Calling all PS thesis-tacklers, researchers, and students!

[AmberGretchen]

katamari - sounds like you are certainly keeping busy

Fingers crossed that things settle down soon - I know its easy to start feeling burned out at that pace...

Sad thing about the job is, its not even an academic job, its in the business world, but that''s hurting, if anything, more than academics right now

Still, I''m trying to keep my chin up and keep hoping, and I just got another interview today for a different company, so hopefully even if I don''t get this dream position, I''ll at least have something to do to make some money

 

[Clairitek]

I just wanted to share that it is 2:25 am and I am submitting my rough draft for my very first journal paper for my adviser to rip apart... I mean review. I meet with him on Wednesday. I feel that it is pretty complete and in the last week I have managed to get wonderful correlation between my experimental data and my model. It has certainly renewed my stale interest in the project. The deadline for my paper is November 30th as it will be reviewed for a special edition of a journal in my field that will have papers that all relate to material that was presented at a conference in July.

Tomorrow I will start generating samples to smash for my next journal paper. I am more excited about this one because I heart experiments (not computer work!)

Ok off to bed I go before I pass out on the couch. FF went to bed 4.5 hours ago. Lucky boy.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Congrats Clairitek - its such a great accomplishment to get that draft done

I too hope to have a similar achievement to report sometime in the next month or so - I''m just gathering what should be the last of the data for this paper this week and next week and then I start writing...

 

[kama_s]

Katamari: How is your grant application coming along? Yay on the two articles!!
AmberGretchen: Dont worry too much about the job situation. You have an excellent educational background, so your dream job will come. How is the data collection going? Have you started writing the paper?
Clairitek: Congrats on your soon-to-be publication!

In other news: my defense is TOMORROW. I'm a nervous wreck

...does anyone know how to put a damper on my sympathetic nervous system that has very conveniently gone into overdrive?!!! Hehe, ok, I'm going to quit being a geek

Wish me luck! I hope I pass.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 11/18/2008 11:28:50 AM
Author: kama_s
In other news: my defense is TOMORROW. I''m a nervous wreck

...does anyone know how to put a damper on my sympathetic nervous system that has very conveniently gone into overdrive?!!! Hehe, ok, I''m going to quit being a geek

Wish me luck! I hope I pass.

You *will* pass, don''t be silly!!! To calm down, a bubble bath and some deep steadying breaths always do me some good. But seriously, you will do GREAT!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Good luck tomorrow kama!!!!!!!!!!! I"m sure you will pass

Thanks for the nice comments about the job - its looking promising, and I interviewed for another one yesterday that I would actually also be happy with, so I think there is a good chance that at least one good option will come through.

In the meantime, I''m going to start writing the paper up this week - wish me luck!

 

[kama_s]

Gwendolyn: Thanks so much!

*breathe in* *breathe out * I realize the best way to stay calm is to forget about tomorrow. Works for 5 min and then it''s back to freak-out mode. lol.
AmberG: Thank you! Good luck on the job and paper! I''m sure everything will work out

 

[katamari]

Kama! Good luck! Good luck! Good luck!

I haven''t been on PS for a bit because I have been so busy with the grant, and it is awesome to come back to such exciting news

I hope next time I log in there is an update that you passed! Go celebrate and have fun!

 

[gwendolyn]

KAMAKAMAKAMAKAMAKAMAKAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DID IT GO?!!!!!!!??!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 11/19/2008 1:41:49 PM
Author: gwendolyn
KAMAKAMAKAMAKAMAKAMAKAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DID IT GO?!!!!!!!??!

What she said!

Anxiously waiting over here!

 

[kama_s]

Sooooo....I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It went really well, lasted around an hour and a half (with a 20min presentation). I was asked a lot of good/difficult questions at the end, mainly on stats and study designs, but I had spent a whole lot of time preparing for the question session. I actually didn't practice my presentation until last evening for the first time, but I'm glad because I dont mind presentations and that gave me so much more time to focus on studying for the question period. They said they were very impressed with my actual study, thesis as well as how I answered all the questions. *phew*

The entire defense committee told me that my thesis was one of the best they'd ever read and that it was clear from my work that I think like a true clinical pharmacologist....which they said was rare to find in a lot of their post-docs even. YAY! I just have some minor revisions to do this week and I'll be done!

