Who works at MIT Lincoln Lab?

MIT Lincoln Laboratory employs a diverse workforce of scientists, engineers, and support staff. The laboratory offers a wide range of job opportunities for individuals with backgrounds in engineering, mathematics, computer science, physics, and other related fields. Some of the typical job titles at MIT Lincoln Laboratory include research scientist, engineer, software developer, and program manager. The laboratory also offers internships and co-op positions for students who are interested in gaining hands-on experience in research and development.

In addition to its research and development activities, MIT Lincoln Laboratory is also involved in outreach and education initiatives. The laboratory offers a variety of programs designed to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers. These programs include summer camps, workshops, and internships for students of all ages.

Associated blog post: https://howtophd.org/2023/05/open-jobs-at-lincoln-lab-how-to-apply-directly.html

Wide range of job opportunities in science, engineering, and technology

In summary, MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center that is dedicated to developing advanced technologies for US national security. The laboratory offers a wide range of job opportunities for individuals with backgrounds in science, engineering, and technology. The laboratory is also involved in outreach and education initiatives aimed at inspiring and educating the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Where to apply for open jobs at Lincoln Lab

I have been working at MIT Lincoln Lab for over a year now and only recently discovered this link to apply to staff positions here. So I thought I would share it in this blog post.

Direct website for open jobs at Lincoln Lab: http://careers.ll.mit.edu/

I joined as a subcontractor myself through another company so I did not know about the regular careers website until now. This is where you can see all open positions and apply to multiple jobs if you like. I believe the application is fairly simple requiring a resume and basic information. The cover letter is optional. Of course, please verify all information yourself.

I will share part of an open job description below. This should give an idea of the types of roles available at the Lab. This is just one example though so please do your due diligence looking at all opportunities.

Open jobs at Lincoln Lab example

Required qualifications:

• Ability to learn new technical areas quickly and apply that knowledge effectively to solve challenging mission problems
• Ability to present technical concepts clearly to a wide spectrum of audiences
• Proficiency with programming languages for computer modeling (e.g. Matlab, Python, C)
• Doctorate in Physics, Engineering, Applied Math, Astronomy, or a related field. In lieu of a Doctorate, a Master’s degree with at least 5 years of technical experience will be considered.

Good luck with your job search!!! Let me know any comments and/or message me on LinkedIn with your questions.

My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oindreebanerjee/

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What is candidacy?  

• The 6-week formal exam required by grad school 
• Advisor/committee chooses a topic 
• Typically not something you have worked on 
• But good for you to know 
• You do a literature review on the topic 
• Deliverables: 15 – 20 page paper (at the end of 4 weeks) + Talk (at the end of 6 weeks)

Timing

• Professors are busy
  • Ask to be on your committee >= 4 months in advance
• Schedule your exam on a day and time that works well for you – this is your candidacy
• Make sure oral exam is on committee members’ schedules
  • If very hard-to-get professor such as the Chair of the department, talk to the assistant for scheduling

Once you get the topic remember you are not alone

• Not a lone journey
  • you will need help and so get ready to ASK FOR HELP
• Ask clarification from the advisor/committee on the topic
  • What are their expectations?
  • Broadly, what outline should your paper follow?
• Communicate profusely with your advisor/committee
  • They picked the topic, they want to see that you are interested in it
  • Ask away, they will tell you when they cannot tell you something

On d-day

• Get to the exam early
  • get familiar with the room, and whiteboards, and set up your talk
• During the exam
  • Station yourself near a whiteboard
  • No hiding behind talk
• Be very respectful, alert, and attentive
• Show willingness to work it out on the board
• Committee wants you to succeed
  • If you get stuck/flustered under questioning
  • They might throw you lifeline – recognize and utilize

Relevant to topics: PhD admission, latest PhD admission notification 2022, research type project, research paper presentation, PhD notification 2022, PhD notification 2023, scope of educational research, research paper, operation research, importance of research, research project, OSU  candidacy exam, Ohio State University, PhD candidacy exam, United States PhD, US PhD, Grad School, USA Grad School, US graduate school  

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When asked salary expectations, say you will consider all reasonable offers

• It is hard to give a salary number because things like benefits, PTO, sick leave, all make up the offer and these would need to be considered as well
• It is hard to give a number because things like location would affect it and adjust for the cost of living
• I will consider all reasonable offers (yes, you are applying to multiple places and may have multiple offers, let people chase you)

These will make you seem like a reasonable and balanced person who is not easily fooled. Also, if you currently have a job, then you are in no real rush and you can leverage that fact to make yourself more attractive. More leverage you have, the better offer you can get. Without leverage, and without looking like a catch, you will end up with a worse offer.

Don’t give a range for salary expectation!

If you must absolutely give a number for salary expectation, go for 10-20k higher than what you would settle for. Don’t give a range. If you say 100-120k, they will just give you 100k. Companies will pay you what they can get away with paying you, not what you actually deserve. So keep that in mind. Remember that although your salary is just one of many things in an offer, it does lock you to that number for not just this job and its incremental raises based on that salary figure, but for your next job as well. So even though you are playing it cool about salary not being everything (at first), it is actually very important! That is why you are playing this game to win! Not to get a low-ball salary that will affect what you make for years to come.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2021/10/how-to-negotiate-and-answer-salary-expectation-questions.html

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• Work on getting referred formally or informally for the job you are applying to!
• Apply through the referral link if you are getting referred, don't rush and apply through the general link
• Work on updating your LinkedIn profile BEFORE applying because that could be the first impression they get of you - your online presence is important 
• Updating your LinkedIn profile is working on your PERSONAL BRAND - this is critical to your SUCCESS
• CHECK FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS - I do this with Grammarly which is a free plugin with Google Chrome and this makes everything much more typo-free! Don't misspell your major, it does not look good!
• Make a professional headline that says who you are, not just your job title or something like "Student at ..." - Show off who you are using this space! Mine says: Physics PhD ⚛️ Research Physicist at Department of the Air Force 👩‍💻 Bestselling Author ✍️ Content creator 🎙️📺🙌 so I am separating my roles with emojis. You can also use this character: | to separate the roles and have things like "Avid Reader," "Travel Enthusiast," "Foodie," etc. Most importantly, you need to put "Open to Relocate" in your headline if you are looking to move!!!! This will help with getting found in searches by recruiters on LinkedIn. The information you put on LinkedIn has real consequences like being more searchable, so leverage it as the TOOL that it really is!!!
• Update your profile picture to a professional headshot taken outdoors with natural lighting. Wear work clothes, smile big, and remember the pic is important!! DO NOT use a pic from a wedding or a casual hangout with friends!! We can tell!
• Don't just put the job titles and company names, actually write out the description of the work you do and what your contributions are under each job position and roles where you have served - this will be much more impressive and help you STAND OUT
• Write down all your awards and recognitions under the Awards Recognition: if you got promoted, that goes in there. If you got scholarships, that goes in there. If you got tuition awarded and/or stipends paid in graduate school, that goes in there. 
• If you have publications, firstly, put them on LinkedIn under the Publications section, and second, LINK TO THEM, so we can find and read your publications! If they are papers published in a journal, try to link to the FREE preprints of the papers, if possible. If you don't have the paper somewhere online, write an article on LinkedIn with information from the paper and there you have a publication!
• The more content you post on LinkedIn, the better! It will all help with BRANDING. Post articles, normal posts, pictures, stories, etc. Be active on LinkedIn, the platform will reward you accordingly. 

