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Pronouns of professors in Statement of Purpose
In recent years, we have seen the emergence of numerous pronouns beyond the regular he/him and she/her, such as they/them, Xe/xem, Ver/vir, and many more. However, the issue arises when browsing individual professors' websites, as I have never come across any professor explicitly stating their preferred pronouns. In such cases, I assumed they prefer the regular he/him and she/her pronouns. Now, while composing my Statement of Purpose (SOP), I am faced with the dilemma of whether to use assumed pronouns, taking the risk, or to simply avoid pronouns altogether by repeatedly using their names (potentially including their last names, which is another controversial issue). In short, is using his or her pronouns to professors wrong or disrespectful in SOP?
For example, I am confused between the following two:
"Dr. John Doe........................... His work on......"
"Dr. John Doe........................... Dr. Doe's work on......"

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What I have learned from conversations with people who use less common pronouns (typically they/them) is that there is no expectation for perfection or magical divination of pronouns. There's no penalty for making a mistake, only a hope that you'll do your best when made aware or corrected and not argue or dispute.
Occasionally, you may hear that it is not acceptable to make any mistakes, that you must avoid being tricked into using the wrong pronoun and revealing yourself to be bigoted and deserving of permanent shame and punishment. In my experience, this message does not come from people who are actually interested in respecting people's pronouns. Rather, it comes from people who want you to believe that describing people as they want to be described puts an impossible burden on other people, or who want you to think that a trans or nonbinary person is a scary threat.
I think it's appropriate due diligence to notice on someone's academic profile online whether they specify particular pronouns, and if so, use those whenever you use a pronoun to describe them. If they aren't stated, though, you don't need to investigate any further to make sure you get it right, just try to use the best information you have at the time.
That said, you can never go wrong with "Dr. Doe's work". "Their work" is also fine both as a way of describing an individual whose pronouns you don't know and also in a plural sense that it's rare (at least in my field) for academic work to be a solo project; "their work" can acknowledge that papers published by Dr. Doe are a group effort and when you describe work by Dr. Doe you really refer to work by Dr. Doe and their lab/collaborators.  You could even do this explicitly by referring to work in Dr. Doe's lab (if appropriate to your field) rather than only by Dr. Doe.
I would not recommend using other newly created pronouns (Xe/xem, Ver/vir) unless someone specifically requests them to be used; these are specific pronouns and unlike singular "they" do not have the same role in describing someone whose gender you are unaware of.
I think if you are referring to the same professor by name more than once or twice in your statement of purpose you are probably over-referring to that one individual, regardless of how you refer to them.
Some old guides recommend using the masculine gender in English as a generic gender or flipping between masculine and feminine; I would definitely avoid assuming masculine gender for everyone because of the stubborn implication that professors must be men. I would also avoid simply alternating genders when you're talking about actual people; it's appropriate for example/hypothetical cases where gender should be unimportant (e.g., labeling characters 'Alice' and 'Bob' in describing an imaginary interpersonal interaction), but is not a suitable strategy for a specific person whose gender is unknown to the writer/speaker: it's better to use singular 'they' in that circumstance.

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I think few people would be offended unless you have somehow been told what they prefer. Once told, it is polite to conform to their desires. But make the statements easy to read, rather than awkward.
I'd avoid the constructed pronouns until someone says that is their preference.
But either of your examples seems fine in an SoP.

Good answer. I'd prefer the first, as I find the use of the doctoral title slightly akward (especially for professors)

@user111388, if they were mentioned several times, I might, myself, prefer to alternate the usages just for variety. (Notice what I did there?)

I'd prefer "Firstname Lastname" or Prof. Lastname :)

@Buffy No, I didn't notice what you did in your comment. What did you do? I only see one reference to each subject ("they" for the other person, "I" for you), unless you count the superfluous "myself" there as the alternation?

It is generally expected that you respect a person's indicated preferred pronouns when referring to them. Check the professor's homepage and department directory listing to see if they have indicated a preference.
If they don't have publicly listed preferred pronouns, assume the default based on obvious indicators (name, webpage photo etc). If the obvious indicators still leave you in doubt, using a gender-neutral pronoun may be a good idea.
The above rules seem reasonable to me. But it's worth keeping in mind that you cannot completely eliminate the risk of offending someone. Some people want us to live in a society where we are never allowed to assume anything about a person's gender until it is explicitly stated. Assuming a default pronoun can offend such people. Other people will be offended at any use of a gender-neutral pronoun, or even if they perceive that you are deliberately avoiding the use of pronouns out of a desire to avoid offending people.
Since it's impossible to guarantee that you will not offend anyone, my way to deal with this sort of dilemma is to not set that as my goal, but merely to do my best to treat everyone with respect, assume good faith on the part of other people as my default assumption, and hope that they will accord the same to me.

FWIW, my experience mirrors that described in Bryan’s answer: I’ve yet to come across anyone who uses non-obvious pronouns who expected others to just magically know this and not make pronominal assumptions. The only people I’ve ever seen make comments to that effect were ones who were in fact against their usage at all – the same people who might be offended at the use of gender-neutral pronouns (and who, of course, didn’t actually believe in their own comment, just made it to prove their point).

I think "it is generally expected" is an overstatement when there are plenty of people who strongly disagree with the whole idea.

@toby544 well, there are many people who expect it. Make of that what you will.

@toby544 Nobody disagrees with the idea of using someone's preferred pronouns, transphobic people still regularly use "he/him" to refer to men. They just don't think some people get to decide. So "the whole idea" of using pronouns doesn't really make sense.

@AzorAhai-him- When I said "the whole idea" I meant the idea that each person can freely choose their pronouns and everyone else then has an obligation to use them. Plenty of people disagree with that. See Ben's answer and the comments under it.

@toby544 in the context of OP's question about a PhD application, is it really relevant that plenty of people disagree? I mean sure, OP can decide to intentionally ignore the preferred pronouns of a professor in the program he is applying to in order to be true to his beliefs (if they are of that type), but is this really a course of action you'd recommend a PhD applicant to follow? There is a time and a place to fight for your beliefs, but a PhD statement of purpose is probably not that time or place. (Nor is a discussion on academia.se about a pragmatic question such a time or place, IMO).

@DanRomik I see your point. But your first sentence was a very blanket statement. If you had said "It is probably advisable in this situation to respect a person's indicated preferred pronouns", then I would not have commented.

@toby544 fair enough.

Pragmatically:

If the professor has indicated their pronouns, use them.
If the professor has not indicated their pronouns, and you can make a reasonable guess at their gender from photos or well-known names, use that guess.
If you are unable to make such a guess with any confidence (eg unfamiliar names from another country, or because you have reason to think there's a higher than normal chance that they are trans or non-binary), use they/them.

Most professors have at least a staff webpage, which gives them a medium through which to communicate preferred pronouns if they wish to do so.  Others have public social media profiles, email signature blocks, etc., through which they can also communicate preferred pronouns.  If they have not communicated a preference on a staff webpage, personal webpage, or a public social media profile, then it is likely that they are comfortable with the default pronouns.  (In any case, in the event of criticism you can validly plead having checked.)
The real conflict here arises when a speaker knows the preferred pronouns of a listener but does not wish to use these, most likely due to a belief that such pronouns misrepresent reality and that adherence to them constitutes a social coercion to lie about reality and/or implicitly support a false theory of gender.  The latter situation exists for many reasonable people (described incorrectly in the other answer here in unflattering terms) and it is the more likely situation that would lead to conflict and accusations of disrespect (and now cue the comments below confirming the inevitability of such accusations).

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If the professor has not provided a preferred pronoun, I would suggest using the appropriate he/his and she/her pronouns, alternating with last names.

Example: "Hayes [1] suggested ... His work exemplified ..."

Using the supposedly gender-neutral "they" for a single person, as in "Their work exemplifies ..."
runs the risk of alienating conservative academics who may oppose this practice. And they may be unfortunately less favorable to your application, either consciously or subconsciously.

While it's an important thing to be aware of, I don't think there's much point trying to cater to such people unless you know that you need to. Their proportion is reducing, as people get with the times (i.e., internalising that this is accepted practice, not necessarily adopting it) or retire.

You seem to be saying that the writer of the statement of purpose should arbitrarily assign the pronouns "he" and "she" to professors with no regard for those professors' genders; am I understanding you correctly? If so, I think most readers will find that extremely confusing, and potentially very insulting as well.

@TannerSwett, no, I suggest using He/She based on the sex of the person as is known either from their name or their photo, unless their preferred pronouns is stated on their website. I have clarified this now.

@wizzwizz4, that's not my experience at all. I believe the culture war in US campuses is still on going. I just want to warn the OP.

@Dilworth "as is known from their name or photo"... isn't that bad practice following your own answer in fact

@AlexRobinson This „their“ is used for an unknown person. Normal English use of „their“ for centuries. Has nothing to do with the personal pronouns of specific persons where the (preferred) gender is known or at least assumed.