They sent me out of the room for a bit after the defense and when they called me in everyone congratulated me at the same time, and my supervisor and committee members came over and gave me hugs (my supervisor actually kissed my cheeks...not cheek to cheek but real lip to cheek kiss

). It was so overwhelming I had this sudden urge to CRY! I'm so glad I didn't! And then I went back to the hospital and everyone was waiting anxiously for me to return, so I spent the next 2 hours talking to everyone at the dept! Mr. Kama came over to surprise me with an 'edible arrangements' bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries (my fav) and we went out for lunch! Celebrating with my family tonight

Thanks so much for all the well wishes ladies! It really helped boost my confidence

 

[gwendolyn]

KAMA THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We KNEW you''d do it!!! CONGRATS CONGRATS CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!! Have a great time celebrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[katamari]

YYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Congrats, Dr. Kama! I hope you have a fantastic time celebrating. It sounds like it was a wonderful experience.

Congrats!!!

 

[Delster]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy congrats Kama!!!!!!!!!! Wooohoooo you are now officially our INSPIRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

YAY FOR KAMA!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kama_s]

Thanks SOOOOO much ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went to a tapas bar to celebrate and had way too many bottles of wine, followed by a drunken snow-ball fight!

If anyone has any Q''s on the thesis writing and/or defense preparation, please feel free to ask....I''d love to help any way I can!

So glad to be done...it still feels so damn surreal!

 

[Clairitek]

Congratulations Dr Kama! You must be so relived/excited/emotional right now! I know I would be. You really are an inspiration!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 11/19/2008 10:44:08 PM
Author: kama_s
Thanks SOOOOO much ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went to a tapas bar to celebrate and had way too many bottles of wine, followed by a drunken snow-ball fight!


If anyone has any Q''s on the thesis writing and/or defense preparation, please feel free to ask....I''d love to help any way I can!


So glad to be done...it still feels so damn surreal!

YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! (Mmmm, tapas! What a great way to celebrate!

) Congrats again!!!! What a huge accomplishment!!!

 

[kama_s]

Thanks ladies! The ''Dr'' status, however, has been left unclaimed. I didn''t go forth with a PhD, switched out and just did the master''s. Still getting 4 primary papers out of my research though...woohooo!

I feel so weird today...with nothing to do! No plan of action for the day. I cant believe I''m saying this, but I was bored an hour after I woke up (and I woke up same time this morning)!!

I guess more time for wedding planning

 

[WishfulThinking]

CONGRATULATIONS, KAMA! How awesome for you!

The rough draft of my first thesis chapter is due tomorrow... ahh! And of course here I am on PS.

I know, first drafts of 15 pages of an undergrad senior honors thesis are pretty small potatoes, but I have senioritis and am having a terrible time concentrating!

My advisor seems happy with what I have done so far, though, which is promising.

 

[Elegant]

Date: 11/19/2008 10:44:08 PM
Author: kama_s
Thanks SOOOOO much ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went to a tapas bar to celebrate and had way too many bottles of wine, followed by a drunken snow-ball fight!

If anyone has any Q''s on the thesis writing and/or defense preparation, please feel free to ask....I''d love to help any way I can!

So glad to be done...it still feels so damn surreal!

Wow - congrats kama_s (although it has been some time)!

I am having difficulty trying to pick something I will be passionate about. I passed my doctoral comprehensive exam/oral defense, and it has been a year since I passed. I chose a topic for my dissertation that was specific to the school district that I was working in at the time, and I have since moved my life and got another job 400 miles away from where I was before. My dissertation distraction consisted of months (from February to late August) of trying to find a job/applying for jobs, packing my belongings, working full time, and dealing with a long distance relationship. In September I finally got a job and started working, then needed to find a house to rent because I have dogs. Finally found a house and right now I am barely settled in here...

