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Quitting PhD in my third year
HI everybody I am a physics PhD student working in the field of theoretical physics. I am currently in my third year. I am currently at a point where I am thinking of quitting my PhD. I have no ambition to continue in academics and the environment I am working in (including relationship with my advisor) is making me unfortunately very unhappy and extremely stressed. I tried a lot to fix this (therapy, talking to advisor, sports, taking a break,….) none of them seemed to help leaving me with the only option left: quitting.
Considering leaving the PhD I am concerned about the consequences. I don’t think I was a bad PhD student (I have 7 publications , teacher several courses and have a government funded PhD grant). So my questions are:

Will it give a bad impression?
Will  it have severe consequences on my further career (for example in industry).

This depends too much on your field and what the job opportunities are - along with the career advancement opportunities. But a PhD is mostly useful in academia and in research labs closely related.

Who do you have in mind when asking about the impression?

If you are very unhappy and so on, just quit. Life goes on and you will find something. Don't worry too much what others might think, you can't control them anyway. For what it is worth, I would think better of you if you change your situation than if you stay.

Before writing a detailed answer (because I am also somehow in your situation), I would like to ask you a few more questions.
You say you're in your third year. Third out of how many? 3 out of 7 is a very different situation than 3 out of 3, for example.
"Will it give a bad impression?" Well, to whom? The most important thing is how YOU feel about it. "Will it have severe consequences on my further career (for example in industry)." I think from outside academia (e.g. industry) it will NOT seem as bad as from inside it.

What part of the world are you in? In some cases, you can leave the program halfway through and get a master's degree -- is this a possibility for you? And also -- how close are you? If you're within a year, I would really suggest finishing: "the best PhD is a done PhD"

Hi everybody, thank you very much for your reply. So to answer your questions: 1) in principle I will run out of  money in two years (so it's my third year of five). 2) I am afraid it will give a bad impression to people in general. 3) I live in Europe so I already have my bachelor and master degrees.

Just an encouragement from similarly lost soul,  you are not alone. I also have 7 publications(only one fist author, i.e. not enough for quick graduation) and I'm in my fourth year. Frustrated for two years and in a battle with my supervisor for a year. I have started distancing myself from friends and family(even before the pandemic :D), last two months I was unable to do almost anything. Probably some kind of a burn out ... so I had to quit. Things are getting better, but I'm afraid that I'm not going to recover the enthusiasm I used to have for what I do. I should have quit earlier ...

Will it give a bad impression?

Lots of people quit their PhDs.  It's not a big deal.  But I suppose finishing makes a better impression of yourself.
Quitting your PhD creates a negative impression of your university and supervisor.  However, that shouldn't stop you from doing what is best for you.

Will it have severe consequences on my further career (for example in industry).

Only if you want a job that requires a PhD.  Most industry employers do not care if you did not compete your PhD.

I have 7 publications

You should consider if you can complete your PhD in a very short period.  Most PhD students do not have seven publications.

I strongly agree with the "consider if you can complete your PhD in a very short period". But make sure you very explicitly agree on this with your advisor. Maybe it is also in their interest that you finish, with a not so groundbreaking PhD, instead of just quitting; so that would be a win-win result.

Thank you very much for your reply. I understand your suggestion of trying to finish the PhD in a very short time. The problem I am having with that is that from what I know from my colleagues, writing up the thesis and defending is a very stressfull period. So I am afraid I will be consumed by stress in this period (also since writing up is even more a solo quest compared to writing a paper. Also a lot of stuff starts in september so if i would like to start a new education in some form maybe trying to finisch quickly is not the best idea? I would like your opinion!

In Mathematics, and at my University (Ausria) it would basically be enough to create a document which contains your seven publications and a short introduction. Then you defend it (basically you have to demonstrate that you eunderstand the topica and that it is plausible that you really wrote your parts the papers yourself). due to administrative issues this may take 4 months, but will not be stressful. But other fields and universities may handle this entirely differently.

It's true that many students are stressed at the end of their PhD.  But you are already feeling that.  Why would it get worse?  If you have seven publications, you should have several reasons to be less stressed than other students who are finishing their PhD.  Once you have a PhD (or most of one), it doesn't makes sense to seek more education in a different program.

Your question reminded me of my own situation during my PhD. I share with you my experience and hope you can relate to it, and maybe learn something. I was also in third year, physics PhD, with published papers and lot of presentations at conferences. But still I was constantly thinking about quitting. The thing which made me to think like that, now I look back, was not actually the research or academic component, but was the environment and the situation I was in, and the relation with my advisor. Plus some exhaustion due to lot of work I did in 2 and half years. I had a strange relationship with my advisor. I was depressed for sure, tried student counselling, doctors, tried to make friends ... and at one point I was thinking of even committing suicide, believe me it is true. The next day I called the helpline and told them that I was suicidal. These type of thoughts never came to my mind before or after that. People almost stopped talking to me, if they talked they talked with strange reactions. I was lucky enough that there were couple of colleagues, to whom I could talk normally. I was not in my home country, and it was really hard to make contacts outside the work. There were some racial people around also, doing subtle racial comments now and then, intentionally or unintentionally, I don't know. All these little factors contributed and made me think to quit. The amazing part was that it was the research which kept me engaged and interested, and I kept pushing forward. Deep down inside I was damn determined that I have to finish and finish as early as possible, because if I do it late, I am going to get medically ill for sure. So I made a plan. I started writing my thesis without telling anyone. I showed my stuff to my thesis committee and couple of other professors. I talked to an emeritus professor who was serving as kind of a student counselor. Before my next committee meeting I made a nice draft and submitted to the committee before the meeting. I convinced the committee that I can write my thesis and they recommended to submit in the next six months. This time I did not listen to my advisor who was suggesting otherwise. I did additional work, edited my thesis carefully, and submitted. Arranged my defense. My defense was extremely hard. One of the member in the panel was a great researcher, senior most professor of our institute, and was often very hard when it came to scientific discussions. Hard in the sense that he was a brilliant thinker with enormous experience, and was well known worldwide for his contributions, very dedicated, very bold when it came to criticism, but enjoyable if you like to fight. I stood my ground. Finally I passed. Easy said than done.
My advice for you is the following. If you have even a tiny bit of hope that you can finish on the basis of your work, go for it like it is a war, and you have to defeat the enemy with great valour. Its a battle for your 2.5 years of work with great publications, which is at least 3% of your life span, and you do not get the life twice. DO NOT give a second thought. You are going to get so much respect for yourself, whether you stay in academia or not. Remember -- your work is going to decide if you are going to get a PhD, not your supervisor, feed this to your mind and fight for it. Fight for it like its your territory and you are invaded. Believe me you can succeed.
There is a very subtle stage in this process. I believe that a PhD student starts thinking quitting when there is no external approval of the work which the student has done. Such a student does all the work but thinks that nobody cares about it. The
truth is that actually NOBODY cares about it. You have to care about it and you HAVE TO follow your gut feeling when you think that you are ready to finish. Nobody is going to tell you. And that's where the student is most confused. In addition, when student decides on it, there come stages like convincing people, editing your thesis again and again and again, and fixing a date to which all the members agree to. These are loopholes and take dedication to get through.
Finally, if you have a medical condition, be very very careful. DO NOT take more stress no matter what happens. If needed, compromise with your research output a little bit, there is nothing wrong in it. If you take more stress in such a condition, it can affect your upcoming life. Take care of yourself. Slow down. Meditate. Exercise. There are ways you can get through this. Recognize what helps you and what causes problems for you. Avoid the latter. Don't be afraid of people judging you, you are here for yourself. Again, I stress that be very careful if you have a medical condition.
I did not quit, and so I can not relate to such a situation. Consider taking into account suggestions from people who already took the decision of quitting.
One more thing, I tried almost all the options you mentioned for help -- therapy, taking break etc, they surely help but the effect is local in time. I suggest you take the challenge head on, and use these methods as your support system. Again, if you have medical condition you have to be more careful.
Best wishes.

I really, really understand what you're going through.
From my own experience, I would say it's very unlikely to get any better if you're already feeling that way.

"I am afraid it will give a bad impression to people in general."

To be completely honest, I also worry about that. I think we shouldn't lie to ourselves about it. If we judge it without any context, this is definitely going to give a bad impression to most of the people. Only the very few (well, actually not that few) that were in more or less the same situation will really understand this decision. But I don't think this will have a significant impact on your potentially new career in the industry. In my opinion, you should worry about it only if you take into account staying in the academia (or returning to academia).
If you already have your bachelor and master degrees, and especially if you have the skills required for your new job, it really shouldn't matter that you quit your PhD. I tend to think that in industry it's much more about what you can do, and much less about awards and titles. Just focus on developing the skills that you will need for your future career.
I know it's hard to make a decision like this. But think about it... Is it really worth it to be stressed out all the time, to be constantly unhappy, to feel this resentment? This will eventually have a bad impact on our health, and, in the end, is it really worth it? (I am also asking this to myself all the time). But if you're going to make such a decision, it's better to make it as soon as possible, otherwise you will later have even more regrets. Being in the third year (out of five), I personally think it is still not that late for you to quit.
Hopefully, other people with more experience than me (in the academia and/or industry) will try to answer this question. I am also looking forward to hear other opinions.

