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Don't ask me what I'm doing

5/4/2017

7 Comments

 
(Between my MSc and PhD)

​"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” (Steve Jobs). Thus, to connect the dots and present a rounded narrative, I feel I ought to have reached some final goal. Currently, I’m still in transit - hopefully placing dots in the right direction.
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Being “between MSc and PhD” is turning out to be a stint longer than I had anticipated. Offering pearls of wisdom requires a bit more academic experience than I currently have under my belt, but what I can offer you are some of my finest pearls of encouragement. With power comes responsibility and with unemployment comes time for reflection.
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Written by Charlotte
Growing up in a family circle of nature-lovers, the (com)passion for animals was instilled early on. Along with this fascination for (and at times, adoption of) all that was furry, feathered or scaled, an interest in the behaviour of my fellow humans took hold. I was very curious about the amount of variation in personalities around me, yet how people at times still seemed to behave in predictable patterns. Luckily, I was not made to choose between animal or human behaviour, as the University of Bristol offered Psychology-Zoology as a joint-honours bachelor. I built a solid theoretical basis, but more importantly I started approaching questions from an evolutionary standpoint. A field course trip to Lundy Island was a first taste of what collecting and analysing your own data would be like. Sitting on a rock, in the pouring rain looking at rafting sea birds, I thought “this (+a pair of dry socks) is the life”.
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My first “real” field work experience (and the start of what I like to think of as a healthy mongoose obsession) was as a research assistant in South Africa, Limpopo on the Dwarf Mongoose Research Project (DMRP). I learnt the joy of studying animals in their natural habitat: an exercise that incites a multitude of questions. How do these critters know where to go? What are they eating? What does that call mean? Why is that individual getting groomed more than others? Is that a snake? I became particularly fascinated by their territorial behaviour and gravitated towards pursuing a Research Masters. Being in charge of designing experiments, collecting data and becoming immersed in a little patch of literature was an immensely useful experience. In terms of future planning, it made this significant change: I felt that doing a PhD was within my capabilities, something I previously had thought was for “other people”. Full-time dedication to research, field work and (hopefully) producing something useful or interesting? Yes, please. Unfortunately, feeling like you can do a PhD and actually securing a funded PhD position are two different things.
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​After finishing my MSc thesis, I was keen to run follow-up experiments on the dwarf mongoose project. Unlike my undergraduate essays where the general discussion ended in a half-hearted “someone should really look into this more”, I actually wanted to be the one to follow up on the generated questions. I went out as project manager at the DMRP which, along with the novel experience of organising project logistics and training new mongoose recruits, allowed me to run new territorial intrusion experiments. During this time, I had my peepers peeled for interesting PhD projects. Lo and behold – my (slow) internet searches were not in vain. I remember loading up the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Collective Behaviour page: a vulturine guineafowl picture appeared, I read the description and thought “bingo”. I got in touch and was successful in all steps of the application. The project was in its infancy, but it had all the building blocks to answer some really exciting questions regarding collective movement and group decision-making. Unfortunately, early stages of research rarely come with a lot of funding (a broken record track I’m sure is familiar to many academics). However, it was possible to send me out as a field technician and I spent 4 months in Kenya, Mpala Research Centre, making a start on the description and tagging of the wonderfully weird vulturine guineafowl. 
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​Despite not moving straight into a PhD, the opportunity to remain in research under different titles, has provided the opportunity to accumulate experiences which inadvertently have turned into skill sets. Specific know-hows related to each project aside (from weighing a mongoose to GPS-tagging a guineafowl), I learnt things like improvising field work equipment, changing a tyre, adapting to the local culture and mediating clashes between team members. These transferable skills are best learnt through being dropped in the deep end. Moreover, working on two very different projects has highlighted which project aspects are important to me and what I want to maintain moving forward. Some perhaps under-rated qualities in research I have picked up on:
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  1. Collaboration. “Being a team player” always sounded to me like a pretty straight-forward skill and something people put on their CV as a filler. Turns out, being able to stay tactful when opinions diverge and acknowledge the contributions of your team members is not something to be taken for granted and remains a day-to-day challenge, especially when working in a team with different backgrounds and skillsets.
  2. Diversifying your audience. Talking about what I do with friends, family, my dog, allows me to take a step back and engage with an audience that does not necessarily deal with research on a daily basis and might not really care. Science outreach has always been something I enjoy and feel is important (not to get political). The extra upshot is that a new perspective often sparks creative ideas and keeps you on your toes (i.e. why is research important in the bigger picture?).  
  3. Time management. I imagine working a monotonous job and having a horrible boss has one perk: you don’t feel guilty about calling in sick or shutting off the computer and heading home at 5 pm sharp. That pestering feeling of “I could do more” is maybe something that comes with working with people you like and doing something you consider worthwhile. Even if you love what you do, it’s still work. Figuring out a healthy work-play balance seems all the more important when you are left in charge of your own schedule.
  4. Business or pleasure? As a people pleaser, I am frequently occupied by making sure everyone is happy. However, in some cases, it can be advantageous to mark the line between “work you” and “fun you” around the people you work with. What you expect from a collaboration is different to what you look for in a friend. Of course, working in remote field sites, these two groups are often one and the same. Experiencing the awkwardness of “having a serious chat” with friends has highlighted the importance of laying down some work ground rules first.       
  5. Humility and approachability. I have been very lucky to be surrounded and mentored by some truly inspiring people. One of the things they have in common is that they are open about their limitations and invite you to contribute and share your ideas. Far from making them seem inadequate, it made them approachable (and painfully modest at times). For me, this approach makes collaborating more fun, fruitful and removes the fear of “sounding stupid”. I think people often feel embarrassed to come across ignorant on a topic (myself included), but opening up about the gaps in your knowledge only invites the possibility for them to be filled.

