Are there any PhDs and postdocs on this board? If so, I have some questions:
>Is it worth embarking on a PhD?
>Is it as isolated, stressful and depressing an experience as it's made out to be?
>Have you taught, and if you have, how was it?
>Have you published?
>Current candidates: will you stay in academia? Postdocs: are you still in academia?
dude it sucks man. I decided not to and instead i work at just normal jobs making just enough to get by and live happy life with my cat. education isnt everything man, sometimes you just need to chill out and relax man.
reported for hacking
Not OP, but I had a Psych professor who's PhD group disbanded after he'd completed, but before he presented his thesis.
The printed copies he had made are sitting collecting dust and he's not even thinking about trying again for a few years as it'd mean he'd have to rewrite at least half his work to present it to another group.
Shit sounds sucky. Personally, I think I'm happy with my welding job. Benefits, good pay, union + OSHA compliance works to my benefit I guess.
Depends on how much you want it, but it'll probably suck pretty bad.
Also, what are the differences in opportunity between Masters degrees and PHDs?
Statistics PhD here, defending in a month.
>Is it worth embarking on a PhD?
Depends. If you just want to get a better job and make some more money, a masters is what you want. PhDs are for people who want to go into academia or research. You have to really, really love your area.
>Is it as isolated, stressful and depressing an experience as it's made out to be?
Sometimes yes, but if you have a good support system it doesn't have to be like that all the time.
>Have you taught, and if you have, how was it?
Yes, and it was okay. My first time I was awful but you get better at it and by my last time last semester I was getting great reviews.
>Have you published?
No, but for whatever reason that's not uncommon in my department. My dissertation is about 2 solid papers and some work that can be turned into a third can I'm going to polish and submit them after I defend. I know some other departments demand publication before you graduate.
>Current candidates: will you stay in academia? Postdocs: are you still in academia?
I'm going to a postdoc at a national research lab.
>Is it worth embarking on a PhD?
Depends. What are you trying to accomplish? If the answer isn't "contributing to my chosen field" the answer is no.
>Is it as isolated, stressful and depressing an experience as it's made out to be?
I suppose it is. You're certainly not coddled. I think your uni environment makes a big difference tho.
>Have you taught, and if you have, how was it?
I have taught privately since I was in high school. Actually getting to teach a formal class (which I had to, it's uni policy for candidates) was extremely satisfactory.
>Have you published?
One measly paper, but yeah.
>Current candidates: will you stay in academia? Postdocs: are you still in academia?
I don't think I will. I have a family and I make good cash teaching already, so unless I get a really good opportunity locally, I can't afford to pursue an academic career. I don't mind it tho, I love teaching.
OP here, I thought this thread got pruned.
Thanks for the insight, it seems like a pretty mixed bag from what I've read.
I've completed my MA, and started working but I already miss researching and writing about my subject area. Teaching/researching at university appeals to me as a vocation, and I also miss comfy uni life. So a PhD holds some interest for me. I am aware that it is challenging as fugg and can yield little reward save for intellectual satisfaction.
Further question:
>My undergrad degree was shit (2.2) and at a fairly good university. I hated that uni and wanted to transfer, but couldn't, so I decided to stay put and not drop out. What resulted were three years of depression, no friends, no social life, literally not talking to anyone, in class or otherwise. Naturally I was emotionally drained, so I didn't work hard, and sent my essays late, resulting in that abysmal grade. So I decided to improve my prospects by taking a Master's, and applied at multiple universities. Unsurprisingly, I was rejected by all, save for one. By a stroke of luck, the one that accepted me also happens to be top notch (QS world ranking 7). I worked hard and am on track to obtain either a high Merit or a Distinction. My question is, with my mixed record, would I still be eligible for a PhD at a good university? I talked to my tutor and he said that universities tend to prioritize your most recent achievements, so undergrad degrees don't matter as much.
Good luck with your viva
Master's is shorter (1 year) to complete, so you actually have a premium in the job market, whereas the PhD premium is negated by the long time (3-4 years) it takes to complete. By the time you obtain your doctorate, people around you would have been promoted to your salary level anyways.
given the average intelligence levels of posts I've seen on this board, I'd be wary about assuming more than 2 or 3 of them TOTAL have ever been phd candidates.
be wary about any advice you get on this board, user. they're mostly idiots
Any board you'd recommend? I don't want to ask Veeky Forums as they're insufferable cunts, so Veeky Forums seems like the only option left considering I'm in humanities.
you should be talking to your graduate advisors and people at your uni that are doing their postdocs. just go to their office hours and they'll talk to you.
just keep in mind that these are teh people who decided to overlook all of the negative points, when you talk to them. they'll surely remind you of them, but just keep in mind, as they give you the bad points, that these were teh people who were probably best at it, with the most support, and the least pessimism.
but whatever you do don't seek advice from a mongolian masturbation forum
/Pol/ , only the best and brightest post there
There are some people on here who definitely are in graduate school at least in math.
