#grad school academia

[sappho-and-shakespeare]

My chaotic grad school academia

Writes only with cheap clear bic/biro or fountain pen, no inbetween (wooden pencils)

Beta reads fanfics and friends’ grad thesis

CD > Vinyl (still collects tho)

Obsessed with music

Grades papers listening to an iPod classic

Phobia of read books, still goes to the book section with wife despite running out of bookshelves a year ago

Wanders the bookstore but only ever gets books from the library (it’s that plastic wrapped cover. They make me feel safe)

Wine in mason jars

Analog watch that always an hour behind

Carries my Stanley everywhere (it’s only filled with ice; Xmas gift) and actually uses it as my only reusable cup

90s Toyota is my entire personality

Leggings and blazers

Crocs and business casual to teach class

Absolutely no impulse control

Too many trips to Target to check out the music section

Hyperfixates on new thing/fictional character/album every 2 months

Absolutely no sleep schedule (IM DOOMED)

Wishes I could be a moody chain smoking alcoholic academic but I just doomscroll and avoid my responsibilities instead (IM STILL JUST AS DOOMED) (we’re all also too lazy/busy to drink)

Drinks too much iced coffee; hates coffee (I’ll like it by the time I graduate at the rate I’m going)

Random spurts of creative inspiration; absolute manic burn out

Gets to be intellectual on main at all times it’s fun

[tumbler-polls]

We decided to publish this survey a second time because, by accident, the first version only lasted for a day.

Please reblog for a bigger sample size!

If you'd like to share your answer in the comments/tags, feel free to use 🫠/💀/🦉 and so on. And comment/tag your degree!

[historicity-was-already-taken]

PSA for incoming grad students:

You’re about to enter into an abusive, dysfunctional relationship with your field. You will be managed and supervised by people who have no business interacting with other humans. Your academic future may end up in the hands of someone who hates you and will never tell you why.

Some advice:

-have friends and a support system or prioritize having friends and a support system outside of your department. It’s way too easy to get sucked into departmental gossip and drama and before you know it you’re gossiping about how N fucked A’s husband on the couch in the grad lounge and celebrating your thesis defense by shotgunning beer with the guy you’re in a situationship with and some of the “cool kids” while listening to Green Day (I love Green Day)

-yes there are “cool kids” and cliques and social hierarchies in grad school. That shit never goes away

-don’t have casual sex with people in your program for the love of god. Or at least, only do it if both partners are mature humans with good communication skills.

-these people will be your colleagues forever and academics hold GRUDGES

Don’t go in without SEVERAL plans for:

-what you will do when there’s no stable job market after graduation

-what you will do if the program destroys your mental health

-what you will do next if you decide that academia is not the right path for you

List brought to you by: my mistakes, mistakes I’ve watched people make, the fact that Bestie and I spent grad school behaving like the cranky old muppet guys while minding everyone’s business (but still being bad enough bitches to pass our thesis defense[s] with no revisions). My hair WAS full of secrets, man. I knew about aaaallllll of J’s sordid hookups and the deep revenge S took on J2 after she caught him sexting with M.

If you know me irl plz don’t respond with names details or questions about who did what. Text me for that shit I may be older and wiser but I’m still messy.

ETA: all of this said, don’t eschew ALL gossip. Academia trauma bonding is real and sometimes necessary to making it through; and, if you identify as a woman, you NEED access to the whisper network before you end up in the elevator alone with the Department Creep.

[maxstudyblr]

Day 1 of preparing for my Master's degree!

I'm starting my Master's next month, so I'm finally starting to prepare. I'm visiting my parents at the moment so I took the opportunity to do some studying at my high school favourite cafe :) Today, I:

Started thinking of dissertation topics - there's one I'm really excited for but I need to do a lot of further reading and thinking before committing to it!;

Read an article from a list of introductory readings for one of my modules;

Finally sent a few emails I've been putting off sending for a month now.

I'll be honest, my brain isn't working too well today - I only got 3 hours of sleep because I caught an early flight this morning.

[nenelonomh]

how to not rot after a long day at school

₊˚ପ⊹ commute home while listening to music or a podcast that you enjoy. remember to be mindful of what you consume.

₊˚ପ⊹ get moving! physical activity can help to clear your mind and boost your energy. try going for a walk, doing some yoga, or even dancing to your favourite music.

₊˚ପ⊹ engage in hobbies such as reading, drawing, or playing a musical instrument.

₊˚ପ⊹ have something to eat! eating a snack can help replenish your energy levels. opt for nutrition over easy energy.

₊˚ପ⊹ make sure to listen to any app time limits set in place to limit screen time. if you take a bus or train, look out the window or people watch.

[shitacademicswrite]

[ariasmontage]

September 9, 2024

Week 2 of the semester. Monday really is the longest day this time. Not gonna complain at all. Maybe this is the memory of youth.

(but at least let me get a seat on the subway pls 😭)

(i got a seat as soon as I wrote that! 🍀✨)

[belle-keys]

And a reminder that higher education cannot be considered truly democratised if students can still be doomed to poverty with multiple or advanced arts and Humanities degrees...

[narwhalsarefalling]

the problem with being in academia while having a not-very-common american surname is that you and your cousins always get a “3% plagiarized” score because we all have published papers under our last names.

this WOULD be solved if any of my 3 academia cousins changed their last names when they got married, but they already had their PHDs/MDs at that point and it was legally and logistically too much of a headache.

so anytime i have to turn in a paper it always has this “3% plagiarized” score on turnitin just because of my full name. and it ALWAYS gets flagged in the system JUST because of ONE unique word.

[acswinburne]

29 July 2023- my abstract got accepted! i'm now working to turn it into a communicable paper, which involves going back and re-reading my sources on dramatic monologues and taking walks to locate pretty buildings as motivation (:

[elistudies]

I’m a little nervous about being unemployed after my silly little phd

[mangotalkies]

history and design notes; preparing to get back into studying

[inheritance-beyond-genes]

[fixomnia-scribble]

My beloved Stats professor (that is not a typo) told us that she'd received a too-early-in-the-morning email that ended with, "I hope you all have a day."

All right, she thought. That's achievable. That's an objectively measurable deliverable.

So I pass it along to you on this very cold Monday Morning: I hope you all have a day.

[csuftitans]

We would like to remind everyone that the conversations you have in the library can be heard by all in attendance. I'm trying to study for my geology quiz I do not need to hear about "How tasty them toes were."

[shitacademicswrite]