One-page technical resume template

Link to post: https://howtophd.org/2020/05/one-page-technical-resume-template.html

If you lost your job or looking to make a career switch during the pandemic, I have a one-page technical resume template for you that might work well for roles like consulting, technical research, etc. This is my current resume and the one I use within my company to help bid on new work. I work for a government consulting company, Booz Allen Hamilton, so we sometimes submit resumes for new contracts, etc.

You can access this one-page technical resume template on Overleaf. I freaking love Overleaf. This is why.

Overleaf is an online LaTeX editor that’s easy to use. No installation, real-time collaboration, version control, hundreds of LaTeX templates, and more. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

It seems most employers want their employees back in the office I cannot speak for all of you, so chime in with your comments, but from what leadership I interact with, it is clear that employers want us to go back in. I also know that plenty of employees would like to go back in and regain the option of keeping work at work. 

In my experience, though, these are folks who are parents and have been struggling with doing work at home. Not us child-free folks. But, in general, a lot of us would be in that category: I would prefer not to. It’s simple. We were flexible and took work home when you needed us to, employers. Then we designed our entire lives around doing work from home and set everything up, made good progress. We delivered during a pandemic. And now you want us to change our lives again? I say, let’s take a breath. 

Employers are not generally involved in the nitty-gritty of what day-to-day work looks like for us employees. Now that we are expected to come back in again, I am finding that I have to justify and make a case for why and when I would need to work from home. It seems we can’t just say, because, that’s what we do now! So, even though it might not make sense to have to rejustify this setup, I would recommend preparing to do so if you would like to keep working from home partially or completely. 

After working from home, either partially or completely, for so long, for one, you might be more set up to do stuff from home than at the office. There might be projects that you are better off doing from home because they require more concentration and less interruption. I am doing projects at home using tools, for example, that are more (or even only) accessible at home, not at work. So… of course, I can’t do them as well at work, so in order to continue them I need to have some days at home. Be prepared to explain, in detail, what things need to be done at home, on which days, and what things need to be done at work, on which days. If you want to go hybrid, like me. It can be annoying but, trust me, if you present a case, that will be more acceptable than if you expect bosses to read your mind. What I am finding is that employers want to regularly or, at least, semi-regularly see your face. 

The reasons they give mainly for wanting to do this is making sure we are not disconnected from what is going on, and for collaboration purposes. I would say that if a person did not take initiative to know what is going on, then even coming in, they might be in the dark. So by working from home successfully we actually demonstrate that we have a lot of initiative and don’t need supervision. It is the people who need supervision that would need to come in more. 

Once they are set up and know what they are doing more, they can decide what makes the best sense. The employee themself would know best about what needs to be done, not a supervisor, especially when it is about the details of how the work gets done. Same for collaboration. If you don’t deliberately collaborate, you might miss a lot of collaboration opportunities even coming in. Now, if you are new in the job, it might take more interaction initially to solidify the connections that you might leverage later on to get things done. To me, it is all about doing what is best and also whatever works best. If there is no reason to go in, one should not be forced to go in. We can avoid traffic, rush hour, and stress. 

Full blog post: 

https://howtophd.org/2021/06/the-state-of-work-from-home-what-i-know-and-what-you-are-telling-me.html

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Quick Takeaways for Writing the Cover Letter for a Postdoctoral Application

• If you do not know the name of the professor who is hiring then stop right here and find that out! It’s about what you know and who you know. If you don’t know them already, chances are low for getting an interview.
• The cover letter should be no more than a few powerful paragraphs. Don’t make any paragraph too big a block of text.
• In the very first sentence, you should say what you are writing them for, that is, to apply for a position. Be specific. Say which position with what project.
• Then say who you are.
• Follow this up with when you will be graduating and when you can start the position.
• Finish the first paragraph with a strong statement about why you are more than perfect for the job.
• The next paragraph is all about elaborating on why you are perfect for the role. Elaborate away but as succinctly as you can. Any experience you speak about should be relevant to the particular role you are applying for. Keyword: relevant. No one cares about the other stuff you know.
• The professor(s) will KNOW if you are just sending them a generic cover letter that you send to every other school just with the school’s name changed. Trust me, they know. It takes work and time to make sure each cover letter is perfect for that particular role.

This is why I applied to only six total postdocs and fellowships!

People thought that was crazy. But I got interviews for ALL but one of them. That is a high success rate for applying to postdocs.

If you are not writing a cover letter specifically for a given role – you should really ask yourself if you even care enough to bother applying for that role. This is what I did and ended up applying to so few places.

The truth is I don’t care about everything and that’s a good thing.

By the time you are applying for postdocs, it is not cute to like everything anymore. You want to be highly skilled, choosy, passionate, opinionated, and annoyingly specific, in order to make a strong case.

For the cover letter sample provided here, I was selling my background in a particle astrophysics balloon-payload experiment in Antarctica to apply for a job doing a different particle astrophysics balloon-payload experiment in Antarctica. The detection methods (RF antennas vs Si(Li) detectors) and science questions (ultra-high-energy neutrinos vs dark matter detection) addressed by each experiment were actually quite distinct from each other, however, there was enough in common between them (broadly, both were in the field of particle astrophysics, both balloon payloads, both in Antarctica) to make a case for the postdoc.

• The third paragraph should be like a very short research statement – packed with strong statements about what it is you’d like to do and why the role is well-aligned with your goals. Mention achievements that are, again, relevant to the position.
• It is nice to put a big achievement near the end so you are leaving them with a reminder that you are an absolute goddess.
• I always end by asking them to kindly consider the application and that I look forward to hearing from them – which is pretty standard.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/07/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-for-a-postdoctoral-application.html

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Should you stay longer and make sure your paper gets published?  I address this question from a Ph.D. student. Here are the details of the question:

I want to transition to the industry as a research scientist.

I have one protocol paper accepted, one second-author paper, and one first-author paper that is not yet submitted.

I am worried as my advisor wants to add more data to the first-author paper before submitting it, and it keeps getting delayed.

Now he wants me to stay as a postdoc to finish it.

My advisor knows I want to transition to the industry.