I don't have the experience specifically with pronouns, but it's a common situation when someone has gotten married over the summer, changed their last name and it takes some time even when the website has been updated for everyone to use the new one. In cases of paperwork you'd just be requested to update and send it in again, in case of SOP I don't think you would be requested to update the SOP. In short it's not considered rude (in this case).
But I suppose you known your situation better - what's the likelihood they might have special pronouns or that they have changed the pronouns and that they might be upset if used incorrectly. In that case I'd suggest to contact the department's administration with request along the lines of "Hi, I'm writing SOP for so and so and I want to confirm if all the details I have are up to date" and list their name, education and throw in your best guess of the pronouns. I've heard of admins getting lectured for the order of CC'd staff in an email (expectation was to order by importance), so they usually are first to learn these things. Moreover, in my experience, they're quite kind regarding difficult profs and will give you a heads up if suddenly something changes so you can prepare ahead of time if last minute there was a change.

I don't think this is comparable. The OP fears (correctly or incorrectly) that a wrong gender may hurt a person's feeling or that the person even does "revenge" in some sort. This is hardly the same with a new name because of marriage: Only very few people would feel hurt by their old name.

@user111388 Did you read the second part of the answer?

Yes,  I did read it.

@user111388 So do you have any input on the specific advice or you're only going to discuss the part I gave for context to be transparent about my lack of experience with pronouns? I don't see how being transparent about lack of experience makes my answer worse, because if the suggestion to contact admins is incorrect I would gladly update or even delete this answer - but no one is saying what is wrong with this suggestion.

I did not vote on your answer. All I'm saying is that a comparision with changing name is not appropriate.

@user111388 People also change their surnames after divorce, sometimes the divorce is after experiencing years of every type of abuse. You do not know the reasons why someone's name has changed. How can you state it's more wrong to use your best guess of someone's pronouns while less wrong and won't cause as much harm as incorrect surname? You're saying they're incomparable due to difference of harm - what is the chance the pronouns have changed and the individual would take offense? I could argue 50% of surname changes is due to divorce, what's your reasoning?

Hi! My reasoning is that people who change surnames (because of divorse etc., even though I believe that much less name change is due to divorce than you say) change their surname, so the old surname was factually correct at some point. For people with non-standard gender, the common argumentation is that their is no "change" etc., but the gender/pronoun was always the one, so they are misgendered. So no comparision possible. Nevertheless, as I said, I agree that no reasonable human who does not disclose their gender would hold misgeneldering against you.

@user111388 No, you stated it's incomparable due to feelings. On what basis a pronoun is worse than being called by the last name of a person who mentally, physically and/or sexually has abused their divorced wife? Do you genuinely believe gender dysphoria is incomparably worse than mental, physical and sexual abuse by a significant other simply because of the time before transition?

Hello, first, in your answer, you talked about "someone who has gotten married", not someone who was abused and got divorced. This was my comment about. And I still say it's incomparable - people feel like a different gender, but I have never heard that someone said "I never felt like my previous name before marriage/divorce was correct" but rather "now, I feel my name is not right anymore". Maybe this happens rarely, but it is not comparable to the feeling "I have a different gender than it seems" which seems to be standard.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


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Unsatisfied with Undergraduate Education
For the most part I would say I've always enjoyed math. In high school I took classes ahead of my peers and had two great teachers that made learning math easy. After high school I wanted to study math and eventually pursue a PHD.
I’m in my third year at a small university studying mathematics and computer science. I don’t feel satisfied with my undergraduate mathematics education. In our math department there is only one professor with a PHD who teaches all the upper-division math courses like real analysis. The professor is not a great teacher, so it is hard to learn from them. Many times, when I ask for help it doesn’t seem like the professor wants to help which is very frustrating. Many times, I walk away feeling like I wasted my time even asking for help. There are also no tutors, and the classes usually only have 1-2 people so the only person to ask for help is the professor. I feel like I did learn because I know more now than when I started my undergraduate studies, but I’m worried I won’t be prepared for graduate school. I feel like there are students at other schools taking more advanced courses than what my school offers and doing research. Due to this I feel like I'll be at a disadvantage and be behind the rest of the pack in graduate school.
This has been stressing me out and I've been considering if CS is the way to go for me. I don't feel like giving up but I'm feeling burnt out.
I’m not sure if this is just something everyone goes through or if it’s just me. Is there anyone who feels the same way?
What should I do to prepare for graduate school given these circumstances?
How should I go about learning upper-division math with a difficult professor? Thank you!

How possible would it be to change universities now?

I'm basically finished with the degree so I don't think it would be financially smart. I only have like one more class left to take that my school offers.

Since classes are small, are the other students also grad school material and how possible would it be to work with them as a group?

You make the best of what you have. Your ability to explore and self-educate  is expected, so spend time improving that aspect.

What country are you in? Some things sound like US, others not.

@Buffy I don't think the other students are pursuing graduate school. I attend a university in the U.S.

Will you have had at least Analysis (Real & Complex), Abstract Algebra, and General Topology, with decent grades?

I will have taken both real analysis, and complex analysis. I took an abstract algebra course but it was applied. My school doesn’t offer a general topology course. I figure that I’m going to have to self study abstract algebra and some more real analysis and complex analysis. In my real analysis class we don’t cover everything so I think I will need to learn some more on my own.

Why did you attend this university? Did your interests change? Did they downsize their Math department? Did you not look up their Math program before enrolling? Did other universities reject you?

Just to check, because it isn't universal, and you might not know what you're missing out on if you're missing out on it: Do your upper level math courses expect you to come up with proofs that are not just minor variants of proofs you have already seen?  As the most important skill you should take away from the course?  More or less on your own without too many hints (which is not the same as with no hints)?

You are in a tough situation. I also went to a small liberal arts college in the US. It had about 2000 students then, but has grown. We had good and bad professors but the good ones made up for the others. Note that in the US, grad applications rely fairly heavily on letters of recommendation, and I don't know if that will be an issue for you.
I normally suggest that students go directly from undergraduate to doctoral programs, partly because that is generally the norm (US) and partly because doctoral study is funded through teaching assistantships. Masters study rarely is funded.
Perhaps you should consider applying for both doctoral study and masters study (different institutions) simultaneously. A course based masters would make "hole filling" possible, though the funding would be from you. Your situation is also unusual (US) to be "complete" in the third year. Usually it takes four. And, it is also usual here to have the undergrad program very broad based beyond any major subject. That is unlike, say, Germany, where it is very focused on one subject. If your program is unusual in other ways then it might cause additional problems.
Math is very difficult to study on your own as a novice. It is hard to gain insight without guidance (and hard work). In reading your post, it is also hard to parse the issue with your advisor. You and I might have the same issue that you and your advisor do, but that is because when you would come to me for guidance and asking questions, I would try hard to give you minimal answers rather than complete ones. I might point out where you went wrong, rather than how to get right. I might point out a block. I might send you off for a reading. The purpose of such a style and philosophy is that the insight comes from working it out yourself, not from hearing or reading the answers of others. Math is a (very) active sport. It requires changing your brain physically, creating new pathways. Reading and listening are never enough until you gain the insight. Perhaps that is the real issue with the advisor and you are interpreting it as "not caring". Not necessarily, but a possibility.
To enter grad school you will need good letters of recommendation, one almost certainly from this advisor. Do what you can to cultivate a good relationship.
When it comes to applying for grad study, cast a wide net. There are many good schools with a "ranking" around 50 or so. Don't apply to just top schools. One hint, is to determine if some recent math graduate of your school has gone somewhere and done very well. Consider applying to the same institution.
As to how to do well in courses with minimal guidance, it is very difficult. Find textbooks with lots of exercises and do as many of them as you can. Some books have answers given for alternate exercises so that you can compare your solution to the one provided. Don't just read the solutions, though, as it is nearly useless. And, solve a lot of the problems. Learning depends on both repetition and feedback, though you indicate the feedback from the instructor is weak. Online courses that don't provide feedback is too passive for real, insightful, learning.
If permitted, working groups of students can be helpful, provided that you adhere to the rules set. But you can study together and give feedback to one another in most cases.
I'll keep thinking about this for a bit. Maybe I can come up with something.

Additionally, the OP might find All the Mathematics You Missed (But Need to Know for Graduate School) by Thomas A. Garrity (2nd edition, 2021) helpful in assessing his/her background. There are 468 reviews at amazon.com, a rather high number for a mathematics book, especially for a mathematics book that is beyond the elementary calculus, linear algebra, ODE level. Incidentally, I looked at a few low rated reviews, and many seem to be criticizing the book for things it was not designed for.

@DaveLRenfro thank you for this suggestion. I’ll definitely look into this book!

there is only one professor with a PHD who teaches all the upper division math courses like real analysis. The professor is not a great teacher, so it is hard to learn from them

I think it's normal to experience particular professors/teachers that are not a good fit for you in the course of an education. In some cases, that may indeed be because they are "not a great teacher"; in other cases, it may just be that their teaching style does not fit well with your learning style.
In your particular case, though, this is having an unusually large impact on you because all the upper division math courses are taught by one person. This seems like a disadvantage of attending the type of institution you are attending, so it's also a consequence of that choice that you made.
If you are scheduled to have more classes with this same person, it seems like it would be reasonable to consider transferring if that is an option available to you.

I don’t think transferring would be financially feasible at this point. I’m almost finished with the degree. I only have one or two classes left to take. I feel like I have to self study a lot but it feels overwhelming because I don’t know how to efficiently do it to get myself prepared.

Aren't learning styles a myth?

