Oh yeah! It turns out that I am officially a 3rd year PhD student as of last Wednesday. I have been studying my PhD for a full 2 years! Now that is pretty amazing! I reckon I've done a lot, I've found out public speaking isn't that bad, analysed A LOT of data, joined two teams of astronomers doing awesome science, observed with Australian telescopes, attended 4 conferences, travelled overseas twice, got engaged, met Amanda Tapping...... and published nothing. BUT I have many a paper in the works, I just have to figure out how to finish them! It is like sewing, it's easy to start but not to finish....
I am optimistic, as always about things. Ok I'm not always optimistic. In fact I can be down right depressive sometimes. But I try to make light of it all. To help with this I am taking on more things. Don't freak out people! Taking on more obligations doesn't mean other things won't get done. I'm am now a tutor for 1st year physics, awesome! And this is something that is going to help me out a lot in the future when I try to get lecturing positions. But I'm taking it on because I enjoy it, making things brighter!
Oh yeah, I am going to be looking into applying for lecturing positions when I finish my PhD. It's unusual for people straight out of PhDs to be lecturers as universities do like you to have a strong research background before you teach. But there is no harm in applying. But there are so many options! I could apply for post doc positions for research or fellowships (but these require a large number of published papers first) or science communication! Of course they all revolve around science and astronomy. I can't really get a job as a botanist without more study...
So that's the plan! This year I should be finishing up a lot of work, travelling to the US again, and start applying for jobs. I actually won't finish my PhD until August next year but due to how the job market works you have to apply a year before you finish. And that's it for the final year and a half of my PhD. I think then I'll have to get a real job! And have a party! :-)
-Elise
I am optimistic, as always about things. Ok I'm not always optimistic. In fact I can be down right depressive sometimes. But I try to make light of it all. To help with this I am taking on more things. Don't freak out people! Taking on more obligations doesn't mean other things won't get done. I'm am now a tutor for 1st year physics, awesome! And this is something that is going to help me out a lot in the future when I try to get lecturing positions. But I'm taking it on because I enjoy it, making things brighter!
Oh yeah, I am going to be looking into applying for lecturing positions when I finish my PhD. It's unusual for people straight out of PhDs to be lecturers as universities do like you to have a strong research background before you teach. But there is no harm in applying. But there are so many options! I could apply for post doc positions for research or fellowships (but these require a large number of published papers first) or science communication! Of course they all revolve around science and astronomy. I can't really get a job as a botanist without more study...
So that's the plan! This year I should be finishing up a lot of work, travelling to the US again, and start applying for jobs. I actually won't finish my PhD until August next year but due to how the job market works you have to apply a year before you finish. And that's it for the final year and a half of my PhD. I think then I'll have to get a real job! And have a party! :-)
-Elise