Should I stay longer and make sure the first-author paper gets published?

My agony aunt response:

Your situation sounds to me like your advisor wants to keep you forever. Because you are good!

It is a tricky business to be good at your job.

You usually end up doing other people’s jobs as well… maybe he needs to employ more people who can help to finish the paper if he wants a LOT more changes.

Sadly (or not, if you don’t care,) you might have to step down from the first-author status in that case, but I come from a field that has embraced the alphabet for better or for worse, so that’s up to you. I bet you could still claim a lot of ownership for the parts that you have done already. It won’t matter in the industry, not like in academia.

Keep in mind that your advisor knows you are going to the industry – HE has nothing to lose if you give more of your time to this paper. If you lined up an academic job, I bet he would be much less inclined to keep you longer. Because then it would matter to him. If you are in a field where producing postdocs/academics is important to the CV of an academic (which is true for many fields) your professor would care about this. On the other hand, if you are going to industry, YOU are the only one in a position to lose from staying longer.

In this situation, do what you need to do to graduate with your degree. And, ONLY that. Your advisor could want many things – but YOU need to do what will get you out ASAP. That is likely NOT working more and more on the paper. Write your thesis, finish up whatever is going into your thesis.

The document that will get you out with your degree is your thesis, not the paper.

Sometimes getting a paper accepted by a journal is a requirement to graduate but that is clearly not the case here as he wants you to stay as a postdoc to finish the paper. So, don’t let anyone emotionally blackmail you into staying longer. That’s toxic, and all the more reason to leave.

Full blog post: 

https://howtophd.org/2018/08/should-you-stay-longer-and-make-sure-your-paper-gets-published.html

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What is my daily schedule for research and writing?

I am not super disciplined and don’t operate on a strict schedule day to day. I like flexibility and thrive on being able to improvise. Basically kind of like doing whatever I feel like.

I do have a full-time job and recently started to prioritize health and fitness in my daily routine. For the content and side hustle, I am driven by what I want to be doing. I set goals, write them down, and accomplish them. It makes me happy to accomplish the things I set out to do.

I don’t care about difficulty, but about getting things done. Not every day is the same and there are days when I don’t have the energy to make content. I allow myself to vegetate during such times and catch back up later on when I have more energy.

I always have ideas for more things to do and manage or stay organized about achieving them. This mainly entails writing and keeping track using basic tools like the Notes app on my computer. Writing, in general, is something I do every day for my own sanity and I don’t publish most of the things I write. When I organize my writing to form it into something for readers, it becomes a publication.

Otherwise writing never really stops.

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This is an episode with podcast guest Chris! Chris finished his Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. This is an interdisciplinary Ph.D. focusing on Water and Sanitation in Urban India. 

He researched low and middle-income regions in India and also minored in Engineering.   

Not everywhere in the world has 24/7 access to water.   

Chris talks about interesting results including that smaller cities with a lower standard of living were less likely to benefit from existing technologies, especially families with girl children.   

Chris also talks about his experience in surviving graduate school and making it out successfully with his degree and even lining up a job in the government sector. He is currently working as a Senior Environmental Scientist for the State of California.   

Although this is very much a pivot from Chris's academic pursuits, he is still able to make an impact where it really matters!  We also cover how to start a podcast! Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, or Google Podcast, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

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Learning to not take criticism personally is one of the most liberating and productive things you can do for yourself and your career.

In graduate school, I learned how to take criticism for what it is and it really helped me to succeed.

I started to realize that the criticism had more to do with them than me.

Sure, I didn’t know something. That was about me. But, they really, really wanted to point it out, for whatever reasons.

Once I realized that people really do rather love giving feedback, it was very productive to take advantage of it.

It’s like putting more people than just yourself to work!

I realized that getting a bunch of feedback from people did not mean that they thought I was stupid.

People don’t even have time to think that many thoughts about you. They want to say what they have to say and get on with their day. You just made them feel better, probably.

Even if people did think I was stupid, my main goal was to learn the material which I was doing way faster with their help.

If you don’t give talks or show drafts of something, your collaborators can’t give you any feedback.

They don’t have a chance to go on a long rant about something that you are wrong about or missed.

A long rant from a knowledgeable person in the group could teach you lots of things! Especially, when you are new.

So, taking it as a personal attack, even if it IS a personal attack which it rarely is, does you no good. You don’t have time for that.

It’s really quite simple. When you get criticized, think about what you can do better, do better, and move on.

Forget about the rest and don’t spend precious time and mental energy over-analyzing things.

You are in charge and you can get anything done. You are the only one that needs to believe in you.

Once you understand that that’s all there is to it, life is really rather simple and productive.

Full blog post: 

https://howtophd.org/2018/09/learning-to-not-take-criticism.html

Please subscribe and rate this podcast!!

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To get started with data science using Python, the recommendation from experts is to get Anaconda. The Python programming language is a powerful tool whose true potential is only harnessed with the right packages and libraries.

An Anaconda installation will give you those in one fell swoop rather than have to add things one by one.

To install Anaconda for individual use, go here.

Anaconda Individual Edition as described in the linked website Your data science toolkit

With over 20 million users worldwide, the open-source Individual Edition (Distribution) is the easiest way to perform Python/R data science and machine learning on a single machine. Developed for solo practitioners, it is the toolkit that equips you to work with thousands of open-source packages and libraries.

Why an IDE is nice

I am pretty old school and have used vim a lot for an editor. For older programming languages like FORTRAN, that is kind of what you end up doing and I have had to do that as part of my job. However, with Python, you can expect much more.

After getting Anaconda, I have been recommended to get PyCharm for the IDE or integrated development environment.

Development of code can be done by opening files using any editor you like. But, that can get to be cumbersome and an IDE makes everything easier and more manageable. It will also help to autocomplete code like how your phone can autocomplete when you text.

So, the steps to get started with data science using Python today are as follows:

• Get Anaconda
  
• Get PyCharm
  
• Run a piece of code (example below)
  

Get started with data science using Python: Code example using Anaconda and PyCharm

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2021/02/how-to-get-started-with-data-science-using-python-new-to-coding.html

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Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transient events in the observed Universe. However, there is no direct observational evidence for what exactly drives a GRB. The most widely accepted model for these cosmic events is the fireball model where it is thought that a substantial fraction of the kinetic energy of the source is converted to gamma-radiation by shock accelerated electrons emitting synchrotron and inverse-Compton radiation. The acceleration of protons in the gamma-ray emitting region of the GRB has been hypothesized as well. In this hadronic acceleration model, it is predicted that protons may interact with gamma-ray photons to produce a burst of neutrinos at energy ∼10^14 eV during prompt emission and energy ∼10^18 eV during afterglow emission. Several experimental searches for these high energy neutrinos have been conducted and no GRB neutrinos have yet been found. The analytical prediction for neutrino flux has been replaced with a more thorough numerical prediction for neutrino flux. The neutron model of GRBs, where only neutrons can escape the GRB and reach Earth as cosmic rays, has been ruled out by the experimental work of IceCube and ANTARES. Upgraded versions of current experiments such as IceCube, ANTARES, ANITA and ARA, as well as new experiments such as KM3NeT, are preparing to probe and further constrain the fireball paradigm of GRB neutrino production.

