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How many hours spending learning a day
I am studying cs and biology in my first year, 7 courses in total.
From the start of the semester I pretty much learned every day from the moment I finished my day in the university until I went tto  sleep (of course with breaks), and I also stopped working out and going out. I don't know really if I am over studying.
My routine is going back home to review the material thoroughly up to 1.5 hours for each course (I noticed I don't try to focus really on main parts and trying to grasp and understand everything), and then going to do HW.
And doing that all week long, and during the weekend I continue studying extensively but with much more periods in between.
As a first year I don't really understand if I am exaggerating.
I hope for your tips about studying effective and and time balance with studying and life (but I remained that I'm a dual major so it is much more busy)

I think you need local advice. Courses vary in weight/length. I found it difficult to persuade my students to spend 42 of the 168 hours of the week at their studies (incl class time). When I started at university myself the VC suggested that 48 hours, the then normal working week was right.

What course load is considered full-time where you are? Or, probably more usefully, how many credits is full-time and how many credits are you enrolled (since not every course is an equal load)? If you are taking more than a full-time load, you should expect to spend more than full-time. If this is too much, the solution is to take fewer courses at once.

I am reminded of a story about (insert favourite physicist here) JJ Thompson. Thompson leaves to go home on Friday night and notices a graduate student still at work in the lab. He asks him when he will go home, the student says 11:59pm. He asks the students when he arrives, the student says 5:59am. He asks the student what he does on the weekend, the student says he comes to the lab. Astounded Thompson asks "so when do you think?"

Don't study more than you would like to work. Don't work more than you would like to party. Don't party more than you would like to love.

"review the material thoroughly up to 1.5 hours for each course" << Hi! Could you explain in more detail what you do during the course, and what you do during these extra 1.5 hours?

Here's a study of how time college students spend on academics in the US has evolved over the years.  https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00093  Short summary: Since the 1960's, time spent on academics by full-time undergrads in the US has dropped from over 40 hours per week to closer to 25 hours per week.  This is observed across many disciplines and types of colleges.

What is your question?

What strikes me is the possibility that you do not know how to learn and you do not know how to discriminate between what should be learned (the requirements) and what is superfluous.  If you are spending THAT much time studying then you are likely focused on the minutia and are not seeing the bigger picture of your coursework.  First-year courses show the overarching concepts while upper-level courses fill in the gaps.  Knowing the big picture first enables you to appreciate the minutia, but learning the minutia first robs us of appreciation for the big picture.

An important aspect of learning, along with repetition and feedback, is strategic breaks. Giving up exercise, sleep, and proper eating isn't helpful to either your health or learning. Your mind works even when you aren't trying to push it into overdrive. You still think while you are running or cycling or ...
In fact, trying to push too hard at "learning" can be as detrimental to the desired outcome as pushing your body into danger zones while exercising.
Yes, it takes a lot of work, especially with seven courses, which I've done. I was once OK with it and once had to drop a course. It can even affect grades negatively.
Physical exercise, maybe aerobic especially, can be a help in learning. Giving your brain a rest can bring it back stronger.
Note that a fairly common experience of many people is having some special insight into a hard problem as they awake from sleep. The brain works in the background as it does in the foreground, occasionally better.

Nothing better for studying than sleeping.

I didn't even cram before exams back in college. You know what you know. If you are sleep deprived today, you will have a hard time recalling what you knew yesterday. The body learns by day. The mind learns by night. Get sleep.

My best ideas regarding academic topics come while I'm practicing my cooking. Granted, I'm horrible as a cook, but still - the act of doing something incredibly unrelated helps quite a bit.

Physical exercise (of any kind) is also good for maintaining mental health — especially important if you find everything else stressful or even depressing.

This is a good answer; I would also stress the importance of socializing, see my answer

If I were to give advice to my (much) younger undergraduate self, it would be "Treat your studies like a flexible, but full time, job."  Here in the States, that means 40 hours per week.  And that tracks pretty well with the course loads I was taking, which would have me in class for 18-20 hours per week, leaving 20-22 hours for homework, projects, and studying.
(My much younger undergraduate self did not spend 40 hours per week on educational activities, at least not the first two years.)

In the States however you pay to get your degree, so it seems lame to spend so much money and then spend less than 168 hours per week on it.

@EarlGrey I had a scholarship

@EarlGrey It's even more lame to spend so much money and then being unable to complete the course 'cause you lost your passion because of academic burnout, as it happened with me.

@T.Sar of course I was ironic. It's a messed up system, I still wonder how much suffering can fellow americans bear ...

@EarlGrey I had one professor who used to say that college is the only thing where people don't want to get their money's worth. This is when students would ask to be dismissed early (at 10-10:15 PM).

@Esther A tad individualistic, but good point of view :D ... in principle it works even where education is completely free (there are no free lunches, as the adepts of 19th century philosophers wanna-be economists would say)!

As a first year I don't really understand if I am exaggerating. I hope for your tips about studying effective and and time balance with studying and life (but I remained that I'm a dual major so it is much more busy)

As someone who has been through many varying combinations of studying, dual majoring, working part time, volunteering, researching interning and probably ticked all of EarlGrey's bullet categories (gifted maniac bearing it) at some point or another, my advice to you boils down to the following:
Be incredibly strategic with your time, and actively adjust and evaluate your priorities as you go.
By priorities, I don't just mean academic. Your undergraduate years aren't just a preparation for your life: they are your life. Do you still have time to pursue hobbies, form friendships and relationships in this setup? You seem to be studying all the time: if you're studying for a full day, are you still actively engaged and focused the evening?
Some tips, inspired by your question and based on my experience:

Give your hobbies and social life the same priority as a third major

To use a clichéd metaphor, there are activities that drain your battery and those that fill it. Make sure you're balancing your study drain with activities that bring you joy and some level of socializing. It is a proud tradition of undergrad to claim to be studying approx. 110 hrs/day and complain about it, but (as other answers have pointed out), it's much better to have a few productive hours, balanced by other activities, than to try and force yourself to study every waking hour for diminishing returns.

Quality of study time > Quantity of study time

My favourite piece of study advice/personal efficacy advice was to strictly time your actual study hours. By "strictly time", I mean set a timer (for instance on your phone), and pause it whenever you take any break or lose focus (+add a penalty time). Compare the result to your wall clock time. I discovered pretty soon that I studied better in certain places, and that I usually only had a few (4- absolute max. 6) genuinely focused study hours per day in me. After the first round of exams, I also had an estimate range of how many effective study hours I needed relative to the official course hours, course topic and format. I used that to plan out my next semester, and adjust plans for my day-to-day: if I know that I only can focus for n hours, that means I can plan to do other fun things in my remaining time. I was also very strategic about study groups: I leaned on them in subjects where I found them helpful, and refused them for contexts when I worked better alone.

Be very strategic about your timing and choice of courses

This will depend on your local university rules, but when I was dual majoring, I never just took all the courses from both subjects. That would've been too much for me: I wouldn't have been able to retain all the information. Instead, I planned the sequence of courses to exploit topical overlap, and balanced between classes that graded based on projects, exams or more cumulatively (homework). Since I knew how much time I'd actually need for various projects, I tried to avoid having concurrent project deadlines and exams.

Don't be afraid to re-evaluate, consider your goals

If your work-life balance is out of alignment one semester, adjust your plan for the next one. A lot of my major plurality (and working) boiled down to financial reasons specific to my situation. As time went on, I realised that I wanted to do a PhD, and that I could qualify for (and get) a PhD position in the field of my second major without technically finishing that degree (because of my research experience and my other degree). So in an ironic twist, I ended up achieving my goal of getting into that field by dropping the major.
I don't regret the experience - I learned a lot, somehow still found time for fun* and it sure softened the transition to a PhD workload - but it did require a ton of independent planning, time management and self-discipline. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either, unless you already have a clear picture of what you want to get out of this experience.
*This post will not discuss sleep deprivation.

Why did the system was set up with one major? Because the vast majority of people can address one major only and have a life.
Who can afford to be a double major?
Then there are at least three categories:

the gifted ones, that can address two majors with the same requirement as addressing one major;
the maniac ones, that can address two majors refusing to have a life, and having no doubts about it;
the bearer ones, that can grind themselves through the two majors suffering extremely for sleep deprivation and neglecting their hobby and their "non productive" life and getting enough to rest in the summer breaks doing an internship and focusing a bit on their life.

So depending on which one of the three you are, it boils down to:

do you have enough money to cover the expenses for the next 4 years (take 1 year of reserve for possible issues)? if you are in the loan system ... good luck!
do you know who you are?

