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I did something I am not proud of, and was rightly accused of cheating by the instructor. What is next for me?
A throwaway account for this issue I need advice in. I am in an engineering course and had an online exam (thanks to COVID-19) with no form of protection for cheating, just an "open now, turn in within 2 hours" exam. I spent way too much time perfecting one particular question (I blame my diagnosed test anxiety for that part of this situation), so I, quite moronically may I add, used a resource that I was not allowed to use. I got an email from the instructor saying that I was accused of cheating.
After fainting once and vomiting twice I read the message and learned that I had 2 options. First of which is to refute and provide evidence in contrary of the accusation, for which I had none. The second option was to accept a zero-marking on the heftily-weighted question, but keep the grade and accept it as the grade on the exam. This was quite a lenient punishment as it was outlined in the syllabus that any form of cheating on any exam will result in a 0 on said exam and a failure within the course. I can only attribute this to the fact that I always went to lecture, actively took notes, asked many questions, and sat in the front row (really like ALL students should do). Therefore, I accepted that option and still ended up with a passing average in the class, because I worked extremely hard to understand the material well (I am not an academically gifted person, may I add.).
Along with both options, a report of academic misconduct will be reported to the chair of the engineering department of my discipline. From there I am unsure where the situation will go. The university does not have any set-in-stone rules for a situation like this within the academic policy or student guideline book, which is where I turn to  Academia. I have never done anything of this sort and I am unsure on where to turn or where to go next, depending on where this situation escalates to.
I also fear for my eligibility for security clearances once I graduate (United States). I only fear that this will be seen as a major, major red flag and may result in me unable to gain said clearance, even though I have nothing on my record (not even as minor as a traffic stop). I feel like that will most definitely ruin my career (rightfully so if so, may I add), as any form of my work will most likely require said clearance. But, having never gotten a clearance before, I am unsure about how it will be affected. To anyone who has experience in this realm, is this a major red flag? Should I switch majors now to something where I can get a job without one?
Regardless of any switching majors, if I lose my academic scholarship for the university (again, rightfully so), I will be forced to drop and/or go far into debt to complete my academic career. Most definitely worth it if so, but still upsetting. Again, this is not set in stone anywhere within the documentation I have access to, so would something like this be a possible/fitting punishment for my academic dishonesty?
I thoroughly understand that this shows that I have little experience in a particular realm of this class, and that in the workforce, if I make a mistake due to it, I may cost lives. If anything, that's the most sickening part of this whole situation. For that reason, I am currently re-studying all material within the class and making sure that I will keep the knowledge that I have been taught. But employers, would you even consider hiring someone like me if you found this out?
I really appreciate anyone reading this. Please leave any comments about my integrity to the comment section, and not the answer section.

https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/30539/i-was-caught-cheating-on-an-exam-how-can-i-minimize-the-damage Duplicate?

I saw that post but I felt like my situation was different enough due to the circumstances of when/where mine was.

I cannot more strongly recommend speaking to a doctor or counsellor about your anxiety. Fainting and vomiting due to stress is a horrible place to be in (I have experienced similar myself). The good news is, it is possible to learn how to better handle your anxiety and your quality and enjoyment of life will immeasureably improve. Please heed this advice. Good luck with your studies.

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Do you know the basis (evidence) for the accusation of cheating? Not sure on your jurisdiction but in most places you're innocent until proven guilty. Unless you did something like copying text from the unauthorized resource word-for-word, I wonder if the instructor/school was using some kind of surveillance malware on your computer without your consent, which is a serious crime in most jurisdictions. (Far, far more serious than any cheating you may have done, and which should be career-ending for whoever did it.)

If your university is anything like mine and this was your first offence then this will likely not have long-term implications, assuming you avoid repetitions. In my case cheating does not normally show up on transcripts, and while we do keep records, these are mostly to allow a staged response to students with multiple offences -- or in other words: to apply punishments of increasing harshness (to the point of exclusion).

What you are doing is called catastrophizing. This incident, unpleasant and mildly serious though it is, is simply not the life-destroying event you imagine it to be, and you are not the evil person you imagine yourself to be for having committed this act of dishonesty.
In fact, I think the worst aspect of the situation is the negative thoughts you are having about it, which sound like they have a much greater potential to derail your studies, mental health, and (if left unchecked) your future career, than the facts of the actual situation you described.
I can’t comment authoritatively about your specific hypothetical scenarios of losing your clearance, becoming a failure professionally etc, but they simply sound highly implausible based on my years of experience in academia in the US. My advice is, take a deep breath, and seek counseling and advice from knowledgeable people in your institution who can give you:

useful practical information about the possible effects of the cheating on your career (which frankly my guess is will be essentially zero if it’s a one-off incident, although there may be a temporary punishment that could set you back a bit);
separately from that, mental health advice to help you keep yourself from becoming overwhelmed with anxiety.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for your answer. Looking back a few hours later, I can see what you mean by "catastrophizing" and reading about it, that definitely matches. I should definitely look into getting a counselor, not just for this, but for other issues I have had in the past mentally. For the academic part, my school has academic counselors I can definitely check into once I get everything squared away mentally. I accept any temporary punishment because what I did was definitely wrong, but I am relieved to hear that both answers say that it isn't the end of a career that hasn't started.

@throwaway-89760: I completely agree with Dan's answer that you are not as bad as you think yourself to be, not only because you have already accepted the consequences of your past choices, but also because you acknowledged your ethical error. Thus you in fact have the moral right to move forward in your life (if you don't mind my opinion), and I sincerely wish you all the best in the future! =)

I discussed a similar situation with an OPM agent conducting a clearance investigation of one of my students.  I was told that if the student told the truth about a cheating incident, it would be a "negative indication" but would not, in and of itself, result in the clearance being denied.  However, said the agent, if the student lied about the incident, that would likely preclude a clearance.  Note: one agent, about one student, and now perhaps ten years ago, so this is not a universal answer.

From what I understand, the clearance is about finding things in your past that can be used against you (among many other things), and coming clean and taking responsibility means that this can not be used as blackmail or other such means that might be likely to make you unclearable.

Okay, this is just my opinion but I'm a professor with a lot of life experience.
Some, very few, but some, of my students have cheated on exams I have given them. They've gotten in trouble for it.
Maybe I should clarify that statement. Some of my students have been caught cheating and have gotten into trouble for it. I don't know what proportion actually cheated - probably more than have been caught. I myself never cheated in school. But I know it happened around me.
We are living in an unprecedented time of strangeness, pressure, weird opportunities to "perfect" online tests answers we shouldn't, long hours thinking about viruses and the future.
That said, you've been caught doing something on an online exam that you should not have been doing, you've been penalized, and it is over. It is not the end of the world. Yes, it's a mark on your otherwise good record. Yes, you shouldn't have done it. No, it won't ruin your chances at having a good job. It just won't - you'll be okay as long as you keep doing your best and don't be stupid again.

No, your opinion was very helpful, thank you for your response. It's sort of far from over depending on what the dept chair says, but I'm just going to hope for the best and expect the worst, but it's definitely reassuring to hear that it's not the end of a career that hasn't begun yet. "being stupid" is a very good way to describe this situation.

I think the others have given some helpful general advice. Let me respond to two specific concerns.

Along with both options, a report of academic misconduct will be reported to the chair of the engineering department of my discipline.