I bet it's hard to answer to this question with any solid proofs, so I believe you're just calling for opinions. Thus, here is my humble take on the issue.
I think few people in industry would care about your PhD, and few jobs really require it (and perhaps you won't be interested in "research-oriented" jobs that do). However, over the course of my working life I am coming to the conclusion that there are more brilliant people around than people who can get things done.
This was a counter-intuitive conclusion for myself, as I always thought it's much harder to prove a theorem or write a research paper than to finish a mere technical report in due time. However, it seems to be the case.
So, while I think it should not be a great concern for you, and your finished papers hopefully prove you can "get things done", still there is a non-zero chance that your case will be evaluated by someone like me who might treat it unfavorably. Just consider it as one minor point that might ring bells for someone.


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Dealing with uncertainty in a PhD
The background
I am currently pursuing a PhD in the field of physics. From the number perspective (number of publications) everything is going fine since I have a couple. However, I find it extremely difficult to deal with the uncertainty about my own work. Specifically I am always afraid of having made mistakes in previous publications or in future ones. This fear can be very general, ranging from the theoretical model used up to the interpretation of my results or limitations of my model. This can be sometimes very paralyzing resulting in “rechecking” previous work or being afraid of starting a new project because of the fear of invalidating my own results. I guess these feelings are in some limited form natural to a PhD. However, last year I noticed that they were extreme and decided to take some action. So I got some counselling, decided to take some time of (on doctors’ advice of course), lost some weight and started doing fitness (to boost my self-esteem) and decided to follow an evening paramedic course. All these things seemed to help to some extend providing me some “purpose” besides from doing my PhD and showed that life is more then writing papers (with potential mistakes in them).
However, in my feeling my relation with my supervisor is very problematic. I feel that over the years of doing my master thesis and PhD our relation deteriorated drastically. He can be very rude in his e-mails focussing exclusively on the bad points of my work and the fact that he has to wait too long for his corrections to be done. A few times he has said that my work is just an extension of my master thesis. I find it very difficult to deal with the fact that  he always has very negative critique on my work. The critique is always “I am not happy with the work” or “this is not good”. However, when I ask more specifically about what I can do to make it better he remains rather superficial saying that it’s my PhD, not his. A few examples to sketch his behaviour:

I took a 10 minute break with a colleague to get some water (around 15:00). We both got a rude e-mail from my supervisor saying: “it’s already 15:00 in the afternoon and you are not in your office. This is not acceptable.”
A few weeks ago he called me into his office saying the following about my evening course paramedic: “You need to read your PhD contract”. I asked why. “I do not think it is allowed to obtain a second degree while doing a PhD”. This is definitely not correct.
There are some other examples.

The problematic part for me is that all these situations are not really helpful for my fears regarding my research, and they only enhance it. I already played “open card” with him informing him about my problems to deal with my fear and uncertainty. However, this has not really helped improving our relationship.
It should be noted that the image I sketch is of course a one sided image of my supervisor. After talking with some colleagues I became aware that he sends similar emails to my colleagues and his behaviour is universal. Some close colleagues tell me to not take it personal and move on. Honestly I tried this but for me it very difficult not to take it personal. To story of a suicide under his supervision (and the legend that my supervisor used to be even worse before that) is making the situation even more dramatic for me. I did not look into the evidence whether this really happened but the mere fact that the story circulates in our group haunts me.
My question(s)
If you have additional questions about the background feel free to ask. The COVID-19 crisis creates a very difficult period for everyone including me. As for many other people I can assume this period boosts fears and uncertainty’s. The same applies for me. However, the last few months I found myself in sort of a deadlock. I want something to change in my situation, I have a few options but none of them have my preference.

Sit-out my PhD. Although I still have some sporadic feelings of happiness while doing research they are quickly blurred by fears and uncertainty’s. I found it sometimes very difficult to motivate myself resulting and very unproductive periods of time resulting in me being frustrated in turn resulting in conflicts with my life-partner and family.
Quit my PhD. A PhD is something a really wanted to do when I started with my bachelor. When quitting my PhD I am afraid to be seen as a failure. What should I tell other people and how should I deal with this failure myself are questions I find difficult to answer. Since this was something I really wanted to do from the start of my education I find myself confronted with the question “what should I do after this failure”. I am sure I have some other talents but I find it difficult to find or appreciate them at this moment.
Taking the problem to a higher level. I could take this problem to some higher level at the university trying to find some solutions over there. Maybe they could try to arbitrate between my supervisor and me. I find this option difficult since it will involve other people into the whole situation.
Other suggestions.

I have come to a point where none of my solutions in my mind seem to be preferable. I would appreciate a neutral analysis of my situation from other people “in the field”. For me it is of course impossible to that.
So in short:
(a)   What is your analysis of my situation.
(b)   What are possible options to deal with this situation.
If my questions are not appropriate for the academia stackexchange please let me known how I should change them accordingly.
I really appreciate your consideration of my situation.

I too had some similar existential worries during my PhD (although I luckily have a supportive supervisor). I recently won some funding to spend a couple of months abroad working with a collaborator, and the change of scene and slightly different topic has really helped my perspective. Could you try something similar? My other suggestion would be to change supervisor, asap.

How far are you into your PhD? Furthermore, the concern about making mistakes is normal and healthy for a scientist. However, accept that you may make mistakes and simply define for yourself what stages you want to go through to minimise the chances for errors. Then, discuss your work with trusted colleagues to poke for possible weaknesses. Once passed, accept that this is what you submit to the very best of your knowledge and send it off with godspeed. As for your supervisor, that's a different story. Do you have the option to switch?

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Repository for Education
What would be the most appropriate place for someone to upload their Master thesis in Education? (Their institution does not upload electronic versions of theses.) The thesis is original research and a paper version has already been accepted to a conference; the author just wants to share their thesis with the community independently of the paper.
I have come across this list but I don't know the culture of the field, so I cannot advise them on which one to use, if any. I also note that the thesis is not in English.
Thanks in advance.

@corey979 As I mention in my question, the thesis is in Education. It has nothing to do with Math or Physics.

CERN operates an inder-disciplinary repository where everyone can upload content for free and that is easy to use. It's called Zenodo and the content will get a DOI: https://zenodo.org If you want a repository especially for education, I suggest to ask your question in a forum for education research.

Related: Preprint services other than arXiv (for other fields). (There are a couple of potential candidates, but no obvious choice as far as I can tell. If a good choice for education research is found here, it should probably be mentioned in that question too.)

Unclear on why there are close votes here. This question seems very appropriate here.

As it seems unlikely at this point that this question will receive an appropriate answer soon, I'll answer my own question and give the best answer I came across.
Someone who is in Education research has told me that he and his colleagues use Academia.edu and ResearchGate. So, while there are certainly repositories out there, it would appear that they are not widely used. In the end, I recommended to the author of the thesis that they use these two sites.

I only recently joined the community so I was unable to answer this question, but I agree with who you consulted - ResearchGate and Academia.edu are common avenues, as well as Google Scholar. All are great options, and people tend to like them for different reasons. I have even seen undergraduate students publish their theses on Academia.edu and ResearchGate and receive a lot of support from the academic community, which has opened the doors for future collaboration and job prospects.

...most appropriate place...to upload...Master thesis in Education? (Their institution does not upload electronic versions of theses.)

The technical report archive of the school or institute, a website you have via the school/institute, your personal website, or your supervisor's website.

a paper version has already been
  accepted to a conference

Given that it is published in some form, is there a need for the thesis itself? (Perhaps, because it probably contains additional material, but worth considering.)
As an alternative, maybe extend the conference version into a journal version.

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How to handle supervisor not giving appropriate credit
Someone close to me (let's call her Natalie) recently completed an undergraduate degree in Preschool Education. Her thesis was by research; she did the field study and the majority of the theoretical analysis, and her supervisor (let's call her Betty) helped with the latter. They are now to present the research at a conference. Betty claimed she should be first author, which Natalie felt was unfair, but agreed to. Now that the conference is drawing close and they have created the presentation, Natalie realises that it contains no reference to her thesis, and is afraid that the fact that this was her thesis will not be mentioned at all (they are presenting it together, but Betty has the introduction and closing). How should she handle the situation?
It should also be noted that after this presentation they aim to publish the research either in the conference proceedings or in the conference organisers' journal.