I need advice - how did you (or anyone else who has gotten through this ordeal

) get through it - what was your technique from start to beginning. Looking back, what worked, what didn''t. I am getting pretty low - I need to find a topic (I think I have one) and start moving on it. My dissertation chair hasn''t been pushy enough for me...

I hope everyone else who participated in this thread has been progressing more than I have!!!!!

 

[WishfulThinking]

I would love to hear some tips as well!

I am on break from school for the holidays, and won''t be back again until Jan 27th!

At the close of our semester two weeks ago I gave my advisor a comprehensive and pretty polished draft of 25 pages [out of 75- ONE THIRD!!], which is almost a complete chapter. There should be three chapters, I think. She seems to really like what I am doing, and she liked an earlier draft I turned in partway through the semester, so I hope it''s alright!

I have the entire 85 page *draft* due on Jan 23rd to my advisor and the 2nd person on my committee. I am so scared! I have to keep reminding myself that it is a rough draft and that everything has been going very well. It should be about 50 pages of new writing, which is doable in 3 weeks, I think. I am mostly afraid because after I give them the draft they both have to contact the chair of my academic department and recommend [or not...] that I continue to be considered for thesis honors. So it''s sort of a big deal.

In other news, I think I did REALLY well in my classes this semester! Grades don''t come out until the 5th of Jan, but I am hoping for something pretty magical. Send me some dust if you think of it!
I also submitted the abstract for my thesis to a pretty high-profile conference in my field, and it''s been accepted! I will probably be one of the only undergrad students there, which is a little bit intimidating, but the head of the section I submitted to really likes my project, which is so exciting!

That''s all from me. I hope everyone else is doing well!

Good luck picking a topic, Elegant. It sounds like you have a lot going on right now! Hopefully you will get some ideas here.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Elegant - in terms of picking a topic, I think that maybe you should sit down with some local experts or people who are working in areas that interest you, and see if you can get some inspiration that way. I don''t know much about your field, but that seems like a decent area to start to at least get an idea of what is out there.

Wishful - honey, congrats on the good grades!! That''s so exciting, and you should be so proud - I''m sure they will be everything you expect and more

For both of you, the best advice I can give on getting through is to just sit down and bang it out. I just turned in a (hopefully almost final) draft of my paper to my advisor and co-authors, and honestly, the first draft that I sent him three weeks ago was pretty crappy. I spent tons of time agonizing over it, and then reminded myself that I''ve never done this before (written a thesis/paper) but my advisor has edited plenty, and that''s what he (and the other professors who will be reviewing this paper) are there for - to help me get it to a polished, finished, state. So I''d say just force yourself to sit down, make a rigid schedule and stick to it, and offer yourself rewards when you hit milestones - i.e. a nice walk when you write 10 pages, or a manicure or whatever else is fun for you when you achieve some other milestone in the process.

On my end, I''m making progress. Once I got through the paper angst and just wrote it, I''m now reasonably pleased by the way the draft is shaping up. I''ve sent out a fairly polished draft today to co-authors, etc...and so just waiting to hear back from them. I''ve got a few short but crucial experiments planned for after the New Year, and once I get those done, I''ve got an important thesis committee meeting on February 20th. If all goes as planned, my paper should be under review by then, and I should be at least 90% done with all the research I planned to do, and hopefully they will give the green light to wrap up loose ends and start writing.

Ideally, I''d love to finish by the summer and have a little time off before starting work in August, but we''ll see

Wish me luck - I''m sure I''ll come back and post for more luck when it gets closer to my committee meeting

 

[WishfulThinking]

Thanks, AmberGretchen! They can''t be any better than I *think* they''re going to be.

I''m so worried something will backfire, or that thinking about it too much will jinx me... but I am so excited! I already know some of them, it''s just the one I worry unnecessarily about. I promised myself not to be a basketcase as one of my New Year''s resolutions, so I will have to try to stick with that!