I think it's worth understanding this further. Is this just an e-mail to the chair, or is it something "on your record" that will be reported to employers, the Government, or other third parties? This will depend on your institution's policies and the nature of your sanction. I think it's reasonable to ask about this, so long as you are clear that you just want to understand the punishment and are not contesting that you deserve it.

I also fear for my eligibility for security clearances once I graduate (United States)....To anyone who has experience in this realm, is this a major red flag?

No. If you are asked about this, be honest (hopefully it only happened once, and you learned your lesson).

Thank you for your response to those parts. I did some more reading about these types of reports at my university, and they specifically used the word "sanction" as my professor did in the email. I assume the 0 on the question will be the punishment (sanction) for the action, and the report will be a mark on some sort of record of mine, most likely my academic transcript. Below that, it states that if you refuse to accept the sanction, the academic transcript will be withheld. I definitely did learn from this situation and I will be as honest as I possibly can be when describing it if asked.

Some universities (like mine) keep records of disciplinary actions against students, either academic or otherwise, but these are separate records from transcripts.  Students or recent alumni looking for security clearances (or admission to law school) are sometimes asked to provide their disciplinary records, and explain any incidents that appear there.

I once had a visit from a government employee about a former student needing a security clearance. I'd previously caught him cheating on homework and written it up. The University's Academic Dishonesty department apparently still had the record (the student was probably a graduating senior).
The incident seemed to be no problem. The investigator asked me to describe it -- the student admitted to copying, got just a 0 on the assignment, and I never had any more trouble from him. The investigator seemed to relax, as if that was routine nothing stuff.
So, yes, it will be looked at for a security clearance, but only because they look at everything, probably won't be a problem, and will be fun for the instructor (he asked me a long series of standard Q's: if I knew the student had gambling debts, and so on. Some were things I'd never have thought of).
As for other immediate consequences, at my US State School, the policy was that being caught cheating once was a warning -- nothing extra happened. It only went on the record in case the student was written up again, when I assume suspensions and whatnot began. The horribly uncomfortable meeting with them (yes, there will be a meeting after the one with the instructor) was mainly a chance to make sure the student couldn't say "but I didn't know doing X was cheating".

Oh wow, that applies quite well. I'm relieved to hear that one incident will not derail anything, but it'll definitely be an interesting conversation once that day comes. I hope my school's policy is similar to yours, as I will never do this again, along with a warning being a lenient punishment. I'm not sure if I will be able to have a face-to-face meeting any time soon due to the pandemic, but I will not say anything upon those lines if so; I cheated, plain and simple and should not cover it up. Thank you very much for your help with this.

I can't imagine an employer would ever ask about this. If you get the clearance, the details are pointless -- it's not like you can get a C- clearance and they need an explanation. For the school, I'd assume Zoom or whatever they use; the academic dishonesty coordinator would need to hear from you directly. Terrible analogy, but imagine the instructor is a DA working out a plea bargain, and the next person is the judge (but they're not a judge -- the first I met was a sweet grandmotherly type, near retirement. I think she genuinely enjoyed helping young people learn from the experience).

Academic dishonesty (and, really, dishonesty in general) is bad. You shouldn't have done it and should not repeat it. And I take from your question that you already know all of that and you seem to be sorry you did it and quite unlikely to make that mistake again.
That being said, if the above seems as obvious to your department as it seems to us from your question, then I don't think you have too much to worry about.
In particular, I wouldn't be worried about the security clearance issue. I have a U.S. security clearance and have been through the vetting process. Yes, they will absolutely talk to your university (and your local law enforcement departments, etc.) when doing your background checks and there's a decent chance they'll find out about this incident, but it seems extremely unlikely that it would derail your security clearance as long as it never happens again and you don't lie about it.
Lots of people make stupid mistakes, especially during their high school and college years. The people doing the background checks know that and they see it all the time. Is what you did serious? Yes. Is it serious enough that they'll reject your security clearance out-of-hand for a one-off incident that you apparently learned from? Almost certainly not.
Hopefully this part goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: If they do ask you about this (either about whether you've cheated in general or about this specific incident,) tell the truth. While it's unlikely that this incident by itself will disqualify you from a clearance, lying to them absolutely will. Be completely honest with them about whatever they may ask.

You would be right to say that; I am well aware of the gravity of this issue and I am very sorry that I committed this academic dishonesty. I have not said more than I need to, to the professor or department; I would not want to "put my foot in my mouth" and say something on accident I cannot get out of, so I will wait until asked to show my sorriness. I will be upfront about the dishonesty in the appropriate time when applying for said clearance. This was seriously as you describe it, a situation caused by "being stupid" as mentioned by another answer. Thank you very much for the response.

Not really a full answer but not a comment either.
I'd suggest you ask your professor if you could retake the test for a better mark. Study very hard for it if you're allowed! This calms you down, restores your conscience, and shows your professor you can achieve this without cheating. Maybe record on video or something. Might be a good point for security clearance as well.

I have a feeling that this may not be the best course of action. I would love to do so and ask, and it would definitely be a good resolution, but I am in no position to ask for anything, from the school or professor at this point in time. I have reviewed the topic that I cheated on and have plans to keep reviewing it. Thank you for your answer/comment!

I also fear for my eligibility for security clearances once I graduate
If you are considering a career that will require you to hold a security clearance, then you undoubtedly will at some point be subjected to a "lie detector" (polygraph) test. Your memories of the trauma this incident has caused you, unless properly handled, will cause you to fail that test. You should do at least three things to avoid such a disaster.
One, do the opposite of catastrophizing. Make the incident a normal part of your history, which does not stand out in any bizarre way. Discuss it with your academic counselor. Imagine conversations with your peers in which the subject of cheating comes up, and you relate the incident as an unexceptional anecdote. Think of yourself as a person who did that, but not a person who does that.
Two, when you apply for a clearance, include the incident on your application disclosure. It's actually barely important enough to mention, but it is significant to you emotionally. The polygraph test works on emotion, not facts. Polygraph examiners are exceptionally skilled at getting you to reveal anything that is emotionally important to you. If you conceal the incident on your application but then reveal it to the polygraph examiner, you will be indelibly marked a liar.
Three, research the polygraph before subjecting yourself to it. Read The Lie Behind the Lie Detector by George W. Maschke, and How To Sting The Polygraph by Doug Williams. Of course you must recognize that these authors have agendas of their own, but the facts in their books, especially Dr. Maschke's, are true and accurate.
Getting caught cheating in school will not stop you obtaining a security clearance, unless you allow it to drive you crazy.

"If you are considering a career that will require you to hold a security clearance, then you undoubtedly will at some point be subjected to a "lie detector" (polygraph) test." It's certainly possible, depending on the exact job in question, but "undoubtedly" is way too strong here. I have a Secret clearance and worked as an engineer at a base with a lot of highly-secretive designs. I was never subjected to any such test.

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@reirab: Well, perhaps undoubtedly is a bit strong. OP may be lucky and never find a polygraph exam in his path. - But I don't want him to just bar himself from any career path that might have a poly in it.

Just to add what everyone else has said... Just be honest.  Write a letter to your prof.  Say that you sincerely regret what you did and that you've learned your lesson.  Don't try to bargain with him; just fall on your sword - admit you were stupid.
Thank the prof.  Tell him that you had never done this before, and that having had this experience, you will never do it again.  Really, thank him for helping you learn your lesson and for for putting your life straight.  Tell him a little about your anxiety and that his actions have become the catalyst for you getting help.  Don't try to elicit compassion, just add this as part of your "thank you".
And, like everything else has said, seek out some counselling.  Once you get out of school, and you get that job working for that defense contractor, you will have an interesting story to tell your peers (OK, maybe not).

