Sunday, November 11, 2007
The Move
In case anyone was wondering, I have survived the move and am now composing my first entry in my new abode. I am sitting in and surrounded by relative squalor and disarray, but eventually my belongings will find their homes and the apartment will be livable. After beginning the arrangement process following getting everything into the new place, I'm finding that I may actually have more space than I had anticipated. I think that it's going to be more comfortable than I had originally expected... a nice discovery. There's still few more trips to the local Target/Walmart to be made, and then I might manage to acquire everything that I need to survive a (relatively) solitary life in the big city. This is getting expensive... but it's been enjoyable, actually getting to make decisions as to how my own home will look: organization, layout of furniture, decorations, etc. It's all a new process for me (you don't have much to decide in a dorm room, then being married, I had little influence on these matters) but my opinion is the only one that matters now! HAHA! Of course, if it looks ridiculous, then only I am to blame - but I'm not going to let that happen.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Day 46... Or the Day I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Streak
Just kidding- today officially marks the final day of the streak! Hell *bleepin'* yeah! It was a ridiculously busy day today, but the reward is nice - positive results in the lab completely justify the day off tomorrow. That's right, the streak will end at 46 *expletive* days. Tomorrow, the beginning of the great move. I picked up my keys to the new place! The keychain that they gave me had the number for the building's limo service. How freakin' cool is that! They also gave me a free T-shirt with the building's monogram on it. Or... I can look at the shirt as "free"... and I payed 700 bucks for the T-shirt and got free rent for the partial month. Whatever is funnier is what I will go with - so free rent it is! Hey, I have expensive taste in clothes (not really). Well... it's off to start packing.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Academia vs Industry
As an offshoot of yesterday's post, I will outline the different career paths that the typical post-PhD scientific researcher can take.
The Academia Route - The most obvious route for the fresh-out-of-grad-school research scientist to take is to continue in academia to attempt to become a professor, or boss. To become a boss, you must first do a series of post consisting of 1-3 different stops, usually at different institutions, each consisting of 1-3 years. During this time (earlier described as the indentured servitude state), the post doc will be working to get as many publications as possible in an attempt to prove that they are a productive scientist. Ideally, the final post doc position will be working for a boss that will allow the scientist to take the project being worked on with them to their new position as boss somewhere else. Getting a job as boss is typically extremely difficult unless the scientist is near the top of his field in production and has good pedigree (quality of institution degree was received from and post doc positions at highly respectable institutions). Some scientists will send applications to 50-100+ schools hoping for a handful of interviews and maybe a job offer. Once the status of principal investigator is received, they have a couple of years to be recognized and retain funding from an agency outside of the institution (like the National Institute of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF)). During this time, the scientist will be working in the lab, usually with a small group of underlings (1-3), to get enough data to justify to the institution and the funding agencies that you are capable of running their own laboratory. If an outside source of funding is acquired, then the boss status is held and the scientist will be up for "tenure" within a few years. Once tenure is achieved, then the scientist can sit back and let the "underlings" do all or most of the work, and the size of the group will usually increase to 3-6 depending on the amount of funding received. The more funding, the larger the group and with that, the more work will have to be done to justify keeping the funding.
If boss status is not achieved, there are other routes within academia that can be taken. There's the research associate route, which is essentially a permanent post doc position. Salary for the research associate is usually considerably higher than a post doc, but less than the bosses receive. The post-post doc status scientist is also qualified to teach at the university level without doing research. Jobs of this nature are typically not long term and compensation for these positions is usually quite low.
The Industry Route - The alternate route to the academic route is the industry (or private sector) route. Typically, to get into an industry job, the fresh-from-grad-school PhD can try to break directly into working for a company, or begin the academic route and do a post doc at a university before converting to the private sector. Some companies offer post doc (or equivalent) positions, while others have "entry level" positions that have PhD requirements.