Each one of the three can suddenly realize that there is more to understand a topic than the stamp coming from the "dual-major degree". There are marginal gains from obtaining a dual-major degree, and there marginal gains in overworking (for example the well-known factoid that 4 hours worked during the weekend equates almost 1 hour worked during the week).
At the same time, each of the three may realize they have to grind for just 12 blocks (3 months, 4 periods per year), so they may accept it. Being a full-time student however should mean not being a slave student, so some kind of physiological boundary must be put in place (also because the brain is a crappy muscle, it works best when focused and not strained, which is another way to say that it works well when it runs at the minimum load).
I know your question is on the work-life balance, my answer is just trying to expand on the "it depends" answer.

The 4th category: As someone who double majored in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, in hindsight doing this in 4 years was not a good idea. I would have been better off taking 5 years (or 5.5 years + internships) with fewer classes per semester and doing a better job of learning the material. This would also have improved my GPA, which is a more important metric when applying for jobs or graduate school than the time it took to complete it.

You're likely studying too much.
Treat your studies as a full-time job. Research indicates that although you can work longer, it doesn't mean you'll be more productive. In particular:

Productivity and creativity tend to plateau after a certain amount of hours. In a 2014 study, Pencavel and his colleagues found that “long weekly hours and long daily hours do not necessarily yield high output.” Productivity per hour falls after a person works more than 50 hours a week, they found.
After 55, productivity actually drops so much that it’s pointless to keep working. In fact, working 70 hours or 55 would result in pretty much the same level of productiveness, they found.

So the maximum number of hours a week you want to study is 55 hours. Any further than this and you would be "studying" without actually learning anything.
55 hours a week comes to about 8 hours a day, seven days a week. That's still a lot. I doubt I can keep it up for months, but you might be different.
You might want to consider what the standard course load is at your university as well. For example one university I'm familiar with said the expected workload per course is 10 hours, and the standard number of courses per semester is five (= 50 hours per week). If your university has the same expectation, then seven courses is likely too many. If it does turn out to be too many, the obvious thing to do is to drop a course. Being a dual major should not be a factor; you still can only take so many courses a semester before you burn out.

The Pencavel (2014) study linked to from that article, and mentioned in the quote in this answer, looked at data from UK munitions workers during the Great War. It's unclear (to me, at least) to what extent conclusions from such a dataset transfers to studying.

@Anyon good point. UK ammo workers were working under great mental stress: general life conditions WW2, dangerous work performed, and finally from the greater scope of their work, it translates well to academia (respectively bad general life conditions from job wage+unsec, dangerous quite often, human progress as greter goal). It is still a vast improvement over the Taylorian approach "if two men work 8 hours a day and produce x, let them work 12 hours a day so they produce x*1.5 ... and if they have a shorter life because of that ... they can be replaced before getting old expensive workers"

My goodness, you are very hardworking! Some great comments above, you need a life too.
Anecdotally, from 1988-1992 I studied at the University of Stirling. 1st year courses were Computer Science, Maths, Biology, Japanese. 2nd year - Computer Science and Biology (I dropped Japanese and Maths was only a one year requirement). 3rd and 4th years, just Computing Science I attended lectures (mostly), tutorials and labs (always), did the homework (sometimes, but always the maths), did the assignments (always). I also did a HELL of a lot of partying, socialising, sports, slacking off and generally having a life. I decided it wasn't personally worth the extra effort to aim for a First class as opposed to a Second (though my head of Dept tried to convince me). I got a good 8hrs sleep almost always.
I graduated with a BSC Hons, and have worked as a software developer and consultant for the last 30+ years. I still get a good 8hrs sleep almost always. The partying stopped 2 decades ago, mind you!
Just a counter-example. Loosen up a LITTLE and I am sure you will still do really well - for the rest of your life, not just in this brief few years.

having done the excessive boozing, I heartily agree! (not touched alcohol now for over 20 years!).

I am an undergraduate math and physics major graduating this semester. While I can't claim I spent the first few years studying as much as you did, I did spend a lot of time taking many courses, speaking to professors, doing research, and reading mathematics in my own time.
However, in this last semester, after all the stress of graduate applications, I began to relax, taking courses "unofficially," joining various clubs. While I still spend a lot of time doing research, I also spend a lot of time talking with my friends, something I hadn't really done the first few years.
Having friends you trust helps immensely when times are stressful. While I am glad that I made myself a strong student the first few years, I do wish I had a better balance of learning time and socializing time, and I would advise you keep this in mind.

There is not one good answer to say how much you should study. If you study more, you will generally get better grades and a better understanding of your material. How much time you're willing to sacrifice (or spend?) is up to you.
What you're saying is slightly worrying though. Especially that you've given up exercising and going out. A human mind needs a certain amount of rest and a certain amount of fun and unwinding activities. Also a certain amount of exercise. If you don't get this, you will slowly drain your batteries. Signs of draining batteries could include

More procastrination
Being more sluggish
Disturbed or non-refreshing sleep
Being moody or anxious

The things I listed make you less productive in the long run. So not only are these side effects not fun to experience, they also make you less productive overall.
It might feel like you can't change this, but there are always options. If you have the means, you can extend your study and do less courses per block. You could take a break of one block where you don't do courses. You could ask for tutoring to work more efficiently. You should change something. Don't give up exercising and friends. Talk to someone who can help you with this.

For most students, the answer to "how many hours spending learning a day" would be "as little as you can get away with".
For me it was:

Turn up for the lectures.  Listen and make notes.
Do the coursework.
Revise the lecture notes in the run up to the exam.

and nothing else.  That got me an above average grade.  Many other students didn't try so hard.

My rule of thumb, after several years of burnout and bad grades, was to never have more than one 'crazy course' at a time. Crazy courses included math (all the problems) and courses with large reading lists. This was because they would consume disproportionate amounts of study time out of class. At that course load you might have 2 or 3.

I have to thoroughly disagree with this answer. Learning math and physics is not a linear process after basic calculus; concepts from algebra, analysis, and topology appear "simultaneously" in each of these courses, and it would be absurd to restrict myself to just one of these courses a semester. Similarly for classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and electricity and magnetism.

A physics course is not a mathematics course.  A CS course is not a mathematics course (unless it's how Discrete Math has been labeled). Running calculus 3, linear algebra, and statistics, all at the same time, with professors who want 40 long problems in ink, is what you're trying to avoid.

The pedagogy standards of mathematics dictate that they will almost always have an order of magnitude more homework that the usual in-major or elective courses.  Literature courses are similar.  So might writing courses if you have confidence problems.  The point being, the more courses you have the more likely you will get more courses that give you a problem with completing the work than you can handle in the hours of the day.


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Not having a reference from my supervisor
I was working as a research assistant in Germany for 3 years in the field on cell and molecular biology to write a doctoral thesis at the end of the project. But unfortunately, my supervisor was very, very toxic and it took a great toll on my mental health. I finally quit the position without a thesis and now I am looking for other positions.
Many positions require a reference letter from my previous employer (which would be my current toxic supervisor in this case): I do not possess such a letter and surely won't be getting one. Should I apply for other positions anyway as I have all the other credentials and documents necessary for the post?

But unfortunately, my supervisor was very very toxic and it took a great toll on my mental health. --- can you explain?

Since you are in germany, if you were an employee of the university, you have a right to an Arbeitszeugnis, which is legally enforceable. If your supervisor is not responsive, talk to the HR department at the university. You have the right to an Arbeitszeugnis that is not prejudicial to your further career. If your supervisor writes an unrealistically bad one, you can take legal action.
I would recommend that you write a short and polite email to your supervisor, requesting an Arbeitszeugnis, simply because they should be your first point of contact, and it's the professional way. If they don't answer within (say) a week, call HR and explain to them that you wrote that email and did not receive an answer, and ask how to proceed. Keep it simple and professional. Don't go into your conflicts. Your goal at this point is to get an Arbeitszeugnis, not to right past wrongs.
If you were not an employee (e.g., because you were living off a Stipendium, having the status of a student rather than an employee), you can still request an Arbeitszeugnis, but you may not be legally entitled to one. There may be rulings about this, but I do not know them, and a short internet search for "Recht auf Arbeitszeugnis Promotionsstipendium" or similar did not turn up anything useful. If you had a Stipendium, then I would absolutely contact the paying foundation for advice. Even if your Stipendium has run out. These people have seen a lot and can be quite helpful.
In the Stipendium case, it won't hurt to ask for an Arbeitszeugnis. If do don't get one, you can apply to other places and note your situation in your CV, then your target would at least know that you were not an employee.

@DanielHatton  An "Arbeitszeugnis" is not a secret or a reference letter, HR delivers it to you.

@DanielHatton you Google "language Arbeitszeugnis" in german and compare the "secret" wording to see what grade that gives. If it's less than "good", your employer needs to provide a reason.

@DanielHatton I assumed that referred to cases such as someone being paid from a scholarship that isn't related to the hosting institute. That's how I did my PhD in Spain, for example: I had a government grant, so my PhD advisor and the university he was affiliated with didn't actually employ me. In the UK, are PhD students paid from grants/scholarships still considered employees of their universities?

Thank you all for your suggestions!