This is a great idea. I will definitely send them a professional email outlining this once the punishment and record has been finalized to avoid digging my hole any deeper than it may be as of now. I will also use my dishonest act as a way to better myself and others in case I am attempting to tell someone not to do the dishonest thing. Thank you for your answer!

I've held top secret clearance without a polygraph for ten years. The closest related question to this was whether I was ever on any probation or not, during my first investigation. I explained that I was on academic probation multiple semesters for low gpa. Investigator replied by asking how many courses I failed. I honestly answered 'a lot' and it never came up again and I was approved for my clearance.
Different agencies have different requirements. They never sent me for a poly, but later on, a new agency I supported required one. For The counterintelligence poly, the questions are discussed beforehand. During the actual question session, the investigator surprised me to catch me off guard. He asked if I ever cheated at school. I answered yes, which is true, and it also never came up again. That's not really the typical scope of questioning for this poly.
For a full lifestyle poly your personal life such as this question may be asked or looked at more in depth. I havent taken one yet, but I've had colleagues tell me they had admitted to more serious lapses of judgement without a problem. (Anecdotal, but one had a couple DUIs and kept his non-poly clearance).
Dont drink and drive, but this incident should not affect getting any level clearance, especially if it's a one off incident you are honest about.

FWIW, I'm guessing the question about DUI was just to see if they would tell the truth or not. There's an almost 100% chance that they already knew about the DUIs before the clearance was ever granted in the first place. Even for lower-level clearances, the background checks do include criminal record checks. As I recall, the application form also asks if you've ever even been arrested, let alone convicted, of a crime. Granted, it's been a long time since I've had to fill it out, since my current job doesn't require a clearance, so my memory of it is a bit rusty.

Cheating on academic work is so heavily frowned upon and has negative consequences if caught for two reasons, and it's important to understand these two reasons. The one most people conjure up is that for the act of cheating, you are being dishonest.
As most everyone will point out, if it's an isolated event, the best thing to do to combat dishonesty is honesty in turn. If ever this situation comes up during a background check for a position, answer as honestly as possible. It is far more important to demonstrate that you've made a mistake and you've learned from it. Your integrity may come into question, but there are also ways to prove that the incident itself taught you not just that you shouldn't cheat, but also made you a better person somehow.
The second, and more important reason, I think, is that people don't learn from cheating. That is, if you're not properly learning the material you should know, your work will be of low quality. In some situations, this can, down the line, have very serious consequences. If, for example, you cheat and go uncaught in, say, medicine school, down the line you may cause a serious malpractice error, and cost someone's life, because you didn't learn all that you needed to know. There, the important thing to do is go back and properly learn the material you felt you needed to cheat for. Not only does this aid in your case in proving that you have learned your lesson on honesty, but you'll prevent actual, "real-world" mistakes when you undertake your career.

Not understanding the downvotes. I have to ask the question -- do we consider malpractice not important?


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A second bachelor degree or a master in US?
I graduated from a Canadian university 5 years ago in Electrical Engineering. My dream is to pursue a phD in Computer Science. However, the courses of my study is quite different from that in CS. I'm thinking about two paths in the following:

Apply for a second degree in CS in Canada. Comparing to graduate-level courses which requires strong foundations in CS, this will make me easier to attain a decent GPA. There will be longer time for me to intern in research institute and get papers published.
A master program will definitely save time. However, I will need to hand in my application for a phd just 1 year after entering the master program. I don't think I will make myself enough qualified just within 1 year, let alone that I lack the foundations in both Math and CS. A master in US is also always course-based in comparison to those thesis-based masters in Canada, which I am totally ineligible to apply due to different undergraduate discipline.

How about your advice? I appreciate any comment. Thank you.

AFAIK there are thesis based masters in the US too, and many universities have a common department for both EE and CS.

Yes, there absolutely are research master's degrees (with a thesis) in CS in the United States.

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Different results when experiment repeated
Have you all ever had different results when repeating your own experiment? I did some work for my dissertation and am now redoing it for better images and hopefully for publication. The results are not replicating at all which leads me to think either an error was made before or is being made now. Would you think to repeat with more replicates and document those results instead of the initial results? It's just so draining, but I don't want to publish inaccuracies.

It depends on what type of experiment you are performing.  If the experiment is rolling a die and recording what face lands up, then you would expect different results.  If the experiment is counting how many sides the die has, then you would expect the same results.

That certainly means that this material is not ready for publication.
No matter when the error (is it even an error?) was made (in the initial or subsequent experiment), one first has to figure out why the results are the way they are. From some angle, it is even a blessing that the results are mismatched: it forced to "bake the research" a little longer until it is ready.
I strongly suggest analyzing the experiments setup, experiment procedure, raw data, post-processed results in order to explain what is going on. Maybe, it's worth conducting a third experiment (if it is a viable approach).
While triple modular redundancy adage does not fit here perfectly as an analog:

Never go to sea with two chronometers; take one or three.

the third (fourth/fifth/...) experiment might give you some insight into what is going on. And taking only one chronometer—just because it leads to a potentially faster publication—would be a wrong approach.

I certainly do not plan to publish as is, I was thinking of repeating a few more times and being as methodical as I can be with the approach. I also plan on going over my methods with a fine tooth comb to see I can understand where the discrepancy lies. Thanks! Repeating a few more times is sound advice

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Research Fellow on Paper They Did Not Contribute- Solicited my Mentor
I am in a situation where I do not know how to tell my mentor I am not comfortable with a research fellow on our paper as an author. I came across a "call to submission" for a paper, in essence, there is a special edition of a journal over a specific topic. I wrote the complete manuscript thinking it was presumptively thesis material but it felt short of novel methods warranted by my academic committee. However, my department eagerly anticipates it is good-quality publication material due to its findings. Anywho, I wrote this paper independently and included a colleague who edited parts of the data analyses as an author. He, unbeknownst to me, sent it off to a research fellow at our institution for his comments as a co-author. The comments are toxic, gaudy, and do not display an adequate understanding of the topic. Worse, however, is that the research fellow is cordial with my mentor, and e-mailed him his comments, selling the manuscript off as his. He has a moderate amount of paper at the institution, and I want to interview there for further training opportunities and do not want to compromise my bottom line. His comments include:

Asking me why hadn't I spelled out multiple abbreviations that are literally spelled out and defined in the sentence or paragraph before.
Putting an asterisk by his name and mine saying we share first co-authorship.
Requesting multiple self-citations over introductory statements known to all, the self-citations are very low-quality non-indexed review articles in openly predatory journals.
Crossed out my name as corresponding author and put his contact information, as he was "invited" by the journal (our whole department got the same call to submissions paper).
When I quote other previous experiments in a similar domain, he has written: "stop changing your hypothesis".
Says my graphics quality "if submitted to a conference, would automatically result in denial of the manuscript regardless of the content"
Is literally editing multiple metrics out and is replacing them with metrics that I have not used and are in fact, the wrong analysis for this experimental design.

Am I overreacting? I feel as if I am in a bad spot. What is the best course of action to remove this individual from the paper without trying to get my mentor involved? I need to ask my mentor for a letter of recommendation in a few months, too. I am a lower ranking than the fellow as well...

You need to talk to your supervisor about this.

Am I overreacting?

