fri. sept. 24 // this week was a lot but worth it. I taught my first guest lecture on gov’t pr in my grad program on wednesday. it felt so full circle lecturing to an intro course while I’m at the tail end of the program. the prof I’ve known for way too long and we had a great chat afterwards about life, my growth, and my future PhD plans.
this morning I got the intro to my thesis approved by my advisor. def wrote it in 30 minutes before our meeting but he praised my writing style and gave great guidance for how in formulating my research questions.
Design survey questionnaire for factor analysis (I’m doing a research study to determine why so few math students are using online tutoring at my institution)
Get approval from Institutional Research department to deploy my survey
Diddle around with Tableau (I want to build a faculty-facing data dashboard breaking down tutoring utilization at my institution)
Y’all, I think I’m doing it! I think I’m growing into a baby data scientist!
I think that, for me, part of the appeal of data analytics / data science is the aspect of seeking structure in chaos. My executive functioning skills have been especially suffering during work-from-home times, but my graduate studies are helping me build the skills to take the chaos and disorder and translate it into an organized format that can then be analyzed, optimized, and used to better-understand the big picture.
Since I’m still floating around in survive-then-thrive mode, I don’t yet have the time to put together any helpful tips for others to consider; however, doing so is ultimately my major goal for this blog. Some topics I’ve already been learning and hope to address soon via new content are:
Identifying reliable research via 6 key characteristics
Building a strong hypothesis for a research study
Designing effective research methods
Understanding key concepts in beginner database management and design
Skills I haven’t learned yet but eventually want to share:
So… Throughout the last 6 months, I’ve been coordinating with a teaching faculty member on a BIG mandatory tutoring project that he began to support the subject of his dissertation. Today, he told me that my name will be included in any research he publishes for the dissertation! Holy cow, am I excited! I might even get to take part in writing the conclusion. This might be smol beans but I’m stoked nonetheless!
Since I found out my grad program DOESN’T start today (they misprinted an updatedstart date — it actually begins the 25th), I unexpectedly have a little more time to enjoy myself before dipping into the full grad-grind!
I have been spending some of my leisure time tending to numerous plants, including my new (and growing) propagation station, as featured above! Currently, I’m trying to establish 3 buddies. From left to right are mint (already planted), ??? (Truly, I’ve no idea what the buddy living in the syrup bottle is), Zamioculcas zamiifolia (“ZZ”), and… a green onion!
Delightfully, the green onion is already growing new roots. The ZZ I’m less sure of. In general, I don’t know how well ZZs take to water propagation, but so far it’s leaves are still supple. As for the ??? plant, it has been hanging in water for weeks without rooting! Even so, it also remains pretty supple. So I guess we’ll just see how it goes, huh?
Unfortunately, most of the extra time will be devoted to the work-grind instead. The following are on this week’s menu of To-Dos:
Finalize and publish the Spring tutoring schedule
Co-write the conclusion/analysis for a small research paper (So excited!!)
Finish developing “Welcome Back!” assignments
As much as I’m enjoying a break, COVID has me stir-crazy and I’m really looking forward to getting started on the next steps of my future career! As such, I cannot wait until I can get started with my program. By then, I should have more relevant and interesting content to share.
In lighter news, I found this incredible video made by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 2 hours of squid to relax/study/work to? Hell yeah. Gimme ALL the squid, please and thank you.
I need to shout out my therapist and also my daily anti-depressant for getting me through today because my car officially died (in the middle of the road no less) and I was weirdly calm through the whole ordeal. Now I get to deal with being carless and unemployed in the middle of nowhere, so that’s fun. I’m listing below my v*nmo and c*shapp if anyone can help me out with these Uber rides.
I’m still very unemployed after 5 job interviews and my car is barely functional at the moment. I’m crocheting and selling handmade rainbow pride scarves to get by until I can hopefully find another job soon. If you don’t want a scarf, I’ll also attach my v*nmo and c*shapp because every little bit helps right now. Thanks!
Y'all are literally so funny- I haven’t been on this blog in like 2 years and here I am, back here because I’m having a party on Friday that’s 2014 Tumblr themed so I wanted to do some research….And y'all really made my posts pop off like? Y'all tag me in your posts now? Y'all so funny fr fr lmaooooo.
