PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Selecting a PhD program and supervisor

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

In our most recent post, we've looked at the benefit of your academic skills for finding employment after the PhD. Today, we take a step back in time, and look at the very beginning of your PhD adventure: finding a PhD program and supervisor.

The typical approach of finding a PhD program, is just by applying to a number of institutions, and seeing where you get accepted, with funding.

While getting into a program with funding is, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of finding a PhD position, there are a number of other aspects to take into account as well. As a side note: almost all PhD positions in The Netherlands come with secured funding. In The Netherlands, a PhD student is considered an full-time employee of the university, with an OK salary, and social security. You won't got in debt over your PhD in The Netherlands, and you might even be able to save some good money if you live frugally. Besides the top-quality programs, this secure positions of PhD students could be one more reason to look for a PhD in The Netherlands.

Before zooming in to the aspects you should consider when selecting a program and supervisor, I'd like to share the two elements that made me pick my program and supervisor. The first factor that determined my choice, was interest. I wanted to do research on either buckling of concrete columns, or shear or torsion problems in reinforced concrete members. With that research interest in mind, I started to browse the pages of concrete research groups in various universities. I had given up on the idea of doing a PhD in the USA because of the crisis and the difficult funding situation (that was Fall 2008, and the confusion was complete). As such, my search was narrowed down to European universities. The second element that guided my search, was the reputation of the universities and their professors. I checked out the work of research groups of universities that I consider highly in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. Delft showed that they would start a large project on the remaining life capacity of concrete bridges, with shear as a mean topic, and that struck a chord immediately. Moreover, I was attracted by the reputation of the professor leading the research group. I sent an e-mail, then later sent my resume, and the rest is history.

Maybe I was extremely lucky to find a topic that really fit my research interest. Maybe the fact that I had a clearly defined research interest helped me find my position, which turned out to be a very positive experience.

Now that you know my story, let's look at a number of aspects to consider when selecting a PhD program and supervisor:

1. Your research interest

If you're going to spend 3 to 4 years of your life focused on one single topic, it'd better be a topic of your interest. Don't settle for a topic you are not interested in at all, just because you are getting funding. Don't settle for a topic that doesn't raise your enthusiasm just for getting a chance of putting "Dr." in front of your name.

2. Compatibility with supervisor

Before enrolling in a program, take a trip to your prospective institution to talk to your future supervisor in person. See if you share perspectives on your years as a doctoral candidate, see if you are on the same wavelength. While anything can happen along the road, such a discussion can give you an idea of how compatible your working style is with that of your supervisor.

3. Lab facilities

If you have an interest in experimental work, see what would be available to you when you'd join a given research group. Likewise, if you're more into numerical/analytical work, see what is available.

4. Learning opportunities

Every PhD is a learning journey. Inquire about the requirements with regard to technical courses, courses in which you train your soft skills, and more. Some PhD programs have a larger course load, some PhD programs are more research-oriented. Define what your learning needs are, and if these are in line with the opportunities at a given institution.

5. Post-PhD employment opportunities

Doing research for 3 to 4 years is lots of fun, but there's the truth of life after that too. Inform about the career paths of graduates from the program you are interested in. See if your prospective institution has good ties to the industry, which might give you more chances at finding employment after your PhD.

6. Location

If you are moving abroad for your PhD, consider the country and city you are moving to. Is it easy to find housing in that region? How high is the cost of living? What is the crime rate (aka is it OK to walk around with your laptop in your backpack?)?

7. Funding/Employment conditions

How is your research going to be paid? Will you be treated as a student on a scholarship, or a full-fledged employee of the institution with job security during a given amount of time and social security? Does your funding cover all years your PhD program is supposed to last?

8. Support for foreign students

If you are coming from abroad, inquire if the university is providing you with assistance for getting your visa, work permit, housing and all practical aspects of moving abroad. I can speak from experience that having to figure out all bureaucratic rules as a foreigner can be a long and confusing process...

9. Travel funding

What is the conference/field research travel policy of your prospective research group? Are you entitled to 1 international conference per year, or do you get to go wherever you feel like, as long as you write and present a paper? Is there funding to go and visit foreign labs? To participate in technical committees?

10. Research group

Last but not least, how is the atmosphere in the research group? Are people hanging out together for coffee breaks and lunch? Or do you feel that the cohesion in the group is rather small? Do you feel "at home" with those people, or do you think you'd be left alone?

