Hi Veeky Forums any PhD fags here? Considering getting a PhD after I finish my bachelors

pretty much

for biosciences: you spend a year or two taking graduate level coursework, then you're done. the rest of the next five to seven years is you doing experiments and reading papers. you'll start off with projects your PI assigns to you, but the idea is that as you progress you'll get a better idea of both the current state of the field and your own personal scientific interests. by the end of grad school you have a good enough handle on your sub-field that you can hang with postdocs or maybe even PIs in terms of proposing novel, useful experiments that you're motivated to complete and competent to perform

Undergrad in biochem
Phd field is molecular nutrition
I do HPLC all day pretty much
Literally
Except that my lab shits people out much faster than that, for which I am grateful

Im in a PhD program but literally just started classes, am a lowly first year. I can answer questions about the application process and stuff but not really about the program yet. biochemistry

Yes, I have my PhD.

how do you get into a phd without a master's?

Be an exceptional applicant

Exceptional? best-in-class.

.. in courses with hard, interesting projects.

fucking mediocre in lecture exams. (3.2)

I'm not doing a master's because I don't wanna deal with the bullshit courses involved.

I guess I'm just not conformist enough for academia.

Depending on the field, some programs don't require a masters. I'm from Canada where masters was required but came to USA and my program doesn't require one.

It helps to have good grades, but if you are planning on applying to graduate school for a research-oriented discipline, it's often best to have research experience yourself. That research would, ideally, include some publication(s) of your results. That not only demonstrates your competence as a budding scientist, but also that you understand what it takes to undertake a massive project like a doctoral dissertation.

letters of rec are pretty big too. but yes research experience is probably bigger overall

The other option is that you start off as a master's student and are offered the opportunity to bypass it for your PhD instead. I've only seen this happen once in my academic career, so I don't know how often this occurs.

>I got a PhD
In what, being a retard?

Out of interest, what is your academic career? People randomly switching up or down is pretty common

It's not an uncommon sentiment, especially in fields where employment opportunities are extremely limited/competitive.

Instead of doing that I spent my time playing the startup game. obviously the research isn't publicized (other than some patents one of which has my name on it)

I've participated in 4 startups, in 2 of which I held c level positions. would that be enough for a legit consideration?

not signing up for a master's.

Biological sciences in general, but my specialization is in quantitative ecology.

Being retarded? Or getting paid peanuts to slave for a professor if you didn't have strong employment prospects

Either or, your choice.

For those who have PhD and for those who have masters

How much do extra curricular activities add to being an applicant? Im an undergrad in Econ. and havr involved myself with societies and other organisations boosting my leadership and other soft skills

Also. How much is it worth to do work experience at a company, for e.g. data analyst summer experience, if I want to persue postgraduate education?

UK fag here

I honestly don't know how startups would be perceived in my field (see for my background).

agricultural modeling for example?

Could be useful depending on what type of modeling approaches, as well as what type of programs (e.g., R, SAS, GIS), you're familiar with. I would make sure to emphasize that aspect and tailor your application letter/letter of intent accordingly.

My point was
>I got a PhD
Nobody with a decent level of education writes "I got", the guy is obviously a retard and definitely does not have a PhD.

He/she doesn't necessarily have English as their first language. Also, keep in mind you're critiquing grammar on Veeky Forums.

Had to make this decision a while ago. Here are my thoughts:

At the end of my bachelors I was like fuck yeah lets do phd. Then I did a masters first and after that I lost all desire to do it, because I believe current pure math research is just retarded.

If you're in it for the teaching, then go right ahead.
If you're in it for the research be careful my man, because it might get boring real fast when you realize nobody will ever really care about what you spent the last three years doing.

You should ask yourself what marketable skills you will have after your phd other than the title, because I see many people doing a phd and then basically having wasted 3 years and have gained nothing but a piece of paper.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just that you should have a contingency plan in place.

>You should ask yourself what marketable skills you will have after your phd other than the title, because I see many people doing a phd and then basically having wasted 3 years and have gained nothing but a piece of paper.
This is a very good point, and this likely contributes to many people regretting that they pursued a PhD. Learn a programming language at the very least (I'd suggest R) - those skills translate very well to different jobs.

that was just an example for you I could think of, assuming that was you.

the things I do/did (engineering, comp-sci, human biology) are tangentially relevant to the things I wanna do (genomics). Obviously I'll expect to have to take supplemental courses (although I'd rather read up on the topics myself)

I'm pretty confident I could set up my own research and manage the entire eventual project without handholding. what I do want is access to the network, data, equipment and funding.

Genomics is a highly interdisciplinary field nowadays, so most knowledge you bring is valuable. Everyone who starts working there has to learn something. It's important to get a bit familiar with the field though, so you can figure out where current challenges lie and what your vision on them is.

appreciation is in short supply on this site, so I'd like to thank you for the implicit encouragement :)

>If you're in it for the teaching, then go right ahead.