Okay, all jokes aside, I guess I might as well start posting content again. Some updates:
I’m a senior now and I’ve decided to do Asian Studies Honors so I’m writing a thesis. I will probably share more about it as my project grows- there’s not much to share at the moment. I’m most likely going to grad school for computational linguistics. I don’t know where tho and I guess it all really depends on which school will offer me the most money. I’d really orefer to stay in Austin though. I have a job offer at Google, but since it’s only a year-long contract I think grad school is the better option for me. My first choice is UT but since they (pretty much) only have a PhD track and not a Master’s track, I’m– idk if I’m ready/want to commit to a PhD right now BUT if I got in, I would do it. BECAUSE it’s fully funded (and I’m like- if it’s fully funded, why even says there’s tuition at all???) and it’d be cool to be the first Doctor™ in my family.
This semester I’m taking: - Phonology - Computational Semantics - Korean Conversation (fourth year) - Honors Seminar
Like I said, I’m doing my thesis thsis year. So far, it’s been feeling like a side project™ and idk if it’s supposed to feel like that. I’ve not been stressed about it which is good, but I’ve also not been /stressed/ about it??? I’ve just been feeling like- it’ll just happen over time, it’ll get done so? Anyways, I’m really excited about the topic, I guess I’m just feeling a little lost and disillusioned at the moment- about school and the future and everything.
Not all is wrong though! I am- in general, very certain that I will be okay regardless. Life moves on and things will turn out for the better, even if not knowing right now is scary. So, all this to day that I am very much back at the moment and will hopefully be able to provide some fun posts in the very near future!
Guys, gals and all followers of my academic and general journey since summer of 2019. From today this blog is technically no longer a study blog, because I did it. I graduated (class of 2020 but due to covid officially in 2022)! I started this blog after coming a click away from dropping out after my second year but being convinced otherwise. I started it as a way of documenting my progress , keeping myself accountable, keeping myself excited about academia and being able to put it all behind me if I hung on a little longer. I have cried SOOOO much in the past year in the past three years.
This has been a safe space. It’s held deep thoughts and many feelings that I won’t be deleting but continuing to document as I figure out what else life has in store just like I have been doing even after I finished in 2020.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. I hope you’ll stick around.
Doing a Ph.D. is a really scary thought. Especially in humanities and social sciences. Especially in today’s job market.
Here I’m going to speak a little about my approach to Ph.D. applications, why I chose to do what I did, and how I put it all together including examples.
1. The Doubt
After coming out of my Master’s degree, I already had a year of research set up, so I didn’t have to think about jobs like all of my friends I had made during that degree. I watched many of them struggle to find a job offer. Some were successful in attaining a job in Cultural Resource Management, a couple got smaller jobs in local museums, but for the most part it induced a lot of stress to have come out of a Master’s degree with no prospects.
How I imagined my future at that time: I knew I didn’t want to work in a museum, I knew I didn’t like Cultural Resource Management, I knew that after all this hard work I didn’t want to end up underpaid somewhere doing data entry.
A Ph.D. has always been something that I wanted. Ever since entering the Anthropology discipline, I imagined myself working towards becoming a Professor.
Here’s what I was told when I started to consider a Ph.D. Program:
“Don’t do it” (said by someone who already had her Ph.D.)
“I wish I had gone into something with more money, even after my Ph.D. its been difficult to find stable work”
“If you’re doing a Ph.D. in social sciences, ONLY go if you are fully funded, otherwise it is not worth the financial debt”
“Most people don’t get in their first try, that’s why people apply to 10+ schools”
Coming up with a plan: After hearing this, I came up with a couple different options. Plan A: Apply to Ph.D. programs, if I get into one my first try and it’s fully funded then I’ll do it. Plan B: Find a job in Environmental consulting, I could put my GIS experience to use, make some money, and then try again for a Ph.D. later down the road if I wanted. Plan C: Move to Japan and live out my weeb dreams (I’m part Japanese and have a lot of family there so this wasn’t as crazy as it sounds).
I was genuinely okay with any of these options. They all involve things that I enjoy, none of them are bad options, none of them would feel like “failure” if I ended up not getting into a program. I think this step is very important because it forces you to figure out what you care about, and allows you to be open to change if plan A doesn’t work out.