@DavidWhite I meant to broadly reference that different students mesh differently with different instructors, not Learning Styles as in "this student is an auditory learner" etc. The latter is debunked, I'm not aware that the former is.

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"Password" on Job Application as a Part of the Address
I am applying for a postdoc position, and on the advertisement page, there is the address in case you want to send it via post, followed by an email address for sending it via email (as a single PDF file).
So it looks like this:

Name of the University
Human Resources
Password: ABCD
Actual address
12345 (postcode), City
email@email.com

Unfortunately, I am pretty new to these applications and need help figuring out what to do with the "password. " I am sending my application via email. Should I add it to the first page of my application? Or is it only for actual posts?
Note: It is a German university.
Note 2: In the German version it says Kennwort.

I think you need to ask them. It is a bit weird.

It may be a mistranslation from German and refer to a reference number or similar. Not a native speaker, but I think Kennwort can be used for both in German.

It does say Kennwort in the German version of the webpage. So should I add it to the email line or cover letter header?

@academic137 Both. "Kennwort" is not a password. It's a reference number.

German here. @WolfgangBangerth is correct, it's a reference string (not necessarily numeric, hence "string" and not number).

It sounds like they have a system where they have a code for each open position and to make it easier for them people who apply should refer to that number so the applications can be easily sorted when they come in. If you send the application per email, I assume the sensible thing would be to reference the pass code in the subject line e.g. "Application for postdoc position - ABCD" so they can instantly know for which position you apply to. I don't think you need to put it in the cover letter or the actual application.

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Can a PhD Candidate Correct and Reprint Their Thesis After Submission/Print but Before Defense?
[Even though this question is specifically about Sweden, but might apply to other countries too]
If a doctoral candidate has already submitted and printed their dissertation, but discovers errors in it just before their defense, are they allowed to correct these mistakes and request a reprint? I've observed at several PhD defenses where the examiner, just before the defense begins, asks the candidate if they wish to acknowledge any amendments. Typically, the response is negative. However, I'm curious about the protocol if a candidate were to admit to significant errors, such as incorrect experimental results in a specific chapter, and present a revised version.
In other words, what's the last moment a PhD student can make changes in his/her PhD dissertation, and what's the protocol if he/she decides to make "last-minute" changes?

This is something only someone from your own institution can answer.  Ask your advisor/supervisor.

@BobBrown I asked them, they do not know the answer (or do not care). Also, my question was an inquiry about the rules/regulation of Swedish universities in general. I know many candidates have a similar question but they do not know the answer.

What did your advisor recommend?

@Aruralreader as I said in the comment above: "I asked them, they do not know the answer"

In Sweden, I believe the procedure is to print an Errata (list of typos/fixes) on a separate piece of paper, which is then inserted into the thesis (by you perhaps). If it's a bigger issue (entire proofs), then discuss with supervisor.

Only Your Institution Knows
But who at your institution that might be, can be difficult to figure out.  Let's run down a list of possibilities:

Your advisor/supervisor (which in this case you have ruled out)

Your department secretary.  This person knows almost everything, and whatever they don't know, they probably know who to ask.

My institution had a graduate college, separate from the academic colleges, which was responsible for coordinating everything non-academic about the PhD process.  If your institution has something similar, that college will also have a secretary who also knows almost everything.

Your department chair.  Last on my list, because they are busy, and I would preface with, "I already asked A, B, and C, and none of them knew...."

"Only your institution knows": well, that's not really true because at least in Sweden there is a higher education guideline that universities have to follow, they can't really invent their own rules. What @PerAlexandersson said is the accurate answer I believe.


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How to report fake qualifications (PhD) of a lecturer to the university?
While searching for papers published by my lecturer, I couldn’t find any record of him being awarded a doctorate from any university.
I asked him about his academic profile and I’m not getting any legitimate answers from the faculty.
I had done my coursework prior to joining the current university and the lecturer teaches even the most basic concepts wrong.
How do I approach this situation?
Edit: The lecturer claims himself a Dr. and refer to it as a P.hD from USA.
Premise: I recently watched a video on YouTube about fake PhDs and the percentage being close to 55%. I check Google Scholar, ResearchGate and few other indexing services. I wrote to the faculty and they aren’t answering my request for details.

What country is your university in?

@david Located in the UK

Why do you say "fake questions"? Could you please explain further?

It should be fake qualification @yem I corrected it.

Is a doctorate necessary for the position? There are doctorates beyond PhD, actually. Are they from another country?

@buffy doctorate isn’t necessary for the job, but he refers to himself, Dr. so and so. The lecturer claims he got his “P.hD” from the US.

To "report"?  That lecturer's superior; the unit that hired him.

Is his CV posted somewhere publicly?

Keep digging, you’ll get to the bottom of it!

It's not strictly necessary to have publications to have a PhD, and it's not necessarily the case that programs publish a list of people receiving degrees. So, at this point you don't necessarily have evidence of anything.

Ask him for his CV. If he refuses or doesn't respond, indicate this to his superior, and ask the superior for his CV. I would advise making these requests in a non-accusatory manner.

"papers published by my lecturer" What is the quality of those papers ? Assuming your university is a reputable one, the chances are the university checked this lecturer's qualification. Does your university has the rule that a lecturer has to have PhD degree in order to teach ?

If the position requires a PhD, they will have checked the certificate when the person was hired.

From the given information, I would say chances are that you are just wrong.

The reason why you started digging is that they're making mistakes in class. Whether or not someone has a PhD doesn't have much influence on whether they can teach a particular subject well. The jump from "they make mistakes" to "their PhD is fake" is pretty absurd.

The "faculty" doesn't answer you. Well, unfortunately there are cases where not-so-modest students feel entitled to bully lecturers. Whoever you approached may suspect that this is the case here.

Most academics will have a website with the sort of information you're looking for, but there doesn't need to be any public information for a PhD to be valid, so this argument doesn't hold much water.

You saw something on YouTube... Well, not exactly a reputable source, is it?

I have a PhD and made many in class math mistakes early on in my teaching career, even pretty significant misunderstanding on my part. I still make mistakes in class but much less frequently and much less severe now. PhD just means a particular narrow expertise not imperviousness to misunderstanding.

Perhaps check his LinkedIn page if that is used in your field? You could then have a starting place to find the correct granting institution.  You could always write an email to the Dean/other college head explaining your thoughts. I would try just some regular Google searching first though. It's possible he could have alternate name spellings or maybe even have his PhD from another country making it harder to find.


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breaking into AI after a math PhD
TLDR. Math PhD, currently computational math postdoc, wants to work on AI. Which is a better way: another postdoc (this time CS), start with software engineering / quant, or going back to school?
Long version. I graduated my math PhD a couple of years ago and have gradually moved from pure math to applied and computational math. I think that I have good computer skills by now, including experience with ML libraries. However, my actual research is related to technologies that I don't believe to be impactful or even realizable, even though I greatly admire the people in my field.
I am one of those people who believe that AGI is achievable and maybe not far off, and I see no limit to the impact that AI will have on society in the future. With that in mind I feel compelled to try to be involved, even knowing that my contribution will be a drop in the ocean. I do have more specific research ideas in mind, and also a specific set of applications. I am interested in empirical research (not statistical learning theory, for example).
It's difficult to make time to work on projects outside my (old) field in my current position. I am trying to apply to postdoc positions in CS and AI, but it seems unrealistic to compete with CS grads with many ICML papers. Good AI labs in industry are obviously also able to pick from people who have specific AI experience. So I am wondering, is my only choice is to go back to school? Or is it possible to go into software engineering or quant finance and make the move from there to AI research in industry labs?

It's not quite clear to me whether you want to do academic research on AI, or work in industry. (In industry, the line between research and implementation can be blurry, especially in AI.)

"I am one of those people who believe that AGI is achievable and maybe not far off, and I see no limit to the impact that AI will have on society in the future." I recommend that you read some articles by people who are more doubtful about AI and the claims about it

This question depends on individual circumstances, like the country in which you reside and want to pursue your career. In general, people with a different background can bring valuable experience to a project. It will depend exactly on your background and on the perceived needs of groups.
Getting another Ph.D. is a heavy investment and the very best CS schools (top 30) will be reluctant to invest in someone like you (at least in my experience). Industry often falls into tailoring their requirements to their current needs, but is in principle open to germinate with employees with different backgrounds.
So, I would advise you to think hard about another Ph.D. Otherwise, just look for opportunities and see your difference as a potential asset.


text:
Is it reasonable for a PhD student to take a weekday off after having to work on a weekend?
I'm having to come into the lab on weekends to get the fast-growing organisms I work with at the right stage of development for my experiments, I cannot predict the dates or times for that precisely (unless ~20 hours prior) because the time they take to get there depends on the mutations I never worked with before and their response to tiny fluctuations in temperature. Today (Saturday) I came in for ~6 hours and will have to come in tomorrow for a few hours. I found a day next week when I don't have to come in. My PI hates not seeing me in the office 9-5 every single weekday with no exceptions even at lunch time and even if I had to work late the day before or work weekends for the reasons described above. Is it still reasonable to tell my PI that I'm taking a day off because I had to work during the weekend? I ask because I expect them to get livid as usual. Can I complain to someone if they react like this over me trying to take control of my own work schedule?
I heard a suggestion earlier to change advisors - I can't find anyone else who works in this field at my institution and my research council funding can't be transferred elsewhere. I'm two months away from finishing my second year (out of 4 years of funding) so I'd hate to start my project again somewhere else.
Edit to make question more to the point and add: I'm not complaining about working weekends, I love working weekends. I did pull all-nighters before and I did work in the lab three weeks in a row before including weekends. I was happy with all of that but not happy with angry emails from my PI asking why I'm not at my desk at a certain time and why I left the office without their permission. It doesn't seem to matter how many days in a row I work or whenever I had to work at night, I feel I'm still not "allowed" to take time off. I don't know how to tell my PI that I shouldn't need their permission for this, but I feel they won't take it well.