Not at all. I'm sorry about what you're facing. To me, it borders on harassment, but at the very least this is not collaborative behavior from a coauthor.
Additionally, it may be unethical to involve someone in your research without the approval of all co-authors. However, this may be normal in some fields -- where the advisor essentially calls the shots with who to invite into a project.

I feel as if I am in a bad spot. What is the best course of action to remove this individual from the paper without trying to get my mentor involved?

I'm missing some context here -- why do you not want your mentor involved? I think you should have a serious conversation about this with your mentor. This can't be ignored or you will continue to be unhappy. Say that you are uncomfortable with the coauthor and he is demeaning and demoralizing. You need to make it clear that you do not want to work with this person in the future.
If not your mentor, then can you think of anyone else in the department who might understand? You need to get someone "on your side" -- someone who sees that what is happening is a problem. Perhaps someone who can give your mentor a call and put some pressure on them.
In terms of intellectual contribution, it may be that the research fellow has already made some -- I can't tell for sure from the context. So, prospects are difficult for this particular paper. However, what you want is to be productive in the future, and put this behind you, which means that follow up work with this person is out of the question.


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Is it possible to quit a TVL13 job in probation period?
I would like to ask whether it is possible to quit a wissenschaftlicher mitarbeiter job based on a TVL13 contract in the middle of probation period? Or do I have to wait until I finish it?
I have found the law corresponding to the different notice periods after the probation period is over, but I am not sure what is allowed before it is over. If I am not wrong, the employer can fire me without notice during that period.
In this website, I found the following:

until the trial period expires    2 weeks to the end of the month

Is this information reliable? It seems to be referencing the same law, so I'd say yes. But, I would like to double-check.

This question may also be on-topic on Law.SE (though, of course, you should talk to a lawyer for actual legal advice for your situation).

It seems your information is correct. Both parties may cancel the contract with two week's notice at any time.
My rough translation (and my emphasis) from this article of "Der Personalrat", a trade journal for labor representatives in the public sector:

The legislator lays down a special notice period for the probation time. This right
applies to both parties of the work contract. The period is shortened from four to two
weeks. Moreover, notice may be given at any time of the month, while usually the
contract may only be cancelled at the end of each month or at the 15th day of each
month.

thanks. I just re-checked § 30 and it is also mentioning what you said in the 4th point (I guess I was so overwhelmed that I missed it, my bad).

Just don't forget that the notice must be in the form of a signed paper letter.

If you want legal advise, then you need to talk to a lawyer or your union representative. It is a bad idea to trust random people on the internet on such issues.
My experience in Germany is that if you want to leave you don't go through that process. Instead you talk to your supervisor. (S)he will express regret and want to know why, but in the end (s)he will not want to keep someone who wants to leave. So together (with the HR department) you will make a contract that terminates the existing contract at a convenient time for both regardless of the notice periods.

I trust them when they provide relevant legal texts ;) but thanks for sharing your experience, it's useful to know that.


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Would it be ok/wise to end my PhD contract after submitting my PhD thesis in order to be able to start a new job at that time?
I would like to start looking for a job in the period preceding the submission of my thesis, so that if I’m lucky and I find a job, I could end my PhD contract (around PhD submission time) and take on that job.
I am asking because my PhD contract allows me to remain employed until my defense date (already fixed). During the time between the submission and defense (around 2.5 months), since the work expected to be done during my PhD is already done, I would be spending this time doing tasks I’m not interested in, just to fill this gap. The thing is I’d rather spend this time working on something new with a new employer.
Worth noting is that in our lab there is a history of other students ending their PhD contracts at early stages or mid-way (for different reasons) but not at an advanced stage, like I’d like to do.
Are there other considerations I should take into account if I do something like this (Besides the risk of being unemployed if I’m not lucky enough to find a new job) ?

On a legal level, wouldn't that depend on what the contract says and whether it binds you? On a moral level, wouldn't it depend on whether it would be disruptive to others? What is your meaning of "ok" here?

Do you plan to stay in academia or do you plan to leave? The usefulness of leaving early strongly depends on that question. But generally I see no need to quit until the next contract is already signed. Also talk about this with your boss and do so early. It

@Buffy on a legal level, the contract can be interrupted either because its duration is completed or because the student obtains his/her PhD. But as I said, I've seen colleagues end their contracts early on without these conditions fulfilled. By "disruptive to others" you mean my advisor?
By "ok" I mean is this commonly done? Because I haven't seen people with a similar situation around me. Usually, by the time of their defense, their contract has already expired a few months ago. So, the question does not apply to them.

@mlk , I'm not planning to stay in academia. I'm seeking researcher opportunities in the industry. The thing is if I don't quit, I'd have to remain "morally engaged" to the activities of my current lab. But I'd like to move on. Yes, I'd talk with my boss, but I just wanted to evaluate the situation on my own first.

It is entirely common for students to take on a job before they have formally completed the program, and then do the defense and submit their thesis in the coming months. It happens all the time, and everyone understands that if you have a job offer that you intend to take and can't defer for a couple of months, then you should of course take the job. Employers will also understand if you tell them up front that you will want to take a couple of days of vacation early on in your tenure at the company to travel back to your university to defend your PhD.
So, yes, it is ok to do what you propose.


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Peer review: how to deal with a paper based on an already published work whose validity to the reviewer is uncertain
I am reviewing a paper A for a Journal X. To be specific, the area is Mathematics.  The works is built on a previous work B (already published) of the same author in another Journal Y (also a peer-review Journal but perhaps less prestigious). What I have seen after reading of A is that if the results of B are correct then the results of A are also correct. After looking at the paper B, it seems to me that the proofs are less convincing and I am uncertain of their correctness (I don't have counterexamples to show their incorrectness). If the results of B are correct, the paper A deserves to be published in the Journal X.
How can I deal with this situation?

Write a review telling the editor exactly what you've said here.

@Corvus: I bet in a couple of weeks we get a new question: "I am the editor of Journal X.  A referee has just sent me a report that Submitted Paper A's results rely on results in Paper B, which she is not confident are correct.  How can I deal with this situation?"

@NateEldredge...bhwahahahahahahah

@NateEldredge +1 Wouldn't that be fun! I'd tell her to read paper B herself. :)

From what you have written, it seems that you have determined fairly clearly that the results of Paper A are conditionally correct.  That is something that is clearly worth reporting in your review.  You're also dubious about Paper B, which is also clearly worth reporting, even if you have no solid evidence that it is wrong.
I think there is one further question that is worth making a clear statement on: are the results of Paper A interesting as a conditional conjecture, or are they only interesting if Paper B is solid?  For some problems, work based on the consequences of a result is interesting even if the result itself is not solid: famous examples include the Riemann hypothesis and P vs. NP.  Paper B is almost certainly not so significant as these, but it still may be interesting---or it may not be.
I would thus recommend reporting what you have written here, plus your assessment of how interesting Paper A is given the conditionality on Paper B.  This should give the editor sufficient information to proceed.

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


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Would it be appropriate to send your CV to a researcher who gave you their business card a few years ago?
When I was presenting a paper at a conference ~3years ago, a researcher (who also happens to be a professor) gave me her business card after discussing with her after my presentation.
Now that I’m almost done with my PhD, I’d like to approach her to see if there could be a possible job opportunity at the research institute mentioned in her business card.
I was wondering if it would be appropriate to send her my CV along the email? Or if it would be seen as if I am “forcing” her to read it, especially that it has been almost 3 years since we met?
Would it be better to start with an introductory email first, and then send her the CV only if she asks me to?
I also thought about including a link to my LinkedIn account in my email signature, so that she can check my profile (if she wants to), without me explicitly sending my CV in the email.

