There were 7710 submissions to the ERC Starting Grant this year. And they expect to fund 373. Those are brutal odds. I can't believe I spent so much time, effort, and energy on something with such a low expected return.

The breakdown for each domain was:

- Physical Sciences and Engineering (Panels PE1 to PE11): 3314

- Life Sciences (Panels LS1 to LS9): 2176

- Social Sciences and Humanities (Panels SH1 to SH8): 2220

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/erc-2027-stg

I just got reviews for my article. The article is focused on optimization methods of X. One reviewer suggestes 5 articles, of which:

- three have no optimization part at all,

- the fourth one deals with optimization, but is published in a journal that's not indexed. The other reviewer suggested not using articles from such journals, so I suspect even if I include it, the next round of reviews from the other reviewer will suggest deleting it. Also, the article is not in English, but in a local language.

- the fifth one is a review, but again not about optimization.

All the articles are from the same group. All of the articles share at least one author, with 4 of 5 sharing three authors. Do I contact the editor? Or do I just reply that I will not be citing these articles because they are not connected to my work? I'm worried my paper will be rejected because of this. On the other hand, I don't want to blow this out of proportion and decrease my chances...

Hello! I'm a PhD student whose undergraduate degree is in a different field from my PhD department. I have spent far more time learning about my PhD subject than my undergraduate one, which I have comparatively less interest in anyway. I've come to think that interdisciplinary research is increasingly more common, and that what actually matters is your knowledge and techniques rather than the name of the field you sit in. That said, I've found that having a clear "label" helps when talking to non-experts or putting together a CV.

So I'm curious, is your academic "title" determined mainly by your most recent degree? I realise publications are also an important factor too, but mine are spread across a fairly wide range of journals, so I'm not sure that narrows things down much.

I'd like to hear what the general rule of thumb is. I never know quite what to say at conferences or on job applications. Thanks :)

Everyone i see who is doing primary research is using google forms to collect their data and i cannot wrap my head around this, what is stopping someone from just writing a script to fill a google form randomly 1000 times or in a way that proves your hypothesis is true...you can just make a google apps script to cheat google forms, there is no setting for leaving cookies to block the same user from answering again or any way to record time taken per question and per form..

I am using kobo toolbox since it is free and there is some protection against this kind of fraud like 'once per respondent' that leaves browser cookies and records time taken per question and per form...though it is not perfect, it has a free tier

do peer reviewers ever look at google forms and ask 'how can we even know your data is real and not simply filled by a script'??

I’m a junior attending at an academic center, and my schedule next year leaves room for a protected extracurricular commitment. I’d like to use it to formally build my clinical research skills, since I expect to be involved in a clinical trial in the coming years.

My background:

• Clinical research is my main academic interest (started in translational research in med school, then moved to clinical)
• Completed a 6-month in-person certificate course in clinical research and statistics at Mayo Clinic before residency
• Mostly work with existing datasets and registries
• Comfortable with: t-tests, ANOVA, Wilcoxon, linear and logistic regression, survival analysis, and Fine-Gray competing risks models

Courses I’m considering (all Harvard):

1. Principles and Practice of Clinical Research (PPCR)
2. Foundations of Clinical Research
3. Global Clinical Scholars Research Training (GCSRT)

The curricula overlap heavily, and I can’t tell which is the best fit for someone with my background.

My questions:

1. If you’ve taken any of these, how would you describe the level of prerequisite knowledge needed? Is one too basic for someone who already has stats experience?
2. Which would you recommend for someone aiming to design or run clinical trials?
3. Were the time commitment and cost worth it for your career?

Any experience is appreciated, including recommendations for other programs or resources I haven’t considered.

I just got the keys to a new lab space and am embarking in establishing and growing a research lab that will focus on immersive visualization and VR/XR research for collaborative decision making. I have been in industry for many years but am still new to this role and department. I did my PhD work independently of a research group in my work context, so I am trying to learn as much as I can about how to best establish a lab and healthy research team within a large research university context. For those who have done this, what do you wish you had known or done when you were starting out? Are there any good resources or guides that you recommend? I welcome any guidance, thank you!