2. Choosing a Program to Apply to
I knew that I didn’t just want to apply anywhere. Getting a job outside of a PhD is already hard enough, and I wanted the school that I chose to reflect the work that I would put into it. As much as we want to think that name brands don’t matter when it comes to education, it sure as heck does help when it comes to opportunity and being selected amongst 100′s to 1000′s of applicants. Therefore, why not shoot for the stars? What’s the harm in trying. For this reason, I decided to only apply to schools that:
Had a prestigious name
Had a program that supported what I wanted to study and allowed for cross-disciplinary research (Digital Archaeology focused on SE Asia)
Had an advisor that had done research paralleled to mine (whether that included SE Asia or just Digital Archaeology in general).
I started research into programs with the Ivies and went down from there, also cross-comparing programs that had been ranked as best schools for studying Anthropology.
At the time of researching, the programs that stood out the most to me were:
Stanford (ideal because it was close-ish to home, fully funds their Phd students for 5 years, has opportunity for additional funding, had professor working with digital archaeology in Asia)
Harvard (had professor working in Digital Archaeology though it wasn’t in my preferred region, also has good funding, and its Harvard)
U Chicago (traditionally one of the top schools for Anthropology, however I had heard that a lot of this is because of “legacy” professors, and not much has come out of the department in recent years. Did not have someone specifically in my region of focus)
ASU (Also considered one of the top Anthropology schools, but funding is often fought for between students)
UC Berkeley (Had professors studying Asia, but it is a public school and also has limited guaranteed funding)
I sent e-mails to advisors that I thought I could support my research (this was probably around May, when applications are due Sep-Dec).
Hello Professor______,
My name is _______ and I am interested in applying to ________’s Doctoral program in Archaeology beginning in the fall of 2020. I would like to inquire whether you are accepting graduate students for this period, as my research interests align well with your research. I received my B.A. in __________ from _________ in 2017 and am currently _______. [Enter what you’re doing now, and any relevant experience that shows what you’re interested in researching]. [Enter something about their research, and why you’re interested in working with them/why you think you would work well with them]. I am eager to continue along this path and I feel as though your experience with _______could provide an interesting opportunity for future research. I would also be interested in working with [enter any other faculty that have similar interests, this shows that you’ve done some research into the program and the school in general] For your convenience, I have attached my CV here. If you have the time, I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you further about the program and future research.
Best,
Full name
I also researched the financial aid provided to incoming Ph.D. students. After doing this, the only schools that sounded good to me were Stanford and Harvard.
Yeah, I know, only applying to Stanford and Harvard was a “big risk,” but this is how I thought about it:
I don’t want to commit to a Phd program for 5+ years if it’s not fully funded, doesn’t have a big name, and isn’t going to guarantee opportunity after graduating.
I wanted an environment where I knew I could be happy under immense amounts of pressure (California by family, Boston by friends).
If I didn’t get in, I had back up options that honestly sounded really fun to me, so I was okay with pursuing those instead.
I didn’t want a Ph.D. just to have a Ph.D., I wanted a degree that would set me apart from others so that I could give myself the best chance for success afterward. I wanted one that, if pursued, could lead me to become a professor.
So I applied to 2 Schools.
I got scolded for this by many people… but whatever…I got in, so ha. Why spend money and time on an application for a school that you don’t really want to go to? :P
3. Applying to a Program
What an application looks like:
1. At least 3 recommendation letters:
Mine were:
Undergraduate Anthropology Advisor who has been helping me throughout the years with grant applications, etc. She knows me well, can speak well to my accomplishments. She is also a very well decorated anthropologist.
Undergraduate Professor of Geography who can speak to my GIS coursework. I’ve been updating him with my whereabouts and successes since graduating, so we have kept in touch regularly since taking his course.
My Master’s dissertation advisor (he stressed me out submitting his letter 3 hours before the deadline >:| )
It’s good to have your recommendation letters come from people within the academic world. These people can write on your ability to achieve your research goals, your drive, etc. It’s okay to have maybe one letter from a workplace environment, however, it’s best to get as much street cred as you can from these letters, and this comes from Professors that know what they’re doing.