Why not just a simple email asking if she has any opportunities and reminding her that you met at that conference.
Include the cv as an attachment and she can open it, or not, as she wishes.

yes that was the idea. The only doubt I had is if it is widely-accepted to include the CV in a first email, especially that it has been quite a long time since the first encounter.

Well, you can send 15 emails establishing a conversation before sending the cv or do what I suggest - up to you. What is widely accepted is dependent on the situation, some will only expect a cv when they ask, others will be happy to see it in the first email - whether they read it or not is another question.

@Titus , I thought I'd send it in a 2nd (not 15th) email, if asked to do so. Note that I've attached my CV along spontaneous applications in the past (prior to starting my PhD). No one has complained about that. I thought that the current context is different since I haven't thought of this as a spontaneous application (i.e. with the email body resembling a full cover letter) but as an inquiry containing a few elements of a usual cover letter.  If sending the CV seems appropriate, I'll do it.

Or include a link to your online CV in your email signature. That way, it's not quite so in-your-face as an attachment, but the recipient can still review your CV if they want.

Short answer - yes.
I think that's a big part of what conferences are for.
Also don't overlook using Linked In as a means of starting the conversation.


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Impact of W's on grad school admissions in CS theory (TCS)
I'm an undergrad at the University of Maryland College Park who just finished a computer science bachelors a few days ago. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how much I liked theory (algorithms, combinatorics, graph theory) and math until this past semester. As a result, I plan to work for a few years while self-studying upper-division math and getting the necessary TCS research experience (I plan to reach out to professors at the local university once I'm ready).
My question is whether or not my undergrad academic performance is salvageable from the perspective of grad school admissions. Although I ended up with a 3.895 cumulative GPA with relatively good grades in TCS-related classes (e.g. A- in discrete math, A in algorithms, A in number theory, A in cryptography, B+ in advanced data structures), I have 4 W's (withdrawn designations) on my transcript across different semesters. Moreover, these W's are all in math classes (euclidean & non-euclidean geometry, numerical analysis, combinatorics & graph theory, machine learning). However, with the exception of the geometry class, I dropped all of them since I didn't meet the official prerequisites. I had originally requested prerequisite overrides to register for the courses, but left due to not being able to catch up.
Also, due to COVID-19 I opted for the pass/fail grading system this past semester. Therefore, even though I took theory of computation and combinatorics & graph theory and scored an A, A- respectively, these classes show up as P's on my transcript. Thus, I'm wondering (a) if a master's will help my case and (b) if one is necessary. If at all possible, I'd prefer to apply directly to PhD programs after getting some research experience.
Additionally, would having a publication by the time of application change any of those answers? I know theory programs in machine learning and computer vision basically require publications these days in order to be considered, but I'm not sure if the same holds for subfields like combinatorial optimization and graph algorithms.

First, I strongly suggest that you talk directly with the theory profs in your own CS department.  First, they are the people who actually taught you and are best placed to understand the circumstances of your withdrawals.  Second, they are the people who make graduate admissions decisions for your department, in your target subfield.  (Third, they are the people most likely to provide you with recommendation letters, so making contacting with them early can only help you.)
Opinions on W's differ, but as far as I can tell, most people treat them as no-ops.  Students drop classes for all sorts of reasons.  Some faculty might wonder why you waited until after the drop deadline to withdraw from these classes, especially if the W's were spread over several semesters, but that would be a minor concern, especially if you retook the same classes later and did well.  But it really doesn't matter; the W's are already on your transcript.  You can't do anything about it, so you shouldn't worry about it.
COVID-19 hit everyone, everywhere.  Every graduate admissions committee still has to figure out how to make admissions decisions with a full semester of grades missing, or at least obscured by a myriad of different pass/fail and Credit/No-Credit options.  Different people and places are going to interpret this semester's (and the next several semesters') records differently, some with more sympathy and others with more strictness.  You can't do anything about it, so you shouldn't worry about it.
A master's degree is a somewhat risky option.  At least in the US, PhD applicants who have graduate experience are held to a higher standard than applicants who do not.  Students applying from masters programs are compared with each other, not with undergraduates, and considerably more of those masters-level applicants will have research publications.  To first approximation, publications are a de-facto requirement for masters-level PhD applicants.
Persistent rumors notwithstanding, publications are not a de-facto requirement for undergraduate PhD applicants, even in hot fields like machine learning, even in top departments.  Research experience is necessary to get into a top PhD program; research papers are not.  Yes, a significant fraction of new PhD students in ML have publications, but an equally significant fraction do not.
All that said, a strong research publication is definitely a advantage in PhD applications, especially if the recommendation letters make it clear both that the work is good and how the student made it happen, and the topic of the paper meshes well with the research interests of the faculty where you're applying.  Good research results can overcome all sorts of other weaknesses in your application.
On the gripping hand, nothing in your question suggests that you have any weaknesses in your PhD application.  Your GPA is high enough to draw the attention of human reviewers.  At that point, your research statement and recommendation letters matter far more than anything else.

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback!

Honestly, I don't think you would have any problem getting in to a good doctoral program now. One sanity check would be to talk to one of your professors at UMCP and ask them if they think you'd be acceptable into their program.
Rather than spend time away from academia to "learn what you missed" you can easily do that with courses at the start of a doctoral program in the US, which is typical in any case. You have a year or so after you start such a program (with only a BS) to form a specialization.
Given the current pandemic, I think people will be understanding about such things as dropping courses, especially if the material can be learned in graduate level classes. And if the P/F system was imposed on you, then they have no choice but to accept it. Letters of recommendation can be used to give a more accurate picture of your performance and capabilities.
In short, I think you are well placed to apply to doctoral programs and suggest that you do so, perhaps in parallel with industry work if that actually appeals to you. Better to have as many choices as possible right now.


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Getting into grad school from an unknown undergrad university? Is it possible?
Pretty much what the tittle says. I'm currently studying for my TOEFL exam and considering start a graduate school application process for the next year or so, in Europe or Canada probably. I recently culminated my undergrad studies in a non-top university from my country, my notes overall are decent and I'm proud I could obtain a good GPA after all.
However, I have this concern that coming from an unknown university could be an important factor during my admission and I've been thinking in applying into research internships to gain experience.
But, is it my concern relevant? I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance

If you don't apply, you don't get in. Just make your case like anyone.

Thank you @Buffy any suggestion with regards my plan of get involved in a research internship? Do you think this could be convenient? Have a good day.

Research is always good and boosts your chances.

There are people who have made the PhD program at my undergraduate institution from smaller liberal arts colleges. Go ahead and go for it, worst they can do is say no.

If you are from an unknown university, then it is likely that your recommenders wouldn't be well known. That makes admissions to top graduate programs very difficult.  Research internships at good labs (with good advisors and good research going on) will help you with good quality publications and recommendations if you can do some solid work while you are there. This would provide an immense boost to your profile.

@Jihadi is not a top graduate program, nothing fancy to be honest. The options I've got so far are pretty much standards and decent, from some non-top european universities also I'd say. You know, just to increase my chances, too. However, it is more likely that I'll go for that research internship.