@DanielHatton: that is why I explicitly wrote Stipendium rather than "stipend". A Stipendium is money paid to you to cover your expenses by a charitable foundation like the German National Merit Foundation or one of many others. The key point is that you are not employed, your status is that of a student. You don't need to ask for vacation time, you don't pay social security contributions, just as when you did your "regular" undergraduate studies. I caveated here because I truly am unsure about your legal right to an Arbeitszeugnis here - there may be rulings, but I don't know them.

... from the point of view of the university and the advisor, a Stipendium looks exactly the same as a self-financing Ph.D. student, or one who does their Ph.D. in their free time while working a regular job. The advisor's role here really only is one of advising the student in their Ph.D., they don't have the right to direct the student the way an employer or manager could direct their employee. It's blurry, and probably a wonderful field for employment lawyers to dig into the precise difference.

I had a similar issue and I didn't add my supervisors from my previous PhD attempt. I used my previous references. It worked for me and found an amazing Ph.D. position. If you get questions about it you don't need to say they were toxic.

My main research experience is in this institute  and that too of three years, So it is a little difficult for me to take out the experience completely. Thank you for the suggestions! I wish you good luck in your PhD!

I had 2.5 years of experience too in Austria and Germany. Good luck with your applications!

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What is included in Springer accesses count?
I am mostly curious if I open my article through the Springer website multiple times, will it count as mutliple accesses? Also, if anyone knows，what exactly is counted as accesses?

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My supervisor is promoting my work (that I think has flaws) everywhere - what to do?
I am in a situation that might seems a bit odd. I published my research work in a pretty good journal. However, I believe that peer review wasn’t very strict (in my opinion). And this work is basically my supervisor’s best article ever published. Quite some time has passed, and now I can see some flaws in my publication as I have more experience in this topic. However, my supervisor has been posting this paper everywhere, made a lot of news.
It makes me really anxious, I feel stressed that if some experts see it, they might have some questions. I talked to my supervisor about it and he said that I should just prepare for all possible questions. My question is whether I should just tell him to stop, because now he is even translating that paper into Chinese to post it on some Chinese websites. I basically just want to graduate and if something happens to the published paper (correction or even retraction) I won’t be able to graduate as it is a requirement to have published a paper.
Note 1: By flaws I mean, probably (not 100% sure) insufficient data to make a final conclusion or poor statistical analysis, no misconduct or fake results.
Note 2: My supervisor didn’t participate in that research and his research area is far from my paper’s topic. He just put his name as a co-first author. Everything was done solely by me and wasn’t checked before submission.
I totally understand that I should be responsible for all the possible mistakes, but to my defense I can say that at the time I was writing a paper, I really had 0 experience in manuscript preparation or real research in general and I just did the best I could. The paper still shows some novelty, but is maybe not fully polished.

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If you clearly state your question, you're more likely to get better answers. Everyone makes mistakes. So, there's no need to worry excessively beforehand. If you feel the errors significantly impact your results, you can always publish a corrigendum in the journal. As long as you haven't acted unethically (e.g., falsifying data), a mistake shouldn't be detrimental. This is how scientific research progresses. The key is that your research prompts people to think critically about the question or sparks new inquiries. If that's achieved, then you've successfully accomplished your mission (at least in my opinion).
Don't worry excessively about a correction unless your paper gets retracted, which is unlikely unless there's ethical misconduct.  Therefore, if you're hesitant to publish a corrigendum, that's perfectly fine. You can wait until you graduate. In the other scenario, where another researcher identifies a flaw and publishes a comment/corrigendum paper, it's still okay. Remember, writing a comment paper and contacting the editor is time-consuming. In high-ranking journals, this process involves peer review, so publishing a comment paper could take months depending on the field.
There's nothing wrong with promoting your research. This is how research is disseminated nowadays. Your advisor probably wants to expand their network and reach a wider audience.

Thank you, I think your answer really helps me calm down.

Maybe instead of a correction, a follow-up paper would be suitable. Add more or better data, give use cases that cite your paper, add things you learned by talking to others after presenting your work.

TLDR: What to do? Thank your professor for promoting your work and seek help dealing with insecurity.
Longer answer: ALL work has flaws. That is, just about every paper ever written has something wrong and, if you ask people to look at work they wrote when they were just starting out, they will see flaws.
Your work impressed your professor. That's good!  OK, maybe you fooled them, some professors are easily fooled, but most are not. But you also published in a "pretty good journal".  Hmmm. So you also fooled not just the peer reviews but also the editor. Do good journals sometimes publish bad work? Yeah. It happens. But not often (that's part of the reason they are good journals!)
Another thing you could do is publish more papers, which correct any flaws in your earlier paper.
And, by suggesting that you seek help, I was not in any way trying to insult you. Lots of people have trouble with this. One comment links to work about imposter syndrome, so, it's at least common enough to have a syndrome named for it.

You should call it 'limitation', not a flaw/mistake. They are two different things.
Newton's law is 'flawed' but high school students are still learning it.
Every study is 'flawed' in some sense if you are strict enough. E.g. in statistical analysis, for the normality check, we can say there is not enough evidence to show that it is not Normal distribution, not that we can confirm it is from a Normal distribution. However, almost everyone uses this to justify the Normal assumption.

Yes, I just want to say they are 'flaw' if using the OP standard.

Thanks for clarifying. The list of “mistakes” is as follows: 6 typos including wrong units instead of ng/mg i wrote ng/ng ( it doesn’t influence the final results), no error bar in one figure, one figure x axis starts from -200, it should start from 0, one procedure citation is incorrect (it cites the paper that has nothing to do with this procedure), and finally, in the final experiment I didn’t use any analytical test such as ANOVA, so I dont have a p value which might be important to draw a final conclusion.

@nArA If the list is real, I can tell you that they are very very minor, almost nobody care, we are interested in the scientific content.

@nArA That last one isn't even a mistake.

I do not want to be rude or anything, but just as an added comment, because your second note rubbed me the wrong way.
In case the "flaws" are really just minor you don't have to worry, as others have said already.
But if they were substantial (and could be considered academic misconduct) - I am not saying that the are (!), then it certainly doesn't matter that you didn't know better, you still did wrong and flawed papers should not stand uncorrected or unretracted because the person who wrote them had inadequate guidance. And it definitely doesn't matter either that you might not be able to graduate shold someone bring the flaws to light.

I do not think that making mistakes is an academic misconduct. There are many scholars who had flaws in their papers that change the results. However, they are not blamed for academic misconduct and there is a reason for that.

There is a big range of options here.The worst case is when you become aware of defects so great that the only honest thing to do is to retract the publication. The best case is that on thinking some more you identify related research questions for follow on work.
It sounds like you are in the difficult ground in the middle of this range. So it is hard to advise you.
Are there any opportunities to present this work at a conference? In the conference presentation you can explain what you consider proven, and which questions remain open.


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Is it ethical to tell my teaching assistant that I like him?
I, a twenty-year-old female, have come to admire the graduate teaching assistant for my summer course quite strongly. I'm extremely interested in what he has to say, I always pay attention, never use my phone and use eye contact to show interest. I do like them very much and I think about them with warmth often. I want to know about their work, I want to know what he is interested in. I would like to at least be their friend.
Despite my strong admiration I must emphasize that I have not and do not plan to cross professional boundaries until the end of the course.
I have spoken to them though it was only a short conversation about the work that was assigned to us the following weekend, however he did seem quite warm and open to conversation. Specifically he emphasizes in his syllabus to not hesitate to contact him with any questions we may have at all. I would like to be able to talk to them more without bothering them, and over stepping professional boundaries. I hopefully plan to ask them out once the course has ended, but I would still like to be able to have the chance to talk to them too as friends outside of course hours about the course material. Would this be ethical? Should I just back down? Specifically I wanted to thank him for giving me a very positive, in-depth feed back in the essay assignment that I had turned in that I got a perfect grade on.
I've been going through a really rough time in my personal life. Despite having flunked before, I made a promise to myself to work harder and to never give up on my goals. Truly their receptiveness, warmth and passion has genuinely inspired me to keep going and to study harder. I would very much like to thank them for inspiring me and being a good teacher which has helped me understand the material.

Would it be ethical to express these sentiments of admiration and gratitude to them during their office hours?

Would it be possible to date them after the course has ended since he is essentially a normal graduate student instead of a true professor?

*edit
Class has ended and we have a date planned! Thanks all for your advice!
*edit #2
We are still dating and our 9 month anniversary is coming up soon! The relationship is going really well and it is the best and most loving relationship we’ve ever been in! we are both doing fantastic!
Thanks for all your help ! (May 7th 2020)
*edit # 3
Not sure if anyone comes across this anymore but our one year anniversary passed a few months ago and we're growing strong! I'm really happy that I went out of my comfort zone and found a lasting relationship. (10/28/2020)

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Congrats on your anniversary!