‘My PI hates not seeing me in the office 9-5 every single weekday with no exceptions …’ How do you know this? And what does ‘livid’ look like in your situation?

@Aruralreader they told me I'm supposed to sit at my desk 9-5 and ask their permission before leaving the office, e.g. for lunch. I try to argue but all I get is "yes but I can't talk to you if you're not in the office", I argued that we have email/Slack for that, they say it's not the same as talking in person. We had several conversations like this, with no resolution. By "livid" I mean telling me exactly the same things as before but as a loud and long rant, waving their hands around and cussing a lot (not at me though). This happens without warning but generally not triggered by me.

Well, at least he or she is making his or her expectations clear, so there’s that. Are you the first person in the lab to have to tend to wet- and dry-lab responsibilities? If not, how did those others handle their workloads?

@Aruralreader I'm the first person in my lab who's interested in a particular developmental stage and does these experiments with this timing, previous students whom I've met rarely had to come in during the weekend or work late.

How much uncertainty is there in your growth patterns? Can you time the start of the growth in such a way that it won't fall on the weekends? Having worked experimentally, I know that it may be difficult, but maybe, with experience, you can at least partially control it.

If there's no potential supervisors in your exact field at your institution is there anyone in a closely related field? Or even someone with a close enough field that their lab is suitable for your wet work? Theoretically you could move to a different lab in your institution and have an internal supervisor and an external one from another institution, although this might be hard to get someone to agree to if you don't have a preexisting relationship.

Turn the question around to make the PI rationalise his lividity. Calmly and politely ask: 'I can see this request is causing a problem for you. Can you please clarify what is the difficulty it presents for you?' Only then can you start to address the underlying problems

Yes, it's reasonable.
However, that doesn't mean your PI must be reasonable.

It is reasonable in a salaried job where you are paid per hour. It is less reasonable if you want to obtain an academic degree that will later earn you a management position with a pay grade outside of collectively agreed employment relationships.

@PeterKämpf It is also reasonable to occasionally take days off if you want an academic degree or get a management position at some point in your career.

@PeterKämpf For most people a PhD "earns" them another poorly compensated position called a post doc and then because there are simply too many applicants for the few academic jobs there are they end up in industry trying to figure out how to sell their time as an academic for a job that pays much less than someone of their capabilities would likely make having spent their time getting 10 years of industry experience instead. I don't know what world you are in where a PhD is an easy ticket to a high pay management gig.

@PeterKämpf If you can't suceed in your PhD without working 24/7, then you are going to make a bad manager.

@PeterKämpf Salary means not "paid per hour."

@PeterKämpf an academic degree that will later earn you a management position with a pay grade outside of collectively agreed employment relationships A PhD in industry, in average, means nothing to not much. Sure there are places where it counts because f the position, but this a tiny minority. A PhD gives zero advantage when it comes to management - I would even say that this is a hinderance because you come to the position with no management experience at all.

@WoJ Well, you learn something about working with and for unreasonable people, evidently. Which has utility, that's how customers are

I think there is, as always, a difference between Europe and the US here. It seems that in Europe a PhD means a lot more than in the US. Which makes sense as it also seems to be harder to obtain...

@AzorAhai-him- - Depends on the country. I'm salaried but my contract is for 37.5 hours a week. If I do more than that I expect to be compensated for it in the same way that the business doesn't expect me to do less.

Your advisor does not sound reasonable and it might be that you have no choice but to either meet their demands or leave. If they are prone to raising their voice and swearing, it does not sound like a good situation to stay in. That said, it also doesn’t sound as though you are doing everything you could at your end to manage the situation, so it might be worth trying better communication first.
Instead of working 6 hours on Saturday without notice and then telling your advisor that you will take a weekday off, try approaching them on the Friday, telling that that it looks as though you will need to work on Saturday, and asking if it is okay to do that and then take a day off during the week. They might still say “no” because they might really be unreasonable and want you there all the time. Or they might say “yes” because maybe the real issue is communication (i.e. they need to know when they can expect you to be there and when not to have confidence that you are working professionally or to feel that they are in control of their lab) or respect (insecure advisors might need more show of respect that those who are more secure in their position).
You’ve said that they want you to be at your desk all the time, even during lunch — but later said in the comments that they have said they want you to ask permission before leaving for lunch. Again, this might be more about communication and respect from their perspective than about wanting you to work through lunch. Does it really cost you anything to stop by their office on your way to lunch and ask/tell them (e.g., “I’m just off for lunch now if that’s okay?”)? [Also check that your expectations regarding the duration of a lunch-break match, as that could be another hidden issue if the two of you aren’t communicating well].

To add an example to that last point: in my country, a half hour lunch break is normal (and just eating at your desk while working is common), but I’ve worked with students from countries where a 2-hour lunch break is normal. Because I didn’t know that 2 hours was normal where they were from and they didn’t know that 30 minutes is standard here, and we hadn’t discussed it, I was shocked when the first of these students went missing for 2 hours in the middle of every day in their first week. I didn’t immediately say anything, so it gave me the false impression they were lazy and unreliable.

This. It’s always better to tell and plan in advance (both your work and off-days) rather than report once it’s done, or worse, explain and demand afterwards.
Also, it’s usually best to ask "When (or how) can I take my days off?" rather than "Can I take my days off?".

@Significance Why not include that anecdote in the answer itself?

@AzorAhai-him- I don’t like to change an answer too substantially after it has received a lot of upvotes— what if the existing upvoters don’t like the revision?

That's fair, but I would hate to see that info lost - I didn't know that there were cultures with 2 h lunch breaks.

@AzorAhai-him- it's not only (country) culture. In my place (within the same country) I worked in a place where 1 hour lunch is common, and then at another place where 2 hour lunch is common. It also depends on the company culture.

@AzorAhai-him- Lunch breaks of 2 or even 3 hours are common in Mediterranean countries (e.g., France, Spain, Greece) and in China and Brazil. People in these countries usually take a long lunch break, but then go back to work until 7 or 8pm.

A great place for all this comparative anthropology is definitely in the comments

There are several ways to think about this. You say you are at a UK university. In which case there are almost certainly rules around how much leave you can taken and time off in lieu etc. Now in generally, these are almost certainly observed more in the breach, than in the observance. But its something to bare in mind because....
Your supervisor can huff and shout and be unpleasant all they like, but they can't get rid of you. No UK supervisor has the power to do that. Instead they would either have to start a disciplinary procedure against you, or a failure-to-progress process. If what you are doing is within the rules, and your project is going well, then they are not going to get very far with either of these.
Of course, just because they can't get rid of you, doesn't mean they can't make your life difficult. They can not fund your experiments, or they could not proof read your work, or support your development, help you meet your community, or they could write you a poor reference. Some of these things would be them stepping outside the rules they are supposed to follow (not funding sufficient experiments that you could get a PhD, proof reading your work), others less so (getting you networking opportunities, writing you a reference).
You could of course go down the formal route. If they routinely shout during work hours I would be tempted to lodge a formal complaint about them. My university has two systems - one is a formal complain procedure, via the departmental PGR lead, or via HR, the other is something called "report and support", which is an anonymous system where people can report worries they have about members of staff.
Its worth bearing in mind that a PhD is not a 9-5 job. I always say to people that work with me that I don't expect them to routinely work more than 40 hours a week, but there will be times when that is necessary because of the nature of the project. My personal feeling is that people should take time off because they need time off, not on some close accounting of how many hours they've worked in a given week. I think if you need time off to do something particular, OR need time off because your are in need of a break, then that's fine, and it will balance out with the extra time people work, rather than saying "you worked 2.5 hrs extra on Saturday so you should get 2.5hrs off in the week". But everyone runs their group differently.
However, the BBSRC does specify that students get 8 weeks off a year, and your supervisor should make that possible for you. If they are not its probably worth saying to them "When do I get the time off my studentship specifies", and if they say "you don't", then, again, it might be worth speaking to someone more superior.

This answer is actually relevant to the UK context. The only thing I would add is that as well as making a formal complaint you might have some kind of other support system available depending on your institution - e.g. PGR reps or an assigned pastoral point of contact. You could also talk to your UCU rep if you're a member.