The private sector scientist will have similar deadlines and production requirements, but publication record does not define the quality of work produced, as in academia... meaning that one paper per year is considered good in industry, where one paper per year in academia implies that nothing is being accomplished. Job security is the main concern in industry positions. In academia, once tenure has been reached, it is nearly impossible to be forced from the institution until retirement (barring scandal or complete lack of funding - both of which do occur). Biotech companies can be purchased and sold in the blink of an eye, and scientists can be forced out with little notice. What is the one thing that can make up for lower job security? That's right... money. Industry jobs can pay up to 2-3 times the academic job, and typically the stress level is much lower. Many industry jobs are similar to a non science job in that the schedules may be more like 9-5, 5 days a week, with potential to take vacations and have a "life", whereas the academic job may take 10+ hours per day, 6-7 days a week with "vacation days" (as described yesterday). Getting in to the industry positions can be tricky as most require "experience" and a PhD. Where do you get experience if you just got your degree? Working suck ass jobs and having no life for an unknown amount of time just might do it. Pay your dues and hope that you can get rewarded down the road. Once the industry job is under wraps, just hold on as long as you can... make your money, then get out.
Which type of job would I prefer to have? Hmmm... That doesn't take much thought, does it?
The Academia Route - The most obvious route for the fresh-out-of-grad-school research scientist to take is to continue in academia to attempt to become a professor, or boss. To become a boss, you must first do a series of post consisting of 1-3 different stops, usually at different institutions, each consisting of 1-3 years. During this time (earlier described as the indentured servitude state), the post doc will be working to get as many publications as possible in an attempt to prove that they are a productive scientist. Ideally, the final post doc position will be working for a boss that will allow the scientist to take the project being worked on with them to their new position as boss somewhere else. Getting a job as boss is typically extremely difficult unless the scientist is near the top of his field in production and has good pedigree (quality of institution degree was received from and post doc positions at highly respectable institutions). Some scientists will send applications to 50-100+ schools hoping for a handful of interviews and maybe a job offer. Once the status of principal investigator is received, they have a couple of years to be recognized and retain funding from an agency outside of the institution (like the National Institute of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF)). During this time, the scientist will be working in the lab, usually with a small group of underlings (1-3), to get enough data to justify to the institution and the funding agencies that you are capable of running their own laboratory. If an outside source of funding is acquired, then the boss status is held and the scientist will be up for "tenure" within a few years. Once tenure is achieved, then the scientist can sit back and let the "underlings" do all or most of the work, and the size of the group will usually increase to 3-6 depending on the amount of funding received. The more funding, the larger the group and with that, the more work will have to be done to justify keeping the funding.
If boss status is not achieved, there are other routes within academia that can be taken. There's the research associate route, which is essentially a permanent post doc position. Salary for the research associate is usually considerably higher than a post doc, but less than the bosses receive. The post-post doc status scientist is also qualified to teach at the university level without doing research. Jobs of this nature are typically not long term and compensation for these positions is usually quite low.
The Industry Route - The alternate route to the academic route is the industry (or private sector) route. Typically, to get into an industry job, the fresh-from-grad-school PhD can try to break directly into working for a company, or begin the academic route and do a post doc at a university before converting to the private sector. Some companies offer post doc (or equivalent) positions, while others have "entry level" positions that have PhD requirements.
The private sector scientist will have similar deadlines and production requirements, but publication record does not define the quality of work produced, as in academia... meaning that one paper per year is considered good in industry, where one paper per year in academia implies that nothing is being accomplished. Job security is the main concern in industry positions. In academia, once tenure has been reached, it is nearly impossible to be forced from the institution until retirement (barring scandal or complete lack of funding - both of which do occur). Biotech companies can be purchased and sold in the blink of an eye, and scientists can be forced out with little notice. What is the one thing that can make up for lower job security? That's right... money. Industry jobs can pay up to 2-3 times the academic job, and typically the stress level is much lower. Many industry jobs are similar to a non science job in that the schedules may be more like 9-5, 5 days a week, with potential to take vacations and have a "life", whereas the academic job may take 10+ hours per day, 6-7 days a week with "vacation days" (as described yesterday). Getting in to the industry positions can be tricky as most require "experience" and a PhD. Where do you get experience if you just got your degree? Working suck ass jobs and having no life for an unknown amount of time just might do it. Pay your dues and hope that you can get rewarded down the road. Once the industry job is under wraps, just hold on as long as you can... make your money, then get out.