These 10 aspects highlight different parts of your PhD research. From feeling well in your environment, to having the tools and resources to carry out your research, there are a number of topics to think of when you make your decision with regard to selecting a PhD program. Above all, trust your gut feeling: if you visit a research group, and your inner Big Nerd starts to get itchy fingers and shouts "Yes, yes, yes, this looks cool!", then go for it!

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Leveraging your Job Seeking Position by Highlighting your Academic Skills

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

After 3 or 4 years of hard work and study, you have received your PhD degree, and you wonder: "What is next in life?".

Very few PhD graduates remain in academia after obtaining their doctoral degree. Most of us will go to the industry.
And every so often, especially in the Netherlands, the following remark comes up during the hiring process:

"Why did you spend your time on doing research, while you now want to come and work in the industry? Shouldn't you have gone to work straight after your Master's degree and used these years to get real-life experience?."

When this question, or a similar remark comes up, don't feel offended or misunderstood. Instead, highlight your academic skills as a function of your job search. Needless to say, think thoroughly about this subject before you walk into the interview room...

While a number of years of experience in practice are certainly very valuable, these years in academia, especially while working towards a PhD degree, provide you with skills that might make you a more attractive candidate for the open position.

Let me restate that clearly: your doctoral training has made you an independent researcher, with an array of unique skills that are highly valuable in industry.

Depending on your field, you can think of the following skills that put you ahead of other applicants:

1. Analytical skills
Whether your PhD research relies on qualitative or quantitative data analysis, there is almost always a large chunk of analytical work involved in PhD research. Being able to handle large amounts of data is a skill needed by consultancy offices, private labs as well as many large technical companies.

2. Autonomy
Getting a PhD is all about becoming an independent researcher. No third or fourth year doctoral candidate has his/her adviser watching over his/her shoulder while working. You might be working weeks on end on something, trying out different paths, iterating, and making your own decisions. This large level of autonomy gives you the ability to work on larger projects, all by yourself, while being able to communicate your decisions and the reasons for these decisions to your superiors later on.

3. Ability to learn new topics and skills
A very typical situation during your PhD studies is one in which you run into a subject that you don't know much about, or one in which you seem to be needing a different computer program or programming language to continue your research work. Instead of lifting up your shoulders and thinking: "Well, too bad, I don't know that...", you head out to the library to pick up a book on the subject, read a couple of papers on the subject, follow an online tutorial or start getting involved in a programmer's forum. This ability to learn by yourself new topics and skills, combined with your autonomy, gives you the ability to advance quickly in your career in almost any given field.

4. Deep understanding of your field
Since a doctoral degree is the highest level of education you can achieve, you can pride yourself in the fact that you know more about a certain topic than most other people. In fact, when it comes down to your sub-topic of research, you can claim that you are the expert in your field on that topic - you simply are the only person who knows all the ins and outs of the topic you chose for your PhD studies.

5. Teamwork skills
A PhD degree is always the result of cooperation: with your supervisors, with funding institutions, with other researchers, and with laboratory technicians. Nobody ever graduated by brooding in his/her room in complete isolation for a couple of years and then spitting out 1000 pages of innovative research material. Being able to work in teams is one of the great skills you learn during your doctoral studies.

6. Writing skills
Those papers and that thesis didn't write themselves, and they certainly did not get written without developing sound academic writing skills. With all the writing practice you get during your doctoral years, you will be able to whisk together reports and briefings faster and in a clearer style than your peers who did not go into a PhD program.

7. Presentation skills
Just like you got a good training in (academic) writing during your PhD, you also got a good training at giving presentations. Remember your very first presentation in graduate school? Remember how nervous you were, and how afterwards you learned how to better structure your talks until it almost became second nature? You need to realize that this communication skill is again very valuable to prospective employers.

8. Extra skills you learned during your PhD
During your PhD years, you certainly picked up a few extra, general skills besides your analytical and communication skills. You might have taught yourself a programming language, you might have learned how to speed-read, or you might have taken a number of courses to sharpen your soft skills. Think about all these extra skills, and use them to your advantage to show the benefit of your years of doctoral study.

As I said earlier, make sure that you go well-prepared to your interview, by thinking about the additional benefit you can bring to a company through the skills and topics you mastered during your PhD research. Highlight the value of yourself and your skills as a function of the company where you are applying for a position: show them clearly what unique characteristics you are bringing into the company, and how the company will benefit from this.

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Getting Started with Working in a Research Lab

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

So you've found yourself a great PhD program and supervisor, which is part of your Plan for Your Academic Life, and now you're supposed to get started with your experiments in the lab of your research group.

After a few days of taking care of the basics of getting started in your program and doing all the paperwork, you're excited to get started working in your research lab.