After working 12 days straight (2 weeks and the weekend in between, they probably would be overdue for a break.  So they may as well take it after 7 days when they've got a good chance,  and will probably be more useful for doing so

I'm in the UK, but not in life sciences.
Your taking time off after working through the weekend is far more normal than a PI getting visibly angry at you for doing so, or expecting students to be chained to their desks.
In some circumstances a quiet word along the lines of "try to push through until you've got these results, then take a break" is sensible, especially if you'd been taking it easy before the recent round of experiments.
Most academics that I know would be in favour of their students getting some fresh air at lunchtime.
Do check your department's/university's guidance on PhD workload, but also their rules on safe lone working.  We have pretty strict rules on when and how people are allowed to work in the lab outside normal hours, and what they're allowed to do.  It's quite likely your PI is in breach of those too (even if you've got 24 hour access - that just means you're trusted to work within those rules)

I think you need to set aside your academic hat for one moment and treat this as a simple workplace-employment issue.
Academics often have little training as managers, while students have little experience of what is normal and acceptable for a work setting, so there can occasionally be errors in complying with statutory employment laws. However this looks like a mild communication issue. Evidently this is stressful for you, but you’re a joint owner of this partnership and your duty here is to communicate maturely and amicably with your PI and assertively set appropriate expectations, so that the PI can see how you are fulfilling your hours, just as an employee might with their manager.
In a workplace setting a simple way to do this could be at a weekly progress meeting or in a progress report. Before going in at the weekend, you explain why you might need to go in, and if so, that you intend to be off on whichever day it is. This is demonstrating initiative and self-management skills. Your work-hours are visible to your PI, and if there’s any essential tasks to be done in the laboratory on the absent day then these can be reassigned in an orderly way. This would be demonstrating responsible communication and teamwork which lets everyone know what is going on, and is certainly not skiving!
If that is still not satisfactory, then sit down and agree a more formal written list of objectives or ‘job description’ of tasks you and your PI agree are appropriate, so your focus is on results and not hours. Job descriptions are for everyone, not just salaried staff. Also, ask politely why it is necessary to be in the lab? Is there some tangible reason to be constantly available? (or is that simply your PI’s insecurity.)
And, try to develop a regular habit of engaging in personal smalltalk (without over-sharing!). This helps illustrates your life is far richer than just a scientific experiment, and establishes a familiar context within which you may routinely prioritise relationships and personal tasks at appropriate times during your day - which is a normal thing to do. Smalltalk develops trust for when you need to tackle more difficult conversations in the future.
It’s worth remembering that your PhD will bear no more correlation with the hours you spend, than it does to the word-count in your thesis! Its the quality of time that matters.

Certainly.
If you need to, tell your supervisor "I'm really exhausted and feeling unwell today, I won't come in" and be done with it.
I had a hard nosed supervisor in the pre covid times and certainly wasn't expected in the office 9-5. A PhD is a research project not a job. Your relationship sounds unhealthy. Ensure you have a papertrail and get the student wellfare people or supervisor relations or what ever that section is called in your university involved (There will be one, ask around). If you're having this stress in your second year you're not going to succeed until the end.
Also talk to other students under this PI how they handle it.

Actually, in some places, getting a doctorate does involve having a "job" with the university or the lab. I know it happens in UK, but don't know if it is the universal practice there. And "telling" your supervisor seems like a risky practice.

And this advice, the first sentence, can get you fired, so it would be dangerous to act upon. That would be truly "done" with it.

yes, many PhDs had a side gig at the uni teaching / assisting. I had one too (in the UK). Those are "paid" by the hour. But why is calling in sick a risky strategy. Surely if the PI cares about attendance then letting them know in advance you're not coming will assuade them. What are they going to say, "I don't care, get your your sick ass in the office?"

Actually it sounds like a lie. The OP hasn't suggested such things. Again, OP, take such advice at your own risk. Given what you say about the supervisor, I wouldn't expect understanding.

@Buffy "firing" a PhD student in the UK is almost impossible. Hell, "firing" a employee is almost impossible. In my university the process for firing an underperforming member of staff takes a minimum of 6 months.

@Buffy In the UK, supervisors do not have the power to "fire" people.

@Kalliope, do they have the power to remove them from the lab that they supervise, and perhaps, fund? Or is the supervisor just stuck with them if they judge them uncooperative or underperforming? I don't charge the OP with that FWIW. But some of this seems to imply that a student has some superpower to control a supervisor and/or their lab.

@Buffy Neither of these, in my experience. Please be conscious that the world does not resolve around the US. Many (most) PhDs in the UK are funded by the university itself; that's how you avoid many form of abuse. "But some of this seems to imply that a student has some superpower to control a supervisor and/or their lab" I argue the complete opposite. The student has signed a contract with the university where none of what is described is stated. What you in fact do, is giving supposed power to the supervisor, and be angry when these are questioned.

Kalliope is correct, most PhDs are not funded by supervisors. I changed supervisors part way through my PhD because my main supervisor left. This had no effect on my funding because my funding is from my university. If I fell out badly with my supervisors I could change supervisors. Unfortunately it sounds like the OP may not be able to change supervisors because there's nobody else in their field at their institution.

Good point from Bryan Krause. A couple of others though. You've nearly completed your second year, so by now you're - to some degree - expected to manage your time. And while I would have instinctively replied,yes of course have a day off if you've done more than a week without (for the sake of your health at least), and as you say, research can't always be timetabled. At some point you'll probably be pulling all-nighters; it would be a shame to lose results because you weren't there. But, conversely, you need rest and time away to be able to maintain your optimum, so it's a tricky balance.
Unfortunately these are things you'll have to deal with eventually, whether this PI is at fault or not.

"My PI hates not seeing me in the office 9-5 every single weekday with no exceptions even at lunch time and even if I had to work late the day before or work weekends for the reasons described above."
If you receive the current UKRI stipend, this would be illegal as it falls below minimum wage. It doesn't matter whether you're an employee or not - in the UK, it's illegal to have someone work below the national minimum wage, even without a contract. The academic conventional wisdom widely shared on this Stack doesn't override labor laws and workers' rights. I suggest contacting your union, as should many academics and especially people on this Stack.

The stipend specifically isn't a wage though.

Unfortunately there is an exception in the minimum wage legislation that specifically excludes students undertaking work required for a degree program.

And anyway, even if it were not specifically excluded, someone working 40 hours a week at minimum wage takes home £18,726 a year. This yeats BBSRC stipend is £19,237 outside of London. Let's not complicate an already tense situation.

I'm finding it hard to be sympathetic, actually, since you describe these as "your" experiments. You are, in effect, working for yourself, toward your future career. What happens to your cultures if you take time off during the week and something bad happens to them?
Many of us in grad school worked through the week-ends, though we did so in our own space, perhaps, not in a lab. Many academic professionals take little time "off" from duties, whether teaching or research. Even week-ends can be when you catch up.
Sorry.
Yes, you can ask for time off, but it seems unlikely that it will be granted, given what you say about the supervisor. And, if they are the source of your income, it seems overly risky to press too hard. Being fired as uncooperative is just about the worst case outcome.

I got the impression that you misread my question and thought I hate working weekends which is wrong - I love working weekends, at least because the lab is quiet and all the equipment is available. I just wish I had the flexibility with my lab hours that every other PhD student seems to have. The problem is, I have to wrestle with my PI to make this "my" project and be less like a technician. The organism (sorry it's a bit of a niche one and I try to keep myself unidentifiable) is fine on every other day I just need to collect it after a few days after it hatches. I hope this makes more sense.

No, I make no such assumption. Presumably you are paid for your weekday work. You say "having to work on a weekend". But that is your choice, given the requirements of your research.

Yes thank you, but if I didn't work weekends then I wouldn't be able to complete these experiments so I don't understand what I'm meant to do about that but that's ok. May I ask a nagging question - is it possible to finish my PhD if my supervisor and I continue squabbling about working hours for another two years? I don't know how common that is. Thank you!

I don't know your supervisor, but fighting with them over anything is not the best strategy to finish. Or to move on.

This is terrible advice. Burn out is real and one needs to take breaks. Also it is clear from the Q that the cultures don't need 24/7 supervision, just occasionally on the weekend.

@ic_fl2, if it is only "occasionally" on the week end, why is it worth another day off? And, are you suggesting that if the OP is paid for 40 hours a week that they only need to "work" 32 because they have their "own experiments" to manage on a week end? How many employers will agree?

@Buffy If you're paid 40 hours a week, work 8 on the weekend and 32 in the week that is completely fine. But as stated elsewhere a PhD is not a job but a long slog. And if you need a day off after working the weekend you should take one. I certainly want to see my staff fresh in the office able to think and do good work, not be coffee drinking zombies.

Do you think their "own experiments" are things they are doing entirely for themself, and not part of the accepted work of the lab, but ones they are responsible for? I guess that's possible, but I think everyone else is assuming the latter is the case.

@JonathanZ, no, I don't think that, but I do think that it is their own choices that make it necessary. The lab has other work, I'd guess, that requires coverage; possibly 24/7. I also think it is reasonable to ask, but not to "tell", the supervisor.

It's in the very beginning of their question: it's the fast growing organism's choice. And a 24/7 coverage requirement is incredibly unlikely, considering the PI's expressed desire for the OP being at their desk 8/5.

I’ve worked plenty of weekends and late nights in my academic career, and had plenty of friends in different fields who’ve done the same and more — but I’ve never known an academic workplace that also required strict 9–5 attendance on weekdays.  That’s always seemed like a generally-understood bargain; and here the supervisor seems to be reneging on their half of that bargain.  And obviously “fighting with” a supervisor is never good, but accepting unlimited demands from the supervisor isn’t good either — sometimes standing up to it is the right call.

