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I recently received the following question from a reader: Hey! Interesting schedule... But, when do you make time for family & friends, maybe for a romantic relationship? Do you feel that close relationships will be an obstacle to your academic work? I am currently doing my PhD and I heavily rely on a the patience and support of my partner, my family and my friends. But I struggle with making time for working during the weekends or going to the gym more often. Do you think one can have a academic careers or doing their PhD very well and maintain a satisfying social life? My quick reply at that time was: During my PhD I was in a long-distance relationship with my then-partner now-husband. I took all my holidays to travel and go to see him, but during the stretches of separation I usually just focused on work. Most of my social interactions took place in the lab and during work hours. My family was in Belgium, so I would travel once every 2 or 3 weeks to go see them (initially every...

I recently received this reader email, which can be interesting for other readers of PhD Talk as well (edited for anonymity): Dear Eva Lantsoght, I earned my Bachelors of Field and M.Sc. in Field Economics from the University of Somewhere and desiring to have my PhD in the same or related field from a university in Netherlands. Can you advise me on how to go about with my application especially on how to find supervisors? Many thank in anticipation for your kind and prompt response. Sincerely, XX Here's my reply: Dear XX, Thank you for reaching out to me through my blog. If you want to apply for a PhD position in the Netherlands, there is no standard procedure through an application website. The hiring process depends on the university and on the full professor you would want to work for. The best way to find a position is to be directly in contact with a possible promotor. I don't recommend that you cold email a possible promotor. I did this, and I was lucky to be invited for ...

A reader recently asked me the following question: Some of the language we use here (South Africa) is a little different. Could you clarify what you mean with 3:3 or 4:4?. If you are teaching 3-5 courses, is that full semester (half a year) courses? Or 'just' involved in some way with the course? Is it repeat classes? Or 3 - 5 completely different modules? Particular relevant is then what else is on your plate. Do you also supervise thesis work of other students, work on your own credentialing, research and publish, admin etc? My answer was as follows. You can also have an insight into my days here : Dear Kerry, thanks for asking! In Ecuador we have 3 semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer (short semester). I used to teach 3 courses in Fall (mid august - mid december) and 3 in the Spring (January - May). Each course is 3 hours of class a week (2 times 1,5 hours), and we don't have TAs (unless the course has more than 40 students - I never qualify for this). So I do all the teachin...

Let's bring some more Q&A to you! Today, I'm focusing on the following comment that came to my blog: Not sure about the comment "what does not kill you". I have seen several candidates suffer mental breakdowns. This comment came together with the question from another reader: How tough is necessary grad school? At that time, I replied as follows: There's a big difference between building up some friction and being able to push through, and getting a mental illness. I'm not a psychologist, but I think a toxic environment, difficulties with an advisor etc. might be factors that can cause serious damage to a person's health (mental AND physical), instead of the actual research itself. But maybe I'm totally wrong? So, how hard is graduate school really? How mentally challenging is it? How emotionally challenging is it? How psychologically challenging is it? As always, let's look at all different aspects - keeping in mind the comment I made previous...

I recently received the following question from a reader that I wanted to reply in a Q&A post: I want to ask question regarding phd subject.my question is that i have done mtech in computer science can i pursue phd with any other subject which is not part of my mtech? If you want to switch fields for your PhD, you won't be able to change to a completely different field, for example history for you. However, you can work on interdisciplinary projects. If you are considering a switch, consider the following: 1. Talk to your possible future supervisor If you want to change fields, it is never too late. Talk to your supervisor who guided you for your MTech thesis to see your options. He/she may have a colleague that would be willing to work with you. I can imagine that your strong skills in programming can make you a good candidate for a number of other fields in science and engineering. If you've already identified which field you would like to work on for your PhD, talk to po...