2. Curriculum Vitae (C.V.): This is important because it shows everything you’ve accomplished up to this point. This is how mine was set up:
Full Name, Current Position, Email, Phone Number
Education: University Name, City, Degree in ____
Publications: In Edited Volumes, Journal Articles, Manuscripts in Preparation
Conference and Workshop Participation: Papers, Presentations
Grants, Awards, and Fellowships:
Research Experience: Project Roles, Fieldwork
Teaching Experience
Additional Employment History
Leadership and Extracurriculars
Skills/Languages
A C.V. is a list of EVERYTHING you’ve done in your career, unlike a resume which is tailored to the specific job that you’re applying to. If you’d like a specific example, send me a DM.
3. Personal Statement: This is where you tell them why you want to be there and what makes you qualified. Why should they consider you?
Personal Statement Example
1st paragraph, introduce the program and your research interests: I am applying to _____ for admission to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology. My research interests are to explore [the consequences of ….. on the environment and human responses to environmental change] in [region of the world], and how these actions of the past can be visualized through the use of remote sensing and GIS applications to archaeology.
2nd paragraph, why you’re interested in what you’re doing: I learned the value of digital applications in archaeology through my undergraduate and master’s degree. [Digital archaeology] is appealing to me because [………]. I first became interested in [example of why you’re interested in the topic/what inspires you]. After witnessing this, I began to seek out opportunities to partake in similar research.
3rd and 4th paragraph, what makes you qualified to pursue this degree?: I have many research experiences that qualify my pursuit of a Ph.D. dedicated to using digital methods in Anthropological research. [Talk about your undergrad experience, do some name-dropping of professors you’ve worked with], [why did these experiences inspire you to take the next step?], [how are you where you are now because of them?]
5th paragraph, what are you doing now?
6th paragraph, why this school in particular?: This is where you name drop the professor you are interested in working with, talk about how their research aligns well with yours by mentioning specific things that they’ve done such as theoretical approaches. What are you interested in doing that would fit well within this program? Are there any facilities on campus that you are particularly eager to work with? Show that you’ve done your research.
7th paragraph, what do you plan to do after you get your Ph.D. from this institution?: With goals of continuing archaeological research in ________ and expanding off the networks that I have established in _______, ________’s doctoral program in Anthropology is the ideal match to further my career as a Digital/Landscape Archaeologist. The Ph.D. in Anthropology at _______ allows for _________[reasons why you like the program]. Ultimately, my postgraduate goals are to remain in academia by continuing research and gaining a university faculty position. My foundation in archaeology gained in my undergraduate, graduate, and ______experiences have equipped me with a unique set of abilities to offer to ______’s Anthropology graduate program, and I look forward to the opportunity to exchange ideas with faculty and students alike.
Have your resume and statement looked over by as many eyes as you possibly can. It took me a good 6-10 revisions before settling on something that I liked.
4.Let the professors that you’ve been in contact with know
This puts you at the front of their minds when application review comes around. They’ll be like “oh yeah, this person messaged me about this.”
I hadn’t spoken to the professors that I reached out to since those first few exchanges back in May, so sending this message was very valuable to remind them of my existence.
This email can be as simple as: Hi Professor ____, I hope you have been well since we last spoke. I am writing to inform you that I have submitted my application to _______. Since our last chat I’ve been [whatever you’re up to now that’s relevant]. I look forward to hearing from _____ soon. Best, Me.
5. Productive Waiting
Yay, you’ve submitted! That was hard, but you made it through. Time to start diving into those other plans you’ve been thinking about. What will you do if you get into your top school? What will you do if you don’t get into your top, but you do get into your 2nd or 3rd choice? What if you don’t get into any of them?
Remember that none of these options are bad, and in this world, you have to be open to change and welcome it. A Ph.D. is a really long commitment, and it doesn’t have to happen right away.
If you get in, accept only if:
It has the research you’re looking for
It has an advisor that’s supportive of what you’re doing
It’s transparent about what it offers its students
The current students are happy with the culture of the program and quality of life
The location is something you’re comfortable with (for me having family nearby was a very important factor)
The money you are offered is enough to live the lifestyle you need to maintain good mental health
There is an opportunity for networking and expansion of your research outside of the university
As always, feel free to reach out with any questions at @aal.archaeology on Instagram or DM here! I’m happy to share my documents with you.