You start with a smile on your face, maybe even whistling while you work.

And then you break something.

And then all your experiments go wrong.

And then you stay up all night trying to fix something.

And then you just want to go back to mom and pop and give up on it all.

Before you go down this road, which some might consider as your lab baptism, you might as well sit down and reflect first. Sharpen your pencil, and get planned. I can't repeat it often enough, but planning is an essential part of getting sh*t done.

Even though some productivity gurus might claim that planning takes too much time and that it is not productive time, I beg to differ. In academia, in experiments and in research, there's no point in getting start without making a plan.

So what should your plan for getting started in a research lab contain?

1. Basic literature review
Before you get started, make sure you have at least a basic grasp of the topic you will be studying. Just spend a few afternoons with a delightful cup of coffee or tea to work your way through a few seminal research papers before you start pottering around in the lab. You might not understand all the details of these papers, and that's perfectly OK. Make sure you can produce about 5 pages of text describing what you want to test, why you need to do this, and what your possible outcomes could be.

2. Materials needed
List the materials and equipment that you need for the experiments you want to carry out. Go to the lab to take stock of what is available, and bug someone to order whatever you need if it's missing or almost running out.

3. Planning of your (first series of) experiments
Yeah right, planning experiments? As if that ever goes according to plan... Well, you need a planning even though you might find yourself adjusting your planning throughout your lab days. Making a planning for your experiments helps you to determine which parameter you want to study, and what really matters to your research question.

4. Gantt chart for your experiments
If your experiments consist of different steps, make a Gantt chart outlining which actions should be taking place when. For example, if you are doing research on concrete specimens, you'll need to schedule time for preparing the reinforcement and formwork, then casting the specimen, then waiting 28 days, and then testing the specimen.

5. Setting up your labbook
How will your labbook be? Make an overview of what you want to note down of every experiment. I made a sample sheet and predictions for every experiment, and printed this before every test. During the tests, I would scribble down my notes, and have my predictions handy in case somebody passed by to ask what the theory said.

6. Starting a research diary
Start a document that serves as your research diary, in which you track what you did throughout your experiments. This can be part of your labbook, or you can start a notebook in EverNote.

7. Set up a processing protocol
What will you do with the raw data of your experiments? Have a plan in place for processing your data, before you have gigabytes full of raw data and no time to start coding a way to process your results into graphs. Set up a sheet that can read your raw data and process it into visual information. I used Matlab, because I prefer to see my code rather than having it hidden in awful cell-based formulas (as in MS Excel).

8. Set up a storage protocol
How are you going to save your data? Are you going to make a folder per experiment, or will you save things together per parameter? Set up a protocol and stick to it, so that you can easily find everything back once you're in the full swing of your experiments. Oh, and now that we're at it, include a protocol for making back-ups of your data as well. If the world succumbs to a zombie apocalypse, you might still want to have your data, instead of needing to repeat your experiments.

9. Plan time for writing
If you have a protocol for processing your data into visuals, you also need a protocol for preparing your research report. Set up the skeleton of the report of your testing, outline the data you need to write about, and start filling it out every single experiment to stay on course.

For experiments in a research lab, having a good plan is a great starting point. You might feel tempted now to run into the lab and start tackling your research. I'll have to bring you to a halt again, and point out the following things to consider before you really hit the ground running:

1. Learn from the more senior researchers
Get together with more experienced PhD researchers in your lab over lunch or coffee, and ask for their advice. If possible, ask if you can work along with them for a few days to learn from their routines. You'll sure learn a few tricks and hints you didn't think of when preparing your Lab Plan.

2. Make friends with the technicians
I credit the success of my PhD to the wonderful support of my daily supervisor and lab technician. You're part of a team, so show your team spirit and learn from the technicians - some of them might have been in your lab for 20 years and know exactly what all the noobs do wrong when they start.

3. Ask someone for a tour
Ask a senior researcher or lab technician to take you on a tour and show you what's inside of every cupboard, and what every machine does. You might not need everything at day 1 of your experiments, but it's good to know what is available and where to find it. Heck, you might even get a few ideas by seeing what is possible in your lab.

4. Know where to find products
When you get a tour, and you know that your brain is not so good at remembering things, take notes of where to find whichever product you might need for your experiments. Nothing is as annoying as having to explain the newbie 4 times in a row in which cupboard the markers are hiding.

5. Get acquainted with the lab etiquette
How does your lab work? When do people start working, when do they take a coffee break? When do you clean up after experiments? Learn about the customs of the lab, and adhere to the unwritten rules of your lab. Again, you're in a team, you're not a lone wolf looking for mischief.