I’ve certainly worked in groups where I was still required to be in the office 9-5 despite working all weekend or late into the night. I’d say it’s fairly common in academia — but that does not make it reasonable and is something we should aim to move away from.

@Buffy: In the UK, PhD students are not normally employees. They are supported through a stipend. There are no contracted hours.


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How can I argue for most productive hours with my PhD supervisor?
For context, I'm a second year PhD student (Marine Ecology) in the UK with own funding (from research council), my lab consists of me, my PI and some last-year undergrads.
My PI is a 9-5 Nazi towards their students and I had been coming in for 9-5 for most of my first and second years. Now I'm doing experiments with an organism which needs to be collected at a specific developmental stage within a 2-3 hour window and sometimes I have to collect them during the weekends and/or at ungodly hours so I shift my working day to afternoon/evening/night hours. My PI gets livid about me not being seen in the mornings, when I explain they say "Yes but still I feel like there's a problem you're not telling me about" as if I working nights and then mornings after that meant to be normal.
They argue that what I do can be done within 9-5 (which is impossible, I have a feeling they say that because they never did this experiment themselves) so talking to them feels like talking to a wall. Generally, they are the kind of person who only hears what they want to hear and then look surprised when stuff happens and pretends no one told them when I would have done several times.
In the past two months they told me twice that they're happy with my volume of work, this gave me confidence to argue that my working hours are productive when I choose them myself. Later they argued that actually I'm not up to speed just because I'm not always seen in the office, and that they were just unclear with me before. I happen to keep voice recordings of our meetings (for my own use and without their knowledge) and my memory of what they said is correct.
I feel that the schedule they're forcing on me is killing my ability to do my best in this project, firstly due to inability to concentrate when I'm chronically underslept and secondly due to anxiety from this pressure which I see as completely unnecessary. Any debate between me and my PI is difficult because they don't listen and believe they're always right without giving an explanation.
Is this something I can discuss with my tutor and how can my tutor fix it? How can I protect myself from my PI if they get vindictive?
Edited to update: a week later I casually mentioned how much data I acquired and they were shocked and in disbelief. So it seems that they had a go at me for not doing enough before they actually found out how much work I had done over the past month, I guess because they did not always see me in the lab. And I did tell them I had to work evenings and weekends when I'm not around, I don't know why that wasn't clear to them.
Also edited to remove details that could make me identifiable.

How experienced is your PI? Are they new at this? Also, how critical is this research to their own career?

@Buffy From what the previous student had told me, my PI started their lab about 10 years ago, they have only had four PhD students before me. In the past five years they only published one paper and not a single grant that I've heard of. I'm not sure how critical this research is to them, I always thought they don't seem to care much about their career.

Do you have documentation on your medical condition (insomnia)? And have you spoken to your ombudsperson about this?

@coffee_into_plots I do but it was in my home country (outside of EU) so I guess I'd need to have that translated or get diagnosed again which is a hassle and dealing with NHS (registering with GP which I haven't done yet, queues, etc) waste so much time during the day that I fear my PI will get mad at my absence again. I've never heard of PhD ombudspeople, is that a thing in the UK? There doesn't seem to be one here.

I missed the UK tag, unfortunately. But there should be some sort of person to mediate student-supervisor conflicts, or have an eye on student wellbeing, right? Otherwise having some medical diagnosis could be an argument to get accommodations, but I don't know enough about the UK to answer this properly.

@coffee_into_plots I think that would be one of my thesis committee members who was assigned as my "tutor" to whom apparently I can talk about my relationship with my PI if I need to. However I heard another academic say that the tutors tend to back their colleagues against the students so I don't know if it's worth speaking to my tutor.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

I am just finishing my PhD and had the same problem, also in the UK. I was working in a computational field and despite that I was required to be 9 to 5 in the office, even worse: I could not be late, and would receive an email if I was not in the office at 9:10 or 16:50.
I went the official route about discussing work arrangement first with the designated person, which happened to be a close colleague of my supervisor, it did not work out and this person mostly backed up my supervisor. I then went to the head of department and got what I wanted.
My supervisor did not like it and as a consequence my PhD is probably way weaker than it could have been (I am assuming). I realized our collaborators also changed attitude towards me, which might be a consequence (also assuming).
I am fine with it since in my opinion I did the right thing (there were other, more serious problems), but academia will look down on you, and despite universities marketing themselves as progressive employers, chances are that you will perform badly in academia if you don't have support from your advisor.
In my case talking with my supervisor did not work out, they were 100% committed to the 9 to 5. If you are fine with the potential consequences I described above, then go and fight - throughout history most labor rights were earned through some form of struggle. If you feel your career advancement is more important, then you'll have to accept the situation.

To me it sounds unreasonable to require you in the lab at 9am the following morning if you have been working into the night on a time course. For me that would be an automatic day off in lieu the next day.
That said, I have some sympathy for your supervisor's position also. Remember, it is your supervisors job not to ensure that you personally are at most productive, but that the team as a whole is as productive as possible. If you have undergraduates on the team, they probably benefit from having you present at the same time as them.
My line for my people is that as a baseline you should be working at least 40 hours a week, and that those 40 hours should include being in the office for some pre-agreed "core" hours most weeks - by default 10-4, four days out of Monday to Friday. This allows some flexibility, while ensuring their is some time for casual support and chit-chat (that is surprisingly beneficial to more junior members), building a esprit de-corps. I am always open to specific requests for people with particular needs - health needs, caring responsibilities etc., but discussions take place against the assumption that the goal is to balance the needs of the lab against the needs of the individual, not just to always do only what is best for the individual.
Have you tried asking your supervisor why he thinks 9-5 is so important, and seeing if you can come up with an alternative arrangement that takes the middle ground between his goals and yours?
Of course some people are just not reasonable people. In that case there is not much you can do other than the official complaint route, but I doubt you'll get far with that (other than time off in lieu of late nights), or if you have specific needs - your insomnia might get you somewhere here (its unlikely that you'll need to be rediagnosed). If you want to go the official route, start with your tutor. If that doesn't work go to the department/school PGR director, university student services, or your student's union.

If OP is really dependent on an organism that has "random" hours, this must be factored in into the working arrangements. I used to have a phase with 24-hour day/night shifts for measurements, and practically no plannable private life during this time, as you would measure whenever the apparatus worked. Nobody would have expected me to come in the day after. Frankly, I do not see any negotiation leeway here. The alternative is to measure if the organism is alive/developing in the 9-5 window and not doing that otherwise, "as per instruction".

@CaptainEmacs I noted at the beginning that days during or after an experiment with long or unpredictable hours should of course be excluded from any required schedule.

You did, but then talked about "sympathy for the supervisor". Of course, that's legit, but I always felt I got the best result by being more flexible, especially when it does not really matter. Obviously, that does not apply to meetings or logistics etc. But this idea of presenteeism never convinced me. I give my group very substantial leeway - the result is that they work twice as hard and go out of their way to get results or do something when I am asking them to do it. Anyway, if it works for you... The concept of core hours remains as mysterious to me as that of regular nothingmeetings.


text:
Postdoc contracts in US - signing an initial one which is superseded by different online one?
Is it usual for postdocs (I'm in the US) to sign one contract with the department and then have to accept a notice of appointment online which supercedes the initial one signed?
I signed my postdoc job offer before moving to the US to take up the position and then when I arrived in the country I had to accept what turned out to be my actual contract online which differed from the original one (different start date and end date). This second one stipulates that it supersedes any previous documents signed or verbal agreements given. This has now happened again after a year in the post. A pay rise which was agreed to start on one date has now been pushed back a fortnight on the second document which I am now expected to accept.
Is this normal? Is this fair? Any advice appreciated.

I don't think it is normal, and it did not happen to me when I had a postdoc in the U.S.

From the OP's comment:

When questioned, I was told that this is what the contract is now.

Hmm.  Most of the point of a contract is that it cannot be unilaterally changed during the period it applies to.  So you can absolutely insist on the old contract -- in fact, just by not signing the new one -- but the last six words of the previous sentence are key.  If you signed a one year contract but have the expectation (or even informal agreement) of longer employment, then refusing to sign the new contract could place your future employment in serious jeopardy.
You are really not being treated properly, but you have to decide whether it's worth it to take action.  I couldn't be completely sure, but it sounds like you are saying that you signed a contract for a certain salary and are now being asked to sign a contract to cover the same employment period for a lesser salary.  Isn't that kind of the gold standard of unacceptable (and of course, illegal) employer behavior?  If I were in that situation I would not be willing to sign a contract lowering my own salary.  I would do my best to work the situation out amicably, but I would understand that this might lead to a parting of ways between me and the university.
In case it's not obvious, this is definitely something to discuss with both your supervisor and the department head.  Their attitude might be "We know it sucks, and there's nothing we can do about it" but even so you should get their advice and, if possible, their support.

It is not fair.  It is not normal, but it is also unsurprising.  Bureaucratic errors happen in large organizations.  For example, once I received a contract after the deadline to sign and return it.  I advise you politely ask the university to revise the contract before you sign it.  They will probably need the online contract because the paper contract is too hard to keep track of.

Thank you for your response. When questioned, I was told that this is what the contract is now. I assume bureaucratic delay is what has lead to the change in dates. All the contracts I have received have been after the deadline, I've never been able to sign one before my previous contract expired.