Which type of job would I prefer to have? Hmmm... That doesn't take much thought, does it?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Vacation?
As mentioned in Monday's post, I had originally planned to talk about TV today, however, something else will take it's place. The post today was inspired by an innocent question from an avid (avid should most likely be replaced with "obligated", but I like the idea of having avid readers... I find avid more amusing) reader of this blog. It is most likely true, that the non academic researcher is unaware of the general rules that academic researcher are expected to adhere to. I am willing to pass this information on to the general public in an effort so that people of my ilk will be recognized for their "diligent" work.
In academic research science there is an interesting quandary, which I will present here. As a short introduction, I will provide a few quick definitions to make things easier. In academic research there are several classes of individuals, all of which abide by a slightly different set rules and regulations.
Bosses - Also referred to as P.I.'s (principal investigator), the boss is the lead scientist that provide the funding for all of the "underlings" and serve as the mentor in the "group". The boss oversees the work done by the "group" and writes the grants used for acquiring funding. The boss also writes or at least rewrites the work presented for publication. An established boss, does no actual lab work and may not even know how most work is accomplished.
Group - Contains all the "underlings" and the boss. The typical group size is generally comprised of one boss and 3-6 "underlings".
Underlings - The workers that do all of the laboratory research and a considerable amount of the academic writing, with the exception of the grant proposal(s). All work is overseen by (and harshly criticized), by the boss. The "underlings" are made up of (in descending order in the food chain): Post docs, grad students, undergrads. Some groups may have alternative members, such as the "lab tech" that can fall above or below the post doc position depending on the degree that they have received (i.e. if lab tech has a master's degree, the post doc outranks the tech, but a tech with a PhD, could rank equal to, above or below the post doc position depending on how long they have been in the group). Other positions can be present in this category depending on the amount/difficulty of the work being performed within the group.
Post docs - (My current rank) Should be the most productive members of the group. They have already received their PhD, but are, generally, shortly out of school and still accustomed to the graduate student life - i.e. they are grad students that don't have classes, but are expected to work long hours. Post docs are paid in a similar manner to graduate students with one exception - grad students receive a stipend and their tuition is paid to the school by the boss, while post docs, basically, have the same base salary, but the tuition money is paid to them. Realistically, the boss is receiving a highly trained graduate student, without having to pay any more out of pocket than having a first year graduate student. Generally, post docs are considered to be extremely underpaid and are, more or less, in a state of indentured servitude, paying their dues until they get a real job. Generally, post docs stay for 1-3 years then move on to another post doc, or begin an actual career as a boss in another institution if they have a good enough publication record.
Graduate students - Working to receive a PhD. Grad students are generally doing work that the boss assigns for the first couple of years, then are allowed to expand (under tight supervision) during their final years. Grad students, like post docs, are generally overworked and underpaid. The length of term for grad students is generally 3-7 years depending on the degree they entered with (those coming in with a Master's degree could leave in as few as three years, but could take longer, those coming in with Bachelor's degrees will take 5-7 years to finish depending on motivation and indispensability - the better the student, the longer the boss will want to keep the student).
Undergrads - The bottom rung of the ladder. Typically, the undergrad does what the others in the group tell them to do... and do that poorly. Undergrads take a fair amount of time to train and tend to leave almost immediately after becoming useful. Depending on the amount of training, the undergrad can do anything from washing dishes, to providing basic prep work for other graduate students/post docs in the "group", or have their own independent project. Those with independent projects typically go on to graduate school sometimes in the same labs they worked in as undergrads. Those that leave and get real jobs are considered smarter than their peers, even though they will leave with a, technically, lower degree (i.e. they got out while they still could)
The question that was eluded to earlier is:
"Can I take a vacation?"