Above everything, remember that having the opportunity to touch science with your own hands is a blessing. Even though you might get stuck and feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of experimental work that there is to be done, remember how privileged you are. And above all, remember that science is fun!

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: The Curious Case of the Academic Nomads

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

Life in academia can take you from one temporal contract in country A to another challenge in country B, with stops for fieldwork in countries C and D and maybe a few months as a visiting scholar in country E. Most academics are hired for a period of 2 to 4 years, depending on the type of work that they might do.

I like to call those that hop from country to country as their career meanders over the years the academic nomads.

Most of us might not be expecting this ever-evolving and ever-traveling path when we start our careers in academia. But then research life happens and you get to know people and opportunities come up, and before you know you're boxing up your life for the umptieth time.

That happened to me. As a student, I enjoyed going on exchanges during the summer holidays, and I was planning an extra post-graduate year after my engineering studies, but I thought I'd try and score a job at Belgium's biggest prefab concrete fabricator, conveniently located in my beloved hometown of Lier, Belgium. But then I received this email to notify me that, with my good grades, I could apply for scholarships to study in the US. And in the process I thought, well, why not set my mind on going on for the PhD afterwards? With 2 prestigious scholarships in my pocket, I set sail for Atlanta, and started my second Masters' degree in Fall 2008. And then the financial crisis hit, and soon it became clear to me that securing funding for a PhD would be difficult. I knew that I wanted to stay in structural concrete research, preferably a topic on shear, torsion or second-order-effects in columns, and I started to look for openings. I learned about the new project in Delft, applied, and got accepted by the end of my first semester at Georgia Tech. I rolled up my sleeves, studied a little harder, got my Masters' by August, and started in Delft in September, leaving a then-boyfriend behind in the US. He finished his PhD and went to work for the industry in the US, and then I finished my PhD. We had to look for a place where both of us could find a job, and so ended up in Ecuador. At the same time, I could secure a part-time position in Delft, to keep involved in research. Don't ask me how often I've moved over the past years...

Very often, I read stories of fellow academics who move from continent to continent, as they amass scholarships, short-term job contracts and the like.

If you are considering graduate school, you might as well get yourself prepared for this roller-coaster of moving from place to place. And now that we're at it, why not consider going to the Netherlands for your PhD? It wasn't part of my original plan, but it worked out like a charm.

My main message is: be prepared for gradually turning into a nomad! You might just get lured into this lifestyle while you follow your excitement over projects....

If you notice that you are headed for a life as an academic nomad, then you might want to take the following tips into account:

1. Go digital

Books are heavy, so to avoid having to move by container all the time, try to buy as many books digital as you can. Similarly, get your music as digital files, scan your important notes, and go paperless as much as you can.

2. Fly the same airline

As an academic nomad, you will be flying a lot. Pick an airline, and be loyal to them in return for getting miles. Mileage status will give you extra perks over time, and you can turn them in for a free flight.

3. Sort out your clutter

Unless you want to keep a room filled with boxes in your parents' house "until you get a tenured position in your homecountry", you might just need to sort through all your stuff and sell/thrash/recycle what you don't need anymore.

4. Identify a few items that you value

Even though the hardcore minimalists might disagree, I think it's perfectly OK to have a couple of items that you cling to, and that you use to make your new place truly feel like you home. I have a number of totally random items (a giant wall backdrop, my "pace" flag, 2 sets of matryoshkas, a teddybear and a small stone for putting essential oils) and my cat that I drag along with my wherever I go. These little things just make me feel more comfortable wherever I try to settle for a little while.

5. Embrace the best of every country

If you move, you get a culture shock. That's the plain truth. But in order to overcome the I-hate-this-place phase, you'll have to learn to find the best in every country. Go out and explore the natural beauty of your new place, visit local festivities and events, and try to bond with the locals. Before you know, you'll have yet another country that you'll miss when you're not there...

PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: Cultivating the Art of Writing

This post is part of the series PhD Talk for AcademicTransfer: posts written for the Dutch academic career network AcademicTransfer, your go-to resource for all research positions in the Netherlands.

These posts are sponsored by AcademicTransfer, and tailored to those of you interested in pursuing a research position in the Netherlands.

If these posts raise your interest in working as a researcher in the Netherlands, even better - and feel free to fire away any questions you might have on this topic!