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


text:
Where to put my professional (academic) personal page after my PhD
I am a PhD student, and the defense of my thesis is at the end of this year.
During my PhD, I had an institution server account to put my page.
However, it is closed (I finished my PhD longer than the expected time).
Although it looks like difficult, I still want to try to obtain post-doc position.
During several months (or even one year) after I graduate, I don't know where
to put my personal/professional page, which should be good for applying the job.
I found there are some personal website provider (e.g. wix.com), however
after a quick look on the templates, the styles not seem very academic professional.
Do you have any idea what should I do to create my page during this time?

Buy your own domain name and host your own website. You can design your own website, download a free template, or commission your own website.

I am not familiar with these things. May you give some (more details of) advantages of buying domain name over the free web hosting?

Longevity, control, SEO, ...

(You can google for more.)

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


text:
Do views about plagiarism apply equally to structure as to content?
I am writing a paper examining performance among female athletes in a particular, less-well-documented sport over a certain time period. Unexpectedly, I have discovered a paper addressing very similar questions to those in my paper, but about (exclusively) male athletes in the same sport.
The earlier paper is, in my view, very readable. The structure is easy to follow; the (potentially difficult) choices about which tables and results to present (and which to omit!) is also well done. In other words, the earlier paper could provide a great model/template for my paper on women athletes.
If I were to closely follow the structure and choices of the earlier paper, a reader of both my paper and the earlier one would find it easy to make comparisons. My question is how that kind of structure-copying would be viewed by an editor. Plagiarism? ... or just a sensible (homage) choice?

If you plan to use an existing paper on male athletes in sport X as a template for your paper on female athletes on sport X, then this should be explicitly stated and acknowledged in your paper. Whether failure to do this counts as plagiarism or not is a moot issue, because as a reasonable and honest author there is not a single reason for you not to say "btw this paper is closely modelled on paper XYZ" somewhere in the introduction.

There are a few things to consider when checking whether something constitutes plagiarism.

Ethics: Are you presenting someone else's work as your own or using it without proper attribution?

In this case, I think you're well in the clear. You can rest comfortably knowing that you have created the information entirely on your own, and any similarities to other works are coincidental.

Optics: Even if you've created the work entirely yourself, will others recognise that? Do you need to take steps to avoid the false suspicion of plagiarism?

The ethical question is the more pressing, but we can't discount the pragmatic reality. You knowing you've worked honestly won't be much help if someone gets it in their head that you've plagiarised something, so sometimes we might make sure to keep away from any false suspicion. In this case, an excellent question to ask is whether this information could be presented otherwise, or if this is simply the most reasonable/efficient method of doing so. Many people have used "2+3=5" or "In this paper, I will demonstrate that...", but that doesn't make the usage of such plagiarism. And, to extend the analogy, structuring a paper in a particular way will likely have been done before. (I'd be more surprised if it hadn't!) Structural similarities will, barring any other suspicions or dodgy scenarios, be dismissed as simply a necessary part of the process.

Support: Is such a similar work actually a benefit to your work's credibility?

If you've done work and come up with a similar (or in fact the same) result as other people, that's likely a good thing! It not only gives your work a boost in credibility right off the bat, but it also helps the former work, as now it's being verified or corroborated.
So, in summary, I think that it would be ridiculous for anyone to claim plagiarism on your work, just because another paper about nearly the same subject had a very similar general structure. You seem to be in the clear both ethically and pragmatically.

A nice, well=organized summary! I thought that the ethics, support, optics approach also gave good pointers of what else one might read on the issue.

Plagiarism is using someone other's work, ideas, formulations, etc in a substantial way without attribution.
In your case, you now have a paper that repeats essentially the work of someone using a different data set. If your conclusions are interesting, then the paper as such is publishable. Just make clear what the connections between the two papers are. Following the same structure has actual benefits because it makes a comparison section easier to do.
The structure of scientific papers in a subfield often follows a given pattern that cannot be attributed to anyone. If you go much beyond this, you can just insert a phrase as "following the lead of X [x], we first do this, than that, and then we analyze using this and that". Since plagiarism has an extensive gray zone, it is hard to give general answers.

Actually, it could be "without attribution" or with misattribution. And usually, if you need to be concerned about plagiarism, you likely also need to be concerned about copyright which is about creative expression.


text:
Should I receive an extra letter of recommendation from a non-PhD researcher?
I'm seeking some advice about getting a fourth recommender. I'm applying to PhD programs in statistics and biostatistics. I asked my 3 recommenders, a PI and two former professors, back in June and they've all gotten their recommendations submitted.
Since June, though, I started a new position doing remote, part-time research in a lab that's related to my applied interest. I've been learning a lot and it's been a meaningful experience so far, but I've only been doing it for 3-4 months and part time at that. I've worked with the MS-level lab manager primarily and haven't really interacted with the MD PI at all. That said, the manager has several publications with the lab and indicated he would write a strong letter.
Would you all recommend getting a recommendation from the lab manager as a fourth recommendation to speak to this experience? I think it could help my application, but it could also dilute the current recommendations.
Thank you.

A letter from someone that doesn't have a doctorate is much less valuable than otherwise. A good letter needs to be able to accurately predict your success in doctoral study, research, and a career in field.
If a place asks for three, I'd send the best three available to me. But, you don't say how much contact you have had with the two "professors". If it is just a course in which you did well, then they might not be able to make the required prediction honestly.
You might suggest to the fourth person that you might want a recommendation at some future point and leave it there for now.

Yes, the two professors I took classes with, though I also spent a lot of time in office hours. Is it detrimental to send four letters if the guidelines are, say, "minimum 3" but don't discourage more?

My assumption would be that an additional positive recommendation would not be detrimental, and would very possibly be a helpful tie breaker if you are fairly evenly matched with other applicants.


text:
Academics in the USA that were sponsored for H1B visa, can you tell me about your experience? How long did it take, how was the process?
I am currently being sponsored for the H1B and my proposed start date is mid-August. I am not sure about the feasibility of this as most websites say it takes around 3-8 months to obtain the H1B. Can you share your experience being sponsored, please? How was the process, the timeline, the appointment at the embassy, etc. Were you able to move your appointment date closer? (I will be applying from England)

This may depend on your nationality (I don't know, I'm just guessing). Can you edit that in?

Are you a British citizen?

Processing times go up and go down. Five years ago everything seemed simple, then at the beginning of the pandemic everything seemed impossible. It is different again now. I don't think that asking people who've been on H1Bs more than a few months will give you anything useful.

The employer is sponsoring you and is paying for the lawyer? Presumably they have a reasonable expectation of when the visa will be issued. (I went through this in 2006, so it might not be useful).

Thank you anyway, I am hoping that someone who has been through this process in the last year or so sees this and shares their experience with me..


text:
How to get an academic affiliation as an independent researcher
I don't know how to approach the following problem:
I've been out of the research world for several years now, and I'm currently working in a different field.
I've completed a scientific work as an independent research that I would like to publish (in theoretical physics - foundations of quantum mechanics), but unfortunately, I don't currently have an academic affiliation.
This certainly makes it more difficult to publish my article, as well as forcing me to pay for publication myself (although that wouldn't be the worst problem). As far as I know, it's difficult to publish a preprint even on arXiv without an academic affiliation.
Is there a form of voluntary academic collaboration (i.e., unpaid) that would allow me to have an affiliation and possibly interact with other researchers?
I live in Italy and the people with whom I graduated and did my PhD currently work on topics quite different from the subject of the work I would like to publish.
Moreover, I've completely lost contact with them.

How far afield was your prior work?  Prior reputable publications would go a long way to establishing yourself as a legitimate scholar capable of producing research at publishable standards, and these can be quickly mentioned in an optional note to the editor field on most article submissions I'm familiar with. But if you're coming from, say, psychological studies, rather than some other particular subfield of theoretical physics, the transition will be harder to believe/establish and the more you need to go the way of Buffy's answer. Also be sure your employer doesn't have a claim here.

Just to clarify, I have been away from the world of research for about 25 years (I currently work in the IT sector). In the past, I worked on nonlinear optics and particle physics (perturbative QCD). I am a co-author of several publications in these fields

This is a long-term solution, not a quick-fix, but if you can make contact with some university faculty with the purpose of collaboration, then a joint paper is probably a bit easier to get published. You don't actually need an affiliation, but it is a help it letting people know you aren't a crank. Contact the head of the physics department at an accessible university and ask about the possibility of meeting one or more faculty who might be interested.
Can you visit a nearby university and talk to people? Can you afford to attend a conference in your field and talk to people? If you convince them that you aren't a crank then an arXiv paper will be possible if they vouch for you.
Cold emails are unlikely to help much. They are too-easily ignored. But face to face visits can make a big difference.

In theory, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet someone in person at the university, but I would need to at least contact him before (so as not to be perceived as a crank).
The idea of attending a conference isn’t bad either, but it would have to be a conference that deals with a topic related to my work. Even in this case, there’s a risk of being seen as a weirdo...


text:
Job prospects in mathematical physics vs Statistics
I am at a crossroads in my academic journey and would greatly appreciate any job insights for these two career paths. I have a passion for both statistics and mathematical physics and am considering a career in one of these fields. While I am well aware that statistics is vastly more applicable to a wide range of jobs, I am much more interested in mathematical physics. However, I am uncertain about the career prospects for someone with a degree in mathematical physics, especially outside of academic research.
My Question:
What career opportunities are available for someone with a degree in mathematical physics outside of academia and research?