The answer:
The theoretical answer - yes, I receive what are referred to as "vacation days", as well as "sick days" and something called "personal days". The general public receives vacation days, while academic subordinates or, underlings, receive "vacation days". Vacation days and "vacation days" however, differ in one regard, which will be explained in the next section.
The actual answer - not really, if things were going smoothly, then an underling could (potentially) get away for a few days, but things are not, so... no. Realistically, things are never truly going smoothly for anyone... ever. So, underlings can never justify a true vacation. This the explanation of "vacation days" versus vacation days. Yes, underlings receive the "days" but they aren't really allowed to use them. The exception, of course, is for the bosses, who can take and use their vacation whenever they please. During this time, the underlings are expected to work even harder in their absence. This, of course, does not happen.
In academic research science there is an interesting quandary, which I will present here. As a short introduction, I will provide a few quick definitions to make things easier. In academic research there are several classes of individuals, all of which abide by a slightly different set rules and regulations.
Bosses - Also referred to as P.I.'s (principal investigator), the boss is the lead scientist that provide the funding for all of the "underlings" and serve as the mentor in the "group". The boss oversees the work done by the "group" and writes the grants used for acquiring funding. The boss also writes or at least rewrites the work presented for publication. An established boss, does no actual lab work and may not even know how most work is accomplished.
Group - Contains all the "underlings" and the boss. The typical group size is generally comprised of one boss and 3-6 "underlings".
Underlings - The workers that do all of the laboratory research and a considerable amount of the academic writing, with the exception of the grant proposal(s). All work is overseen by (and harshly criticized), by the boss. The "underlings" are made up of (in descending order in the food chain): Post docs, grad students, undergrads. Some groups may have alternative members, such as the "lab tech" that can fall above or below the post doc position depending on the degree that they have received (i.e. if lab tech has a master's degree, the post doc outranks the tech, but a tech with a PhD, could rank equal to, above or below the post doc position depending on how long they have been in the group). Other positions can be present in this category depending on the amount/difficulty of the work being performed within the group.
Post docs - (My current rank) Should be the most productive members of the group. They have already received their PhD, but are, generally, shortly out of school and still accustomed to the graduate student life - i.e. they are grad students that don't have classes, but are expected to work long hours. Post docs are paid in a similar manner to graduate students with one exception - grad students receive a stipend and their tuition is paid to the school by the boss, while post docs, basically, have the same base salary, but the tuition money is paid to them. Realistically, the boss is receiving a highly trained graduate student, without having to pay any more out of pocket than having a first year graduate student. Generally, post docs are considered to be extremely underpaid and are, more or less, in a state of indentured servitude, paying their dues until they get a real job. Generally, post docs stay for 1-3 years then move on to another post doc, or begin an actual career as a boss in another institution if they have a good enough publication record.
Graduate students - Working to receive a PhD. Grad students are generally doing work that the boss assigns for the first couple of years, then are allowed to expand (under tight supervision) during their final years. Grad students, like post docs, are generally overworked and underpaid. The length of term for grad students is generally 3-7 years depending on the degree they entered with (those coming in with a Master's degree could leave in as few as three years, but could take longer, those coming in with Bachelor's degrees will take 5-7 years to finish depending on motivation and indispensability - the better the student, the longer the boss will want to keep the student).
Undergrads - The bottom rung of the ladder. Typically, the undergrad does what the others in the group tell them to do... and do that poorly. Undergrads take a fair amount of time to train and tend to leave almost immediately after becoming useful. Depending on the amount of training, the undergrad can do anything from washing dishes, to providing basic prep work for other graduate students/post docs in the "group", or have their own independent project. Those with independent projects typically go on to graduate school sometimes in the same labs they worked in as undergrads. Those that leave and get real jobs are considered smarter than their peers, even though they will leave with a, technically, lower degree (i.e. they got out while they still could)
The question that was eluded to earlier is:
"Can I take a vacation?"
The answer:
The theoretical answer - yes, I receive what are referred to as "vacation days", as well as "sick days" and something called "personal days". The general public receives vacation days, while academic subordinates or, underlings, receive "vacation days". Vacation days and "vacation days" however, differ in one regard, which will be explained in the next section.