First, a lot of people wind up in graduate schools that are rated better/higher than their undergraduate institutions. It can have some impact, but is normally not determinative. Of course, it is harder to get in to "top" universities than others since the competition is much stronger, but it is still possible if your application materials clearly indicate that you are a good candidate for success.
Anything that can make success seem more likely is a help. Publications, certainly. Research, even if not completed is a positive. Good grades, good letters from your professors, all contribute to a larger picture.
If any of your professors studied in the places you are contemplating, you might ask them for advice. Sometimes the personal contacts between professors can have an effect, depending on the admissions system. At a minimum, a letter from someone trusted by the reader has more impact than it would if there was no such relationship.
Make sure your CV is complete and, very important, make sure that your SoP talks about your future career goals and how you intend to pursue them. Any ideas you have about research projects can help, though less detail is probably a good thing. If you aren't a native speaker of the language of the country you apply to, make sure your materials are checked by someone who is so that the language is correct and not misleading or awkward.
And, also very important, is to apply to a range of institutions, not all rated about the same. There are a lot of good universities out there that aren't rated near the top in their respective regions.

Thank you so much for the kind comment, professor. I can confidently confirm that I have future career goals set in my mind, unfortunately my path is being affected by the lack of experience I have. I'm a fresh graduate with no experience in the industry, so my CV has nothing interesting yet to contemplate, besides self made projects (which I'm planning to keep adding) and projects made during my undergrad classes. Because of this, the research intern position could impact positively in my resume I'd say. Could you provide any comment with regards my argument? Best regards.


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Is an undergraduate thesis a requirement to get into grad school?
I'm about to start my last term as engineering student, and my goal after I graduate is to get into grad school and pursue a master's degree in Computer Science or software development. However, my university is offering me two choices in order to opt for my degree: undergraduate thesis, or just internships (+ internship project). I already received some suggestions from colleagues that due quarantine and confinement is preferable to just go for internships, which I'm almost finishing working from home.
Nonetheless, I'd like to keep asking for second opinions about this. Can I freely choose only my internships without worrying if that could harm my application into grad school? I'd deeply appreciate any suggestion. Thanks in advance.

Since not all colleges or universities offer an undergraduate thesis option, the answer is No.

What country are you asking about?

The (presumably not research related) internship would probably not harm your application to grad school, but if you are looking for a research based masters then research experience (by doing the thesis) may help.

@Buffy hello Buffy, to be more precise Canada and Spain. Probably I'll be considering UK and other universities from Europe too, but so far those are the ones I've been taking into account.

@GoodDeeds I see. So, let's say the thesis would be a plus in my application? Or is it an important requirement still? Thanks for the kind suggestion.

@JonCuster hello Jon, thanks for your comment. I think it's clear now, but what if the program is research based? That would be an impediment?

No, it's not necessary.
Of course, all other things being equal, writing a (good) undergraduate thesis can only help. It demonstrates research capability and independence, and you'll probably get a more detailed letter of recommendation than you would from a professor who you saw only in class. But a similar argument can be made for many extracurricular activities, and you don't have time to do everything.
If you choose to write a thesis, do so because you are interested in the challenge and the topic, not because you are afraid not writing one will prevent you from getting into graduate school.

Thank you Max for the kind response. I'll take your comment into account. Best regards.


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Would 3 years of master's in Computer Science look bad in PhD applications?
Basically I'm in an MS program in Computer Science where I do either 8 courses or 6 courses (2 courses per semester) + thesis (spread across 2 semesters).
My original plan was to complete the thesis and graduate in 2.5 years. (The 6 months extra is because of a 6 month co-op/internship).
Now due to COVID-19, I couldn't effectively found a thesis advisor on time so I have extended my internship to 6 more months.
Would it hurt my PhD applications if I have taken 3 years to finish a master's degree (2 years 8 months actually) as opposed to the standard 2 year duration ? Given I would be graduating with 1 year of internship experience. Would it be better to skip thesis and just do coursework master's and graduate in 2.5 years ?
Thanks !

It depends where you apply. Some PhD programs want students to apply with a research based masters and others do not. It all depends where you apply.

This answer is relevant (especially for CS).

Even more relevant.

I think in the current circumstances, taking a few months extra to finish your Master's will not be looked on negatively. It will be easy to explain in your applications (exactly as you have done here) the reason for the extra time taken. Overall, a thesis-based Master's will probably be better for PhD applications than a coursework-based one, as you will have more demonstrable research experience.


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What should I do if a group project member is not contributing anything but is also depressed?
I know these questions have been asked before but I would like some advice and perspectives on what I should do when mental health comes into the equation.
The context is: an undergraduate class with a significant project component (40%). The project consists of a research proposal and a presentation and was assigned on May 6th and due on June 4th.
We have a project that is due in five days (as of writing) that we have largely completed the project. One of our group members has not contributed anything, but is apparently dealing with personal issues and is depressed and very stressed due to the coronavirus. We have largely not been able to contact him and at the same time I have also not seen him appear in any class on Zoom nor has anyone else spoken to him. He's off the radar.
Of the times he came online, he apologized profusely and asked what he can do for the project. I answered and he agreed and I gave a deadline. Then he disappears for two weeks or so.
I am wondering if I should alert the professor or just let it go since he's going through a hard time (in his words, I do not know the actual situation). I know him well and he isn't a malicious person so I trust him but at the same time there is an information asymmetry here so I can't really assume either possibility. I'm also worried about his performance in another class (where an individual project and a final exam is coming up in a week). What should I do (or what would you advice?)

I have been in your shoes in a similar situation when I was in undergrad. Our group member was also going through some hard times and did not contribute much to any of the project reports that were supposed to be written by all of us.
What we did was notify the professor but in a way that showed we were concerned for the student. I think it makes a big difference how the professor is notified, since you definitely don’t want to put the group member who claims to be going through a hard time in a though spot (it is good to give the person the benefit of the doubt). What happened in our case was that our professor has scheduled a meeting with all of us (in your case would be a zoom meeting, I suppose) and we discussed all together what happened so far and what must happen for the group member to successfully complete the class. That worked for the person in my group, although he felt really embarrassed by this situation, he actually contributed more to the project and kind of put himself back together- not only in our project but in all of his other classes.
Additionally to this, I have contacted the person and offered to be there for him if he needed someone to talk to. At the time we were not friends and maybe this looked a bit awkward, but in the end we became really good friends and he actually became a great student for the rest of the undergrad.
So, in short, I know you must be frustrated, as well as your group members, but realize that you have to bury this frustration deep and try to address the problem while being helpful. You guys are still undergrad and have a long way to go ahead of you. You don’t want to discourage your fellow because of a small thing like a group project.
And believe me, you could help change his life by being supportive and understanding in this period.

Thanks for the advice! However I have not been able to contact him at all for a week (and before that for another two weeks) so it's incredibly hard to ascertain how I can help or setup a meeting. At the same time I do not know how to explain to the professor why he is not appearing during the presentation. I guess my biggest challenge is that I don't know how to communicate with him since I don't know how to contact him since he's almost never online. Any ideas?

@Sky so many methods of communication now: letter, email, skype, facebook so try all of them and record your efforts...

Yeah, he doesn't respond to any of them (I haven't tried snail mails though but I don't even know where he lives currently). Which is why I really don't know what to do.

Notify the professor and use a concerned language and ask him to schedule a meeting for all of you over zoom. He probably cannot ignore the professor.