Congratulations! And many thanks for the update!

What a lovely story. Really nice to read this.

Yeah, people reads the update. That's an amazing story, thanks for providing an edit, I do hope you will both keep finding happiness in this relationship.

Thank you everyone for your sweet wishes and kind words <3

This post is cute. Because when I was in school, people were trying to hit on the teach assistants all the time without reservation.

What a lovely and heartwarming story one occasionally finds while serendipitously browsing the time sink that is SE. Please post a further update when you get married ;-)

To express gratitude is ALWAYS good.

Wait until after the course is over and grades are in: don't put your TA in a difficult situation.
After that, you are just two adult humans, assuming you won't have any other courses with this TA.

However, they will still be working and studying in the same department, so some care is needed. Be prepared to handle a "No interested" answer gracefully.

We actually are majoring in different things. I’m getting a bachelors with a plan to get a masters in clinical psych and he is a history PhD candidate. He’s teaching one of the core classes I missed taking when I dropped out for my health.

@apollogie That makes it less likely you'll interact again professionally so that makes it easier, but Patricia's suggestion to be prepared to handle a "not interested" answer is still very important: you need to be prepared that he may not be interested. That can be difficult when you feel like you know someone well but don't actually have a personal relationship with yet, so just be aware of that and ready, and keep your hopes measured.

You can mention it after the course, but you might well get a polite 'not interested' answer, especially if they are there to work and to work only.

@Tom that makes sense. I’m scared of getting hurt again so maybe it’s best I move on

That's down to you, but if you see being told 'I'm not interested' as something which is going to hurt you, I would perhaps move on as that is understandably going to be a common response in academia.  You could perhaps take up some activity outside of academia and see if you meet someone that you get on with there?

@Tom Restricting one's dating pool to non-academics is no protection against rejection.

Yeah, I'm not trying to imply that at all, I'm saying most people I know tend to have better luck in that area just meeting people outside of their work environment, I'm not saying they have to be non-academics.  Also, it's positive if you see it that way as it will get you to meet new people and take up new activities.

@apollogie, if you never risk the "not interested" answer, then you're guaranteeing it by answering the question negatively for them. Give him the opportunity to answer for himself and you won't have to wonder later in life what the answer could have been. Maybe the answer will be actually be "interested".

I'd like to add that there is another reason for waiting until the class have been over for a while.  There's a phenomenon of "love for authority."  It happens a lot in academia, where the instructor would otherwise not be that interesting, but because of the moderate position of power (and the things that go with it, like being the perceived leader, self-confidence, etc) he is much more attractive.  It could be that a month after the course is over, your TA will fade back into his proper level.
Love relationships based on an unequal balance of power are usually unhealthy.   You probably want to make sure that you're really attracted to him and not just his position.
Consider the other person's feelings in this as well.  They could fall for you based on your attraction to them.  If you find out later that your attraction was solely or mostly because of the teacher-student dynamic, it could be pretty hard for them when you break it off.

And too often, the instructor, IRL, turns out to be incredibly boring. I know I am.

@Buffy  Right.  In real life I'm a complete introvert.  My classroom personality, where I'm witty, outgoing, and in charge is a complete fabrication.  My idea of an evening of fun is a cigar and a beer on the deck with no one bothering me.

@B.Goddard I think the healthiness of unequal power in a relationship depends on what you mean by "unequal balance of power". There's a difference between a teacher and their student starting a relationship and a consentual BDSM relationship with a negotiated power exchange.

While I do like older men and have dated older men, I truly feel this time is different. I’m attracted to his looks but I’m also attracted to how he actually is really shy when he’s lecturing. He crosses his legs and coughs and chokes because he doesn’t swallow enough saliva out of nervousness. To me this comes across as he’s more likely a gentle self conscious person as am I. (Hence the play on words with my username)

Be careful!   I can tell you as a teacher I stay away from this issue for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the individual.  This might put the TA in a tough spot no matter how they feel about you.

Thanks for the advice, I’ll just wait until the end and accept whatever happens. I should be focusing on my study’s anyway right now

@B.Goddard Complete fabrication? I understand it may not your self as it is, but I would not describe your job like that

@Ooker  I'm pretty far down the spectrum.  It took years of experimenting, and many missteps, to build a robotic facade to use in the classroom.  I don't think any of my jokes are funny, but I've figured out how to make the class laugh.  On evaluations, I get many comments about how I'm a very different person in office hours than I am in lecture.  I would describe my job has a monumental struggle.  I figured out a way to feed myself.  But I have never understood why so many people in academia didn't want me to eat.  There is a lot of bigotry in academia against the neurologically different.

I cannot speak for them, and I don't have problem with having to wear a mask. I just don't understand that after so many years wearing it, the mask does not become a part of yourself. I mean it in a positive meaning. I guess most people would just change their personality to fit it. I don't understand why you don't understand why your jokes work. You have mastered that joke, after all.

@Ooker jokes in class need to be just a tiny bit witty with the current subject to be "funny" for the class. I know I laughed for that in class. It just eases the mood. And students will take it for that. A really complex joke might get over the head of too many people desperatly trying to follow what the instructor says, and when only few laugh it gets cringy for them.

@Ooker Actors prepare for roles as murderers, aliens, or "hard-boiled" cops but that doesn't mean they are murdering alien "hard-boiled" cops. I've known many teachers who are very active, passionate, and animated in their lectures but when researching together they are almost opposite. The difference is the preparation and the ability to "play the role" of professor in class. So, with the joke example, the time to prepare, deliver, edit, re-deliver, etc. a joke to a class doesn't mean you get it, it means you see it land. Not saying this is B.G.'s reason just that it happens

@Ooker  I "get" my jokes, it just don't find them funny.  Some people would laugh at an old lady falling down the stairs and some wouldn't.  But delivery is everything.  I copy Bob Newhart and that works well for me:  Deadpan and a little hesitant delay at the right point and even Calculus is funny.

@B.Goddard cigar and beer with no-one bothering you? That is living the dream, my friend.

Would it be ethical to express these sentiments of admiration and gratitude to them during their office hours?

Of course. I would wait until the course, and the grades, are finalized, though. Consider sending a note or expressing your (professional) sentiments during TA evaluations (if such a thing exists where you are); doing it in office hours might be uncomfortable.

Would it be possible to date them after the course has ended since they are essentially a normal graduate student instead of a true professor ?

You would have to check your university's rules. In general, there are no policies prohibiting this sort of relationship, if you will have no future courses together. The TA in question might be concerned about the appearance of impropriety, however.

As an artist, would it be strange to ask them if i could give them a drawing?

Of course you should not give them anything until the course, and the grades, are finalized. As to strangeness, that's maybe an interpersonal issue -- for me, yes, I would certainly find it strange, but that's not to say I wouldn't think it was awesome, especially if I liked the student.
It gets more complicated since you plan to ask him out though -- if you give it, then ask him out, that's a bit uncomfortable; if you ask him out and are turned down, it's a bit awkward to give him the artwork anyway.

As an instructor, I've gotten a few drawings and paintings from students. Nothing strange about it. Typically, this happens after the course ends.

Guys the sketch is so nice but im probably too nervous to give it to them afterwards anyway. I dont want to be like " hey look at this sketch i made of a photo i found online about your phd?" I have no idea how to bring this up, i should probably keep it to myself lol.

@42- theres actually a case of one of my acquaintance who ended up dating her TA after the course ended. So it is allowed, as long as they arent student teacher dynamic. They work together tutoring extra curricular now as well. The power of love am i right. Two brains are better than one.

Don't send anything personal during TA evaluations. The bare minimum would be to wait until everything about the course was complete.

@apollogie Yeah I really think you should keep your drawing. It might seem like a good idea from your perspective but you might just scare him off. Remember, show interest, not obsession. That's a real turn-off. I'm exaggerating, but basically "Hey I think you're cute" works much better than "Omg you're so perfect just date me now" (don't take this too hard but it's good to have it in mind. Try to balance your shown interest!)

@GregMartin - yes, I meant expressing "sentiments of admiration and gratitude" during TA evaluations, not asking him out during TA evaluations. Updated my answer to make this clearer.

@teleporting goat no that totally makes sense thanks

First: Nothing wrong with you - many of us had/have colleagues they deeply admire and potentially want some kind of personal relationship with (and sometimes that works out), not such an unusual situation.

I wish i could request to transfer myself out lol.

So why don't you? If there is another TA, you can ask the professor to move. Then ask the TA out for a coffee to explain why you moved.

Would it be ethical to express these sentiments of admiration and gratitude to them during their office hours?

If you show gratitude or admiration be specific. No problem at all to thank for a specific hint or deed. Not a big deal in showing a moderate amount of admiration, like "i liked your slides".
However, if it is more that your conversation with him is based on your crush on him and not directed at a specific thing but at spending time with him, then don't forget, during his office hours he has not the simple option to just ask you to leave (it is his job to tutor), and maybe there are other students and time pressure - so ask yourself - if you would have a man make advances on you in your job under the pretext of the job, how would you like it in general as a female ? If it would be the other way round, people would consider it pretty obvious that such a behavior is not appropriate (obviously happens too often!).

