled me to gain a significant amount of experience and exposure in a relatively short period of time. I am currently managing an area with a small staff and will be assuming additional responsibilities within the near future. The amount of responsibility I have at my age within my company is uncommon. I expect to continue to climb the corporate ladder in the years to come.

This seems like one of those once in a lifetime opportunities. We'll be able to live abroad, K will get her PhD, and we'll gain a lot of life experience. The only thing holding us back is my job. We had been anticipating I would be the breadwinner, if we move, my future would be much less clear.

What would you do?

Are PhD students responsible for a lot of general lab work (4 out of 5 days of work)?

mallow005 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:09:00 -0800

My girlfriend is a PhD student and is wondering how much general lab work (not related to research) is normal for a student (not a lab employee). Her PI does not pay her anything, all her income (stipend, lab expenses) come from other sources like grants. She is not paid extra for doing the general lab work. Her stipend is about half of the cheapest employee her PI can hire, the entire lab is made up of employees (she is the only student).

Is this a normal situation for PhD students in a lab setting?

The work is cutting into her research, which may delay her graduation. Should she risk confrontation with her PI or just deal with it? Her PI is known for being difficult to talk to and deal with.

AHRC Funding for PhD - How to ensure it!?

0bvious — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:16:50 -0800

Applying for AHRC funding for an Art PhD. Any advice? I am very much at the end of a very long, and arduous, PhD application procedure. I am applying to do Art Practice, with heavy emphasis on practice-based research. I got the place at the university, now I need to get the funding!

I have one very good reference already finalised and am waiting to hear back from my proposed supervisor on the other (required) reference.

What are the most imperative aspects of my 500 words proposal for funding?

I realise that this subject is rather contextual, but any advice would be appreciated.

PhD programs and funding

limegreenpopsicle — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:31:34 -0800

If you are a student receiving funding for a PhD program and you withdraw at the end of the year, does the department/school ever ask for the money back? My thinking might be a bit premature, but...

I entered a PhD program, thinking I wanted to get a PhD. Because I received funding (tuition, fees, stipend), am I stuck here for 5 years? What if I drop out after a year or two with a master's degree? Do they ask for all the money back?

My position right now is that I don't know if I want the PhD, but after settling into the program, I very well might. It's a bit of cold feet on my part, I suppose. So I've been weighing my options. I want to give the PhD a chance, but I also don't want to be faced with tremendous debt if I want to leave the program partway through.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation? What are your thoughts?

PhD in NYC, money?

spacefire — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:54:49 -0800

I'd like to do my PhD in a scientific field, full-time in the NY Metro area. How can I make it work money-wise? Cost of living is very high, of course, and assistantships pay very little: I've looked at teaching and research assistantships at Columbia and the range was 1000-2000/month for 20/hours of work per week.
I am willing to work part-time on the side, doing tutoring and hopefully some writing or programming gigs. Or whatever. I also hope to get some grants and/or scholarships to help out some more.

I have a Bachelor and Masters degree in Engineering.
I am married, so I can't bunk up with ten roommates. My wife doesn't make that money so I can't rely on her to support us both through this.
I'd say I need to make at least 50k a year, assuming tuition is paid.

Question is: Is this doable? Any resources out there? How do people actually do it?