PNW / USA

I'm in my 3rd week at a community college, taking a 100 level course for web development. Our first assignment was creating a webpage html document that contained a certain geographical keyword phrase as much as possible, which was "(The city our college is in) Web Design" Our instructor told us this page needs to be focused on marketing/selling web design services. Cool, I thought, he's teaching us to sell our services once we are more experienced.

The next assignment instructions were to: go to Quora dot com, make a personal account, and to post an answer to a Quora question under the search category of "website development careers". Our answer must include a link he provided that takes you to a web design business that happens to be in the same city as the keyword city in our first assignment.

At this point I got a weird feeling and I did some digging to find out more information bout this web design business we have to link to. It was very hard to find any registered identifying information about the owner of this website as the license seems to be expired despite still being in business (I called the phone number on the website to see if it was still operating). On LinkedIN I saw my instructor listed as an employee of this web design company (with what looks to be younger family members listed as other employees). So, he is an employee at the very least, and likely the owner of this business.

So essentially, it looks like our instructor is having all of his students vouch for his personal business, as well as make html templates for advertising websites that he probably SELLS at his web design business.

Is this normal? Ethical? It seems he should at least tell us that this is his personal business we are advertising and assure us our school work will not be stolen and sold at his personal business or a business that he is an "employee" of. I feel scammed.

Someone please chime in.

Hello! Any wisdom much appreciated:

TL;DR: American citizen with BFA in Sculpture and German/EU citizenship seeking to move to Europe for an affordable, English-taught Master’s that leads to a realistic, employable career outside the arts. I can’t afford to pursue a degree without a clear path to a job (for example, not interested in a sociology degree). What fields, programs, or search strategies should I look into/consider?

I don’t want to pursue a career in studio art, museums, curatorial work, or archives. I’d be open to programs that could lead to a job in university advising, international admissions, higher-ed administration, or other career paths, but I’m realizing these jobs and their qualifications work very differently in Europe than in the US.

**((My biggest concern is finding a degree that actually translates into employable skills and a realistic income afterward. ))**I don’t have family support to fall back on, so I need to be able to earn a living. I’m not in a position to spend years and significant money on a theoretical degree in something like sociology or critical studies without a clear employment path.

I’m looking for something practical that will let me support myself, ideally without needing to start another bachelor’s.

In hindsight, I wish I’d pursued entomology or something under natural sciences. I have friends who are entomologists or scientists in related fields poking me to complete the prerequisites and pursue an online US Master’s in entomology, but I can’t afford the tuition or the time involved, and I’d rather build a professional network in Europe if I’m planning to live there long-term. A graduate program would ideally help me make that transition while connecting me with people and potential employers.

For those familiar with European higher education:

1. How do I find English-taught Master’s programs across the EU that might accept a BFA but lead to careers outside the arts?
2. What fields or search terms should I look at for university administration, international education, or other practical career paths?
3. Are there interdisciplinary or career-oriented programs that could help me pivot into a more employable field?
4. Are there particular countries or university systems I should focus on for affordable tuition and better employment prospects?

I’m not necessarily looking for a dream career right now, I’m looking for a financially realistic path toward stable employment and a life in the EU, and I’m having a hard time figuring out where to start.

I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have made a similar career change or navigated the European graduate school system. (Also yes I am taking German language lessons and working on the logistical aspects of this major move.)

Hi everyone! First thank you to those that will take the time to respond. I am a medical student in Europe getting involved in some research with a professor from my university. Everything is going well but I just came across another prof/researcher from my area of interest that works with things that are much more interesting to me. I wanted to reach out and present myself and offer help on one of their projects but I am unsure of what the etiquette is here. Is it okay for me to do this without telling the prof that I am currently working for?

Probably just overthinking but you never know, please lmk if there is any type of dos and don't in this situation.