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Stress and anxiety related to competition
Regarding stress in mathematical research, I saw posts like
Is Mathematical Research Stressful?
But it seems that most answers there don't stress what I mainly feel, that much of my stress (even as tenure track professor at a relatively good place) is related not to some absolute evaluation of my work, but rather to comparing with others. Most terrifyingly, that they are much smarter, group to brainstorm together (I am more solitary by nature), progress, and all I can personally do will always be not fast enough, and subsumed in their work.
This makes me a lot of times reluctant to look at stuff they write, or interact with them, or try to think about things which I feel they can do in a few days if wanting to (so kind of "staying out of their property"). So this self limitation is regulating me into mediocrity, I guess, and of course leading to procrastination and other unpleasant effects, which overflow to the non-academical life (so sometimes it feels like living in constant fear).
Do you have similar feelings, and how do you deal with that?

Getting tenure aside, why do you do mathematics? Is it for the love of the subject or as a way to feel dominant over others? Why should it be competitive? You, too, can collaborate. What you are "by nature" and how you live your professional life don't need to be the same. The former need not dominate the latter.

@Buffy I hate being dominant over others. I enjoy the subject. I don't want it to be competitive, I just feel it is, or at least I somehow reinforced this in my head - that others are always "after me". I enjoy not to collaborate, at least with most people, because I usually stress to discuss in real time, I like to think through things and only then speak with others.

@Buffy It is a very bad perception of things that I internalized, I guess. I am sure that I will get tenure, it is not the technical part I am worried about. I would like nothing more than to somehow stabilize this, return to this relaxed state of "just thinking about things", that I believe I had before somehow getting exposed to the "world out there".

When you think about what you want to accomplish, you probably don't want your accomplishment to be, "I was more successful than X, Y, and Z," right?

@Notagradstudent I actually don't know what I want to accomplish... Definitely not what you suggest, but what other than that I also don't know. Just wanted to understand some math, I guess, and it progressed... But somehow I inhaled the atmosphere of non-relaxation, like a sponge...

@Notagradstudent It seems that now, when I would get tenure almost certainly, I can sit and learn math of others (necessarily having the outcome of realizing stuff by myself from time to time - enough for the appearance of a professor), and enjoy that. But it is like a non-invertible process on my psyche has been applied - like you are immersed in something and start thinking in its terms even if that is not for you... For example, measuring everything (because non-measured thing is non-easily commodified)

Do Not Listen To The Impostor Syndrome.

I doubt that this will really be an answer, and might even add to your stress. I would rather sit down with you for a couple of hours and chat than try to capture all of this "advice from an old codger" in written form.
First, an observation. If you work in a "hot" area of research, mathematics or other, you will be at a disadvantage with respect to collaborative groups. Such groups throw around a lot of ideas, some good, some bad, and find a way to filter out the better ones. It is hard for an individual to gain priority in time in such an environment.
I never had that particular problem, since my mathematical work was extremely arcane (but fun). There were, at the time, only half a dozen people worldwide who had any real interest in it. Math was heading in different directions at the time. So, no, I didn't experience just what you are. But there was a different, perhaps related issue.
My main personal issue was that I was so introverted that it was difficult for me to even speak up for myself when necessary. I would probably have completed my doctorate in four years (rather than seven) if I'd only spoken up to the department head about my need for a better advisor at the time.
But, through an accident of fate I was able to learn that, even though remaining introverted, I could act as if I were not. I could overcome my reluctance, even, to look people straight in the eye as I spoke to them. Painful, but possible. It just requires commitment and practice.
The specific training I got was related to something called Self Defeating Behavior and learned that my natural tendencies didn't need to dominate my actions.
So, the stress increaser, is a suggestion that you find a way to do some collaborations. You don't need to collaborate with everyone or anyone, of course, and you get to choose. But a friendly, small, working group can increase everyone's productivity. Set the rules at the beginning to keep it friendly: equal authorship in all joint work, for example.
Make the collaboration something you do, independent of what you think you fundamentally are.
It will be difficult, at first, if you have any tendencies similar to mine, but, over time, you will find it necessary, even rewarding.
I once had a chance to verify this with a colleague who knew me in both phases of my professional life. He agreed (a bit incorrectly) that I'd changed my personality from complete introversion to a fair amount of extroversion. In fact, I remain introverted, but have learned to act in public when appropriate. It made me a better educator as well. I know others in my field who have made similar transitions. Some of them are very well known in the world of CS.

This is a powerful TedTalk, related to your experience and could apply to OP: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RVmMeMcGc0Y

@Buffy Thank you... I will have to think about this stuff...


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Is Computational Social Science better as a degree or as a field of research for various disciplines to collaborate in?
I'd like to go to grad school, but I've been dragging my feet on it for so long (I'm three years out of college, with a Bachelors in Computer Science) because the sound of traditional CS research sounds uninteresting to me. However, I recently found out about the field of Computational Social Science, which asks are questions that I'd enjoy doing research on (see examples here: https://as.cornell.edu/block/computational-social-sciences).
Basically, I'm motivated by social and people problems rather than technology problems. I'd like to be someone who has a strong grasp of the technical and can use it to answer questions about the state of the world. I'm also motivated by having an audience (sounds shallow, but I might as well admit it), i.e.: my work matters to people and spurs discussion.
I even realized that the undergraduate research thesis I wrote was technically in CSS. I was training language models and then using them to predict societal gender disparities (e.g.: can you tell from the English language model whether the word "tennis" is more male or female? And using that, can you predict how many male vs. female tennis players went to the Olympics?)
Since doing my research on CSS programs, it seems like it's a field of specialization rather than an actual degree (so far I think only George Mason University offers it as an actual degree). My question is, which of these is better:

Do a Computer Science PhD and then specialize in CSS.
Do a PhD in some other related field to CSS (e.g.: Data Science, Informatics, Economics, Sociology, other ideas?) and then specialize in CSS.
Do a PhD in CSS directly, even though this is uncommon.

I'll add that along with finding something that I'm interested in, I do have long-term considerations like which degree gives me versatility, respect and income.
I have very little guidance right now, so any words of wisdom could help. Thank you!
My background, in case that helps:

I work at a large tech company, and I've done both mobile product engineering as well as some research in deep learning (my current role). I transitioned to the research team to see whether I'd like to dedicate five years of my life to those kind of problems. Unfortunately, reading about neural networks/adversarial attacks/bayesian neural nets etc etc is not my cup of tea, nor where I think I excel.
Some of my strengths (according to the last three years in industry): communication skills, design thinking, looking at macro patterns, executing and driving projects, mentorship.

