Phil Dee started his columns for Next Wave as a PhD student in the Yours Transferably series . Time to Bid Farewell 28 October 2005 After 5 years, it's time for Phil Dee to bid Next Wave readers farewell. At least for now. Testing New Waters 23 September 2005 Phil Dee weighs up his options of doing a postdoc abroad and tries to keep his irons in the domestic and overseas job market. Your Real Alt...
After some five years of uninterrupted coverage, usually from the depths of the research lab, the time has come for Phil Dee to take a well-deserved break from writing his column. This column, Phil's last, at least for a while, looks back to the origins of his column and argues that understanding our most basic motivation for doing science is important for us and our career choices. It was a fort...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE Our new columnist, Phil Dee, is desperately seeking a Ph.D. somewhere in the South West of England. But he knows that it's about more than research. His dispatches from the lab trace his quest to develop the skills that will take him beyond his doctorate and into the world of work. If you've got to write a research report during the first year of your Ph.D., ...
Phil Dee continues his columns for Next Wave as a postdoc in the Yours Transferredly series . 15 March 2002 diamond.gif Your First "First Author" Paper (Part 2) 15 February 2002 diamond.gif Your First "First Author" Paper (Part 1) 19 October 2001 diamond.gif The Secret of Research Success 21 September 2001 diamond.gif Shotgun Thesis Composition 17 August 2001 diamond.gif Enough Is Enough: Plan Yo...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE Phil Dee, is desperately seeking a Ph.D. somewhere in the South West of England. But he knows that it's about more than research. His dispatches from the lab trace his quest to develop the skills that will take him beyond his doctorate and into the world of work. When telling nonscientist friends how much you enjoyed making your new poster, expect them to loo...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE Our new columnist, Phil Dee, is desperately seeking a Ph.D. somewhere in the South West of England. But he knows that it's about more than research. His dispatches from the lab trace his quest to develop the skills which will take him beyond his doctorate and into the world of work. In the laboratory I was failing and failing and failing again. The skills I n...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE Phil Dee is desperately seeking a Ph.D. somewhere in the South West of England. But he knows that it's about more than research. His dispatches from the lab trace his quest to develop the skills that will take him beyond his doctorate and into the world of work. Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat the night before a presentation? Or do your nerves only sta...
INDEX OF ARTICLES The inevitable has happened. After a run of bad luck over the last few months, my career fortunes are looking brighter. Recently, I'd gotten bad news on both papers and a grant and--worst of all--I got news of the "temporary" cessation of funding when my postdoc contract ended. No, I do not yet have another postdoc position. You will have to read this column for a few more month...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTENBY PHIL DEE You have gaps in your thesis. Big gaps. You want to fill those gaps with something meaty and impressive. Your time is running out. Hey, don't despair! There is something you can do: Run away. I mean it: Run away to a top lab where there's an expert who makes what you are struggling with look easy. I've gone absent with leave a couple of times during my PhD. Ea...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTENBY PHIL DEE In Part 1 of Going Global, I explained why you might want to collaborate and how to identify potential collaborators. Now imagine that you've decided to tell one or more potential collaborators that your piece of science might be of interest to their research. These people you've identified could well be working on the other side of the world. Unless you have ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE A good relationship with your Ph.D. supervisor is essential, but, as in dating, there are 'Rules' for getting the best from your scientific nearest and dearest. Last month, Part One of this article considered the three ground-rules of 'boss-handling': remembering that they are on your side, keeping them regularly informed of your progress (or lack of it), and...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTENBY PHIL DEE Before you say anything, I know that when it comes to developing collaborations with their fellow scientists some PhD students don't even get a look-in. This is often simply because their supervisor has his or her own hand very firmly on the rudder. But if you are lucky and your boss feels you can handle it, you could find yourself making first contact with a ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Last month, I told you how the termination of my current research contract is rapidly approaching, how my last iron is in the fire, and that the funder of last resort, as it were, has decided not to cough up. I am, scientifically speaking, penniless and, for the moment at least, without any means to continue researching. My first career, before I decided to reinvent myself as a ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE What's the rush? You have at least 3 years to complete your PhD. But, be warned--you can't cram for this degree in the final year! I've recently watched a fellow PhD student frantically trying to finish writing in the last few days of his fourth year. It's not that this person didn't put in the hours. He clearly had an active 3 years and kept himself very bus...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Need a good opportunity to reflect on where you are in your career? Want time to reassess where you are going? Want the freedom to consider a change of direction? All this and more could be yours. All you need is for your next grant not to be funded, leaving you facing the end of your current contract with absolutely no money in the pipeline to continue. You've guessed it; this ...
BACK TO THE FEATURE INDEX BACK TO THE FEATURE INDEX Parents of young children are typically viewed by childless adults as sad individuals who can only talk about stuff that is as predictable as it is boring. I certainly used to think that way. But when I came to have a child myself, I was hit by the feeling that everything I thought I knew before was wrong. It's as if I suddenly realised for the ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY PHIL DEE All PhD students should sit down and work out their own personal reasons for putting themselves through a Ph.D. Once you know what your reason is, however trivial it is, you must never forget it. It could be as simple as the desire to see 'Dr' on a letter addressed to you. When all your secondary reasons have fallen away, it's that which will keep you going. ...