This review includes:

1. Introduction
2. Early theoretical predictions for neutrino fluences due to GRBs
3. Overview of high energy neutrino experiments and related physics
4. Experimental searches for high energy neutrinos from GRBs
5. Prospects for detection of high energy neutrinos from GRBs

High Energy Neutrinos from Gamma Ray Bursts: Theoretical Predictions, Experimental Searches, and Prospects for Detection was originally written as a review submitted for my Ph.D. candidacy paper on Nov 23, 2015.

It has been edited for a "Short Read" on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing in Oct 2020. It is a public domain work.

Special thanks to the Connolly group at Ohio State University (OSU) and the physics and astronomy departments at OSU. Moreover, I am grateful for the contribution of each and every scientist and author listed in the "References" section of this review. This review would not be possible without their published science and hard work.

Please let me know if you find any mistakes or problems, I will fix them. My email is oindreeb@gmail.com. I am happy for this to be a living document. I am anxious to improve it but feel that it needs to be out at this point before that can happen.

Textbook on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LS7Y6W2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_dUGdGbKRSXSW9

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I am loving September in Boston. Today when I stepped out the sun was just right. Warms your heart but doesn’t burn the skin. Then after work I went to Home Goods and the evening too was just perfect.

You know when you’re driving and the sun decides to blind you and you can’t see the road for a moment, that almost happened but it’s becoming dusk earlier now and a cool twilight had descended by the time I was done buying my new comforter set.

Also I’m back home as Boston is home now!!! When I got back it was 4:30 in the morning and I was wondering if I’d get a Lyft or Uber. A nice smelling Lyft car came in THREE MINUTES

Among other things, this vacation in the Caribbeans was perfect for perspective about the many conveniences of the mainland. Lyft and Uber and ease of access to many things including unlimited (in comparison) FOOD, ingredients, things to do, jobs, etc.

The islands are in the most magnificent blue-green emerald water that is perfect for swimming, snorkeling with onlooking lush mountains. Nothing like it for sure!! However Boston has all the advantages of being on the water without the huge potentially disastrous disadvantages of being an island.

For that, we are LUCKY. Sure the water is cold so to solve that we can get away to the islands and the water is dark blue but that’s because the food of the food of whales is in the water and that makes us have whales. And I like whales. I like it here.

Of course the best part is FUJI SUJI BAJI (fur babies) live here now. I landed in Boston and realized we live here now!!! I could just go home and meet them and I did and Fuji was waiting at the door at FIVE IN THE MORNING!

Some differences between the US Virgin Islands and the Mainland (Boston):

• The US Virgin Islands (St Thomas) has tax-free, duty-free jewelry!!! Lots of jewelry stores where you can get good deals on diamonds, gold, silver, precious stones, etc. Check this yourself but I believe the limit is $1300 for a single person and $3200 for a household on jewelry you can buy tax-free, over that limit, you will have to pay a small fee at customs at the airport.
• You drive on the LEFT there. I got a rental car and drove British-style, in American-style car, made in Japan!! It is kind of nerve-wracking but also powerful to be able to drive around the island doing what you want! It is not very walkable there so you do need a car. Without a car, you would rely on taxis or shared taxis/buses. There are no Lyft or Uber there.
• There are a lot of mosquitos in the Caribbean! I was bit a lot in my hotel room as well at night. Haven't really experienced that in Boston at home. 
• It is very hot in the Caribbean (I went in late August-September) and I had to be careful about not getting sun poisoning and dehydration! I did get sick one night after being out all day. So be careful!! But if you love the sun, you get a LOT OF IT there 
• The drinking age there is 18 and open liquor is allowed in the streets! You can just get a drink while jewelry shopping and walk outside with it!
• The islands can be affected by disastrous hurricanes while Boston has the advantages of being on the water but it is relatively much safer 
• Everyone knows everyone in the islands, it is a small and close-knit community which can be great depending on personal preference. The life there is more laid back and things are slower... it is nice to get away and slow down with nature in the Caribbeans

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Addressing question I got on LinkedIn about how I ended up in the Air Force after starting out as an international student in the United States ❣️ I came to this country after high school and it has been a journey leading to this point now when I'm a civilian employee. Mostly not planned and just doing my best 🙌

Answering this question I got on LinkedIn: 

Thanks, Oindree for connecting. So, I see you came to the US for BS and now you are working for the Air Force. I worked in the past for the federal govt. I was wondering what pathway did you use to enter the Air Force? My understanding is that apart from the Dept of HHS, other Agencies do not have pathways for permanent positions. Are you a US citizen now? From your blog/book I figured out that you were international/non-US at that time. Not that I want to join the Air Force, but little curious. By the way, your story during your Ph.D. application resonates well with my struggles also applying to grad school here. Free food from seminars during my Ph.D. and postdoc was awesome.  Hope the video helps! Any more questions let me know on my blog!!  

Blog: https://howtophd.org/blog

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This podcast episode is an interview with Gavin Tolometti who is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences at the Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. 

Gavin is studying Lava Flows on Earth to understand Lava Flows on the Moon and Mars. 

Born in West London, Gavin's family has been in the North East of Scotland for 13 years. Academic pursuits make one travel far and wide, and Gavin is currently in North America!

Gavin completed his undergraduate studies in Geology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. 

He explains his research work as well as how a Ph.D. is completed in Canada as he wraps up work on publishing research papers and responding to reviewer comments. 

Please take advantage of this detailed interview covering lots of aspects that pave the way for success as a graduate student. We found that we both were passionate about publishing research and how that makes the Ph.D. process more straightforward to complete. 

However, publishing is no easy task and Gavin has experienced challenges along the way including rejection. Overcoming these hurdles is critical for success in academia and we chat about exactly that in this podcast episode!

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Talk abstract

This talk will be broken into three parts spanning my graduate and professional career. I share some of the science I did as part of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment to detect neutrinos interacting in the Antarctic ice while I was a graduate student.

I will then discuss the transition to how I got a job in engineering consulting for government clients, primarily in the Air Force. Although I had aspired to be a professor, I ended up taking this route in search of a permanent position and career path. After two years in the industry, I am now transitioning again to a new role working directly for the government in the Air Force Research Laboratory. 