The actual answer - not really, if things were going smoothly, then an underling could (potentially) get away for a few days, but things are not, so... no. Realistically, things are never truly going smoothly for anyone... ever. So, underlings can never justify a true vacation. This the explanation of "vacation days" versus vacation days. Yes, underlings receive the "days" but they aren't really allowed to use them. The exception, of course, is for the bosses, who can take and use their vacation whenever they please. During this time, the underlings are expected to work even harder in their absence. This, of course, does not happen.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Worn out
What the hell? About half way through my work day, it felt like I got hit by a truck. Well, not really like I got hit by a truck, but one minute I felt fine, then the next it was like I could barely move. It was like my brain was filled with goo and my eyes were extremely heavy and yawning was uncontrollable. I believe that the condition is called... the doldrums. I thought my motivation level was low before, but I managed to break through that barrier with ease. Eventually, I figured out that it was mostly food (or lack thereof) related, but the motivation level stayed pretty low throughout the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure that as this work streak has continued, that the quality of writing on this blog has been declining. Creativity is fleeting and it feels like I'm grasping for things to write about. So until the streak ends, I'll probably be blabbing on about things like TV and being tired at work. Blah, blah, blah blah blah. Tomorrow is another day.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Fridays?
What are Fridays again? Aren't they supposed to be a good thing? I don't seem to quite remember. Right now, it pretty much just means its the last day of the week that I have interactions with my co-workers before the building gets extremely quiet. Here is an amusing conversation that I just had with a co-worker.
Co-worker: "You are going to go home this weekend, right?"
My first thought: "What's a weekend? I haven't actually had one in the last five weeks, why would this be different?"
What I actually said: "I'm not actually living here, I do go home at night. But I do have to come in to do a couple things on the weekend."
I continued: "I'm taking a couple days off next week to move."
Co-worker's reply: "That's a day off... moving?"
My reply: "It's a day off from here."
Wow, this is getting pretty sad... moving is a day off. Pretty pathetic.
On a different note, I did find this video clip amusing. Does Larry King actually know anything about his guests or does he just wing everything at this point. I probably would if I had King's job as long has he has. Does anyone even watch that show anymore?
Co-worker: "You are going to go home this weekend, right?"
My first thought: "What's a weekend? I haven't actually had one in the last five weeks, why would this be different?"
What I actually said: "I'm not actually living here, I do go home at night. But I do have to come in to do a couple things on the weekend."
I continued: "I'm taking a couple days off next week to move."
Co-worker's reply: "That's a day off... moving?"
My reply: "It's a day off from here."
Wow, this is getting pretty sad... moving is a day off. Pretty pathetic.
On a different note, I did find this video clip amusing. Does Larry King actually know anything about his guests or does he just wing everything at this point. I probably would if I had King's job as long has he has. Does anyone even watch that show anymore?
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Day 39 - Randomness
I have reached day 39 in the consecutive days worked streak, and let me say, it's getting old... and tiring. I didn't post anything yesterday because I couldn't come up with anything coherent to talk about. Today, I still don't have anything coherent to talk about, but I feel the need to write something, or eventually, the few people that are keeping up with this site, will probably stop looking in for updates, and I don't want that to happen. So, here's a couple random musings, and then I'll drop my "big news" that I mentioned a couple days ago.
I found it amusing to learn that yesterday, one local radio station has already begun it's 24 hour Christmas music theme. Doesn't it seem a little bit early to start that? I do actually like holiday music, but October seems a tad early to get "into the mood" for holiday cheer. I don't see how anyone can really get geared up for the actual event of Christmas if the buildup comes earlier and earlier every year. Christmas itself seems to lose much of its impact. I foresee that, eventually, radio stations will just have year round, non-stop holiday music. What happened to the times when the Christmas season didn't begin until after Thanksgiving? Now we're supposed to be getting excited before Halloween? When will the madness end?