We've had Veeky Forumstorians with at least masters here before. Veeky Forums takes all kinds.
not saying they aren't around. what I'm saying is that people here talk bullshit all the time and outright lie. the majority of the posters here are outright innumerate, and the less numerate someone is, the more likely they are to tell outright lies, especially easier to fabricate lies. the idiots here LOVE roleplaying that they're smart
no one should be asking that sort of thing here
The last few posts tell me this is probably the worst place to ask, but there are no /generalcareer/ threads anywhere and I wouldn't know where else to put it.
I'm finishing my masters in social and cultural anthropology. What do I do next?
1. Apply for a doctorate.
2. Go for another masters degree in cognitive science.
3. Try to find work with what I have (keep in mind I'm in my late twenties without any previous work experience or social connections.)
>late twenties
>without any previous work experience
How is that even possible
...
You might as well apply for the doctorate, because then you'll be forced to take up work as seminar tutor. You'll even get payed
Sounds like you're in England, so the PhDs and Masters you are interested in aren't exactly equivalent to the American system.
>How is that even possible
Literally me if mommy and daddy were rich.
>no one should be asking that sort of thing here
In general, I'd agree, but the thing is, postgrad students like to fuck around, kill time, and distract themselves just like anyone else. I'm almost done with my master's in archaeology (thinking about applying to a PhD program) and I come here for the time killing, irreverence, and ability to use/spread my knowledge. Is this board full of complete bullshit? Yes, and it can be frustrating, but it can still be fun. And I know I'm not the only one in my situation that does it. Honestly, a lot of people probably have more of a chance of running into a postgrad student here than in most other places.
Cultural anth. in general is kind of useless as a master's, especially with no work experience (which is weird; how did that happen? Not even volunteer experience?). But it really depends on what you want to do. If want to get more into applied anthropology or working directly with communities or organizations a masters will do fine. You can always join the Peace Corp or something like that to get experience and network. But with a master's, you're going to be limited to applied anth. If you want to get into academics (keep in mind, this requires you to do regular fieldwork and publish about it), then go for a PhD and pick up teaching experience along the way.
Again, it really depends on what you're interesting in doing, but you could get by with a master's if you wanted to.
Why does this remind me of Spud's dialogue in the Trainspotting book trilogy
>Ya, man just barry hanging wi ma cat
Anthr. was useless as a bachelors too, so I figured might go for the masters as well. I applied for jobs and internships but unsuccessfully, even got declined for a position as teaching assistant at my faculty.
Either way an academic career seems like the way to go and I'd love it too. The main problem is I'd have to apply for a PhD and there's no telling when and if I get a position. It might be only as likely for me as landing a job right away.
That's why I was considering a second masters in cognitive science (was focusing on cognitive anthropology so far anyway). Are the job opportunities any better in that field? Plus I could always go for an academic career after, right?
Like any other field, networking is a big part of being able to find a job in anthropology. Being able to sell yourself is also huge. I think your attitude is a big part of why you haven't been able to get a job. Hell, I've known people with anth bachelor's that got jobs in marketing. Whatever you do, you need to focus on picking up those skills.
>Are the job opportunities any better in that field?
As an archaeologist, I really haven't heard anything about it, so I have no idea. Why don't you? If that's what you were focusing on, you should have learn about what kind of work you were likely to get (and I'm still wondering what kind of thesis you're doing that you didn't pick up any experience). But it sounds mostly research-based, so I'm not sure how much good a master's would do. If an academic career is really what you're interested in (or what you see yourself doing eventually), and you have good, original ideas for research, you might as well apply to PhD. programs and see what happens. If you don't get into one, you can always work around it somehow. Ask some of your professors (especially the people on your committee) for ideas or contact info of people you can get in tough with about jobs or other opportunities.
I was going to apply for a job with my MA (just submitted my dissertation, I'll recieve final result soon) but there's a lot of post-doc jobs about so I decided to try again for a PhD position (originally I had tried to ask around my current uni's faculty for potential supervisors but felt I was getting blown off so I gave up.)
One university I applied to, the professor in charge of the PhD project seemed to imply in an email to me that my lack of language skills wasn't a problem, and he seemed impressed by the university I just did my MA at, and then ended the email by saying "I strongly urge you to apply for the position." It'll be just under three weeks until I hear back from them, and that'll just be if they're interested in interviewing me. If they are then I will have to fly over there (it's in a different country) which might be a problem, especially if it turns out to have been a wasted venture.
I hope to dog that the "strongly urge you to apply" is a good reason to be confident. Maybe they haven't recieved any good applications yet, or any applications at all. If I got this PhD position, would be even more overjoyed than I was in Spring 2015 when I was told I was awarded a scholarship and MA offer at a top university.
(also it pays really well, its the equivalent of 43,000 Euro p/a.)