So I feel as though now is a good time in the year/my life to give an update on how things are going. There’s been a lot of good and a lot of meh over the last few months, and I think it’s worth writing it all down. Here I’ll talk a bit about my Master’s Degree, my fieldwork in Cambodia, my mental state, my next year, and PhD plans.
Where I am in my Master’s Degree: MSc in Archaeological Information Systems, England
It’s currently term 3, the final term for my degree in England. Classes are finished and we are fully in dissertation mode. I finished all of my coursework with a first (Above a 70 average/ equivalent to an A in the US), with scores of 68, 69, 75, and 78. The general consensus of international students in this program is that the grading system seems to be unproductive and could be greatly improved. This is mostly due to the fact that the grade you receive for a module is entirely based on a single 3500-word essay, and all other coursework conducted throughout the term is not worth anything. There’s a lot more I can say about this if anyone is interested.
I will be writing my dissertation on an archaeological region in Cambodia called Sambor Prei Kuk. This research will involve a lidar analysis of the hydraulic network of the region. There has not been much remote sensing analysis conducted in this area yet, so there is a lot of potential for this research to expand. I’m personally not too worried about the word count for this dissertation (~20,000words/ ~80 pages), however, the climate for writing it has been generally stressful especially in its early stages.
Fieldwork in Cambodia
In late March/Early April I spent 3 weeks in Cambodia to co-direct a field survey of Sambor Prei Kuk. The first two weeks consisted of pretty tiring and hot days. We would wake up around 7am daily for breakfast and then head into the field around 8am. Around noon-2pm we would end the field day due to heat. Most days involved driving to the remote site locations via truck on bumpy roads, walking through forested areas being swarmed by red ants that bite, and being covered in sweat and grime. They also involved locating previously unrecorded temple sites, interacting with the local people and their culture, and creating some great networking relationships.
During this period I received word that I had been chosen to complete a 10-month long research Fulbright in Cambodia starting in September 2019. This was incredible news and helped to establish what I would be doing for the following year. This news, however, also brought with it realizations that I would not be able to go home for another year, would have to end a relationship with my current partner, and would have to start over again in terms of friendships and finding comfort in a country where I don’t speak the language.
PhD Programs
While writing my dissertation over the next couple months, I will also be contacting PhD advisors and applying to programs. I’ve decided that I will be returning to the US for my PhD. This will be another 7+ years of school after a year of research in Cambodia. I’ve already accepted the fact that I am willingly selling my soul to academia for the rest of my life. Fingers are crossed for my top 3 schools, which have so far been successful in establishing positive communication about the programs. If I don’t get into my top, I will likely take a year off to regroup and re-apply for the following year.
Mental State
Mentally, I feel like I consistently have a pretty heavy blanket of stress on me at all times.
In my personal life, it’s been difficult not seeing my family for so long in addition to not really knowing when I’ll be able to see them in the future. Dating has also been difficult because I know that I will never be in one place longer than a year at a time, so establishing healthy relationships has been a struggle. My friends here in England are incredible and I’m grateful for them every day, and their presence has eased a lot of the mental strain that is inherent with academia.
In my academic life, I feel like there is never an opportunity to take a break and breathe, and it doesn’t look like there will be a break any time soon. I recognize that I’m very privileged and lucky to be in this position, and I know that looking back on it years from now will be a positive experience.
I’ve recently been told that the more success you acquire, the more sacrifices you have to make. I’ve definitely been feeling the effect of this in the last few weeks.
Conclusion
On paper, my life is pretty great and opportunities for success are plentiful at the moment. I have the opportunity to study in England, do research in Cambodia, and get to continue research in a field that I love. Mentally, however, I’m quite tired.
I feel as though I’ve climbed mountain after mountain to get here - the view is breathtaking. In about five years’ time, I will be a PhD-prepared Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
I fought hard for this white coat, but perhaps even more importantly, God has been fighting for me over the past five years by opening doors I didn’t think I was worthy enough to walk through. He has awakened me to dreams I didn’t even know I had, and here I am chasing them with my whole heart. I’ve got several more mountains to climb, but I’m learning that I can claim victory before I’ve reached the summit.
I am proud to be a nurse and unfathomably honored I get to dedicate my career to improving end-of-life care for patients and their families.