I'm not sure why you suggest the supervisor isn't giving proper credit. Are you guessing that will happen in the future? In some fields it is natural for the advisor to be "first author" on a joint work and means little about who actually did the work.

Even so, I find it alarming that the thesis is not mentioned at all in the presentation.

Many people disregard the first author as it is likely they did not do the actual work... But do like the credit...

What is the problem if the student will also be speaking? Is she forbidden to say things?

It's not practically possible for her to shoehorn that information in her part of the talk, especially since they haven't talked about it with the supervisor.

not practically possible — Huh?  All she has to do is speak the sentence "For more details, see my thesis or our upcoming paper."

She is afraid that if she does that she will cause a negative reaction from Betty.

I wouldn't particularly expect the thesis to be mentioned in a presentation, and I certainly wouldn't find its omission "alarming".    In academic research, a thesis, especially an undergraduate thesis, is a sort of "second class citizen" and is usually considered a much less important type of writing than a peer-reviewed publication.  (This is why you normally try to "publish your thesis" by writing papers with the same content as your thesis.)  Natalie did the work that's contained in the paper, and she's getting credit by being an author of that paper (ignoring issues about author ordering); whether the work was part of a thesis isn't seen as especially relevant.
Now, if the thesis contains additional information that is directly relevant to the paper, then the paper certainly ought to cite the thesis, but one should keep in mind that people may take it less seriously because it hasn't been peer reviewed.  However, if the thesis only contains basically the same content as the paper (or a subset), then in my experience, the usual practice would be to not mention the thesis.
Natalie is certainly free to mention, in her part of the talk, that the work being presented was part of her thesis, but this isn't really relevant information to the audience.  If there are places where the thesis contains discussion of relevant topics that are not in the paper, it could make sense to mention it ("see my thesis for further details").  But it's not inherently necessary.
Added: You say Natalie is worried that Betty will be angry if Natalie mentions the thesis in the talk.  I don't see why she would be angry, but if Natalie is worried, she can discuss it with Betty beforehand.  It sounds like she's observing that "Betty didn't plan to mention the thesis" and inferring that "Betty strongly objects to having the thesis mentioned at all", but I don't think that inference is justified.  I think it more likely that Betty simply didn't plan to mention the thesis just because she didn't think it was important or relevant (for the reasons I stated above).  But if Natalie does think that it would be relevant to mention the thesis, and if she can articulate her reasons (beyond "self-promotion"), then I wouldn't think Betty would object to having it mentioned.  At the very least, I wouldn't think she would object to discussing the possibility of mentioning it.

Thank you for your detailed reply, which I may eventually accept as a final answer. I am a little confused, however, by the part where "people may take it less seriously because it hasn't been peer reviewed". Surely if something is acceptable as an undergraduate thesis then it can't be worse than something that has not been accepted anywhere in any capacity.

@user447648: I would put an undergrad thesis somewhere lower than "preprint" and higher than "random PDF on someone's website".  With a preprint, although it hasn't passed peer review, there is at least the fact that some researcher with a track record has written it with the goal of having it eventually be reviewed and accepted.  So the author knows what standard is required, they've shown they are able to reach that standard in general, and you trust that they are making an effort to reach it in this case. [...]

@user447648: An undergrad thesis is typically written by a student with no track record and no experience of the necessary standard for publication, and in many cases there is no intention that it will ever attain publishable quality.  Natalie's thesis is rather exceptional in this regard, but this will only really be recognized when its content is published as a paper instead of as a thesis.

I will accept your answer, but for the sake of completeness I want to mention how it eventually went down. On the day of the conference, Betty approached Natalie and instructed her, in case anyone asks whether this was something like a Master's thesis, not to say that it was her undergrad thesis and to say instead that this was just some research that the two of them did. Natalie objected on the grounds that it would be dishonest, at which point Betty said that the research would be taken less seriously if it was mentioned that it was an undergrad thesis. Natalie still refused, claiming [...]

(cont) that someone might want to take a look at the data and also that she had already told a lot of people about it. In the meantime, Natalie placed plants in the audience that asked her about her thesis during question time, so she had a chance to say it at the conference.


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How to show mathematical proficiency?
I am computer science graduate from India. My mathematical background in under-graduate was two semesters of multi-variable calculus. I worked as a researcher in a Data Mining firm where I worked on Algorithmic trading. During my Job, I, on the side, learned Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Abstract Algebra and Topology and little of Advanced Number Theory.
I am planning to apply for Phd in Economics. While applying for universities, in the application instructions the universities ask for mathematical proficiency in Linear Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, etc., using the courses I have taken in my under-graduation.
As my under-graduate degree never had such courses, I am stuck. Is there any way to show mathematical proficiency like online courses in Coursera/edX?
I have not applied for masters as all universities take under-graduates directly into PhD programs provided they show mathematical proficiency and have decent GRE score, among other things.
Please provide me a way to show the universities that I am mathematical proficient as I have aced every other criteria required by the universities.
Are there any recognized standard tests that I can take to show my proficiency?
Edit: The universities I have contacted have categorically stated that GRE Math Subject test is not preferred.

It sounds like you have some non-trivial job experience, meaning that you're probably not a traditional student and some of the traditional student rules will not apply to you. Get in contact with the graduate admissions director at your desired departments directly and explain that you have acquired these skills through your work experience, and you don't have undergraduate course credit. They will definitely have some policy stating what your options are in this case.

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What to do with someone that cheated their way through university and a PhD program?
A person I know cheated through most of their science classes while an undergrad.  They literally had someone else take the exams, write reports, and do most of the homework.  They then took their stellar GPA and not so stellar GRE score and got admitted to a not so great PhD program.
A new significant other at grad school wrote a lot of their papers.  This person ingratiated themselves with the head of the department – they are a schmooze king.  They gained favor by doing physical work that very few of the other grad students would do. Their doctoral thesis was weak and the defense round wasn't difficult.  They were awarded their PhD.  Mind you, they still can't explain to me nearly anything about basic chemistry,  organic chemistry or biochemistry concepts.  I'm talking like sn1, sn2, benzene rings, buffers, etc...
This person now has a job with a pharmaceutical company doing anything but real science.  They're basically a pharmaceutical rep out selling drugs to various physicians in a territory.
Do I tell their employer?  Do I tell the university?  Do I let it go?  I have no way to prove anything.  I'm sure none of those people that took the tests in their place will come forward and tell the truth.  This person has gotten away with fraud.

Answers in comments and general life advice has been moved to chat. Please read this FAQ before posting another comment.

Relax. His cheating has earned him nothing except a worthless piece of paper. He knows he doesn't have the skills to do scientific research, and most likely his employer has worked it out too.
All he's done is waste a number of years when he could have been climbing the corporate sales ladder. Someone with those smoozing skills and lack of ethics could have started as a commission-based shop assistant, moved to used cars or real-estate and then a big corporate sales department, or even politics. He'd be a lot richer and more senior if he'd concentrated on the things he was good at.
I wouldn't even worry about his clients. No one expects a salesman to be particularly knowledgeable in their field (or they'd be in research or operations rather than sales) or to be particularly honest.
Be happy that he's found a job that suits him, and for all the research scientists who don't have to work with him.

You are right. But it is problematic in several other ways. It decourages other students and erodes the value of the degrees mentioned. It is problematic for those on the pulling end of PhD degrees if real skilled students start to hop off their studies because they see that cheaters get through. If they aren't going for a postdoc any longer, then how are we going to manage to attract them to the right positions we have planned for them? Postdoc is often a really great stage of knowledge and competence for "drafting" talent.

@mathreadler That's a hypothetical situation.  Has any PhD gave up because they heard of a random dude that cheated through it?  And then ultimately became a salesperson with a PhD?  If I heard of a pharmaceutical sales person with a Chemistry PhD, and he couldn't talk science out of a wet paper bag, it is unlikely I would write off ALL PhD students, nor would that discourage anyone.

@Nelson I know several who have. Quite skilled too.

He literally had someone else take the exams for him

If you wanted to speak out, that was really the right time, not so many years later when damage is done and every accusation is virtually unprovable.

His doctoral thesis was weak and the defense round wasn't difficult.

There are many weak PhD theses around, and it's up to the universities and to the defense committees to decide which level of weakness is acceptable before rejecting a candidate (gosh, if we were to object to any "weak" degree...).

Do I tell his employer? Do I tell the university? Do I let it go?

You let it go because, as you said, you've nothing to prove your accusations (and the university would have no interest in undertaking an investigation after such a long time without any evidence to start with). And he is now in industry, and it's up to his employer to decide whether to promote or demote him according to his work performance and to decide whether the PhD title is just a vacuous document in his hands.
Different is the case where, for instance, you can prove that a student cheated by plagiarising other works. Here, there is evidence that can be used to revoke a degree, as it happened in some cases.