As though there were another viable reason.

>What is research

it's only possible when one is smart
most people are retarded

Probs liberal arts

Question: would it be worthwhile to pursue a MSc before a PhD?
I went to a small school for undergraduate. It has no name recognition, few alumni in academia, and it's degree programs were pretty straightforward. Most of my friends had a lot of electives to choose from at their schools (state universities), I didn't really have that option. I still took 40+ semester hours of degree-specific courses for each of my majors, I just didn't have the option to specialize all that much.
I was thinking I could go to a slightly/significantly better school for my MSc before applying to an even better PhD program. Do you think this will work? I'm not trying to go from Compton Community College to Caltech, but from a generic state school to a well-recognized state school (e.g., CU Boulder, UCLA, etc.).

>PhD direct from bachelors
Unless you're deepthroating academia left and right a babyfaced PhD with no relevant experience outside of his degree is going to get you severely underemployed if you go into private industry.

>pure math
>not choosing applied math

>CS
D R O P P E D
Who /g/ here?

>Be an exceptional applicant
>undergrad tards actually believe this

I was an unexceptional math undergrad and i got into phd program because i had research experience with a professor that is a big shot in the department.

Your experience will be dramatically impacted by who your PI is and how they run their lab. One anecdotal example, a guy I know did his PhD in a very chill lab. Everyone was friendly, people worked 6-8 hour days, had weekends off and still graduated in 5 years.

Now he's a post-doc in a really intense lab. Everyone there works 9-5, goes home for dinner, goes back to lab and works 7:30-11 6 days a week. Most people work 7 days a week. He's loving it but I would want to shoot myself in that environment.

Most people get into a PhD program without a masters. Your first 2 or so years of your PhD are the same coursework you'd do for a masters. That's why if you drop out of your PhD program you still get a masters degree.

The big things they look at for applying to a PhD program are your GPA, letters of rec, research experience and publications. Getting published as an undergrad gives you big points for getting into a PhD program.

I'm starting year 3 of a computational chemistry PhD

I like chemistry but it's a career dead end unless you're exceptional and I'm not. So I'm trying to stay somewhat near it, but all the analytical coding/data skills/that kind of stuff that I'm learning will hopefully allow me to jump out from academia altogether and go get a boring well paying business or finance job later, if chemistry doesn't work out

Not sure what country you're from but in aus I can get a phd from a diploma and a bachelors (4yrs)

>being allowed to start a phd directly after bachelors
>the program is also only 3 years

have fun on your easy mode trip.

Starting my fourth year in a biophysics PhD.

I'd echo some of the advice which as been previously mentioned in this thread (which has been pretty good, IMO): first, once you're past the GPA/GRE screens, letters of rec, research experience, and publications (if you have any) are most important to your application; second, your PI and lab environment will more impact your doctorate than the "science", that is, the system that you're working on.

Work as a student assistant first to get insights into how work in academia is like. And try to find our how your future advisor is before applying: Find out how many people finished in the last years - if people drop out regularly, avoid, something is wrong. If too many people graduate each year, avoid, it's probably very bureaucratic and nobody will give a shit about you.

ye i'm pursuing a phd in financial math and complex/stochastic analysis after leaving a comp sci phd at UChicago ask me anything

basically this

do you want to know how i know you've never in your life even had a conversation with a grad student?

things you need for a strong application in order are
>research experience
>relevant internship experience (for applied fields like econ)
>letters of recommendation
>a strong and well-written statement of purpose
>lots of coursework + difficult coursework + good grades in that coursework
>good standardized test scores
>extra-curriculars
>literally anything else

look at where extra-curriculars fall on that list

>i believe current pure math research is just retarded
i'm sure your opinion holds a lot of clout in the community of people who actually matter

>doesn't know the glory of applied STEM phd programs with lucrative industry careers like econ, math, and physics
lmfoa why r udnergrads still alllowed on this board

most people who aren't drooling retards like you and have ambitions outside of academia do these incredible things called internships during their summers

>doing a lab-based PhD
i think i would honestly rather kill myself
t. mathfag

someone help me. I recently got rejected to all my aerospace engineering PhD programs when I applied last year for the fall 17 sem. My stats:

>BS from a US school (ranked around 30 in US) with a decent mechanical engineering ranking. Not the best for my field and my graduate interests are virtually non-existent.

>GPA 3.58, major GPA 3.88, Highest distinction, took 4 non cross-listed graduate coursework. Minor in Physics.

>Did research last summer in a field distantly connected to what I plan on doing.

> Q 165/ V 155/ W 4.5

It freaking sucks to get rejected from all your programs. I've lost a lot of my confidence and it has made me go through sinusoidal depression pangs.

I'm going for a round 2 this year. Determined to not let it get the better of me. Going to apply to UIUC for the spring sem and a bunch of other schools with UMich being my top school.

What do you think Veeky Forums? Do you think I might have a chance. Btw I'm international and my field of interest is computational aerodynamics.