I am passionate about helping students accomplish their school and career ambitions. After spending nearly ten years in academia, and now outside of academia, I decided to convert the lessons learned and experiences lived into a series of books to help students navigate school and career. I will conclude this talk with a summary of the main points from my ‘How to PhD’ books.

About the speaker

Dr. Oindree Banerjee received her BS in Physics from North Carolina State University in 2013 and went on to graduate studies at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, where she studied high energy neutrinos as part of the ANITA collaboration.

After obtaining her Ph.D. she transitioned to engineering consulting for government clients and is currently transitioning again to a direct position working for the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Dr. Banerjee is the author of the best-selling book "How to PhD: The Graduate School Handbook" which is a step-by-step graduate school guide and self-help book complete with everything you need to know to succeed at all stages of your Ph.D. from applying to graduate schools to successfully finishing the degree.

The talk was given on Friday, November 6th @ 12:05 P.M.

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I quit my job this month and the reason is closely related to the pandemic and the specific situation and leadership I was dealing with. When I got sick with COVID-like symptoms back in April, I sat down and figured out my finances to see how long I could survive on my savings. That was one of the ways I reassured myself that I could leave my job if needed as I suspected that I got COVID from my job. It was an activity that helped me in case you need to do it yourself. Blog post: https://howtophd.org/2020/10/why-i-quit-my-job-in-a-large-consulting-firm-during-this-pandemic.html --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

Impromptu episode recorded on my phone to share what's going on with you --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

Not having a degree is not the end of the world. Letting go of that terror of not having the degree after all helped me lots to actually finish.

When you start a business, there is always that risk of things not ending up how you planned them. But you take the calculated risk and do it anyway.

A Ph.D. is the same way – when you start you are taking a risk. You might not finish with a Ph.D. Lots of things could happen and maybe you don’t get one at the end.

I think it’s about a third that leaves without a Ph.D. – comment below if you know better. It’s really pretty common. You are risking investing your time, energy, and life. You are accepting a low income (maybe debt) in the meantime and fewer savings and less retirement money.

But you do it anyway. Because you are really, really passionate about something. You are no different than an entrepreneur!

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/09/thinking-of-your-phd-as-business-you.html

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Awareness of the problem can help you to deal with it. Which brings me to the last point.

Make a plan and follow it.

Each day, at the end of the day, write down what you’d like to (need to) accomplish the next day. It should be only two or three things.

You might end up doing more things but keep this list short.

This is your list to get STARTED with your day.

So that you don’t sit there feeling terrible and also unable to shake it off as you don’t know how to get started with the day’s work.

An item in your list could be something like:

Implement the next step in troubleshooting to figure out what the hell is the bug that your code is currently suffering from.

Then, come in the next morning and do the things on your (short) list no matter what.

I used to have a daily morning meeting in graduate school where I basically heard that I couldn’t graduate. Not yet. And what felt like, maybe not ever.

It was really hard to do work right after that. I was so demoralized. I wished my day wouldn’t start like that but I had no choice.

My mind would be clouded by negative things and when working on hard problems, you kind of need to be all there. You need to shake off negativity and get the work DONE.

It helped to acknowledge that I found the meeting demoralizing and then come up with a plan to fight that feeling.

I would have a few things planned out to start doing right after the meeting.

Things that would add up and ultimately lead to graduating no matter how much it felt like that was an impossibility. It’s all about chipping away at it.

So, don’t let any demoralizing forces stop you from chipping away at your goal.

If you detect demoralization, take steps to fight it first, and then continue working.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/11/how-to-fight-demoralization-in-graduate.html

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1. Realize that you already have the technical skills. 2. Don’t wait for permission. 3. Be a good communicator. Network.

I don’t mean that you should suddenly know everyone and have this huge network overnight.

Start to build relationships and have meaningful connections.

This could be in the form of reconnecting with your old friends that you have forgotten due to graduate school.

Maybe it is time to be a good friend again.

I had become so focused on work in graduate school that I had trouble remembering who my friends were.

I barely ever saw them.

So, literally, get up and get outside of the lab.

Get some sunlight.

Go for a walk. Go to a friend’s house.

I was visiting my friend’s newborn puppies when I ended up networking and getting referred for my job.

Don’t think of networking as this really difficult and unnatural thing that you have to do.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/10/what-skills-do-i-need-to-become.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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Worrying about your Ph.D. candidacy exam (prelim)?

Been there, and here to help!

I will cover everything from what candidacy is and what a first-year grad student should focus on, to what to do on the day of your oral exam.

It’s an exam. Get ready to study!

Make sure to visit your school’s official website and look up the candidacy requirements for your specific graduate program.

Here, I share my personal experience and guideline, having completed my Ph.D. candidacy in Physics at Ohio State University.

What is the Ph.D. candidacy exam?

• The 6-week formal exam required by the graduate school
  
• Advisor/committee chooses a topic
  
• Typically not something you have worked on
  
• But good for you to know
  

You do a literature review, some calculations and become a mini-expert on the assigned topic

Deliverables: 20 page paper (at the end of 4 weeks) + Talk (at the end of 6 weeks)

The talk / oral exam makes students nervous because they can be asked any question from the assigned topic and in-context Physics during the talk.

In my program, this talk is given only to the candidacy committee. In other programs, the talk may even be open to the public.

If you are a first-year graduate student

Focus on finding a good Ph.D. advisor

Professor with whom you feel relatively comfortable

To interact with regularly and ask questions

Has research money OR ability to get TA support

Has project ideas that interest you

Yes, in that order

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2019/02/how-to-succeed-in-the-phd-candidacy-exam.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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Here are 26 tips on giving a successful job talk. You can use this list as a guide when working on creating your research presentation for an academic position or research-based role.

1. Good to have pretty pictures on the title slide.
2. A “quick orientation” slide quickly provides information to the audience on what to expect. It has helped me to deliver my talks. Here, you give basic info on you and your project immediately after the title slide.
3. It is very important to show knowledge of the field as a whole and acknowledge other work. Do this for your research early on in the talk.
4. In a “background slide,” you can expect questions where understanding what is being asked is critical. Get clarification on the question.
5. It is important to tell the audience why they should care early on so that you can keep their attention throughout the talk.
6. Break down confusing things into bite-sized chunks.
7. Spend enough time explaining everything in a heavy slide. If there is quite a lot going on you could lose your audience.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/08/26-tips-on-giving-a-successful-job-talk.html

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I have been told by multiple employers that my resume using this template is the best resume they had ever seen! I always got the interview if not the job! I have also helped many friends successfully use this template and give their careers huge makeovers!! So now it is YOUR turn. 

Please don’t hate me, but this resume template is in LaTeX. If you are not familiar with that, now is a great time to learn and that is exactly what I go over here in this episode! You can Google LaTeX and get lots of help. Also, this template will allow you to hit the road running. LaTeX is fully customizable which makes it awesome to use once you get the hang of it. 