That's just it.  He is schmoozing his way up the ladder.  He just got promoted to a senior level position.  We don't work together so it's not like that's the angle I'm taking.  I'm related to this person. I thought for sure he would have been found out by now but he keeps moving around enough that no one figures it out.

@JefferyThomas Time to stop being jelly and focusing on him and start focusing on you.  Schmoozing one's way up the ladder has been standard business procedure since the beginning of corporate ladders.  Socializing is a legitimate skill that has legitimate uses, including getting yourself better jobs.  Unless you have something actionable and provable right now, you've missed the train on holding him to account on your allegations. That's your failure, not his, and what his problems and failures are are not your problem or responsibility.

Oh, man!  If anyone asked me about my defense, I'd say it was a fiasco, especially the questions Dr. Li asked.  Um, you may call me Doctor Brown, by the way.

@Jeffery Thomas: Doesn't work that way.  Heck, give him a couple of decades, and he could be President :-(

@jamesqf At least if he becomes president OP may get their 5 minutes of fame on a talk show during the election campaign, relating their memories of grad school (and then be sued).

@zibadawatimmy Socialising is an even more important skill, if your job is selling stuff to people -  he might acutally be good as his job. And not the first sales rep  who has not the slightest idea about what he's selling

At some point people don't care as long as this guy knows how to benefit others with what he is doing.  It seems like he isn't doing anything, but he's doing enough for someone to, not only hire him, but now promote him.  Of course there is a sense on injustice that he was not promoted due to his scientific achievements, but, to be honest, this is not uncommon at all.  Steve Jobs was not famous for his engineering skill.  Bill Gates isn't either!

You don't get promoted up a corporate ladder from what you did in college.  That's just silly.  You get promoted up the corporate ladder from what you're doing now - how you perform in your job, how you're interacting with higher-ups, etc.  The idea that a PhD is what elevated him to Senior Leadership is preposterous.  You could make the case that he shouldn't have gotten his original job out of college... but he didn't get promoted over and over again due to a PhD.

@JefferyThomas It's only sad that people here make you their target and find everything else natural. It speaks tons as to whether you should listen to their advice.

@Helen No one is targeting the OP, but sometime people need reality checks. If you have better advice, you're free to post your answer.

You should stop beating the horse, because it is dead now. You had a chance but you lost it when you were in school and when something could have done about it. Right now, I believe you don't have any option other than letting it go. I can imagine your frustation in seeing him moving up the ladder (probably higher than you). If you didn't say anything when it actually could have changed anything, you should make peace with it now.
Even if you tell his employer now, what proof do you have to prove your allegation? University probably won't have any interest in pursuing this now. Honestly speaking, I sense jealousy in your post that he is doing good after all this. What you call "schmooze king", is actually a desirable skill in industry. More connections you can make, better are your chances to move up the ladder faster. So I would say, stop being obsessive with his success (with fraud or otherwise), and focus on your career.

+1. The guy is in a sales job. That sounds like a perfect match for his talent. The fact that he was able to sell his weak-ish PhD indeed is a positive.

-1. I don't sense jealousy in the OP. I sense defence of schmooze kings in you.

What is it that makes you think I am defending him? I simply stated the fact about a skill that is known and desirable in industry.

I agree with others generally regarding your specific question about telling the school(s). You missed your chance to really stop him when you should have, at least if you cared about him not getting undeserved degrees.
However I strongly disagree with some of these "let it go" answers, at least in terms of their lack of concern. An unqualified chemist who doesn't know the fundamentals (that their resume claims they know) can literally kill people. Stories abound of such idiots in chemistry-related industries. As for the answer extolling "hard work". A person who worked hard to be a fraud sounds like a more dangerous type of fraud to me.
A pharmaceutical rep shouldn't be in a position to do any damage, if everyone else does their job properly. But with those credentials he is especially dangerous as people might be more trusting of a phd's claims. And let's not forget this is a guy who doesn't care about silly things like "rules" or doing things the right way.
Your concern needs to be about the damage he can do now. And the people who would care about that are his employer. However this is beyond the scope of this forum and I really don't have an answer how to address that. It is much more specific and legal question to your situation. Generally, others are probably right that there's not much you can do at this point from afar.

Yes, incompetent chemists working in healthcare is scary -- OP should have stopped this back when they had the chance. But now OP has no way to prove these allegations, so they have no choice but to let it go.

@cag51 fair point. But what I meant was this is not really for a bunch of academics to advise about. I'll edit a bit to clarify this.

Hmm, I still don't think it's fair to say that the other answers demonstrate a "lack of concern." We are all academics, and many of us have taught the types of classes that this guy cheated his way through. Many of us would love to punch this guy! At least if the facts are as OP says. But concerned or not, there is nothing to be done here -- no evidence.

@cag51 If the dude is really incompetent in his job, then there is a chance that his employer notices it and doesn't need any evidence of his earlier wrongdoings. And there might be a legal way to help the employer notice it, no evidence needed.

@JiK Depending on jurisdiction and the details of the circumstances, "helping an employer notice" incompetence when you don't have evidence and were not personally harmed by the incompetence can be called "defamation" and possibly "tortious interference with a contractual relationship"....

@TimothyAWiseman It can also be called "customer feedback" in some situations. That's why I said there might be a legal way.

@JiK It depends. "Customer feedback" that directly targets a named individual, implies they are incompetent, but is neither backed up by direct harm to the customer nor actual evidence can be "defamation" and "tortious interference". I just handled the defense for a similar case.

@TimothyAWiseman So are you saying there is absolutely no legal way ever to make an employer think about a particular employee's qualifications without concrete evidence?

@JiK Without evidence it could count as defamation or slander. Now I am no lawyer, but as far as I know it can be a criminal act to talk shit about people without proof.

@JiK I am saying that, depending on the jurisdiction, it is legally risky to provide negative statements to someone's employer without a proper basis and claim of right to do so. Beyond that, the only legal advice I will give in a forum like this is to consult a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction. But I will go so far as to recommend having that consultation before you provide negative information about a specific employee to someone's employer.

@mathreadler in Nevada it is technically possible for libel to be criminal under NRS 200.510 et seq., but the threshold for that is very high. The threshold for a civil claim for defamation is much lower. The situation also varies by jurisdiction. This is not legal advice and anyone who needs to actually rely on an analysis regarding defamation should consult a qualified attorney in the relevant jurisdiction.

@TimothyAWiseman I never suggested that anyone should provide negative information about a specific employee. I suggested that it may be possible to influence an employer so that they will care more about the competence of (some of) their employees (including the person in question).

@TimothyAWiseman  Wait... you "just handled the defense for a similar case"?  Your profile says you're a SQL DBA that does programming.

@Kevin maybe just "helped" evidence database a bit on the way?

Finally, somebody who doesn't say let it go in a half-insulting way.

@Kevin I hadn't updated the profile in several years. I'm an attorney in Nevada who handles business law and writes academically about the first amendment and intellectual property.

I have no way to prove anything.

Then it is unclear to me why you are asking years after you could have done something,
like tipping off people who would be involved in his defense.

He has gotten away with fraud.

A lot of people do.
A friend of mine is a laughing stock within his family because it took him years longer to finish his degree than his cousin who did it in four years (plus summer school).
Except that the cousin didn't finish in 4 years, in fact he didn't even finish.
Their university allows people to "walk" in May if they can graduate using summer school.
He registered for the summer school courses, invited his family to see him walk, walked (with them watching), dropped the courses, and got his parents money back.
He doesn't have the degree like your relative does, but since everyone in his family thinks he does it is kind'a the same thing.
Let it go.

I have no way to prove anything.  I'm sure none of those guys that took his tests for him will come forward and tell the truth.  He has gotten away with fraud.

If you have no evidence of wrongdoing then, even if you decided to do something, there is really not much you could legitimately do.  Allegations of the type you are making are serious, and would require evidence.  If you are confident that you would not be able to obtain corroborating evidence of your assertions, then there is really no reasonable prospect of any successful action against this person.  So yes, in the absence of any evidence of the asserted wrongdoing, he has gotten away with it.
As to the possibility of telling his employer, if you make adverse allegations in this way, and they cause this person employment damage, this could potentially give rise to a legal action against you for defamation.  There is a "defence of truth" in such actions, but this requires to person making allegations to prove these on the balance of probabilities.  If you are considering doing this you should first seek legal advice.

If he was capable of getting both a masters and a PhD by ingratiating himself, going the extra mile and convincing others of the quality his not so good work - being a sales rep at a pharmaceutical firm sounds like just where he should be. He took his meager skills far, well done to him. Stop being a child, mind your own performance, mind your own path. Where do YOU want to go?

