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PhD Simulator

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Re: PhD Simulator

#81

Post by amwales »

dazed_confused wrote: post #63
chias wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One dynamic I experienced that also isn't in the simulation: if you focus too much on classwork early on in order to pass your RPE, it can actually be hard to find an advisor. Classwork is basically dead-end work and the more you focus on it the less you have to show for yourself when trying to convince an advisor to work with you. Your goal should be to optimize for doing just well enough to pass your classwork. Als…

Or your advisor retiring in year 2...

oddly specific

Re: PhD Simulator

#82

Post by Lk7Of3vfJS2n »

dazed_confused wrote: post #63
chias wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One dynamic I experienced that also isn't in the simulation: if you focus too much on classwork early on in order to pass your RPE, it can actually be hard to find an advisor. Classwork is basically dead-end work and the more you focus on it the less you have to show for yourself when trying to convince an advisor to work with you. Your goal should be to optimize for doing just well enough to pass your classwork. Als…

Or your advisor retiring in year 2...

Or your advisor accepts a job at a company in another state in year 2...

Re: PhD Simulator

#83

Post by stolenmerch »

liendolucas wrote: post #16

Some time ago I watched this movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416675/ (Dark matter). I don't know how accurately captures the essence of getting a PhD, maybe someone who went through it can expand on that, but I've always wondered if it's actually how is depicted in the film.

This film is a fictionalized depiction of the real-life 1991 University of Iowa shooting. A PhD student murdered his advisors, VP of Academic Affairs, and a fellow student for being passed over for a prestigious prize. There were other geopolitical influences on this event that I'd say make it unique.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Iowa_shooting

Re: PhD Simulator

#84

Post by peteradio »

dazed_confused wrote: post #63
chias wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One dynamic I experienced that also isn't in the simulation: if you focus too much on classwork early on in order to pass your RPE, it can actually be hard to find an advisor. Classwork is basically dead-end work and the more you focus on it the less you have to show for yourself when trying to convince an advisor to work with you. Your goal should be to optimize for doing just well enough to pass your classwork. Als…

Or your advisor retiring in year 2...

Buddy of mine, his advisor died in like year 4.

Re: PhD Simulator

#85

Post by ke88y »

chias wrote: post #54
lqet wrote: post #5

This is great and exactly captures the PhD experience. Both in the simulator and in real life, I mostly survived until the end by slacking off frequently, and needed around 5 years. Some highlights: > INBOX: Based on the reviewers' comments, we regret to inform you that your manuscript has been REJECTED for publication. One of the reviewers pointed out that there is no comparison with a state-of-art method. > You cam…

One dynamic I experienced that also isn't in the simulation: if you focus too much on classwork early on in order to pass your RPE, it can actually be hard to find an advisor. Classwork is basically dead-end work and the more you focus on it the less you have to show for yourself when trying to convince an advisor to work with you. Your goal should be to optimize for doing just well enough to pass your classwork. Als…

This also depends on the field. I think this is good advice in fields where grad students are primarily there to help with grant-funded research. In those fields, the course and prelim requirements are reasonable because professors need warm bodies doing work. Eg, CS.

It's less good advice in fields where grad student research output doesn't matter as much, and where students do more teaching instead. Those fields tend to make much more aggressive use of weed-out exams to ensure that they have enough young grad students to meet teaching demand but not so many older (>=3yr) grad students that they saturate advising capacity. Mathematics in particular comes to mind.

Re: PhD Simulator

#86

Post by wpietri »

blitzar wrote: post #67
gradstudent wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Claim your free time. No sane advisor would ever say no.

That explains a lot about my advisor then ...

Yeah, that's one of the things I was looking for in this game. A friend of mine had an absolutely bonkers advisor who stopped answering my friend's emails. For a while they basically had to stalk their advisor, who would come in at erratic hours and quickly lock their office door, just ignoring any knocking. It was so wild to me, as my friend was just incredibly nice. My friend only graduated because other faculty sort of clubbed together as unofficial advisors.

I get that if you select only for smarts, you're going to get some odd ducks. But I've heard so many stories from PhD-seeking friends about the level of dysfunction that gets visited upon grad students.

Re: PhD Simulator

#87

Post by amir734jj »

I took qualifying exam on the last semester after I finished the thesis. They [university officials] thought in their system I have left the program. I had only 4 weeks to study for the exam because my advisor gave me a ultimatum after he thought I took the exam already. I was working full-time at this time and couldn't take 4 weeks off. After so much praying, I got the highest score, and I ended up becoming a Christian because of all the praying. It worked out at the end.

Re: PhD Simulator

#90

Post by jvvw »

womenintech333 wrote: post #80
armchairhacker wrote: post #10

That was...a lot more straightforward than I thought. First try: Year 4 Month 5 Second try: a lot more things went wrong. Year 5 Month 11. Third try: Year 5 Month 11. I just followed these rules: - Study for the qualifying exam until I'm "very confident" - If I have no ideas, read papers - If I have an idea, work on developing it. If I have a preliminary result, work on developing it. If I have a major result, conduc…

A bit disappointing it doesn't go into other details like being a women. As most PhD candidates are in their mid 20s and often by the end of the beginning of their academic careers they immediately have to decide to either have a family or pursue academia.

Didn't realise at the time but you have made me appreciate that that was one good thing about the British system - I was 24 when I submitted my PhD which is fairly typical so still time before such decisions (it was another 11 years before I discovered the challenges of combining a career with motherhood!)
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