I'm a big fan of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, and I've been watching them religiously for several years now. When Stephen Colbert announced a couple weeks ago that he was going to run for president (article), I thought that it was a great idea. Realistically, he's not really running for president, he just wanted to put his name on the ballot in his home state of South Carolina, with the goal of getting one delegate at the national convention. Colbert's plan was to run on both the republican and democratic tickets to help meet his goal. A national poll actually placed Colbert above of several "legitimate" candidates (Kucinich/Paul). When the deadline for filing passed this week, Colbert apparently didn't find the $35,000 filing fee required for the republican ticket worthwhile, so he just filed with the democratic party. Unfortunately, the S. Carolina dems didn't find him to be a "serious" candidate and are going to leave him off the ballot, effectively ending his "presidential bid". I find this to be incredibly disappointing, because the whole process is being taken too seriously. How important is the South Carolina primary anyway? As with the Christmas season starting too early, the political run up for the next election (still more than one year away) has already gotten extremely tiring. I'm already sick of all the candidates, now I'm supposed to get excited to vote in a primary in a couple months, then stay excited to vote in the election next November? Geez, no wonder people don't vote in this country. How many billion dollars is this costing America? WTF? The buildup for the 2012 election is probably starting next month... Maybe I should go ahead and get ready for that.
OK, here's the big news that I've been talking about - I'm moving into downtown KC next weekend. That's right, I'm going to be one of those movers and shakers that live in a giant apartment building right in the heart of the revitalized KC downtown district. I said that things were going to be interesting... well, if this doesn't end up being interesting for me, then I don't know what will. Plus, it cuts my commute down to work by about half - and it pretty much guarantees that my consecutive days worked streak will end. I'm taking a day next week to take care of stuff, yeah, you read that correctly. The streak will end!
I found it amusing to learn that yesterday, one local radio station has already begun it's 24 hour Christmas music theme. Doesn't it seem a little bit early to start that? I do actually like holiday music, but October seems a tad early to get "into the mood" for holiday cheer. I don't see how anyone can really get geared up for the actual event of Christmas if the buildup comes earlier and earlier every year. Christmas itself seems to lose much of its impact. I foresee that, eventually, radio stations will just have year round, non-stop holiday music. What happened to the times when the Christmas season didn't begin until after Thanksgiving? Now we're supposed to be getting excited before Halloween? When will the madness end?
I'm a big fan of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, and I've been watching them religiously for several years now. When Stephen Colbert announced a couple weeks ago that he was going to run for president (article), I thought that it was a great idea. Realistically, he's not really running for president, he just wanted to put his name on the ballot in his home state of South Carolina, with the goal of getting one delegate at the national convention. Colbert's plan was to run on both the republican and democratic tickets to help meet his goal. A national poll actually placed Colbert above of several "legitimate" candidates (Kucinich/Paul). When the deadline for filing passed this week, Colbert apparently didn't find the $35,000 filing fee required for the republican ticket worthwhile, so he just filed with the democratic party. Unfortunately, the S. Carolina dems didn't find him to be a "serious" candidate and are going to leave him off the ballot, effectively ending his "presidential bid". I find this to be incredibly disappointing, because the whole process is being taken too seriously. How important is the South Carolina primary anyway? As with the Christmas season starting too early, the political run up for the next election (still more than one year away) has already gotten extremely tiring. I'm already sick of all the candidates, now I'm supposed to get excited to vote in a primary in a couple months, then stay excited to vote in the election next November? Geez, no wonder people don't vote in this country. How many billion dollars is this costing America? WTF? The buildup for the 2012 election is probably starting next month... Maybe I should go ahead and get ready for that.
OK, here's the big news that I've been talking about - I'm moving into downtown KC next weekend. That's right, I'm going to be one of those movers and shakers that live in a giant apartment building right in the heart of the revitalized KC downtown district. I said that things were going to be interesting... well, if this doesn't end up being interesting for me, then I don't know what will. Plus, it cuts my commute down to work by about half - and it pretty much guarantees that my consecutive days worked streak will end. I'm taking a day next week to take care of stuff, yeah, you read that correctly. The streak will end!
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