It sounds like you are making really excellent progress. An almost-final draft- wow! You seem to have a great and reasonable timeline for the new year. I''m sure you will be able to finish by your expected date at this rate.

Good luck!

Thanks for all of the advice. You''re right about just sitting down and *doing* it, which I am not always good at. I work much more efficiently on a tight deadline, but that''s not really possible in this case, so I need to just get on it already. If I can write 50+ pages during my final exam period in one week I can write the same amount in three! It''s so true about my advisors, too. They have both been through this before and have a lot of experience editing, and both of them are really understanding about the fact that I''ve never written anything this long before in my life and am still an undergrad [no matter how wonderful they think I am, haha

] and need help from them. They are so encouraging, which is great. I need to stop being afraid that I am going to let them down by turning in less than perfect work.

 

[Elegant]

Wow, WishfulThinking and AmberGretchen, you guys are surely making some headway! That is awesome. Congrats on your accomplishments.

I keep thinking that if my topic is something I am passionate about, then it won''t seem like work and I WILL BE able to crank it out...hmmm...

Yeah, I need to set a rigid schedule, I agree. Last night I actually worked on it for about 1.5 hours, which was good. So I think I will stick to it. I guess when you work on it on a daily basis it stays in your head. It is easy to just forget about it when the going gets tough.

My chair will be out until next week, and until then I will just keep on working in it.

I also get really down when I hear how many people from my cohort have or will be completing. I am so happy for them because getting a doctorate is not easy, obviously, but at the same time I question myself because I can do it, it''s just life circumstances! I feel so behind. But if I don''t work on it, then how will it ever get done? It''s like that saying about winning the lottery - you can'' win if you don''t play!

I worked on it yesterday and I will again work on it today. I think I will use this as a log of what I am doing to keep myself motivated. When I take a break and come to this forum, I will have to reflect on what I am doing that is positive because I tend to really be hard on myself.

Yesterday when I worked on it I focused on areas of interest. Today I will continue that process because once I like something and do a little research on it like finding articles, there are little subpieces to the topic that I end up liking.

Thanks for responding and for your input both of you!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Wishful - the classic perfectionist trap, that I think all of us type-A overachievers fall into. But really, keep reminding yourself of what you wrote - they are there to help you out, and they have done this before and will see through any imperfections to the wonderful ideas underneath. If it helps, one thing I remind myself of a lot is that its not even that the way that I express things sometimes is "wrong" per se, its just that each field has a very distinct way of looking at things and until you learn that language (which takes many years and a lot of experience), there will be room for improvement. Anyway, I don''t know if that helps at all, but hopefully it does.

I have great faith that you can do this - just sit down and bang it out and remember that it will only get easier from there - editing is always easier than getting the original ideas out, and it will turn out great in the end, plus you will feel so good (and be so proud of yourself) to have it all done

elegant - I think that even if you love your topic, it will sometimes feel like work, because, let''s face it, getting a doctorate (or writing an undergrad honors thesis, or finishing a master''s degree or any of it), is all "work." And just because you love the topic and are interested doesn''t mean it won''t sometimes be tedious or difficult.

BUT, you do sound like you really love areas of the topics you are interested in and I think that passion and interest will really help to sustain you.

I know how you feel about comparing to others in your program, but try to remember that a PhD is a very unique degree. I have about 17 people in my year in my program, and I guarantee that every single one of them will accomplish a different amount before they graduate. It depends on so many things - what field you want to go into next, the inclinations of your committee and advisor, how you yourself feel about the work, what else is happening in your life, etc... that its almost like comparing yourself to others in how soon you decide to have children or whatever. Which I know that people do, but really, its just such an individual process and so many different factors play a role, that its just not productive to torture yourself like that. Easier said than done, I know, but anyway, some food for thought, for whatever its worth...

 

[stephbolt]

Hi ladies!