I mean there is nothing actionable you have now, but this dude clearly doesn't care about rules, and I'm sure he cheats in some capacity again, so you catch him in his most recent round of cheating (seems like a lot of work) or you just reveal his basic lack of chem knowledge somehow (also seems like a lot of work).

I think an important point is clearly missing in the other answers:
If the goal of a PhD is to make science going forward, he reached the goal ! Perhaps in a non standard way and, in my opinion, by far not the easiest way. Nevertheless research went (a bit) forward thanks to his ability of making other people work for him.
So, not only you should let it go, but I think you should also respect the fact that he could "cheat" a whole study plus PhD which sounds like an almost impossible task for me.
Maybe you should suggest him to do a degree in management. Sounds like it would really fit him.

@Anton thanks for the update

He went to an MBA program after this. His GMAT score was too low to be considered.  Then they found out that he had a PhD so they said, and I'm not kidding, "You have a PhD so you're probably smart enough to get through our program" then admitted him.

First, at this point you could only tell his employers. Imho this would be commendable. But I'm bitterly afraid that pharma companies do not expect anything good in terms of morality from their reps, so you'll probably only help in promoting him.

Second, please do not listen to the people here who try to diminish you. Your question is of value and those people are of questionable use to science, to put it earnestly. Making you their target instead of the described person is just ... well, I'd better stop my tirade here.

If the most probable out come of telling the employers is him being promoted, then how is telling the employers commendable?

@sgf the second part (getting promoted) is what I'm afraid would happen, but I'm not sure about it. View it as irony, albeit it's a very probable outcome...

By the way I regret looking at this question and answers again ... I have rarely come against such a bunch of "academics" "in the know" who give so offensive advice to a person who is on the right side. Telling someone who is right that he is childish instead is deplorable. Telling someone that there's nothing they can do and asking him to stop caring is totally different. OP, even a youtube comments section might have been more useful to you than this bunch.


text:
I need to gauge my chances of landing a postdoc - should I send an e-mail to the contact on the job advertisement?
I'm a recent PhD graduate looking to work in academia. I have applied for an assistant position (let's call it position A) that I think I have good chances of getting, that starts really soon. However, there is a postdoc position advertised (let's call it position B) in a different institution, which I think would be more beneficial to my career, and which starts a few months later. Trouble is, if I apply for position B now I won't hear back from them until after position A has already started. Also, position B seems to be far less certain.
So I need to gauge the relative risk involved in refusing position A if I get an offer. I was thinking of emailing the contact for position B beforehand, saying something like "I have such-and-such qualifications, do I stand a chance?" but then again I don't want to put them on the spot or make a bad impression. I mean, I know that they can't guarantee I'll get position B, and I don't expect that, but there's the danger that they may interpret my e-mail in this way. I'd like to explain to them that there is another position that I have very good chances of getting, so I need to calculate the risk (again, I know that I may end up not getting position B anyway, I just want to know if getting it is a serious possibility). Should I send such an e-mail, and if so, how should I word it so that it is received well?
I should also mention that I have personally met the contact in question and discussed my work with them in the past, and they will remember me in that respect. At the very least, I'd like to not ruin this relationship.
I really don't know what the right thing is, and I hope you'll understand my anxiety. Any advice will be appreciated... thanks!

You seem to answer the question yourself that there would be no problem of interpretation. It is just an inquiry. However, you are not likely to learn very much absent a formal application giving the new institution to compare your credentials with those of others. But I see no particular reason not to ask.
However, there are other avenues you might want to consider, depending on how flexible institution "A" is. You haven't been offered anything there, nor certainly accepted it, so you are free to apply to the other place. If you then hear encouraging words you can try to explore at least a delay with "A", informing them that you are undecided about another offer or opportunity. There is risk in that, of course, but if you don't apply for the second position you don't have any chance at all.

Thanks, I think you're right in general, except in my case a delay is not an option as there are teaching duties involved. But I think I'll take your main message that I should apply anyway.

I understand your quandary but I question the validity of the hypothetical reactions you anticipate.  My personal life paradigm is to move forward and make the most of wherever I land; in other words go with your personal desires without concern of the consequences since this is what real life is all about.  Very little of life can be scripted for our personal desires; this what makes a person resilient, which by definition is the ability to adapt to and conquer any and every situation that comes your way.  Another way of viewing the potential quandary you describe is to apply the mantra: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."


text:
Cover letter for job application to someone I have personally met
I intend to apply for a postdoc position. The contact mentioned in the job advertisement, to whom I should address the cover letter, is someone I have personally met and talked to on a first-name basis (let's call him Dr John Doe). Therefore the natural form of address, for example in an e-mail, would be "Dear John". However, the cover letter for an job application is a formal document, so perhaps I should instead address him as "Dear Dr John Doe" or "Dear Dr Doe"? Thanks in advance!

I would lean toward the formal here, though it would be fine to remind the recipient of your past association, assuming it is professional and not personal. I doubt, however, that it is hugely important in most cases. But I also expect that you would already know if one or the other were greatly to be preferred.
In follow up contact you might change that, depending on the response to your initial inquiry. If he replies back as John, then John it is. But your letter will be seen by several others, as noted by user Anyon in comments.

I didn't see the comment you refer to, but I'll take your advice. Thanks!

Apparently the writer removed it.

@user447648 I was unhappy with how it came off, so I removed it. The point I wanted to make was that, since it's likely to be read by others, erring on the side of formality is probably better than erring on the side of informality. That said, "Dear John" is probably fine - it isn't exactly an unprofessional greeting.


text:
Change of interest for PhD after BA & MA? Does it look 'academically' immature?
So I have studied philosophy : BA, MA (UK). Both my BA & MA dissertations are on 18th & 19th century German Philosophy. Nothing political. During my MA, however, I noticed that I would much prefer to continue with political philosophy (PhD). I attended a great seminar with a superb professor that made me realise this.
However, I feel kind of stuck now. I am worried it will look very unstable and immature to say that after the MA, I now want to not do anything with German Philosophy at all anymore.
Should I maybe aim to do a second MA (or 1 year MPhil in the UK) and then focus more on philosophy? Or is this silly? I only had one class in political philosophy during my MA, which I got a A+ for, but apart from that not much.
I would also like to contact that professor and possibly discuss working with him, but I don't yet have a good idea for a topic, I am worried I will sound super undecided with this story, and I am also reluctant to tell him that his seminar inspired me, because it can easily sound super cheesy.
Any advice?
PS: I am only considering applying to PhDs in the UK. This makes a difference I guess, because in the US it's not that important to not know what exactly one wants to tackle when applying for a PhD, whereas in the UK PhDs are 3-4 years and people expect you to know your topic.

There is nothing wrong with being academically immature when you start your PhD. PhDs are like an early step in becoming a mature researcher.

Isn't it a thing like "German political philosophy"? Why does "political philosophy" imply "not do anything with German Philosophy anymore"?

@Distic Good point! You're right, it does not imply that at all. However, what I personally focused on when I did German Philosophy was entirely non-political (and it's fairly obvious from both my BA & MA dissertations as well as the classes I took). And it would be quite a stretch to try to find something political in that, I think.

@J. Miller: In your dissertations, you probably discussed the ideas of some authors. When you will look at what they have written on politics, and the links will become obvious. Anyway you should not worry.

Agree with @LyndonWhite in that, yes, this does evidence immaturity of a sort, but that that's not necessarily a bad thing.

There's nothing immature about changing research themes from MA to PhD. It's very common especially in philosophy (philosophy PhD myself).
That being said, there's something ill-advised in writing I now want to not do anything with German Philosophy at all anymore.
Instead, It's best to explain your new found interest and talk positively about it and the sort of interesting research you want to do on that. Worded another way, having good reasons for wanting to focus on political philosophy will make you sound mature.
Similarly, what's wrong with telling someone that you are interested in pursuing research lines similar to the ones they do ... when you are interested in pursuing research lines similar to the ones they do. Instead, it's precisely what you should do and be able to do at the PhD-level (note you don't need to make it seem like fawning over the person if you focus on the idea).
The one thing that's slightly troubling is what I mentioned above. Unless political philosophy is being construed very narrowly, there's quite a bit of German philosophy that interacts with it... (the point of this paragraph isn't to argue with your new-found interest -- it's to highlight that mentioning your old interest negatively inspires just this sort of reaction and focuses things on what shouldn't focus on).

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Should a professor write a LOR if he does not remember the student but remembers that the essay was excellent?
Should a professor write a Letter of Recommendation if he does not remember the student but does remember that the essay the student submitted was excellent?

Doesn't that count as remembering?