This template is now extendable to two or more pages. You will see. It can accommodate more than one page and is highly customizable. However, if you are early in your career, you should try to stick to one page!

Link to resume template where you will start working on your resume project now: https://www.overleaf.com/read/dnhymzqppptq

You can access this one-page technical resume template on Overleaf. I freaking love Overleaf. This is why.

OVERLEAF IS AN ONLINE LATEX EDITOR THAT’S EASY TO USE: NO INSTALLATION, REAL-TIME COLLABORATION, VERSION CONTROL, HUNDREDS OF LATEX TEMPLATES, AND MORE.

All you have to do is click on the resume template link I provide above, and then edit the Overleaf files that you will then have access to, in order to change out the fields like name, and other specifics.

Once you click the link, please save the project with a different name and then turn off sharing unless you want other people to be able to edit your resume. See along the top panel to change the name of your Overleaf project and to change the sharing setting.

Next, look at the left panel. In the above picture, we are viewing the PDF result of the files after compiling the LaTeX code that makes your resume. To change what shows up in this PDF result, you need to make edits in the other files like main.tex, page1sidebar.tex, etc. All parts of the resume can be edited by going into each of these files in the left panel.

Try making a change, and then go back to the PDF view and click on the green button called “Recompile” in the top panel. You should then be able to see the change you made reflected in the PDF result of your work. After making all the changes, you will have your new resume in PDF format from this template. To save the resume to your computer, you can click on the button near the “Recompile” button with the down arrow on it.

You do have to log in. I usually just use my Google login. I made the project for this resume template that you will have to use to edit and create your own resume ‘Read Only.’

This is because I don’t want people to mess up the template once they start editing because I noticed that although I asked people to create their own project first, people start to edit the original template and then the template files get broken for other users! Not fun!! If you have problems accessing this template online because it is ‘Read Only’, please let me know and I will fix the problems.

Full blog post: https://howtophd.org/2020/05/one-page-technical-resume-template.html

GOOD LUCK!!! Leave a comment on the blog post with your questions!!! Have fun job searching and using this template to create your BEST RESUME!!!!!

Note: the blog post provides the files on OneDrive as well. Any problems, let me know. You can also add me on LinkedIn and msg me there with your troubles. I would love to improve this for everyone and make sure that it works!!! 

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Even in an ‘ideal’ research group, grad school is really hard.

In my humble (and biased!) opinion, the grad school experience is not worth going through unless you have found an advisor/group/research combination that clicks for you.

You need to be filled with much-needed motivation to return to school day after day, maybe night after night, for several years (5.5 years average in the US), to work the hardest you have ever worked on something.

If you don’t think you have met your match for a research group, then keep looking.

What to do with your current group? Well, most importantly, again:

NEVER BURN A BRIDGE.

You might want to switch for a number of reasons. I hope it is something like: you don’t feel passionate about the research or that you don’t like the particular advising style.

Hopefully, it is not more traumatic than that.. although, it can be sometimes and in that case, I am sorry and I hope you get help.

Actually, whatever the situation, get help! Talk to someone – seniors, classmates, administrators that you trust, other professors, counselors.

Share your experience to evaluate your experience.

Read the full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/01/how-to-break-up-with-your-advisor.html

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To summarize the major tips for successfully applying to postdoc positions

1. Be selective and apply to specific positions that excite you and where you can make a strong case for yourself.
2. Know the name of the person who would be hiring you and do your research on them. Don’t send out generic applications just to send out applications. It’s not worth your time and you probably won’t get interview calls. Make two good applications rather than 20 generic ones.
3. It’s who you know and what you did. Use your network to find opportunities and get referred for them, but also focus on finding positions that are a good fit for you based on the work you did. Having a strong network will help to get you the leads and put you in a better position for getting interviewed, but if what you did is not going to make you a strong candidate for what they want you to do next, then you will be passed over for someone else.
4. Everything you have done already should make you the perfect candidate for the perfect role. In your research statement, talk about the things you have already done that make you a particularly strong candidate for that specific position. That will work to at least get you an interview, from my experience.

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/08/17-tips-on-successfully-applying-to-postdoc-positions.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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As a senior graduate student, you might face a situation where your advisor is not on the same page as you about graduation. The recommended approach, in this case, would be to tackle the problem step by step, and not all at once.

It may very well be that the last person to get on the same page is your advisor. In this case, please know that yours isn’t the first or the last professor to be a pain in the ass when it comes to graduating. It is a well-known phenomenon. If this is your biggest hurdle, you are not alone.

In fact, that is the best advice I can give.

Internalize that you are not alone and there are other people in this world who can help and influence your situation, directly and indirectly.

Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/what-to-do-if-your-advisor-is-not-on-the-same-page-about-graduation.html

Instead of wasting time arguing with or getting stressed out by your advisor, focus on getting EVERYONE ELSE on the same page first.

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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Answer questions at a job talk successfully by maintaining an open, inquisitive mind and professional attitude even under pressure. Always repeat the question. Keep in mind that:

• Research is always on the cutting edge of knowledge which means that there will be things you don’t know and haven’t yet looked into.
• The answering of questions during a job talk is more about your attitude than anything else. This is because your answer could very well be “I don’t know.”

Answer questions at a job talk by adopting the following methods, especially when you are thrown off:

• Get further clarification on the question by repeating their question and asking them whether what you think they asked is actually what they asked or not. It is always a good idea to first confirm whether the thing you think they asked is actually what they asked or not. In your rush to answer the question, you might end up confusing the audience if you don’t do this. On the other hand, if you ask for clarification, you turn the situation into a two-way conversation. Once you understand what they asked, attempt to answer it, or give the best answer if there is no right answer. If you don’t know, say you don’t know.

Full post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/07/how-to-answer-questions-at-a-job-talk-for-a-postdoc-application.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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The “And Then There Were None” technique of graduating with a Ph.D. is to be deployed when you have the ultimate advisor problem.

You need to graduate and your advisor is not letting you. Talking to your advisor is like banging your head against a wall, so don’t waste energy doing that.

In fact, that could be your downfall, and we need to avoid that at all costs. Avoid becoming isolated and as a Ph.D. student, you have to work hard to make sure of that.

This is YOUR business and you have to take matters into your own hands. As I have emphasized in past posts, there are others you must focus on first: the rest of your committee members, the department administration, and members of your collaboration if your research group is part of a larger collaboration.

Read the blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/06/and-then-there-were-none-approach-of-graduating-with-a-phd.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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In this post, I share the research statement I wrote to become a finalist in a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship competition called the Owen Chamberlain Postdoctoral Fellowship at Berkeley Lab.

At the time of the application, I did not have any main-author papers published yet but some in the pipeline.

If you are wondering what do you even write in a research statement, I am totally with you.

