WHERE SMART PEOPLE READ | EARLY CAREER ADVICE 🍀 PERSONAL FINANCE
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The academic journey through Taylor Swift songs
My academic journey started when I was 11 and decided that I wanted to be a physicist. I learned that rest and motion were relative and that the grand unified theory still needed a lot of help. But I never scored the highest marks in physics. I always did better in biology, chemistry, and of…
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How leaving academia could make you a better scientist
When I ended up leaving academia after graduate school to start a consulting job, life-long academics told me that was it for me. “You are leaving physics…!! I am afraid…” “It’s always sad to see promising young people decide to leave the field…” “You were doing particle astrophysics! Why would you ever leave that?” “You can’t…
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The exercise that helped my back problems in graduate school
Suffering from back problems in graduate school motivated me to write this post. Otherwise, mind you, I am no expert on how to exercise – I am just sharing something that helped me feel stronger in my core. In fact, I swear I have a six-pack ab, and I am exaggerating a little here but…
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How to write your resume when getting referred by a technical person
Full disclosure: I am a little frustrated but I am not judging by any means. It’s OK. My resume sucked too. Photo by Emma Matthews on Unsplash If you are using a guideline for resumes such as the ones provided by Cheeky Scientist, you need to remember the following: Customize, customize, customize for the particular occasion I know…
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How to transition from academia to consulting
A successful transition from academia to consulting is possible. However, Ph.D. students may find themselves struggling to navigate both school and career even though they are highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and hard-working people. I was like that – I knew my subject and my research and was highly trained, but did not know the…
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When life is bad, know that you are still awesome
Sometimes life serves you pure shit. But that does not mean that YOU are shit. It means you now have to deal with shit. Photo by Form on Unsplash It says something about life. Not about you. So, don’t let that define you. You are still awesome. Feel your feelings but let this be your reminder that you…
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Why to-do lists did not help me in graduate school
To-do lists are difficult as I am a now or never kind of person. Don’t tell me about doing things unless it’s right now or at least for today. I know there is always tomorrow. One hopes. But we can talk then about what to do — then. Unfinished business like to-do lists makes me…
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Page from a grad student’s mental health diary
In this blog post, I am sharing the contents of a page from a graduate student’s mental health diary – with their permission! And, with minimal editing. The main point of this post is to spread awareness about mental health problems in academia and to let graduate students know that they are not alone in…
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Dear smart people, logic is NOT good enough
Smart people often make the mistake of thinking that logic is the best option. In real life, logic almost never is. At least, not JUST logic. Photo by Saketh Garuda on Unsplash Don’t get me wrong. Logic is a good thing. I am just saying that it is not enough. Logic is good when you are solely focused…
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To postdoc or not to postdoc, that is the tension
To postdoc or not to postdoc, that is the tension Are you stressed out by both an increasing awareness of the shenanigans present in academia AND applying to 50 postdocs this Fall? Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash You probably know this already but I will say it again: Postdocs don’t work out for MOST people. MOST postdocs…
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10 things that motivate me to write
I decided I wanted to be a physicist when I was eleven years old. But that was not my earliest ambition. What was it then? You guessed it right! Writer. Writer, of course. Photo by Art Lasovsky on Unsplash I am not exactly sure what triggered it. But I always loved reading and writing. Worked out, academically 🙂…
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Returning my Mac from graduate school
Returning my Mac is a sorry side effect of graduating with a Ph.D. If you got a computer from school, which I hope you did, now it must go back to school. I knew this but that does not mean I was prepared for it! Losing something as basic as a computer is pretty earth-shattering…
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Shopping at Home Depot with and without a man
Two days ago I went shopping at Home Depot to buy some rug. 30 by 12 feet of Ocean Blue rug, to be exact. Then realized that I needed more so I went back today to get more of the exact same rug. The only difference was two days ago, I was accompanied by a…
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How to fight demoralization in graduate school
At some point in graduate school, it is not the work that is the hardest part but to actively fight demoralization. The hardest part is to keep going even though extremely demoralizing forces are at work. Every graduate student has to fight demoralization. You are in a long, dark tunnel. But that is not the…
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How to avoid student loans
Are you or your kid thinking about going to college while trying to avoid student loans? This post is for you. At the time of applying to colleges in the US, I was in India. I had never been to the US yet. I was pretty clueless and did not know what I was doing.…