It's not clear if the question is being asked from the standpoint of a student requesting an LOR or from that of an instructor who's received a request.
If the question is from a student, the answer is, there is no "should".  An instructor is free to decide whether or not to write an LOR based on whatever reasons they like.  They are under no obligation to write an LOR just because they remember the student or a particular submission.  In practical terms, most instructors will decline if they don't think they can write an LOR that will be helpful to the student, either because they don't know the student or their work well enough or because they just weren't that good.  Obviously, there's no point to writing a poor reference so most instructors just won't do it, no matter how much a student might think they "should".
If the question is from an instructor, the answer is, there is still no "should".  You are free to decide on your own whether you think that one submission plus whatever other evidence you have is enough to support a helpful LOR.  You might, e.g., review the student's grades in your class and their other submissions, e.g., if they were captured in Canvas or a similar online system, you can ask the student to provide a copy of their transcript and an essay on their objectives and you can ask to meet with them to help you decide whether and what to write.  If you teach at an institution with large lecture classes (e.g., I have 250 students in one of mine), it's inevitable that you won't get to know even some of your best students but you may still be able to review their work, describe what they did and what that means for their potential, in which case it may be perfectly appropriate to write the LOR.


text:
Writing style in academic English
[comments from my supervisor]

You still have a tendency to use phrases such as "All in all", and "To
  this end". Not a serious problem of course, but be aware that the
  editors/reviewers for some scientific journals will not accept such
  wording - they will see it as a waste of words (the phrases have
  little real meaning, after all) and will encourage a more concise form
  of writing. You also continue to split infinitives (e.g. "To
  effectively curtail"), again not a serious problem, but not "good"
  formal English if that is what you are aiming for.

Above are some comments from my supervisor on my writing styles. So how should I improve from here, for instance, if not saying 'all in all', 'to this end', what connecting words should I use. And, if not starting a sentence with infinitives, how should I restructure my sentences.
[the referred sentence that has a bad style]

To effectively curtail pollution from all sources requires attention
  paid to the long-overlooked industrial pollution. To this end, this
  PhD research emphasises the need to ...

This is not something you need to worry about, but as someone used to writing mathematics, when I read something like your last sentence --- fairly standard fare in many fields, which is why I say what follows is not a concern for you --- I wonder why we want to include all sources in the conclusion (why not just industrial pollution), and on what basis do we know attention is actually required, and what about not-long-overlooked industrial pollution (this would also seem to be important), . . .

We should all aspire to fearlessly split infinitives in academic and other writing: split infinitives aren't improper English grammar. They aren't even less formal English grammar.

I suspect you do this often.  You can get away with it once in a while, but repeated use makes your language seem "wordy".

Raymond Chandler: "By the way, would you convey my compliments to the purist who reads your proofs and tell him or her that I write in a sort of broken-down patois which is something like the way a Swiss-waiter talks, and that when I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will remain split, and when I interrupt the velvety smoothness of my more or less literate syntax with a few sudden words of barroom vernacular, this is done with the eyes wide open and the mind relaxed and attentive. The method may not be perfect, but it is all I have." (Useful for zealous reviewers.)

Your supervisor's first objection is against empty "connecting words", as you call them. Since they are empty, you may as well drop them:

To effectively curtail pollution from all sources requires attention paid to the long-overlooked industrial pollution. [To this end T]his PhD research emphasises the need to...

Your argument, rather than some connecting words, should build the connection:

To effectively curtail pollution from all sources requires attention paid to the long-overlooked industrial pollution. This PhD research emphasises the important role of industrial pollution in most immissions today [or whatever your argument is].

The second objection is not against starting sentences with an infinitive, but against splitting infinitives. I don't know whether split infinitives are really bad style or just a matter of taste. Since some of your readers believe the former, I would err on the side of caution. From Wikipedia:

The opening sequence of the Star Trek television series contains a well-known example, where William Shatner says "to boldly go where no man has gone before"; the adverb boldly is said to split the infinitive to go.
  [...]
  The construction is to some extent still the subject of disagreement, but modern English usage guides have dropped the objection to it.

Here are my additional two cents: Avoid the passive voice. Who does the "requiring" in your first sentence? Who must pay attention?

To curtail pollution from all sources, researchers and policy makers must pay more attention to the long-overlooked industrial pollution. This PhD research emphasises the important role of industrial pollution in most immissions today.

In case you're wondering: https://enviraiot.com/immssion-vs-emission-what-are-their-differences/

There's nothing wrong with split infinitives and there never has been. It's the worst kind of prescriptivist grammar nonsense. Unfortunately, it used to be taught as "wrong" in school and many supervisors are from that era. Personally, I'd ignore this advice unless it actually gets picked up on in submission.

@JackAidley Surely if you're from a descriptive grammatical school and enough people say it's wrong, then it's wrong?

@origimbo That people think or say something is wrong is not what makes it wrong to a descriptivist. We would need evidence that there is a speech community which 1. never produces split infinitives, 2. has greater difficulty understanding speech which uses them. I doubt you'd even find a handful of individuals which meet that criteria.

All in all, your writing is fine.
Your writing is fine.
I've read your post, and to this end it makes sense.
I've read your post, and it makes sense.
There are lots of words in English that mean very little. Your advisor suggests dropping them - I think they are right.
It may seem strange in your head, but often following one direct sentence with another is the best policy - these types of connectors don't really connect anything. Write the simpler version and then read it to yourself: it probably conveys the same info and is best in shorter form.

All in all it's nicely recusive to this end! You have my upvote.

Sorry, your third sentence is just plain wrong.  Specifically, a) to what end?  The first part needs to specify an objective. b) How does the post making sense help achieve that objective.   The OP's example of "To this end" in contrast was correct (but the sentence didn't really benefit from it).

@MartinBonnersupportsMonica yeah you're right. Feel free to rewrite it, just trying to make a point they aren't needed and didn't spend much time crafting a reasonable example.

If you never have any filler/connecting words it's likely to feel like very dry reading. These phrases are natural parts of language and completely banning them could hurt readability, as sentence flows into sentence never giving your brain a rest. Of course if you're up against a word limit then they're the first things to take out...

To effectively curtail pollution from all sources requires attention paid to the long-overlooked industrial pollution. To this end, this PhD research emphasises the need to ...

Try to eliminate words that aren't necessary, e.g.,
To curtail pollution requires attention to industrial pollution. This PhD research...
Now rewrite, e.g.,
Curtailing pollution necessitates addressing the industrial sector. This PhD research...
or
This PhD research ..., which reduces pollution in the industrial sector.


text:
Is it acceptable to have a figure caption running to the next page?
I have a large figure with a long caption of 300 words, and they really don't fit into one A4 page. Can I enlarge the figure to fit in the first page and let the caption run to the next page?

Does the caption really need to be that long, or could that information be in the text that references the figure?

Let the copy editor deal with this.  That is, after all, their job.

Some copy editors will do this job very well, but I'm afraid others will make the situation worse than it already is.

Fixing it yourself will not prevent the copyeditor from making it worse later.  This is a good answer, but would benefit from adding "Yes, it is acceptable."

This isn't something solved by the copyeditor, but rather the typesetter.

And, if it is a thesis and there is no typesetter, then my answer would be "yes that's perfectly fine; don't worry further about these details and focus on the content".

300 words will be about 30-50% of the page. Such a large chunk of text seems substantial, so it's better to place it in the body of the paper.
In such situations, in the caption I usually just state what's in the figure, followed by "see text for details". And then I don't care if the text spills to another page.

+1 I think this is the better answer, especially since the question is tagged with "thesis" (as opposed to journal article).

No.  Don't break a caption over the pages.
I am a fan of very explanatory figure captions.  One to two sentences is fine.  Figure captions are THE MOST READ parts of the text of a paper.  Pay special attention to them.
But 300 words is WAY too much.  I would keep it under 25 normally and never over 150 (which is a normal, not over-long, paragraph).  You need to move some of that to the text.
But please don't say "see text" (this is too "duh").  Just have a flowing argument that the figure fits into.  Oh...and still try to find a way to make the figure relatively self contained to view and read caption.  (Challenge yourself.)
Also consider to have a couple (or more) different figures if you are doing too much in one figure, such that it requires so much explanation.
P.s. I am the normal guest. Cue Highlander...

This is not that unusual a situation. One sometimes sees a full-page figure, with the (full) caption on the facing page. I suspect this is less common than it used to be: back in the days where figures went on expensive 'colour plates', there was an incentive to maximise the area occupied by figure rather than text. I think it is less common to see the caption split across two pages (though this is sometimes done for footnotes, e.g. in humanities books).
As others have said, it is worth considering if you can reduce the length of the caption or reorganise the figure itself. However, it is not critical to do so.

You can: Reduce the size of the figure or caption, move part of the caption into the body, split the figure into two independent figures, include the figure inline, or something similar.
(I favor inclusion of the figure inline as opposed to the figure caption running to the next page.)


text:
how should I describe my status in job applications? I have just passed my PhD oral defence
I have passed my PhD viva voce and submitted my revised thesis. Currently, I am waiting for my degree to be conferred which will take one to two months. How should I describe/introduce my academic status in cover letters when applying for jobs?
I have learnt a phrase "degree pending", not sure if it suits my case?