Would it be possible to date them after the course has ended since they are essentially a normal graduate student instead of a true professor?

Zero problem with that from a moral/ethical viewpoint, but

check university rules
avoid the appearance that it's related to the grading of the course in any way (if you date, be a little discrete for one or two months)

Good luck!

Telling someone you are grateful for their help with your work is usually a good and kind thing to do.
In this case, however, you are not just grateful for their professional contributions, but interested in them as a person, potentially romantically. If your TA was aware of this it would make their job harder:

they may worry that you are trying to bias them in your favour,
they may worry that other people will think you are trying to bias them, so they have to try extra hard to demonstrate that they are not,
they may worry that they are actually being subconsciously biased, and try to compensate for it, and then worry if they're overcompensating and being unfair,
they may worry that you will be especially sensitive to receiving criticism from them, or you may interpret praise differently,
if they find the attention uncomfortable, they can't just avoid social contact with you, because it's a necessary part of their job.

Until the course is over you are doing them a favour by keeping the personal aspect to yourself.
With that in mind, even expressing just professional gratitude carries some risk that you'll unintentionally – through your manner, nervousness, choice of words, whatever – signal the personal feelings you have.
The safe thing to do is to avoid standing out in the eyes of your TA until the course is over. That said, the unsafe thing does have potential upsides and I don't want to tell you that no-one should ever say something kind to someone else for fear of unwanted implications. But make sure when you're thinking about what you want to do that you're including the potential ways it can go badly for them, as well as for you.

You won't have future courses with him, so ethically I expect it would be okay to get to know him after the course is over (as you said).
But you have a problem that hasn't directly been addressed in other answers.

Would this be ethical? Should I just back down? Specifically I wanted to thank him for giving me a very positive, in-depth feed back in the essay assignment that I had turned in that I got a perfect grade on

Nothing wrong with doing that, but it might be awkward if he detects that you are interested in him.
He might feel obligated to put you at arms length (and he would be right to do so since he is currently your TA).

Studying is so hard for this class now... Im trying really hard and i have an A but i find myself day dreaming about them at the same time.

That's great... except for the fact that you are in the middle of a relationship with him which he isn't participating in (yet). You need to reign it in some, or

by the time you tell him you are interested in him, you'll be much farther into this relationship than he is... that could scare him off.
or you could miss the mark with your assumptions but he is a great guy (and a great fit for you) but he isn't who you think he is...
so you end up disappointed with a guy that otherwise would have been a great match for you.

Just slow down... you'll have a better chance after the course is over.
Also, I'd advise you to wait a few weeks after the course to contact him... if you contact him immediately, he may still feel like he is your TA and feel ethically compelled to turn you down.

If you two enter a romantic relationship, then together with the existing TA-student relationship, you two are having a dual relationship. It is recommended to avoid this type of relationship, for the reason that other people have discussed.
However, just for the sake of the discussion, let's assume that you decide to enter it anyway. Then the prerequisite is that you two be aware of all the possible negative outcome that come to this, that the benefits outweigh the risks. Then you two will have to continually consciously remind yourselves that these relationships should not be mixed, and to continually answer people's challenges. Since this is a very serious problem, they will scrutinize it more than normal – in other words, they are skeptical that this ethically works. And persuading them is the same with making them having cognitive dissonance, which is an arduous task. All of these things will quickly drain a huge amount of your energy to do other things, including building your relationship.
So it's about whether you have the energy to get through all of this or not, and whether both of you decide that this energy is worth to spend on this or not.

Wait until the course is over.
Think if they don't feel the same way. It is just awkward after that.
Stay focused on why you're there.
You've got time to enjoy your life.
Maybe he'll be a part of it but don't put a wrinkle in your road that may affect your course outcome.

I agree with the previous answers; my immediate thought was that you might try proposing - while not in a work context - that you date once the course is over. If you are really worried about the university's position on this matter you could always consider declaring the relationship with the administration.
I can empathise with your position having been attracted to three different scientists throughout my career to this point. However, I would never have the courage to initiate, since I would be mortified if the feelings were not reciprocal. And I know that the feelings almost certainly were not reciprocal.
As somebody else has said, it is possible that we are subconsciously attracted to people because of their position rather than because of their individuality, and maybe you will only be able to discern between these realities by trying the relationship.
I wish you all the best, and I hope you form a happy couple!

Would it be possible to date them after the course has ended since they are essentially a normal graduate student instead of a true professor?

I am going to disagree with the broad consensus of advice given here, which tells you to wait until after your course is over.  I realise that some universities (particularly in the US) have an absurdly Puritan sexual environment, but even accounting for this, the precaution to wait until the end of your course still seems unnecessary to me.  If you are romantically interested in this student, there is no reason that you cannot express your interest immediately.  And indeed, if you wait, he might get scooped up by someone else.
Since you are the undergraduate student in this encounter, and he is your teacher, it is unlikely that there is any ethical/professional restriction on your own expression of interest in him.  Bear in mind that from his position, it is likely that he will be under some professional/ethical restrictions on how he deals with this, since he is your teacher.  Even so, it should not be all that difficult for a graduate-student teaching assistant to deal with a situation in which he is considering becoming romantically involved with an undergraduate, or (hopefully not) considering turning her down.  University policies on this matter differ from institution to institution, but all that is likely to be involved is that he would disclose this to the course convener, and you might be assigned to a different class, or have your work marked by a different teaching assistant.
Contrary to the advice of others on this thread, there is absolutely no ethical reason to wait until the end of your course to express romantic interest in your teacher --- my advice: carpe diem.

Even if you as a student have no rules preventing you from doing this, your intended romantic partner (the TA) likely does. If you're really interested in having a relationship with them, it seems like you would want to avoid putting them in a bad spot where either they are forced to turn you down or you risk them looking unprofessional in front of a supervisor.

@Bitmapped but according to the answer, it's just simply an inconvenience for him rather than a career issue

Being asked out my a 20-year-old female admirer while in grad school does not put one in a "bad spot", and there is nothing "unprofessional" in having this occur.

I half agree with this – and admire its honesty. It is definitely your TAs problem as they are the one in the position of authority. But it is wrong to think the two of you will overcome the Freudian situation of the power dynamic. I'd strongly recommend transfering tutorial first, then telling them why. This may mean you won't get to hear from your favourite tutor anymore AND you find out their already in a relationship, but as Ben says, it may be worth that risk.

@Ooker Each institution has their own policy, but at my college, we've fired GTAs who became involved in relationships with students currently in their classes. Even if it is possible to transfer the student mid-semester to another instructor, the GTA or student are going to have to explain why. It's not going to reflect well on the GTA they tried to do this, and that could very well have career ramifications. It's much safer to wait until the end of the semester.

@Bitmapped: Has your institution fired TAs who were asked out by others, and then went to their course conveners to take the appropriate action to ensure they are not in a position of authority over that person while dating?  The fact that you think being asked out reflects badly on a TA, and would have negative career ramifications, is horrendous.

@ReinstateMonica A GTA cannot help if someone asks them out. But just because you're asked out doesn't mean you have to act on it, or act on it at that time. That's where the problem lies.
In the cases where GTAs were fired, they started dating the student while the student was still in their class. They did not seek to have the student transferred, but transferring between sections is an imperfect solution because of existing grades, imposes burdens on others, and may not be possible due to institutional policies.

Then you have completely conceded my point --- there is no inherent problem in the TA being asked out during the semester.  So long as the TA does the right thing subsequently, all is fine.


text:
Conducting interviews independently?
I'm an early career researcher who would like to conduct interviews for a research project on my own, and I was hoping to get some advice about whether this sort of thing is advisable.
I recently graduated and published my work in a peer reviewed journal, and I'm planning to continue my research through a PhD sometime in the next couple of years. However, I would also like to work a documentary type project related to my field of study, not for an academic audience but for the broader general public.
I'm not currently affiliated with a university though, and have never conducted any interviews before (all my work so far has been archival), so I'm a little concerned about the ethics of my doing so without any kind of official backing. I'm not even sure if this is something I COULD get backing for as it would be a side project anyway.
Due to my area of research the window of opportunity for conducting interviews is rapidly closing, and I'm concerned about missing the chance. It wouldn't be feasible for me to wait until I'm more established, as the younger interviewees are already in their early 80s.
Would it be possible, and more importantly ethical for me to be doing this? Could I get funding for this? And should I be getting a university or other academics involved?

Many people with no qualifications do surveys / the web provides an avenue for many things... Is it ethical? Depends on who is looking. Will you get funding? Probably not, may well depend on how you present it or misrepresent it... Will other academics want to be involved? Good question...