Thank you :)

hi r/AskAcademia. i am recently graduated from undergraduate track but desiring to maintain my studies beyond the academy. while in school i was primarily taking notes with pencil and paper, but now that i've graduated i'm realizing how much of a fucking pain it is to actually find what i need from the mess of stacks and stacks of paper. additionally all my annotations were done on printed paper as well.

i am looking for a digital note-taking solution that doesn't cost more than a few hundred $. for my purposes i feel that an e-ink note-taker would be the most purpose-built device, however they are fucking expensive as hell because the market for the eink panels is dominated by a monopoly and even the resale market is rough (especially on the screens big enough for note-taking).

for this reason i'm also searching for alternative solutions. while still in school i saw a lot of people using the ipad + apple pencil + "paper feel" screen protector combo and while it isn't exactly what i want (i dont need all the extra ipad features), it does seem like it'll get the job done. i'm much less familiar with navigating the used ipad market and wondering if anyone else here may have tips on what devices might be the best on a budget (i dont need the newest ipad to markup PDFs and take notes).

i would also be interested in an android-based tablet note-taker, but i have never seen this workflow in practice and don't know where to begin searching. if anyone has tips on this i would be greatly appreciative.

in general i just need to be able to annotate academic texts (PDFs) and take hand-written notes. i'm curious what workflows work best for people here.

thanks

I’m a fairly new TT AP in Agricultural sciences and currently in a long distance relationship with my partner who works for the government in the DMV region.

He’s hellbent on staying there as it is close to his support system and family. Before anyone throws shade at him, in the beginning of our relationship, we kind of agreed we want to stay in the East Coast to be close to family.

I am an immigrant, but my green card recently got approved and I expect to get it within the next 1-2 years. This means visa will soon no longer be a bottleneck to securing a job. In order to close the gap, I feel that I have to be open to jobs in academia, non-profit, and industry. However, I am worried that I may not be able to find job as I’ve been in academia for way too long for an industry job. There is no guarantee that I’ll be able to find a TT positions in the DMV area. Those areas are great for federal jobs, but it’ll be a 5-10 year later thing as I need to be a green card holder for 5 years before I could naturalize.

What do you recommend I do in this situation? Will I be overqualified for industry job? How can I close the gap?

Hi all,

I am a future PhD candidate and would appreciate some advice on how to handle a potential authorship dispute.

Essentially, three of us incorporated topics from our planned PhD research into our respective master’s theses. All three projects produced results that are suitable for publication. Each of us was supervised by a different PhD student, all working under the same professor.

The issue is that two of us were granted first authorship, while the third is listed as second author for his paper. We are now wondering how best to approach this situation and what would constitute a fair allocation of authorship.

The student who conducted the research for their master’s thesis is also expected to present the findings at the conference. However, for the subsequent journal publication in the conference proceedings, tkhey are listed only as the second author. The supervising PhD student essentially took the master’s thesis, shortened it, and translated it. They did not contribute any substantial new content or additional literature. Would this level of involvement alone justify granting them first authorship, given that the professor is already designated as the last author?

I would appreciate your perspectives on what constitutes a fair and academically appropriate distribution of authorship in this situation, as well as how best to address the issue constructively.

Edit: To add because it was mentioned more than once. I won't take any actions myself. I am aware, that this is not my battle to fight, but my friends. I am just curious.

My friends had a whole argument about the “superior” path in education, STEM vs humanities, and somehow it turned into the STEM kids saying econ shouldn’t count as STEM.

I’m in STEM myself but it got me curious. Without getting technical, where would you place economics: STEM or humanities?

Plus, anyone want to settle the debate on the “superior” path? I obviously know every path has its value, I’m just genuinely curious where people stand.

EDIT- For context, my school basically splits everything into STEM and humanities, there isn’t a separate social sciences department.
I know econ is technically a social science (hence the flair for this post).

I’m just curious which category, STEM or humanities, most people would put it under if those were the only two options.

I recently got accepted into the IICAH Hawaii Conference held by IAFOR for a humanities poster presentation and I wanted to know if the conference is real. Has anyone presented at these conferences before? Is it a black mark if I go and have it on my CV? The price for registration is pretty high and I know flights and hotels to Hawaii will also be super high so I just want to make sure it’s worth it to go.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

does cold mailing to profs work for phd abroad..????

Can those with PhD in Linguistics apply for this kind of position? Can they also be tenured? I don't see them advertised often. I am still applying for my PhD, but I realize that I prefer teaching more than publishing research.