I have a Philosophers Degree in all STEM disciplines.
I'm practically a god.

Why don't you just find a small town CNC machine shop an work your way to the top?

any advice for an undergrad who would like to pursue phd. should i get involved in extracurriculars.

Install gentoo
Reinstall gentoo

>my field of interest is computational aerodynamics
what interesting research is done in this area, out of curiosity?

geometry optimization of aerofoils and fuselage. Literally the shape of the aircraft being determined by optimization algorithms. The rest are the usual CFD and FEA.

>Btw I'm international
Fucking DROPPED. Fuck off foreign scum, no school will ever want you to walk their halls.

PhDs in linguistics talk idiomatically all the time. You're a literal fucking retard if you go with this "muh proper English" bullshit in the modern world.

I was in a PhD program and dropped out. If I were who I was now back then I would probably have finished it, though it would be at an extreme cost. I don't know, it's a huge commitment and it's not a guaranteed pay-off. Ask yourself if you REALLY love the subject and if you REALLY have the personality to make something of it.

What kind of cool shit can I go to graduate school for with my degrees in computer science, linguistics, and anthropology? (before the question, currently in second bachelor's for cs, first bachelor's was double major in the two latter majors)

Should say, fuck academia, I'm looking for dat usey-useful type shit ya heard me.

define exceptional

how the fuck do you publish as an undergrad? does a thesis count?

Computer Engineering here and browsing /g/

PhD in Physics checking in.

You'd be surprised just how few jobs there are for PhD grads. You basically need to be a high IQ genius or have published more than 4 papers during your PhD in order to stand out and get jobs in academia, industry or the military.

Luckily I learnt programming so I am a full time freelancing data "scientist" now.

Normally 2 paths:

1) Apply for an internship or final year project in a research group that is definitely going to publish a paper and will include you in their list of authors
2) Research the literature yourself and find a niche area where you think you can contribute to. Discuss with your professor on whether you can publish a paper in this area.

You mean a three year bachelor and honours to get into a PhD program?
Aus here too

>tfw submitted my PhD thesis after 7 years total bachelor + honours + PhD
>tfw going to a job in Europe where it takes double this time to get a PhD

Are you tards even trying?

Suck my dick user.. good luck getting greasy at mc Donald's while the brown and yellow race conquers the land of the free.

How the fugg do i get research experience and an intership when i just finished 1st year?

Any synthetic organic or organometallic PhD fags in here? Is it as shitty as people say it is?

how good are you at programming? and what the hell is data science

I should be defending my PhD in ECE in about 2 months

>relevant internship experience (for applied fields like econ)

Should I even bother mentioning this for a (discrete) math MSc? Like if I did my undergrad in CS/math double major, and I did (software engineering) internships at Facebook and Google, would this matter at all? I mean it's not really related, but does Veeky Forums know/think that it will have any impact at all? (I have research experience, etc, etc too. I'm just curious if it would help me at all, or just be something neutral/maybe slight positive due to having job experience in general (ie not being a total autist).)

>Should I even bother mentioning this
that's a stupid question

you don't apply to grad school until your third/fourth year, faggot

>should i bother mentioning something that will bolster my application
i don't think you have the mental ability for grad school, user

apply for internships. volunteer for professors

Chemistry. Graduated three years ago this October.

Heavily depends on where you go, who you work for, and on what project and your attitude. If you choose your school and advisor and projects with prejudice you'll do well. If you go in with an attitude expecting the worst you cannot be disappointed.

If you can't decide between organic and organometallics, I suggest looking into Metallocenes for polymerizations or other initiators.

I guess I wrote that a bit weird. I meant I'll put it, but do you think they'll care much beyond the fact that it's a paid job?

whatever your area of study will be in grad school, make it sound like you used that type of shit at your internship

and what are you doing now?

Yeah, if the internship was relevant to your field then the admissions committee will care a lot

I'll give the example of applying to a Computer Science PhD and having done an internship as a software developer over the summer
even if you're going into theoretical computer science, or if your intended specialization has nothing to do with the precise details of your internship, you still did an internship in an area that is highly relevant to both the coursework and also potentially the research you'll engage in in a CS PhD program

another example would be interning as a data analyst while applying to Applied Math PhD programs

in any event, it's not quite as desirable as being published or having done something like an REU, but it still looks very good on your application and gives you something great to write about on your statement of purpose

this all still holds but to a lesser extent for more abstract/less applied fields like pure math, theoretical physics, or literature, where the expectation is that you will be going into academia more likely than not upon graduation

just choose a masters project in an area that attracts lot's of funding and get to know people around the department. If you can get a summer placement in one of the groups even better.

Getting a PhD seems to just be a matter of being in the right place when someone gets a grant.

(UKfag btw this might make no sense elsewhere)

where in Europe? In the UK bachelors + masters + PhD in 7.5 years is the typical length