It is not sufficient for your research to be ethical; it must also be approved in advance by an institutional ethics committee (that means not people on this website).

I think the specific research topic is central to answering this question, so I voted to close as off topic.  It's also too broad.

@AnonymousPhysicist Thanks for your reply. I guess that was kind of my point. If it needs to be approved by an institution, I would probably need to be a part of said institution then?   I can provide more details if necessary. My field is history, so for this project I would be interviewing people and looking at their own experiences for analysis.

Ethical approval requirements differ between countries, same for procedures (some countries have national review boards where you could submit your proposal, but then, some of those might require you to be affiliated to a university...). Where are you located?

There is a whole science about conducting and structuring interviews, and drawing scientific conclusions from it. If you are unfamiliar with it, then the interviews you will conduct are likely going to be poorly designed, and you may not be able to get out of them what you wanted, or with as much clarity as you hoped. That doesn't mean than it may not be entertaining, or of interest to the public, but it's probably still worthwhile reading up on how to best do interviews.
An entirely separate question is institutional backing. It is not unethical or wrong to conduct interviews as an individual -- journalists do it all the time. But you will need to have the approval of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if you eventually want to use the interviews for scientific research you want to publish.

+1 I’m not aware of any reputable venue that’ll knowingly publish any human-based research without IRB approval.


text:
Backing out after expressing initial interest in a reading course
I am a first year math PhD student in the US. I was initially interested in the work of a professor and I contacted him to ask for the possibility of a reading course. We didn't make any concrete arrangements because he was on sabbatical for the spring (and summer) semester and he simply asked me to follow up closer to the fall semester. In the meantime, I had a reading course with another (math) professor in a different and not closely related field and my interest shifted. I think I would prefer to spend more time exploring that field instead. Is it bad etiquette to back out now and tell the first professor that I would prefer not to proceed with the reading course with him?


text:
Similarities detector for IEEE conference papers like crosscheck
IEEE conferences managed thru EDAS system are usually interfaced with Crosscheck service which automatically highlight to reviewers the percentage of detected similarity for the paper to be reviewed with existing papers.
Unfortunately, this service can only be accessed thru the conference admin console.
I checked with IEEE support who confirmed that such service cannot be accessed by an end-user but only activated as a paid service for a conference.
Also, I think, I remember that another API called ithenticate is sometimes used.
My question is:
As an author, not as a reviewer,
How would I know what is the computed resemblance percentage of my paper to existing works prior submission?

Check with your university libraries or your supervisor. This is a paid application.

Yes, IEEE support confirmed that this is a paid service and it's only accessible by API thru the conference administration panel.

Why do you need to check your own paper for plagiarism? You wrote it; don't plagiarize.

@BryanKrause, I think the OP is not interested in knowing if their paper is plagiarized or not; they are probably interested in what number comes up even if they don't plagiarize.  Would it be 0%? 10%?

@BrianKrause  We keep getting questions like this because somebody is wrongly teaching students that plagiarism software measures plagiarism.

@JoelReyesNoche Then they should ask that question. As is it looks like they think they are going to measure how plagiarized their paper is with software rather than measuring how plagiarized their paper is by knowing it's zero because they didn't plagiarize, or knowing it's unacceptable because they did.

@BryanKrause  Take an example, someone already has published three or four 12-18 pages journal papers, now if the author decides to write a short and novel idea on a letter-format (3-4 pages), he needs to take the necessary parts from previous papers, obviously with citations. It doesn’t matter how he rewrites the phrase or rewrites in ‘own’ words, these softwares used by many publishers detect a similarity score around 10~20%. It is not plagiarism, but due to the short length and taking some phases from previous papers, these papers enters to plagiarized queue in the editorial process.

@user199 I am well aware plagiarism software returns false alarms. Which is why there is no point in doing what the OP is asking to do.

@BryanKrause Totally agreed. It doesn’t make any sense to use these software from the author side, however it is useful for the editors and publishers when the ratio is beyond a threshold. They can check these submissions with their eyes not using bots. Now, if the author knows these in advance (we somehow know which software is being used by publishers, in several occasions, the publishers explicitly mentioned these), he can manipulate these output. It’s a good and bad use of plagiarism checking software.

You also run into the potential risk that you repeat yourself throughout multiple papers. For instance, you describe the general problem you are tackling with your (series of) papers. Even if you write it from scratch each time and adjust it to the specific paper, this can still be rather "similar".
I think it is no bad idea to have a look at this. If it helps the honest(!) author to sleep better at night, that's just fine.

Hello Guys, thanks for your inputs. This is not nut or anything. @Bryan, Just put yourself in my shoes, if you are working on a particular problem and you published a first contribution (first finding) (method to tackle your problem with enhancements compared to literature). Now, you evaluate a second approach (comparing yourself and literature). The frame/scope of the problem is the same, the literature is similar. You will plagiarize yourself. Some editors impose 30% max similarities, which is easy topped due to these a/m reasons.

How would you plagiarize yourself if you are properly citing and documenting your previous work in your new paper? Seems like the detection system is faulty, or OP isn't writing properly.


text:
How to valorize Volunteering work in a NPO
How to valorize Volunteering work for a Non-Profit organization, outside academic duties, such as:

Webmastering work
Technical support and consultancy
Other operation/tactical duty

I am not talking about one shot events such as Conference Planning and Organization.
I think just a one line mention in a CV/Resume, if any, is not satisfactory?
For example:
Volunteering for Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
or Project Management Institute (PMI)
or
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Etc.
What do you think?

It’s impossible to answer your question without additional details. What is the CV for? Is it expected that you do volunteer work at the position you’re applying to? Is the position academic (in other words are you at the right place)?

@Anyon, Removed the tag.

I'm going to presume that 'valorize' should be 'value' or 'evaluate'? On your CV, the real question is what job are you applying for and would that volunteer work be relevant to the position?

@Jon, I agree with you that a CV/Resume should be tailor made to the sought position. This is why I wrote "if any".

TLDR
If you did significant, relevant work for this organization, I would remove the word volunteer and treat it as any other experience. If however you did occasional work or work you didn't learn from, I would leave it as you did above.
From personal experience
I volunteer to build a certain NPO's data infrastructure from the ground up. I find this work mentally stimulating, educational, relevant, and like any other FT employment. Thus, I'll include this in the experience section of my resume and not write volunteer next to it on my CV. If an employer asks, I'll tell him that it was in-fact a volunteer role. By leaving it off, the first impression of that role is as it should be: FT employment. Do note that my resume does not have an employment section and that this is by design.
I have also volunteered for the food-bank, my university, local homeless shelters, etc. None of these positions are particularly relevent and you won't even find them on my resume/CV. They don't contribute anything to my qualifications for a role.
Regarding phrasing
None of the provided examples communicate anything about the nature of your work. If you decide to include these roles in what I presume is a CV, you will need to add a few words indicating what you did for them. For example if I were to tweak your provided titlees (Depending on the context, "Volunteer" is entirely optional):

Volunteer Tech Support for Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Volunteer Webmaster for the Project Management Institute (PMI)
Volunteer Teacher for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

A Final Word on Honesty
It is exceptionally easy for an interviewer to know when you are "Valourizing" your experience. It would do to repeat that again. Humans are terrible at lying and your interviewer likely has at least a decade more experience than you.
Embellishment is okay to an extent and only you will know what that is for your role. I heartily support selective truth-telling (ie changing of job titles to communicate what you really did or removing irrelevant tasks from descriptions of roles), but I am careful that I never lie on my resume or CV.


text:
Approaching a professor for a postdoc, after not taking his previous postdoc offer in favor of an industry job
I had a postdoc offer from a great research group at a US university towards the end of my PhD in April 2018. Around that time, a family member became severely ill. The nature of the illness was such that the doctors told me that they had to wait a few months to get a clear diagnosis and know whether it was going to be a long term condition or a one-off event. This put me in a dilemma - should I find a full time job that would let me relocate close to my family overseas if need be or should I stay in academia and hope it was just a one-off event? I decided to buy some time and wait a few months and never got back to the professor about the offer - I was very embarrassed to mention the illness as it's a highly stigmatized one. Morever, the professor wanted me to join immediately after my PhD and did not seem to be very flexible about my joining date. He never got back in touch after not hearing from me - I suppose he retracted the offer a few weeks after he made it.
I ultimately ended up delaying my PhD defense by a few months and found a corporate software job after that and started in February this year. My mental health has been slowly declining due to the fast-paced, extremely profit-driven nature of the corporate work environment and I am actually thinking of quitting and going back to a postdoc (my parents have decided to look after the sick family member so the illness is not as immediate a concern as it previously was).  I apologized to the professor in March about my non-response regarding his postdoc offer and told him about the illness and that I have moved on to the industry and he was very understanding and wished me all the best.
Here is my question: I know he is still looking for postdocs. How do I even begin the conversation with him on joining his group? I am also a bit concerned that the 1 year gap on my academic CV will be looked down upon negatively in future job searches.
If it is important to this question at all, I am 27 yrs old.