​What now – I’m a stay-at-home scientist. I keep my head in the academia game through writing up papers and applications, keeping tabs on project developments and reading new publications (thank you Twitter). It is important to keep moving forward in this slightly unstructured phase, as I want to have something to show for this period. Moreover, I will soon be heading out for a second time to Mpala Research Centre to continue collecting data and start running some experiments with the vulturine guineafowl (the project has developed a spectacular amount since my first day there).
Something that struck me while reading other “academic life history” blog posts is that people who are multiple steps ahead of me on the academia ladder, ask themselves the question “what next?”. I suppose we are all still in transit and it will be a while before we look back and connect the dots.
7 Comments
Arjun Dheer
5/4/2017 05:23:57 pm

Really glad this topic was raised because I (and several people I know) are in the same situation: between master's and PhD. It's a tricky time to navigate. I was accepted by a supervisor for a PhD in October just after I finished my MRes, but we're applying for funding now which of course takes time. It's been a slow process but patience is key.

The challenge, though, has been using my time wisely. I've managed to keep fairly busy with my part time job, trying to get a couple of papers published from my MRes, and of course grant writing. But I still can't help thinking "I'd really rather be doing my PhD right now...".

Ultimately, it will be worth it. All this stuff I'm doing now is necessary to get there, it's just not as fun. I think for others who in the future may find themselves in this situation, the best advice I can give is to be proactive as you look for a PhD/funding and hang in there. The interlude between the two steps is something that you'll hopefully look back on one day and appreciate.

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Charlotte Christensen
5/4/2017 06:06:22 pm

Thanks for your feedback, advice and nice to hear from a fellow-PhD chaser. All rings true. I recognise the feeling of "I'd rather be doing a PhD", e.g. for the reassurance that your work is being channeled towards a (somewhat) secure end goal, the possibility to do it full-time and the perks of being in a stimulating academic environment. Anyway, I'm sure the experiences will add up and mean you're all the more prepared/motivated once you land that position you want! The pros are definitely there, they are probably just more obvious in hindsight ;-).

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Damien Farine
5/4/2017 06:45:17 pm

It sounds like you both have an excellent approach and attitude to your current situation. Personally, I think that the pre-PhD period is the most flexible, and it's great to hear you are both making the most of it. Any experience you get will be invaluable when you finally have the opportunity to start your own PhD. But the cost of waiting (be it for funding, or just to find the right project) isn't high (from an academic perspective - there are of course financial and personal costs). I started my PhD at 29 - quite late (especially in the UK where I moved to for my PhD) but the life experience I had gained up to that point gave me many advantages, and I think I had a better PhD for it. For example, getting the experience of writing tricky papers out of the way before your PhD is a huge bonus. Some students spend months (or years) learning these skills during the PhD, which comes at the cost of the kind of productivity that will be assessed when you are competing for postdocs.

Good luck to both of you, and thank you very much for sharing your views on this much under-discussed topic.

Pratik Gupte
5/4/2017 05:46:03 pm

I wonder if there's not actually an equally tricky phase, the one just before you've finished a master's, but before you've been accepted to a PhD. Being there, I think a fair amount of time is spent just trying to keep up with both the current project (a thesis) and the applications to the next one.

Without effectively budgeting time between the two, one jeopardises the quality of both. This is even more true for international students who have to juggle administrative work (visas and so on) as well, and whose chances of being accepted to a PhD probably certainly drop if they have to return to their home countries vs while they're still living in a research hub.

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Charlotte Christensen
5/4/2017 07:03:24 pm

Hey Pratik, thank you for commenting & sharing your thoughts. I agree, I started applying for PhDs 2 years ago now (at the time still writing up my masters). A bit daunting at the time, especially applying for competitively funded, attractive projects. At the time, my supervisor told me that the bar is being moved progressively higher for PhD applicants... and he wasn't kidding! So I wasn't surprised when my first few applications weren't successful. But I don't regret investing the time (even if it deducted from thesis writing time), as the interviews/application writing was good experience moving forward. That is not to say that applying for a PhD during MSc = rejection. Just to say that it's a win-win (PhD or invaluable practice).
Knowing the pain of visa applications for field work, I can sympathise with having to juggle that as well while trying to write up. If the possibility exists that you will be continuing the PhD quest from home, it might be all the more advisable to get feedback on your PhD applications while you are in a research hub? Also, you can take advantage of having other PhD students/supervisor around to ask them about their experiences?
Best of luck with your applications and writing up your thesis (and finding the balance between the two).

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Céline ALBERT link
6/4/2017 09:30:42 am

It is really nice reading all your feedbacks. I am between Master's and PhD and the last few months have been really tough.
During my MSc thesis, my supervisor and I decided to work together for my PhD, but we did not get funding. So I started looking for another PhD, but competition is really high.
I know I want to do research, as I am totally crazy about science, but the wait is sometime really hard to manage : waiting to find a really good project, waiting to find a really nice time to work with, waiting for the application process, waiting for funding...
But reading all your comments make me feel really better. So thank you, to all of you for sharing.
I wish you all the best

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Charlotte Christensen
9/4/2017 02:13:30 pm

Hey Céline!
Thanks for leaving a comment & sharing your story. I've just read your blog and I really like your "sharing science" idea of re-writing the papers you have worked on in a more accessible, short way - that's super. All the best to you too :-).

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