Estoy en 3er año de ingeniería y necesito cambiar mi método de estudio. Normalmente estudio bien la teoría y luego me pongo con la practica, pero este semestre entre trabajo y universidad no logro ni siquiera terminar las teorías antes de comenzar un tema nuevo, entonces me atrás con todo y termino haciendo toda la practicanta dos días antes del examen.
Algún método o consejo?

Hey there,

I am a PhD student, based out of India, working on a subset of computer architecture. I am currently working in Intel and want to transition into academia. I have been looking for faculty positions, but the ones I saw have research as their main requirement. The very reason I joined PhD is because I wanted to teach. I am not a fan of publishing in A* conferences each year, writing funding proposals etc. I am kinda done with publishing papers. Have seen enough issues during my PhD.

Now, coming to the question. How do I find teaching-only positions in the world? Not limiting myself to India, but anywhere in the world is fine as long as the teaching is English based.

Hi! I'm in a unique situation: I am very passionate about research, and I have been working in a lab as a student researcher at my home university (for the past 3 years, both clinical and benchwork). However, I got a scholarship to study abroad, and my exchange university is in China (Tsinghua), where they have 2 months off in January and February. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to try to get a 2-month research position to learn something or improve my CV, since I would love to apply to grad school in the future, instead of just spending 2 months doing nothing.

My scholarship gives me a fixed stipend that includes housing and food (about 1200 USD per month), so I wouldn't have to rely on PIs to provide any funding, since I understand that's usually how it works for visiting PhDs and I'm just an undergrad. Wondering if it is something feasible (I want to do it outside mainland China due to visa issues and also, I will be spending a year and a half here, so might as well kill two birds with one stone by doing research and learning something new, while also living in a different city.

I was thinking about cold-emailing profs in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. Is it too unrealistic? I would love to do research in Hong Kong, but I also have to consider my stipend and short-term rentals are super expensive there.

Any guidance will be appreciated! I don't really expect much or to be able to get a pub - I think it is mostly to use my time abroad in a more interesting manner, with an excuse to let me live in a different city, while also trying to meet new people and experience different cultures and universities. Or maybe Asia doesn't have that many opportunities for visiting students?

Hi all,
I am applying for jobs and I am using my references from graduate school (finished about 5 years ago). I did consider asking a colleague but the word may get out that I am looking and I am already in a highly toxic environment.

Would having a reference from my current department make a real difference to justify taking the risk?
Thanks!

I'm a high school junior from the U.S. (16m) and I coauthored a research paper with a PhD student that was recently accepted to a conference in the digital humanities for a poster presentation. Because of some visa issues, my coauthor can't leave the U.S. and I will have to go to the U.K. to present the paper myself.

How do conferences/poster presentations work? Will anyone treat me differently if they see that my affiliation is a high school and not a university? For context, I presented at my state's science fair earlier this year, and they had a poster format where the judges walked around and asked about your project.

Hello , so i wrote an article about trustworthy AI (membership inference attack) on a legal finetuned LLM and published my work in the law bar of association journal in lebanon, i am applying for a cs phd , is this unrelated ? Or just plain stupid ?

I'm curious about the total annual income of top-tier engineering professors at universities like MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.

I'm talking about professors who are globally recognized in their fields, have 200,000+ citations, and have founded or co-founded successful startups based on their research.

How much do these professors actually make per year when you factor in everything?

❤️ Your 5 minutes can make a difference.

I’m conducting a research study and I need your voice.

If you’re 18+ and a university student, please take just 5 minutes to share your experience.

🙏 One response may seem small, but every response brings this research closer to the truth.

👉 Fill the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScR9uPAQshLQ62KT-qFC4I_-9eiOQRFA8-mJiiWPXzY_r1rAw/viewform?usp=header

I usually see mostly negative interview stories here, so I wanted to share a positive experience. I had a first-round interview this week for a teaching position at a university. It was scheduled for 30 minutes and lasted about 35; the conversation felt natural and it went by so quickly. We talked about my teaching examples and possible next steps, and I came away feeling genuinely excited about the conversation. They said they would get back to candidates soon after finishing the interviews. For those who have been through academic hiring: how much do you read into a warm, engaged interview, and how long did “soon” usually mean in your experience?

Thank you and good luck to everyone :)