Why do you wish to return to the postdoc now? Explain that to your prof.

The main problem is not rejecting his offer but not replying at all. How long after he made the offer did you “apologise to the professor for not responding”?

I got back to him 10 months later

Start the conversation by being honest: describe what had happened, and assure them that it's only because of personal reasons that you could not accept their offer, not just the industry offer. You did the right thing by emailing them in March to keep them in the loop. However, I would emphasize that the reason that you didn't email them sooner was because of the personal stuff.
The same reasoning goes for your 1 year gap: if you do amazing work in your postdoc all will be forgiven. You need to convince the advisor that they can trust you to do well despite the initial setback (which was not something you could control), and the only way I can think of doing this is by telling them the truth.
I had a collaborator (not a postdoc) who left academia for personal reasons and returned to work with me (their story is somewhat similar to what you're describing, though the personal circumstances are different). I was very happy with them and was understanding regarding their situation. I'd like to think that I'm not an exception: most reasonable people understand that their students/postdocs have a life outside academia, and this particular advisor sounds like they should be as well.
Your age is not a major factor in this equation. I'd say that 27 is relatively young (I started my PhD at the ripe old age of 28).

Thanks, this gives me a bit of courage. I forgot to mention this in my post (now added) but I did mention in March while apologizing that the illness was the reason for my move to the industry (I told him what the illness was too and he was very understanding). For more context, he made this offer in April last year. I guess I need to convince him that I can do well.

When hiring postdocs, professors will try their best to estimate if a candidate will be productive after starting. Personal communication of course plays a role in this, because a potential postdoc who doesn't communicate well is a risk to the professor.
However, if he is still (actively) looking for postdocs, you will have to convince that you would be a productive member of his research group for the postdoc period. So the first step is to prepare answers to the following questions:

Why would you be productive when hired?
Do you have the means to communicate professionally and can you be relied on?

Your previous interaction with him may cast some doubt on the latter, so think about an answer that is both true (not a lie) and that would convince yourself if you were in his position. Then you are prepared to reach out. You write that the illness is stigmatized. Ok, that's fine - can you prepare an answer that conveys the necessary information to make the professor understand why you had to make the previous decisions without revealing information that you do not want to reveal?
As far as the 1 year gap is concerned: you gained some industry experience! Even though you didn't like working there, can you still extract some experience from it that helps you with your future research career? This would be something to reply to anyone concerned about that in your future job searches. But I suggest not ruling out switching back to industry later at all because all companies are different. There may actually be some that you like working for, and academic careers do not always work out, so you need a plan B.

Thanks for your response. I forgot to mention this in my original post (now edited) that I explained why I decided to quit and told him about the illness as well (he was very understanding and wished me all the best, so I guess that's a good thing).

Regarding the 1 year gap, I was in the field of climate science running computer climate models and the job I work in now is not very related although my experience in a well known company could be construed as me possessing strong programming skills. Re switching back to industry: I have visa issues that prevent me from doing that after a postdoc, so I would be diving in without a plan B (atleast for the US). If academia doesn't workout after postdoc, I would most likely need to return to my home country and start career afresh in programming or some quantitative field.

Three comments.
(1) There is no real disadvantage to approaching the professor. If you don't approach him, then you'll probably never have much interaction with him going forward. If you approach him and he says no, same thing. So, you have nothing to lose: either everything stays the same, or it works out as you hope.
(2) I would either send a brief e-mail or ask for a visit (e.g., lunch). If a physical meeting is possible, and the professor is sociable, you may do well to ask for an in-person meeting to catch up, during which you can float the idea about re-applying. If this is impractical or awkward, you could just send a brief e-mail during which you express your interest in re-applying for the open position, acknowledge the unusual situation, and ask how to proceed.
(3) I am concerned about your motivation. You have had one negative experience in industry; it seems like a significant over-reaction to run back to the university. There are other jobs, and mental health professionals that can help you adjust. As you doubtless know, only a tiny fraction of post-docs convert into faculty jobs. You should therefore objectively assess whether you wouldn't be better served by looking for a permanent position that is a better match.

These are all good points and tell me you can been around the block a couple of times. Another factor that might be considered is the fit between the PD and the PhD. Our past students often have the best skills set to match our PD positions, for completely obvious reasons. This might be to the OP's advantage; the prof is still looking, after all.


text:
Do I tell my teachers that I want them to change my seat because my classmates keep on telling me to sit next to them on exams and I can't say no?
I am the smartest (or nerdiest) person in my class and my classmates who I have spent a lot of my time helping during the school year, whether with homework or explaining parts they didn't understand keep asking me to let them cheat from my paper.
I want to tell my teacher to change my seat so that they can no longer cheat from me but I don't know if I should do it.
Please note that I am a really shy timid person so I can't easily stand up to people, and I have a feeling that my classmates know that well.
They keep on asking me for favors and help, and each time I do whatever they ask.
Please also note that I can't simply say no to them because I have 2 more years to spend with the same class and I don't want to be hated.

What grade are you in?

I sympathize. Once I helped a person study for a biology exam (this was in high school) and my test-taking skills were developed enough that I was able to say, "This, this and this, etc. will be on the exam, so know these answers." After the test the other student accused the teacher, in class, of telling me what would be on the test! Helping other students can lead to awkward situations, and yours is one. Never allow someone to cheat off your test paper.

You should distinguish between being shy and being a pushover. Yes, it is difficult to stand up for what you know is morally right, but you always have the choice to do what is right or not. And this, ultimately, is the real issue, because in the future you will face not only cheaters who are trying to use you as a throwaway stepping stone but also other bad people who may do worse. And yes, you can avoid direct confrontation by asking the teacher to help prevent the cheating.

Doing things simply because saying no is hard is something that could potentially remain a problem for the rest of your life. It's best dealt with early on and having other people solve the problem for you would not always be an option (especially not after you leave school). If someone "hates" you for not letting them cheat off of you (assuming they don't just find someone else), then they never really liked you to begin with (they were just using you, which isn't a healthy relationship for you). Also, letting them cheat isn't helping them in the long term (but don't tell them that).

This seems like a question from a very young person. I'm going to assume that, though it makes this question off topic here. I hope my exception won't be objected to by other users.
Yes, you can talk about this with your teacher and between you a solution might be found, though an obvious move might make your friends also distrust you. I'd suggest not naming people.
But the bigger issue is your shyness. The fact that you are willing to  help people is a really good thing. I hope you aren't being coerced into its, though.
The reason I'm giving an answer is to suggest that it is time for you to learn how to overcome your shyness so that you can take a more active role in lots of situations, not only this one.
I, too, was too (far too) shy growing up. It seemed impossible for me to speak up for myself when it was necessary. It was only a lot later that I learned that being shy (introverted) doesn't limit what you can do if you learn to do it. It takes practice, however and maybe a few sessions with a counsellor who can give you tips.
I was once so shy that I couldn't look into people's eyes, though that isn't frowned on in my culture as it is in some. It seemed to me like people could see my soul if I looked directly at them. A counsellor suggested otherwise and I practiced doing what others do naturally and finally overcame it. But, not speaking up in a particular case once caused me a very large setback in my education and career.
I once asked a friend I'd known for a long time if it seemed to him like I'd changed my personality over the years, going from introvert, hiding in the background, to extrovert, putting my ideas out into the general mix. He thought for a moment and decided that yes, so it seemed. I was still the same person inside but seemed to be different outside. An act of a sort, but it becomes easy once you practice it enough.
I have another friend who is very important (famous) in our field (CS) and he is well sought after as a public speaker. But he is actually a bit autistic, which is beyond introverted (not the same, really, but it has similar tendencies for some). He taught himself to act in public by joining an acting group so that he could play roles that hid his personality but let him seem to be as extroverted as necessary in any given situation. He is still quiet, but speaks with authority.
So, it isn't that you can't do certain things. It is that they are uncomfortable for you and you don't, yet, have enough practice in doing so. It can be learned through practice, just like learning math can be.
If you can learn to do such things at an early age and combine it with a willingness to help people learn, you'd probably make an excellent professor someday. It was something I needed to do along my own path, which is what leads me to write this.
It won't surprise me if many users here have something similar in their backgrounds.

Note that the "setback" to my education and career that I describe here happened in grad school, so the need to overcome shyness can hit at any age. Maybe this isn't quite so off topic after all.

Introverted is absolutely not the same as being shy, nor the other way around.

@SebastiaanvandenBroek, nor is autism the same as either of them. But they are often confused and can be expressed in similar ways. But it is necessary for any professional to be able to express their ideas and needs and that can take practice so one doesn't get steamrolled.

I agree, that’s why I think it’s risky to confuse a character trait (introversion) with lack of confidence which is what shyness usually is.