I''m relatively new to PS and just discovered this thread in poking around - I''m currently halfway through my 4th year in a PhD in Chemistry. I''m hoping to be done somewhere between 5-6 years total, but I''ve been having a terrible time lately trying to get the biochemistry parts of my research project to work. My advisor has also taken a turn for the worse lately, becoming much more condescending towards our entire lab (yesterday she told me it had been "unbearably long" since I made any meaningful progress on my project), and the combo of these two things has me dreading lab every day and daydreaming of just leaving already. How do you all deal with the grad school blues?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hi and welcome steph - sounds like you have a pretty common 4th-year science PhD affliction - I think everyone I know in my class went through something similar around the same time.

I''m so sorry you are dealing with it, and especially the unpleasant advisor - that is just uncalled-for

I wish I could offer you some really substantive advice, but unfortunately, the best advice I can give is that it really will get better. Is there someone you can go to in your lab or another lab besides your advisor to get help on the biochem stuff? Alternatively, is there another part of your project that you could switch out and work on for a while? Sometimes just diverting your energy to something else for a little while and then coming back to the original problem can help...

 

[WishfulThinking]

Elegant- Thanks! I don''t always feel like I am making good progress, but I think writing it out in this thread helps me. Since it seems like it helps you to post here as well I will keep you company if you''d like.

Just remember, you are making progress too, and it''s amazing you can get anything done with all of the things that have been going on in your life. I can only imagine what it feels like to have other people who came in with you completing before you, but they probably didn''t face the same obstacles at the same time, and if they did handled them differently. We''re all beautiful and unique snowflakes with our own way of handling things and our own rates of progress.

Focusing on areas of interest is a great start, and doing research will only help you! Good luck and keep us updated!

AmberGretchen- You''re so right about that. I promised myself I would shoot for a certain GPA this semester which was lower than what I am expecting, and here I am whining that I might "only" get what I was aiming for. I think I have a problem.

With my thesis it helps that my advisors are so sweet to me, but I worry that somehow they''re not being hard enough on me? Or something? I can just imagine them loving everything I do and then getting totally ripped apart when the rest of the department meets to discuss whether I pass. The language thing you mentioned is spot on, also. There is SO MUCH jargon in the fields I''m writing in. I have to balance language from political theory, public policy, and gender studies, which is no easy feat, and I get really caught up in using all these terms and being academic-y, and then I feel bad because my family and friends tease me that it''s incomprehensible and classic "ivory tower" academic work.

And it sort of it, haha, but I am more proud of myself than anything that I can speak these languages pretty well, and that I have advisors who are patient with me as I try to figure out how to do it. I really do love being able to improve, I just beat myself up over it constantly.

stephbolt- Welcome! Wow, Chemistry, that sounds awesome. Mind sharing a little bit more about what your research is about? I am not well-versed in science, but I am always curious to see what people are working on. I can''t believe how harsh your advisor was with her comments. Completely out of line.

I second AmberGretchen''s suggestion that if you''re able to work on a different section for now and go back to the trouble spot afterwards it might be helpful to you. When I am blues-y I just vent... would it help to vent to us? Perhaps it would make you feel better, and we can be very sympathetic! That does sound just awful, though.


As for me... I tried to make a deal with myself that I would take some time off until the 5th when I get my grades, so I can really feel like I have *concluded* the first part of my thesis work. I am also hoping my grades will motivate me. If they''re what I want them to be I will have renewed energy to continue forward, and if they''re not what I was hoping for it will just mean I have to try that much harder this half. I think I should probably do some organizational work in the next few days, though, and figure out which section I will be tackling when I start up again. I need to get all my materials together and do an outline and any other prep work that will allow me to start right in next week. Okay, I will do that by the end of this week. I just set a goal.

 

[Elegant]

Hello and Welcome stephbolt!

Thanks you guys for the advice and motivational talk!

I spent another hour researching topics for my paper. I ended up finding sub topics that I am interested in as well. I also spent a good amount of time downloading articles for my literature review because I think I will end up moving in that direction!

I have to spend time on it on a daily basis...everyday!!!

Thanks for listening.