Is the rest purely administrative or are there still judgements to be made? Is the degree assured?

degree assured, just waiting for the conferral

The answer by Buzz seems right. At my university, when the committee completed it's deliberations after the defense, we invited the candidate back into the room and addressed her as "Dr. Elizabeth" or the equivalent. Congratulations Dr. Elizabeth.

yes, same in my uni. :)

I would just write:  "Ph.D. completed, to be awarded [month, year]."

I  have learnt a phrase "degree pending", not sure if it suits my case?

I think that "completed" makes it clearer than "pending". The latter is a bit "fuzzier".


text:
Recommendation for creating a graphical timeline representation
Can anyone recommend a site / program / software for sketching and creating a graphical timeline representation. In need of it for a paper.

Well, you can do many things in Excel, even use conditional formatting to color rows or columns of cells according to calculations, which could form the basis of a timeline. Then other cells could pick up appropriate labels/text using index() with match() for example.

@Biolsaac sounds like something any generic drawing app and most word processors and presentation apps can do. Even MS Paint works. But I suppose this is off topic anyway. Try software recommendation stack exchange.

@henning--reinstateMonica I followed your suggestion and was able to make one. Thanks

A simple way is to use the SmartArt feature in various Microsoft Office programs (e.g. PowerPoint) to create a timeline. Google Slides can also be used (Insert -> Diagrams -> Timeline). See e.g. this guide for more details and inspiration. Alternatively, as henning states in a comment, you can just use a generic drawing app.
TeX solutions also exist, and have been described on other stacks. See e.g.

How to create a timeline with LaTeX?
How do I develop a complex time line?
How can you create a vertical timeline?


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Research outside academia without Ph.D
I had some Ph.D positions available to me after my undergraduation which I could not take owing to some personal reasons and instead chose to take an industrial job which basically is also research based. However, the environment is not heavily research based and the collaborative opportunities are less, with . The prospect of doing a Ph.D while being in the industry is also miniscule. I have published research in good journals during my undergraduation and while in job too, and deeply desire to publish more and enjoy the research process. However at times, I feel directionless and without guidance, I have to spend too much time going through relevant papers/books which at times lead to diversions which I realize at a later time. I have some questions which I would be grateful to, for the answers.
a) How should I increase collaborations in this scenario? I participate in conferences whenever I can get chance, however I feel I don't have the pre-requisite subject knowledge in depth which a Ph.D student would have. Thus I feel hesitant in communicating with researchers. For this, I try to study course books relevant to the topic.
b) How can one avoid and know diversions from the research topics in absence of someone to discuss with? What role does peer group play in a graduate school in such scenarios ?

What is your area of research?

I mainly work in complex systems in the Natural systems (Earth, Ecology etc) context. It is mainly theoretical work involving non equilibrium statistical mechanics, graph theory, non linear dynamics etc.

It seems you do need a lab for that.

I do not think that you'd be limited in publishing your research results or finding collaborations if you do not have a PhD. You pretty much need a PhD for the academic career path, basically if you want to become a professor some day.
The major issue is if you are able to support yourself doing what you do. And if you can allow yourself to do research, and to do the research you want to do, while working in the industry.
To give an example, Peter Montgomery published his multiplication long before he obtained his PhD, while he was working in the industry, as far as I understand his circumstances.

Thanks a lot for answering.However, I think a Ph.D should be important in contexts outside academia too. It does add a different perspective and innovation.

I know of a researcher in computer graphics who has won two awards from the Academy for his contribution to CGI. He just completed his PhD with my supervisor. He actually has a better profile than his supervisors combined. While doing his PhD he also was a secondary supervisor a few students.
In this day and age where things are going digital so fast, you have a large number of essential courses online. So you can learn at your pace. Unless you need a lab to do research, say involving wet work, I do not see why you cannot do research by yourself.
You say you attend conferences, this is the place where you look for collaborators. That is the main purpose of attending conferences. You get new ideas, you interact with people and you forge collaborations.
Why not talk to your undergraduate professors you already published with and continue collaborating. A large number of researchers do that.

Thanks a lot for the answer. I am already working with my undergraduate mentors and am continuing collaborating outside regular job.

In my experience, the only way that academic researchers will take you seriously is if you begin to answer some of their questions, build on their results, or take their research into a new and interesting direction. Eventually they will notice, and collaborations may be possible then. But I think first you must demonstrate that you understand their work by doing something with it.
Reading tons of books to build up knowledge is mostly a waste of time. Just find 5 or 10 papers that really interest you, and go from there.


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Self-plagiarism in Publication-based commentary PhD thesis?
I am writing a publication-based PhD thesis, and the thesis will not be publicly accessible once has been finished due to classified data included. The thesis is not the traditional sandwiched thesis, it is supposed to be a commentary on my own publications.
I will use three papers in my thesis, two have been published in journals and another one is still under review. I have obtained permission to reuse the content of the two published papers for my thesis. I have two questions:

Dose reuse mean that I can use exactly the same words? like I can copy and paste the content of the two published papers? or do I need to rephrase the content?
The third paper has not been published yet. If I use the data in my thesis, can I still publish it in a journal? if so, can I copy and paste the same content?

There are universities that allow 'staple' thesis, where, literally, the thesis consists of a stapled stack of journal reprints.

Ultimately this will depend on the regulations of your thesis-awarding institute, but I'm not aware of anywhere that objects to text from a paper that you wrote being reused in a thesis. I think this question is a duplicate of https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1897/can-i-reuse-part-of-a-paper-for-my-thesis and/or https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/49467/how-to-reuse-complete-paper-for-my-thesis

When compiling a dissertation, copying parts or entire sections from published papers is perfectly fine and standard behaviour.
If a section is (mostly) identical with a published paper, it should say so clearly at the start. If the paper is submitted, but not yet published, you could either just treat it as published, and cite the submitted version; or you could use the text in the dissertation without further comment, and then add a note to the article that it is based on Section X of the dissertation.

Since you have the publisher's permission to use the words of the original you can quote freely. But make sure that it is a quote and that you actually cite the original.
Simply reusing the words without quoting will confuse any future reader. You avoid self-plagiarism by quoting the work as you would any other. You avoid copyright infringement by getting permission as you have done. You can quote longer passages from the papers than would normally be the case due to not having copyright issues. Alternatively you can rephrase and cite if you like, but don't avoid the citation. That is what lets a reader connect, properly, to the original work as is necessary for future research.
As to the third paper might be a bit different. If your thesis is not published and that paper is based on what is in the thesis, rather than the other way round, then the third "paper" that forms a part of the theses is really just a draft of any future paper and so you would normally be free to use it as you like. But your advisor could give you the best interpretation of that. The only issue I see is that while you don't intend to publish the thesis, things might change in the future. If that is a concern, then you could quote and cite just as in the other papers, avoiding self-plagiarism. You currently hold copyright yourself so you have no issues with that. But you are probably about to give up copyright since it is under review. So quote and cite seems the better path.
One worry I have is your use of the term classified data. If the work was done for a client, they may have some claims to the data and what is done with it that you will have to deal with.

Classified theses are a thing. You just don't stumble across them very often! But there are accredited institutions that serve the armed forces (e.g. Air Force Institute of Technology) where a masters or PhD thesis may be an analysis of classified stuff.


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How do I cite a source from a another source?
Suppose I'm writing an article about topic X. During research I come across a related article in which the author has made statement Y and referenced publication Z. For one reason or another, I haven't read Z. Perhaps it is an expensive textbook or I'm just lazy. Can I in my article also make statement Y and reference Z, bypassing the middle author, or is that wrong?

Would you consider changing the title to be something other than "steeling"? Perhaps: "How do I citing a source from a another source?".

Under some circumstances, citing a source inside another source is acceptable. For example, perhaps the original source is not in a language you can read or not readily available. This page describes the APA method for citing using this style. Here is an example that demonstrates how to do this.

For example, if Allport's work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read Allport's work, list the Nicholson reference in the reference list. In the text, use the following citation:
Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003).

I would add the caveat one should always try to view the original document whenever possible. I knew a professor in grad school who was added to a manuscript late in the publication process and his name did not appear in the yearly abstract book, but was only included as an author on the original article. He could tell who did not read his article, but only read the abstract book or cited other people because he was not listed as a coauthor in the work cited. For perspective, I was told this story in 2007 and the article was likely published in the 1980s.
This example was possible because prior to online journals and widespread use of search engines, annual abstract and indexes were published (for this professor's field, the practice continued until the mid-to-late 1990s). As noted in a comment, this would be more difficult with the advent of Google Scholar and other online search tools and their corresponding reference manager tools.