I felt the same way.

What do I say?

Then I learned that what you mainly say in a research statement is what you have done already and how that makes you great.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/08/how-to-write-research-statement-for.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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If you got into multiple graduate schools and can’t decide which one to go to, congratulations, and also, I understand the stress. Here are 4 ways to help you decide which graduate school to choose out of the options you have.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/06/4-ways-to-help-you-decide-which-graduate-school-to-choose.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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Lots of people who are NOT on the ANITA collaboration are talking about this topic of how “NASA scientists may have uncovered a parallel universe.” Well, as someone who is actually on the collaboration and also deeply interested in making science communication more accessible, I figured I will blog about the SCIENCE that is getting twisted around to make tabloids.

I will not be sharing links to any of the tabloids because those clickbait articles have already made enough money off of misinforming the public and creating sensation without actually educating anyone about science.

The only consolation prize is if this increases enthusiasm for particle astrophysics, I am all for the increased enthusiasm part. Yes, it is a very cool and awesome field to be in and has involved experiences of a lifetime even as a graduate student.

BY ALL MEANS, I HOPE CONGRESS FUNDS PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS MORE. WE ARE A SMALL BUT EXTREMELY HARD-WORKING COMMUNITY OF SCIENTISTS. Some ANITA acronyms

ANITA = Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna

VPol = Vertically Polarized

HPol = Horizontally Polarized

UHE = Ultra High Energy

CR = Cosmic Ray

EAS = Extensive Air Shower

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/want-to-know-what-the-parallel-universe-nonsense-is-about.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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I am happy to share with you that this blog is now also geared towards helping content creators. I have started a podcast and also a YouTube channel to help both students and also content creators. If you are interested in creating a personal brand or helping people through your content, I hope that the content I share here on that helps you with both big picture stuff and the nitty-gritty.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/how-to-phd-is-now-helping-content-creators.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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Here I talk about how to make a case for graduation with a Ph.D. including some techniques you can deploy towards that end.

Finishing a Ph.D. in a shorter as opposed to a longer period of time does NOT mean that you get to do less work. You have to accomplish MORE to graduate faster than to graduate slower.

Why you need to do more to make a case

If you don’t accomplish MORE than others, you will not have a good CASE for graduating. You have to demonstrate that you have done enough stuff. You will know you have done enough only when it is MORE than enough, so do more than enough.

Your thesis will be your mightiest weapon when demonstrating that you have done a lot. This is why it is important to have a living document that you can readily present when/if challenged about whether you should graduate or not.

I am not actually worried at all that you are good at your job of doing research. In fact, I am worried that you are too good.

Because being good at your job is tricky! You might become invaluable to your research group. In this case, your advisor is likely to not let you graduate, as you are so darned useful and highly trained!

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/how-to-make-a-case-for-graduation-with-a-phd.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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In this episode I cover what it means to be a systems analyst and share from my personal experience spanning three jobs post academia. A systems analysis role is 1) problem solving 2) big picture architecting of how to solve a problem backed by technical analysis 3) not focused on building tools for other users but rather leveraging existing tools and using them for your analysis and only building a tool from scratch if it is needed and in a way where you will be the main user of it 4) making PowerPoint slides on your analysis and presenting this work and spending time understanding how best to communicate through this and for the right audience etc 5) communication with team members or across organizations to do due diligence on what’s been done already so much like literature review before embarking on original research work. This type of role has lots of parallels with academic research and transferable skills from scholarly work would be very useful here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

If you are starting off as a blogger or website owner, you might first want to know how much it will cost. So how much does blogging or having a website cost? I will give you the breakdown for this site. There are three aspects to consider: platform, hosting, and domain. All three potentially cost money.

Platform

I use WordPress now, but that is not how I started…

In my young days of blogging, I was on Blogger, hosted by Google! Google owns it and it is the simplest to set up. It was just a place for me to start, and so I did. In those days, my domain used to be with Google Domains for $12. Blogger, of course, was free.

However, as I grew a little older and wanted my site to not look like ass, excuse my French, I moved on to WordPress.

WordPress has a huge community.

I considered Squarespace but may have found that it was not free. Currently, I only pay for the hosting & domain, not the platform. I also did a transfer from Blogger to WP, and the WP community helped me to do that for free.

THAT WAS HUGE.

Whoever helps me with painful things, I go with them, yo.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/how-much-does-blogging-or-having-a-website-cost.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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If you are new to audio like I am, you might be interested in the least expensive and challenging way to get started with recording audio. I share how to get started with a podcast by using just your phone and Macbook. Specifically, you will need a free app on your phone and a free app on your Macbook.

Uploaded the audio file following the methods discussed in this post to Anchor now, added a Transition to the beginning, that is all. 

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/how-to-start-a-podcast-using-just-your-phone-and-macbook.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic Might Just Be The Best Thing That Ever Happened To You. Pandemic-proof your income to pursue your ultimate dream and be set for life. This post brings together several posts I have been writing to encourage people to follow their dream while also pandemic-proofing their life and income.

Let’s start living the life we have always wanted to because there is no excuse not to do that anymore. Change is not only coming, but it is also upon us, and Nature is forcing us to follow our pandemic-proof dreams.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/how-to-pandemic-proof-your-life-and-income.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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------NOT SPONSORED BY CHEEKY SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION-----

The moment before joining Cheeky Scientist, I was sitting in the dark in my bathroom. It was late one night in November 2017.

I was worried about my future.

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/08/what-happened-when-i-joined-cheeky.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

Your relationship with time in graduate school will determine whether you achieve more rather than less, so have a respectful attitude towards time. Don’t let time get away from you and don’t take time for granted.

Five years is not long if you want to achieve more rather than less

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/on-your-relationship-with-time-in-graduate-school.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

A Ph.D. defense is one of those things that one can never feel prepared enough for because usually, it is the first time one is doing it! In this post, I paint a picture of how to successfully defend your Ph.D. thesis including how to make the slides for your defense talk.

Associated blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/07/on-my-phd-defense-48-hours-later.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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In this post, I talk about the dangers of a Ph.D. taking too long to finish and to point out the resources available to you to combat that.

Dangers of a Ph.D. taking too long

A Ph.D. that is much longer than five to six years is a poor return on investment. Whatever the reason, there are two big problems with staying in a Ph.D. program for too long:

• Lack of productivity
• Decreasing employability

Listen to the audio to hear this discussion.

Associated Blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2020/05/dangers-of-a-ph-d-taking-too-long.html

Leave a comment on the How to PhD blog:

GOT A QUESTION? GUESS WHAT, YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTION IN THE COMMENTS OF ANY POST INCLUDING THIS ONE AND I WILL WRITE A POST TO ANSWER IT.