For context, if I were to study mathematical physics, the units would include subjects such as quantum mechanics, applied and ordinary differential equations, statistical mechanics, quantum chaos.

Background:

I enjoy problem-solving, working with data, and theoretical work, which makes both fields appealing to me.
I am open to various career paths and am not solely focused on staying within academia.
My interest leans more towards mathematical physics, and I want to explore all potential career opportunities in this field.

Any advice, personal experiences, or resources you can provide would be incredibly helpful as I make this important decision. Thank you!

Please only one question per post

No one can accurately predict the future, including the job market even two years out. Maybe do an experiment: Find five positions in statistics and five in mathematical physics. Explore what those would entail. At the same time, pursue summer internship to get (near) first-hand exposure. My two cents: It would be easier to switch from physics to statistics than the other way round.

You should be able to answer this question with Google. Go to your local job portal (Google for it if you don't know what it is) and put in "mathematical physics" or "statistics", then see what pops out.
I'm pretty sure you'll find far fewer results for mathematical physics, which is simply because that field is arcane enough that it's inscrutable to non-mathematical physicists. It does not mean you won't be able to get a job using your mathematical physics background, however. You can still search for phrases such as 'quantitative researcher', which has high overlap with the skills you learn in mathematical physics. Example job.
After you've looked at the jobs available, where you go next is up to you. If you're still doubtful, be sure to visit your university's career center.

Having my field be described as arcane makes me feel like I'm a warlock.


text:
Colloquium without proceeding
I presented at a postgraduate colloquium last month, and I indeed think they will publish proceedings in a short post-colloquium. However, a month afterward, no proceedings were published on the website, and the website has been taken down. So, the only way to inquire is to approach the host. They told me they are on their way to making a book, and the submitted paper will be a chapter in the book. Is it common for this to happen in academia?

What field are you in? That will change the answer. In my field it is very common for small conferences to never formally publish proceedings. However, based on the fact that you are saying the "submitted paper" might be published as a book chapter, I assume this is CS or something similar and the rules are different over on that side of things.

And, what field was the conference in? My colloquia don't have proceedings, so I wouldn't be surprised if some random CS person once applied to one and then was confused when no proceedings happened.

What is common in academia is that there is a tremendous amount of variation. It is also common that "a month" is like a nano-second.
Everything you describe is reasonable, and perhaps normal, though "common" might be a value judgement. A book takes quite a while to produce since the publisher has lots to do.
If you have access to the colloquium chair(s) ask them for an update and an estimate of when the book might appear.
Even long standing conferences with regularly published proceedings can take a while for those final proceedings to appear.
Your expectations were overly optimistic.

can take a while --- This might not be exactly on-target for an extreme example, but "This series of four books collects the seminal papers from those proceedings, together with extensive unpublished material ..." might be a 40+ year example.


text:
Help with my bachelor's thesis
My bachelor's thesis is a research one. I am solving a specific problem using my ideas, combined with an existing approach, method, and the results are original. My supervisor doesn't know what to say or how to interpret the results. I have received a feedback from other professors saying that my contributions should be specified clearly and that the conclusions aren't presented in an academic manner. I have used "we" in the whole thesis and it would be weird to say "this chapter is original except for one part..". Also, I think I should somehow interpret my conclusions. Should I have a section named conclusions? How should I phrase that my work is original without it sounding like bragging?

Hi! What is your actual question to us? Currently, we cannot help you with what you've asked here.

If you write a thesis, then you are trying to communicate with your supervisor. That does not seem to work right now. So you need to sit down with your supervisor and together figure out how to fix that.

Thank you for your replies.

How do you know you are solving the problem if not even your supervisor knows how to interpret the results? It seems like all the feedback you are receiving points to a communication problem - your supervisor does not understand what you present to them, and the professors are not clear on what you present to them either. Most likely the use of "we" and lack/existence of a conclusion isn't the root of the problem.

@MisterMiyagi I checked it with a program on the computer and the solution is correct. You're right, the problem is communication. I probably do not express myself clearly. My ideas are logical, they haven't said I'm wrong, but I think it's in the way they're organised.

One big aspect of learning to do research is learning to communicate your results so that they are clear, at least to your intended audience. In my experience,, this is usually more of a task for grad students, but writing an undergraduate thesis is good practice. Can your supervisor say what is unclear? Can you get a friend or classmate to read it and suggest things?  If you get your supervisor's OK, you might want to send it to an academic editor, although they would probably charge you something.

@PeterFlom thank you. Yes, my friends say it sounds clear to them. They gave me some suggestions. But they don't know the appropriate format either for this type of problems. What is an academic editor? Thank you for your response.

@Student most schools in the US and Canada have some kind of (free of charge) writing support specialist for specifically this purpose. Have you sought out such services at your institution? My suggestion would be to first sit down with your advisor and figure out what exactly they think you need to do (and write down what they tell you!)--this is part of their responsibility as an advisor--and then go see a writing specialist to work on improving your draft.

@principles-investigator thank you. Well, my coordinator doesn't understand the basics of the subject and isn't willing to understand them. Sadly, my university doesn't offer such services. Thank you for your response.

A supervisor should be an en expert in the field of your research. I don't understand, is nobody available to supervise your research in your department? That seems quite odd.


text:
How should my educational letters follow my name?
I have a AA, BA, MAML (Associates, Bachelors and Masters of Arts in Management and Leadership).
I just recently completed my Certification in Management and Leadership, General Business as well as my Certification in Advanced Graduate Studies.  How do I capture all of these in my signature line?
Currently I sign off as:
Jane Doe, MA (although it should be MAML)
Thanks!

I'm somewhat surprised: of all fields, I'd have expected that business students are the ones who know most about things important for business communication.

This depends on your local country/culture. It also depends on the context of use and how formal you want to be. Your current usage is probably best for most usages, however. I'm assuming the US and similar locations. Germany tends to be more formal in such things.
If you need to be specific (in context) about your field, use MAML, though it might not be well known. I've seldom seen associates degrees listed, but Jane Doe, BA, MA would be common enough in a formal situation.
Usually a higher degree will imply some lower level degree so it normally isn't necessary to list everything unless you need the formality. I hold BA, MA, and PhD, but very seldom list all three, using only the last.

As you mention Germany: yes, we tend to be more formal - but long rows of letters as I've seen them in the email signature of UK colleagues are untypical over here. Once you have a master's, the bachelor isn't mentioned any more.  Inside academia, even the PhD is rarely put to the name. It's more common to write the current job position, plus maybe profession if it's not implied by the position. For businesses it's more formal as email signatures have legal requirements (like letters), e.g. business emails must contain stuff like who's CEO and trade registry no etc.

What about adding on the certifications?  How would one do that?

I would suggest not listing any of them unless in application for a job that requires one of them. Even then, there are probably better ways to communicate that you hold the required certificate(s). Perhaps in a letter of application.


text:
Is it conventional to not have author on the 2nd page?
I have seen an academic proposal which has the following style for headers:

On the 1st page, there is no header.
On the 2nd page, there is a header, but there is no author on the left
From the 3rd page, there are always headers with author, title and page.

Could anyone tell me that if it is conventional to not have author on the 2nd page?
PS: the following code could reproduce the effects.
\documentclass[11pt,a4]{article}

\RequirePackage[latin1]{inputenc}
\RequirePackage[T1]{fontenc}
\RequirePackage{fancyhdr}
\RequirePackage{microtype}
\usepackage{mathptmx}
\usepackage{lipsum}

\setlength{\textwidth}{170mm}
\setlength{\textheight}{245mm}
\setlength{\evensidemargin}{-2mm}
\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-2mm}
\setlength{\hoffset}{0mm}
\setlength{\voffset}{-10mm}
\setlength{\headheight}{3mm}
\setlength{\headsep}{4mm}
\setlength{\topmargin}{-5mm}

\lhead{\lhead{Author}}
\rhead{\thepage}
\chead{Title}
% Foot
\rfoot{}
\lfoot{}
\cfoot{}

\begin{document}
\pagestyle{empty}
1 \lipsum*[1]

2 \lipsum*[1]

3 \lipsum*[1]

4 \lipsum*[1]

5 \lipsum*[1]

6 \lipsum*[1]

7 \lipsum*[1]

8 \lipsum*[1]

\pagestyle{fancy}
9 \lipsum*[1]

10 \lipsum*[1]

11 \lipsum*[1]

12 \lipsum*[1]

13 \lipsum*[1]

14 \lipsum*[1]

15 \lipsum*[1]

16 \lipsum*[1]

17 \lipsum*[1]

18 \lipsum*[1]

19 \lipsum*[1]

20 \lipsum*[1]

\end{document}

Questions of style are going to be specific to the institution and type of document. And possibly change over time.
If the specific style seems strange to you, you should check with somebody in the institution that will be the audience of the document.  You mention that this is for an academic proposal. That seems to mean it is a university or a granting agency or some such similar thing. Find out if there is a contact person with whom you can check such issues.