"a professor [who's] name did not appear in the yearly abstract book but was on the original article...could tell who did not read his article, but only read the abstract book...," he might have thought he could tell (or you might have), but he (or you) couldn't, because someone may read the text and copy-and-pasted the citation (e.g., from Google Scholar) without checking that the citation was correct.

@user2768 No. This was before online databases were regularly used. He never gave dates, but this was before Google Scholar. My guess was that the article was published in the 1970s and he could tell through the 1990s. I'll add text to clarify this.

It is wrong as you state it. If you found Y in a publication and want to use it, you need to cite Y.
Whether you cite Z or not is another issue. It is a mistake, and likely wrong, to cite Z directly as if you know what it's complete statement and context is when you haven't actually read it. Perhaps, if you read Z you will find that it doesn't say what you think it "ought" to say based on your reading of Y. If you want to cite something, you should be directly familiar with it, just for your own safety.
If you cite something it is so that your readers can get context for what you say. Therefore, you should know that context yourself. Lazy isn't absolving, and money is just money.

Whether or not you should cite Y I think depends on what the thing you're citing is. If it is the main topic of that work and they came up with it or developed it, you should cite them. If they just mentioned it in passing, maybe in their introduction, I would cite Z as they are the originator of the information you want to quote, Y is just how you found the citation of that information.
Now to tackle the elephant in the room: citing without reading! Let's be honest, we all do it. I'm not saying you should take what is in Y as gospel and cite Z without any other knowledge of it, but if the information is well known in your field and everyone regularly says it and cites Z, and you are in a hurry, I'm sure people do just cite Z.
I'm not saying you should, but it happens.
I would say that you should probably read all those "often cited" background papers in your area at some point, and read them critically. Just because everyone cites it and takes that knowledge as given, doesn't mean you shouldn't assess it carefully and draw your own conclusions. If you think everyone cites it wrong you could write a paper or letter correcting it and then get loads of citations yourself!


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Exclusion of my name as co author
As part of my thesis, i gave archaeological bones for isotopic analysis. While in the first version the woman in charge of the analysis included my name in the article as co author, in the final version, which has already been published, the director of the excavation excluded my name and put his name instead of it. The journal in which it has been published  is very important for my curriculum. What can i do? Should I try to contact the journal having as a proof my thesis or ask the co aurhors why I have bern excluded and ask the journal for a correction? One year has already passed, but I decided to do what is right for me.

Is providing bones something that, by itself, would normally result in coauthorship in your field?

I have recorded all the bones, identifying them etc etc, i gave the sample choosing the right bones. I think i have the right to be referred as co author. What has the ditector did? At least they could include my name too, as the woman in charge of the analysis did at first. The director of the excavation who permitted me to study the bones has died and the new director has not very good relationship with me. I think what he did is immoral.

I havent just provided the bones..i did a thesis on them..

I also gave archaeological information..

Should a librarian be included as an author as they provided material that supports a thesis... If you did the analysis then I would say yes, for certain, you should be an author, but if not, then perhaps you should just expect an acknowledgement..

Yes, the identification of the specific bones was my personal work. I am not just a librarian, i am a zooarchaelogist. They used my identifications in the article!

And as a proof i have my on line thesis!

This issue should have been addressed a year ago during the publication process and, really, the authors should have been confirmed prior to the paper being submitted for publication.

But this was never happened. I m going to write to the journal. Isn t it my right? As a phd student i thought i hadn t the right.

The journal is very important, with high impact factor, i really need it for my curriculum ...when i asked one year ago what i can do a professor told me..oh..these things happen!

So i m asking, if i address my question to the journal, are they going to correct this? I have as a proof my phd on line. Its a cambridge university press publication.

How can someone defend his rights? Is there any legal department in these journals?

If they have a legal dept then it won't be there for you - they won't arbitrate a fight / disagreement between external parties (they may only rescind publication until the mess is cleared up...). You should consult your supervisor, Academic Dean, then perhaps go external to a lawyer if the outcome does not satisfy you. If you go to a lawyer just consider your future in the university...

This post and its answers may provide other points to consider : https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/114170/72855

In a suggestion for the rest of us, it might be useful later to offer to (and in fact to do) write a chapter of the paper. In this case, if you did not only provide the bone, but also wrote a section on where it originates from and what species it might be, you did not only contribute to the research that formed the paper, but also to the writing. I would say, this makes the main author more aware of your contribution.

We don't know the specific situation of the paper or your thesis, but as a general rule, you should be an author if (i) you participated in the intellectual development of the research in question, and (ii) you participated in the work that needed to be done.
So, if the paper is about determining the isotopic structure and age analysis of a bone that you collected and for which you had previously done archaeological analyses (i.e., the paper and your study look at different things), then you probably do not deserve to be an author because you only provided a bone, but did not participate in the research as reported on in the paper.
On the other hand, if the paper does not only do some isotope analysis, but also describes the archaeological setting as an important part of the paper (i.e., your work; rather than just quote your previous work to provide a setting for the paper), then you should be an author on the paper.
In the end, we cannot tell you whether or not you should have been an author because we don't know what exactly the paper contains, and how that relates to your work.

Thank you for your answer, but i think that my name should have been referred as a co author, because i gave archaeological information and i identified all the bones used for this analysis. All relevant papers refer as co authors the zooarchaeologists participating in the identifications done. In addition, what is the contribution of the director of the excavation? None!

The inclusion of the director is an entirely separate matter. Leave that for a separate question. But read again what I wrote above: Did you give archaeological information and identify bones as part of this study, or was the information you gave just included as background information with appropriate reference to your thesis? There is a comment under your question in which the analogy of a librarian is given: Did the librarian give you a book, or did they provide important intellectual contributions to the paper. You never seem to answer this question.

The problem is if i can do anything now. One of my supervisors was surprised by what these authors did, but she told me not to make things more complicated, even if i deserved to be referred...

Yes i identified bones used in this study. This was my job. They knew the different species because i told them  what they are.

And its very disappointing when you are young and older academics and researchers or professors and directors with hundrends of papers exclude you (when you are doing your first steps) to have one more paper alone...

I understand that you are disappointed and frustrated. But I can't help you with whether you are right or wrong because you never seem to answer my questions (or just don't understand them): I realize that they know what those bones are because you told them, but you have never explained what part in the study knowledge of the bones played.

The analogy with the librarian still holds: If you go to the library, ask for a book on X, and the librarian finds you a book on X, should the librarian be on the paper? The answer is no if X is a standard topic, say "medieval history at the time of Shakespeare". But the answer is yes if X is "a manuscript from medieval times that talks about the interaction of weather and water quality" -- finding such a manuscript is research itself.

Well, the fact that i did the identifications is something important, i havent just given the bones....i have understood what you have said..i recorded thousanfs of bones snd i daid using my knoeledge and studies what species tthey are...this is research...


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Advisor wants me to come up with a research project. I came up with a project, but it's not with him
I'm in the second half of my PhD, and my advisor wants me to come up with an original research project.  I also have a mentor (who is not a professor at my university) who has also been telling me to come up with an original research project.
I came up with a project, but it was for my mentor, and not my advisor.  I'm not sure if my advisor would want to work on the project with us, and if he did it would be weird because he wouldn't be the supervisor.
What should I do?  I feel like it would be awkward to talk to him about  this.

It is not clear: 1) what is the role of your mentor in your dissertation process; 2) what is the professional relationship, if any, between your advisor and your mentor - do they know each other? do they have a history of collaboration? is it positive or negative? Clarifying all these aspects might generate more useful feedback.

@AleksandrBlekh My mentor and I have no formal relationship with each other (anymore).  He has met my advisor before but I get the feeling my advisor doesn't think very highly of my mentor's main area of research.  I've also invited my advisor to work on other projects with me and my mentor, and he politely declined.

Maybe your advisor has a good reason for not thinking highly of this area of research, ask him what the original project should be about (which area of research).

@user54928: In that case, having a formal dissertation committee relationship with your advisor, if possible, I would reconsider your decision to collaborate with your mentor, at least, for the duration of the dissertation. Also, there is a significant risk of loosing focus on your primary (dissertation) research topic - maintaining focus on the main topic is a challenging enough task.

The best answer depends on the field, research project, time to complete and to write papers for this field, productivity in this area of research, availability and willingness of the supervisor,etc. If possible, I would go towards two directions, one with the supervisor, and one with the mentor, but in this way you can lose focus. So the best course of action would be to discuss all these questions with your supervisor.

Does your mentor play a part in you achieving your PhD?

The best solution would be to meet up with your advisor and discuss regarding this matter.
As your advisor instructed to find a research project, you did. The project is relevant to your mentor but you are unsure whether your advisor would be interested in the project.
This is a legitimate doubt that only your advisor can clarify.