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In this episode, I share from my recent experiences as program manager and what I learned. Being in a leadership position is very different from being an individual contributor and I think it’s good to strike a balance of having both aspects on separate projects if that is important to you. In leadership, the primary focus is to serve the team and do what is right for the team and performance of the projects and often times if things are going well your main job is to get out of the way! Develop and maintain trust. Don’t micromanage and remember to communicate the right amount: not too much nor too little! Hope the conversation helps to go over how to do this!!! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support

Follow on LinkedIn and let me know if you need any help or advice with finding a job at any of the organizations I have worked in so far. Chances are I can at least point you in the right direction if I have not worked there yet. A referral is the most efficient way to get a job so don't forget to reach out and get started on this process! It is not you, it is them if you are not getting a job or a good offer. We will work on this together!

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LADIES, change your profile photo and LI headline this New Year. (I need to as well once I find someone to take a headshot of me, lol!)
Here is what I have learned and like to share!!

🌱 Get someone to take a headshot of you in the outdoors against a natural background with natural lighting. Look professional yet approachable, which you are!!!
🌱 Change your headline to something like this: "Entry 1 | Entry 2 | Entry 3 | Entry 4 | Entry 5" where the entry values can be stuff like what I have in my headline describing myself, my role, etc. The last entry should be something that humanizes you or gives even more extra information about you that normally wouldn't be known. It could be "Travel Enthusiast" and has nothing to do with your job. See below for why the entries are so important.
🌱 Use the entries in your headline to make yourself more searchable on LinkedIn, leverage that space to put in keywords important to your industry or area of work like "Machine Learning Expert" so that the keywords help you to show up on search results. Don't just put your current title or job there. Think KEYWORDS

🌱 You can put things like "Open to Relocate" or "Remote" as your entries if you are willing to do those. Lots of people, for example, are not open to relocating and if you say that you are upfront it helps the right people find you on search results.
🌱 If you have a security clearance and looking for a job in the defense industry, make sure to put "Active Security Clearance" as one of your entries!!!!! And also in your role's job description!!! If you are trying to get into the defense industry and are a US citizen, meaning you are eligible for getting a security clearance, then put "Security Clearance Eligible" as one of your entries, please!!!!!
🌱 Comment your LI profile on here or DM me if you want me to personally review your LI profile and give you changes. We can iterate indefinitely.
🌱 GO GET THAT HIGH PAYING JOB NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, for your headline, which I suggest should be like this "Entry 1 | Entry 2 | Entry 3 | Entry 4 | Entry 5" you can be more fun and use emojis as the dividers like I do instead of this character "|" but it is whatever you like more!

The most important thing is KEYWORDS!

And note that my profile pic is just a selfie right now but at least it is outdoors in natural lighting, so you can do something similar till you replace the pic with a more professional-looking headshot.

Incremental progress is still progress. Don't wait for things to be perfect before you start implementing changes. If recruiters are not hounding you right this moment, that means you can make changes in the next 30 seconds to improve your chances of being found or showing up on search results!!!! SO DO IT (or I will beat you! just kidding)

Finally, this advice is especially relevant for those who are still in school or grad school, so people know you are job searching and that is normal. So go nuts!!!

For some who are in jobs right now and don't want it to be known that they are job searching, it may be a bit trickier, still for those, too, you can do a lot of these incremental changes without hurting anything and also increasing your chances of being found manyfold.

For me, for example, due to being in the defense industry already, I get approached all the time and know enough people whom I can reach out to for a job change, so my LI profile is not the end all be all for job searching, plus I am very happy in my current role!

But please recognize that it is an incredible tool for you if you are new to job searching!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

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Women have everything it takes to be very successful, that is, more than average-level successful in STEM. We discuss: 

• STEM opportunities that women might feel are not for them like roles in defense, physics, engineering, etc. pay extremely well so even though women would be fewer in numbers in these types of roles, they would be paid well, become independent professionals, and thrive in spite of existing challenges (more on that below). Making good money is the first step to having independence and doing well in your life regardless of personal challenges. I have lots of content on how to negotiate salary, job search, etc. 
• Govt. salaries are public and modern policies make it so that it is considerably harder (officially) to discriminate against women, so if discrimination or harassment happens, women can address these issues now instead of living with them. This does not mean that things are perfect, the point is that policy and rules are supposed to help women get paid with equality and to address issues, so know your rights.
• Microaggressions against women and boys' clubs in the workplace still exist and can make it a hostile/unwelcoming environment for women. If this happens, and in spite of this, women can still thrive (not just survive) by typically being more focused than the boys-club-men, and by having a small network of high-achieving women to help them keep on track and help to pursue opportunities.
• It is extremely important to discuss day-to-day problems and pursue opportunities with the help of other women in your network, for example, a successful woman in your network knows about an opportunity that would be great for you, and then recommends you. This is how you can grow quickly rather than stay stuck where you are and also where you have problems (where you will go, you will have problems too, but at least, you would have progressed your career).
• Prioritize self-care and hire help. Traditionally, men have been able to be super successful with the help of their wives who took care of their lives, family obligations, etc. If you are to be successful, you need to realize that you can't do everything and it is highly encouraged to hire help like a housekeeper, nanny, lawncare - whatever you can afford. In high-paying jobs, chances are you can afford these and it is on you to pay for this help and help yourself get the rest you need and to practice self-care like taking a bath, getting a massage, eating, and sleeping well. If you don't do these, you will burn out and be less good at your job anyway, so these are not an option, these are essential. 

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This is my talk given on Nov 19, 2021, at the University of Mount Union at the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics!

I cover my Ph.D. thesis which is in the field of particle astrophysics. I also go through content from my books, and blog to help students succeed in academia, industry, and government!

I have experience in all three worlds now (academia, industry, and government) so anything I can share to help students and young professionals to navigate challenges in these fields, I am happy to! 

The journey from Ph.D. candidate to government scientist is worth sharing for those who feel the same uncertainties that I used to feel when I was in graduate school. It IS possible and this is how.

Excerpt from my blog on how to finish your Ph.D. in a timely manner:

Do things that will directly translate to the contents of your thesis. And, only those things.

If you have been keeping good notes, putting your thesis together should not take more than a couple of months.

Do not put off writing.

Block off time to write every day.

Basically, if you are a good graduate student, that’s great, but also, it won’t be easy.

You will be working really hard till the last minute.

You are fully capable of getting the work done, though. That’s WHY you are a good graduate student.

So, what do you need to do to finish?

The FOUR things you need to accomplish to graduate are:

• Finish your projects
  
• Finish writing your thesis
  
• Find/train your replacement graduate student(s)
  
• Find a job that your advisor/committee will approve of (good postdoc or top industry job)

Full blog post:

https://howtophd.org/2018/08/how-to-actually-finish-your-phd-in.html

Let me know any questions!!!

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oindreebee/support