Let's talk about the nitty-gritty of academia today. If you are thinking about applying to PhD programs (in the Netherlands, or any other place in the world), you'll need to be ready to roll up your sleeves and type and type until your keyboard comes apart. If you are a seasoned researcher, you know that writing is important, and today's post can help you get your focus clear.

Writing is a skill that I always considered very important. However, when Cal Newport from Study Hacks did the math to determine what makes a successful career in science, and found out that it your number of published papers, and how often they are cited, I realized that, more than anything, writing is what matters in academia.

To understand writing in its different aspects, I've been running the Writers' Lab series over the past year. The writers' lab series contains posts about my experiences writing my dissertation, guest posts from academics and writers from all walks of life, and other topics related to (academic) writing.

But let's say that you are a fledgling graduate student, or an early career researcher wanting to be successful in academia. the previous has shown you that, more than anything, you need to cultivate the art of writing. How do we develop the habit of writing so that we can steadily produce our reports, dissertation chapters and papers?

1. Schedule time

If you start writing a conference paper the night before the deadline, something is wrong with your planning. Research has shown that academic writers who write steadily for a certain amount of time every day, have a larger academic output than those who go for binge-writing.
If you are an (aspiring) PhD student, this means that you should continuously report your work, so that you can pull from that material later on when you need to write a paper, or for when you start writing your dissertation.
If you are an early career researcher, this means that you should try to set aside chunks of writing time, preferably every day, so that you can steadily work on your publications.

2. Have a writing planning

When you schedule time consistently throughout your months and weeks, you also need to know what you want to be writing from week to week and from month to month. Make an overview of the reports, chapters and papers that you need to write, and make a planning for your writing.
PhD students, this means that you have the general overview of which chapters you will be writing when (in which year of your program), and keep space to write background reports and papers that will come up along the road.
Early career researchers, you'll need a planning for writing your journal papers. With all other responsibilities popping up in between, I understood that (when the research is done) 2 to 3 months per paper is a good estimate.

3. Write a lot

Train that writing muscle by writing a lot! It sounds like a no-brainer, but it is so important. By the way, writing e-mails and tweets doesn't count towards your "writing a lot". Develop your writing skills by writing for different audiences. Outside of academia, you can further develop your writing skills through journaling, blogging and writing fiction.

4. Learn from examples

Nothing is a better teacher than an example of a paper that you find particularly clear. Did you notice that some papers seem to take you forever to understand, and that you have to read sentences twice? That can be a sign of poor writing, more than of your poor understanding. On the other hand, do you have a paper that you find yourself nodding along, making little side calculations and sketches? Signs are that this is a clear paper. Analyze papers that you appeal to you. How is the sentence length? How much jargon did the author use? How is the structure of the paper? Learn from this example, and apply these lessons to your own work.

5. Become your own critic

It's time to grow up, folks! Nobody is going to come with a red pen and correct your writing anymore. Your adviser might help you out at the beginning of your PhD, but afterwards poor writing will just be sent to the "reject" pile. Learn to become your own critic. Analyze your sentences, analyze the flow of your paragraphs, the structure of your chapter/paper, and the visual clarity of your figures. Give your work a few weeks of rest, and then return with the sharpest eyes.

6. Figures are part of writing too

When we think about writing, we think about words and sentences. Writing is more than that, however. When we ski through a paper, we typically read the abstract, introduction, conclusions and then glance over the figures. As such, figures are a vital part of our writing. Learn how to draw clear figures (admittedly, I still struggle with this area of my writing). For good references on visual information, check out Edward Tufte's books.

7. Revise profoundly

Revising your work is something that needs to be scheduled too. Don't just make a planning based on the time it takes to write your first draft, but plan time for editing, for letting your work rest, and for discussing it with others. What I learned last year, is that editing my dissertation took twice as much time as writing the first draft. Even though I had major parts of my dissertation in conference papers and reports, revising still took much more time than I could have imagined.
When your writing does not flow, erase an entire paragraph, define the message you want to convey in that paragraph (you can do this by talking out loud: "I want this paragraph do describe such and such based on X and Y"), and then rewrite your entire paragraph. Don't be afraid of wiping out text here and there and starting over new. Instead, know that this is an essential step in moving your writing forwards and towards higher quality.

8. Write with others

As a PhD student, you will mostly be writing with your adviser and committee members. But, if possible, try to broaden your pool of co-authors. You might reach out at conferences to fellow researchers, with whom you might like to work on a publication. When you are exposed to other writers, from different institutions, you will learn from their writing styles, and your own writing will mature as well. Break out of the confinement of your fixed group of co-authors and actively seek cooperation across institutions, countries and disciplines.