"This seems like a question from a very young person. I'm going to assume that, though it makes this question off topic here" It'd be on-topic if they're an undergraduate, I think.

It may well be that shyness isn't the real issue.  It certainly wasn't for me, when I was in a similar situation.  It's that if you don't do what those classmates (not friends!) demand, they will gang up and beat you up after class.  And since they are probably on school sports teams, there's no real chance that they'll be punished in any meaningful way.

I originally want to write a comment but I don’t have enough reputation for that. To add on Buffy’s excellent answer and respond to your last paragraph, I think it is good to help your friends, but you have to be judicious. I understand that some shy people have the fear that if they don’t agree to other people’s request, then they may be disliked. But (supported by my personal experience) it is simply not true, sometimes quite the opposite. If you help people based on that fear and can’t “say no”, large chance is that they will exploit you, and they will give no respect, which does not help the relationship. By saying no in appropriate situation, you develop personal power and (albeit slowly) earn the respect of the others. It is probable that some (toxic) people will turn against you for that, but overall decent people will stay and you will be free of the mental burden you experience. I was like you before, but I realized that even sometimes I said no to people (maybe I don’t have enough of time, or energy), they still like me as a good friend. Of course I like to help people, but now I put myself on emphasis and live more happily on this matter. For practicality, I suggest finding some reasonable excuses to refuse when you don’t think it is comfortable to help (this does not attack the current matter, but I am suggesting for future needs). The important point is that, you are the most important person in your world. If you don’t think so, then people will not value you either. Sorry for my English, I am not native speaker.

Good answer! The people who stick with you are indeed what you yourself pick out via your actions and words.

Not a solution to the long term problem perhaps, but if you don't want to make a confrontation about it quite yet, you could try disappearing for a time before the test and turn up at the very last minute, so as to need to take the last seat available.
Not 100% reliable of course, your 'friends' might save a seat for you, but a thought.
If you were going to talk to your teacher about it, then yes, I'd keep any names of others out of it (the teacher will know who you mean anyway), and perhaps you could arrange with the teacher to make sure the last seat available was not where the others are, perhaps by the teacher telling the others who arrive before time to 'shuffle up to the front', depends how cunning and co-operative the teacher is. Not ideal though.
Alternatively, you could ask the teacher to decide that the pupils must sit in alphabetic order, I don't know how innocuous or otherwise that might be, school is a long while back for me but we were often told to arrange ourselves in alpha order of surname and first names to make checking our attendance on an list easier. That might make it seem less contrived then the teacher simply moving selected people apart.
It may well be the case that the teacher has noticed this going on, you may only be confirming what they already suspect, and will no doubt be happy to oblige with some reasonable way to separate you.
As a semi-confrontational measure, if you got in first and chose a seat right at the front, nearest the teacher or in a front corner. It would be hard for anybody to consult with your turned back, and very easy to detect from where the teacher mostly lurks during the test. Your 'friends' would no doubt take it up with you afterwards if they now expect your co-operation.
In the end if would be good for you as a young person to stand up to the others and calmly decline to co-operate, but others have written extensively on that, so I won't, apart from relating something vaguely similar in my school days.
When I was about 15 or 16, roughly 1981, I was in a small class for one subject, scripture as it goes, only about 9 of us taken from various classes. One boy was fascinated with the new digital watch my mother had given me and asked to have a look at it, I took it off to proudly show him my prize (nobody else had such a gleaming artefact at the time !) and he decided to borrow it to wear and play with for the whole lesson. The next scripture class he asked... demanded with menaces if he could borrow it again, so I let him. The third time I took it off beforehand and when he asked again told him it was at home but he looked at my wrist, saw the chain link impression on my skin and worked out my ruse, and spent the lesson with my watch again. The fourth time I wore it and said no, and he asked again more forthrightly, I somehow held my ground and he backed off. It was quite a moment for me, I had stood up to Andy A., one of the toughest guys in our year, well, maybe top 10% on that scale anyway (with me being firmly bottom 10% material), I didn't get pounded to a bloody pulp at the next play time, and I felt proud of myself.

"your 'friends' might save a seat for you" - that's a good point. OP's teacher might decide to turn a blind eye to it as well; after all, it's all a part of social interactions the instructor has very limited control/influence over.

If you can, try telling your friends that you want to continue to help them understand the material, but that it makes you very uncomfortable when they ask you for help during a test.
You might want to do this one at a time, not in a group. Since seats seem to be assigned, you have to deal only with the one or two close to you.
You need not say it's wrong (even if you think so) or blame it on them (even if you do). You need not say why it makes you uncomfortable. In fact, giving no reason makes it harder for them to argue with you - they can't really tell you not to feel as you do.

To piggyback off of that, just say you're paranoid about getting caught and that you don't want to risk it.

Yes, you can ask your teacher and if they are nice they will reseat you (I would and I was a teacher for a long time). However, the teacher might not resist the temptation to make some sort of joke alluding to your isolated seating later on.

I have done it -- gone up to the student and "asked" them to move (after they told me they wanted to). There's no need to even say anything since the moving student is always perceived as the problem ("the dumb teacher thought she was distracting us"), which covers us the real reason and any possible accusations.


text:
how should i reply to this mail from professor?
I got a positive reply from the professor, how should I reply politely?
This is the response from my professor:
"let me go through and get back to you on the article "
Currently, the professor is preoccupied with a lot of work but still helping me, so considering the situation can anyone suggest a draft of the email that I can send to this professor?

Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

If the exchange took place in a hallway, your response would probably be just "OK, thanks". But an email that says only that adds nothing to the conversation and is a (minor) disruption.
I'd suggest that you just wait for a while and see what develops.


text:
Behavior of a postdoc supervisor changed after I had a campus visit for a faculty position
I'm currently doing my third postdoc at an Ivy league university. My supervisor is very famous in his area of research and he was very supportive for me during the first year. However, he waited until the end of the first year before offering me an extension so I applied to a few tenure-track positions just in case he wanted me out of the lab. I got two visit campus so I told him about that because I mentionned him as one of the three references. I also reassured him that I will be staying in the lab until the end of my contract (completion of the 2nd year). He said that he is happy for me and that he will gladly write a recommendation letter and support my applications.
Then, his behavior became very strange. For example, he will not communicate with me or answer my emails unless it has something to do with what he needs for some project. He also started excluding from the different projects and the key meetings. Meanwhile, I passed the first campus interview and the chair of the search committee told me in the end of the visit that they didn't receive a letter from my supervisor. So I asked him about that and sent him two remainders so he can send the reference letter. He did not respond to any of my e-mails or messages. So I contacted the search committee and told them that my supervisor is busy. I asked them to change my reference and use my PhD co-supervisor as a reference and they accepted my request. My PhD co-supervisor sent them a strong recommendation letter immedialtey.
A few days ago, I got a verbal offer from the college dean and I'm currently negociating with them the details with her. But I'm still cannot understand what motivated the change in my supervisor's behavior, and wether I should stay in my lab until the end of the my contract or terminate it sooner (I am not sure that it's going to be a nice experience without my supervisor support).

Are you able to meet with your current supervisor, phone him, knock on his door, or ask someone else in the group about his behavior? And would the new university allow you to finish your current contract and delay starting the new tenure-track job?

I can't don't think I will be able to meet with my supervisor in such circumstances but I'm willing to have a one-to-one interview with him in two weeks. Yes I have told the university that I want to delay the starting date during the campus visit and they said that they can accomodate that.

In your comment your first sentence says two opposite things

If you can meet with your current supervisor, you can ask him why he stopped replying to your emails, didn't send the reference letter, etc.
If he apologizes and has a good reason, and if you are sure that he will invite you to meetings, reply to emails, etc in the future, then maybe could stay in your current job till the end of the contract. But I would say you should only do this if you are sure everything will be fine.
If that doesn't happen, then I think you should start the new job as soon as possible.
If you don't get a few more answers on this website, it would be good to ask some people you know for their opinions, even if they do not work in academia.

Thanks. Given how passive aggressive he can be, I am not sure he will apologize or give me a good reason.

@Postdog4ever I think you should ask him if he wants you to stay apart of the research group until the end of your contract. Unless there is something unrelated going on, his behavior suggests that he no longer wants you on board and in that case he may just be carrying on because he is contractually obliged to do so. This new development with the tenure track job provides a good time for you both to reassess whether it makes sense to continue working together for the next year.

I guess it can be multiple things. Depending on your field, your supervisor can now see you as a potential competitor, whence your exclusion from the projects you are not directly involved in and the limitations of your email exchanges to your projects only.
For the recommendation letter, I do not have any answer. I think it is quite low to accept to write a recommendation letter and then not do it. If he did not want to write you one, he could have just said no.

Your supervisor has many things in their life that are more important to them than your campus visit.  It's most likely the change in behavior is caused by something unrelated.
I've seen faculty suddenly change their behavior quite a few times, and most often the cause was a sick relative.