This is an interesting question. I was just hired to an assistant professor position for which the desired specialty was computational social science, so I may have some relevant perspective. My field is communication, a field which sometimes describes itself as part of the humanities but is better described as a social science with a strong professional orientation as well.
First, I should note that your question does not make it clear what kind of career you would like to pursue after you get your PhD (if you choose to get one). I will answer this question as if you prefer an academic career (i.e., you would like to be a professor).
With this in mind, I should note that professors in computer science departments earn much more money than in the social sciences. According to this, the median assistant professor in CS earns $107,000. Assistant professors in the social sciences appear to earn a median of $63,000 (but do note these are two separate sources). Based on what I know about the field of communication, I'd be surprised if there are any newly-hired assistant professors making $100,000, at least outside of a few places like the state of California where such a salary doesn't go nearly as far.
That being said, you should of course not study CS or in any other discipline if you do not like it. The ultimate reward of a PhD is, in my and many others' opinions, not worth suffering for 4-7 years to get the degree. If you like what you're studying, and find the typically low pay such students get tolerable, then it can be quite rewarding.
I think most quantitative social science fields have growing interest in computational social science. In communication, there certainly is, thanks in part to the existence of so much widely available data that constitutes communication (tweets, news archives, etc.). Training in this area would require initiative on the part of the student — few graduate programs have a formal program available. The best thing to do would be to find programs with more than one computational social scientists on their faculty (more than one makes it more likely you have some "in-house" courses and protects you from having an important faculty member leave you with no adviser).
One thing you may enjoy is that your background in computer science could give you a significant advantage over your social science peers in terms of technical skill. Most computational social scientists in the field are like me, people who self-trained their computational skills in an ad hoc way. You will surely have technical skills to learn but you should have a much easier time picking these things up. You will find at many programs that a significant portion of students are at least mildly repulsed by scientific computing — they think highly of those with skills, but see it as too challenging to attempt themselves. Among senior faculty, this attitude is even more prevalent.
Clever students with CS background could bring insights and skills from CS that wouldn't be particularly novel to computer scientists but might be very useful and otherwise unavailable to people in the social sciences. You might also be able to better comprehend new developments in CS while most other social scientists wait for these innovations to be better explained to non-experts (and perhaps wait for a C or some other less accessible implementation to be moved to Python/R or whatever).
Of course, the challenge in terms of curriculum will be a lack of background in the subject matter. I can't speak for political science, for instance, but my field regularly recruits people with no background in the subject area to its graduate programs. I only had a humanities background paired with some self-study in preparation for grad school when I started my PhD. I like to think that you do not have to be a genius or extensively trained to become a competent social scientist over the course of a PhD program as long as you are willing to work hard, know how to write/communicate, and are comfortable with abstract and empathetic thinking about the social world.
Just to boost my own field for a moment, here's why you might consider a degree in communication:

Although communication is not a high-paying field as far as professors are concerned, it has a much healthier academic job market than virtually any other humanities or social science field. One easy metric to consider is this: There are more faculty job openings each year than there are new PhDs. I expect faculty hiring to continue to increase because the discipline is very popular among undergraduates (for good reason).
If you have broad interest in social science and want the freedom to study topics that are interesting to you and other people might find interesting too, I think you may find a home in communication. The example you gave about examining gender bias through language is certainly a thing communication scientists do (but linguists and surely some others do as well). I was attracted to the field in part because so many different subjects can fall under the broad umbrella of communication — politics, social relationships, child development, information technology, public health, and many more things.
The field is notoriously open to outside perspectives, particularly when it comes to methodology. This is partly why it has been so accepting of computational social science and why so many job ads explicitly target these skills. The field isn't terribly tool-oriented; there aren't constant battles over the best methods of analysis like are common in economics and political science. So if you want to use the toolbox of computer science but don't want your days to be occupied with minutiae of algorithms, communication is a discipline that's quite open to this. I don't want to say the field doesn't care about rigor — in fact a journal was just founded to help develop and refine computational methods — but there will always be a demand that your method not just be sound, but also that it should teach us something about the social world.

Other fields of interest: information science is one you didn't mention but they are trying to develop these skills and want to become the home of data science on college campuses. Sociology is good, especially if you want to do social network analysis (the statistical methods, not necessarily studying Facebook, etc.), but a very difficult job market. Economics pays well but it's a difficult job market, hard to get into without prior economics training, and economists are not big fans of non-econometric methods (speaking very broadly). Based on what I know, if there are data science PhD programs I wouldn't bother with them and would rather prefer applied statistics or sticking to a social science field.


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Consulting gigs for quantitative sociologist
I am a university professor (quantitative sociology) and I am interested in finding consulting gigs, especially for the summer since I'm on 9-month, but possibly year round if just for a few hours/week. Any advice how to find gigs?

What you need to do is establish visibility, especially with those who might benefit from your services. Having an extensive and helpful web site can help, especially if it is, itself, visible, such as one hosted by the university. Perhaps a professional blog or such will give some people an idea of what you can offer. But make it helpful to readers, not just an ad for your services.
But that isn't enough.
One possibility is to make contacts through adult students (MS, and doctoral level). Some of them may be employed by firms that would be interested. But you need to meet the people responsible.
One way to meet people is to do a bit of research on the interests and expertise of people with some authority at local companies/agencies and invite them as guest speakers, either in your own classes or generally.
If you want to cast a wider net, you can use professional meetings to make contacts with others of similar skills and desires and find a way to share contacts. Not a quick process, but it can build visibility.
Another way, not especially lucrative, but possibly rewarding, is to volunteer your expertise to local non-profit or government agencies. I suspect a number of them would be interested in knowing more about their clients. You can also get some of your students involved in this work, to their advantage, perhaps. But this sort of thing will also raise your visibility once it becomes known what you can do.
You can also, of course, form a formal group with colleagues and advertise your services.

Thank you VERY MUCH for the thorough reply. Those suggestions are extremely helpful. At the same time, this suggests that those gig jobs find you, not you find them


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As a postdoc, I made progress on a project that I was supposed to do during my PhD. I am regretting the time spent on my PhD
When I joined my computational modeling lab as a PhD student, I was supposed to work on a topic that I was very much interested in.
I spent 2 years of trying, but couldn't show any progress. I became overwhelmed and anxious. My advisor suggested me to change my topic to a completely different direction. At that moment, I was doubting myself, so I agreed and went ahead with the different direction.
Though I found the new direction interesting, it was not what I wanted to do. It was not much challenging and industry relevant. However, I went ahead with it. It still took me 4 more years to complete my PhD with 4 publications.
Now, I have joined my PhD advisor as a postdoc. I started revisiting the abandoned topic last month. I made so much progress in last 15 days that I am confident of producing publishable results by the end of this month.
I am now regretting my time spent during my PhD. I could have worked harder and continued on the topic. I could have completed a much better PhD. I would have gotten much better future prospects.

While I sympathize with your situation, I am a bit unsure what your question are? Do you have a question?

What makes you think you would have succeeded if you had stuck to your original topic? Perhaps the freedom from anxiety that you attained after achieving your PhD contributed to your current success. Rejoice in your publishable results!

@nabla sorry there's no question here. Probably I just wanted to hear some objective comments about this.

Not a question, so not an answer. The fact that you made progress in two weeks where you were stuck before shows that you didn't waste your PhD time. You learnt and made progress, subconsciously. This is not something that can generally be forced; it is given to one. Now publish strong results, and you should be able to improve your career.

It sounds like you've learned a lot since your PhD, which is good - it means you've developed as a researcher. I know that at the start of my PhD there are lots of things I could have done better (and in half the time) if I'd known a bit more. But I couldn't do that then. I needed to have those experiences in order to improve and learn.
I think you should focus on the fact that you expect to have high-quality publishable results in this area soon. If the better prospects you mention are tied to that topic, you can pursue them once you've published.

In some ways research is like mushrooms. What we see in the forrest or buy in the market is just the fruiting body. But the organism itself has to live and spread within the soil, sometimes for a long time, before the visible "cap" pops up. Like mushrooms, it is hard to schedule research. Your thinking matured. Be thankful.


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On my CV, what will be the best way to present the 5 months gap since defending my PhD and the official start of the postdoc appointment?
I defended my Ph.D. in December last year. I was supposed to start my Postdoc position (with my Ph.D. supervisor) from March but the immigration documents got delayed by over 3 months because of the lockdowns. Earlier my appointment was decided for a year from March 2020 to February 2021. But after receiving the immigration documents last month, my appointment officially starts on June 1st, 2020.
I have been working on my Ph.D. Manuscripts since February and also worked on some new collaborative projects since.
Should I put postdoctoral researcher as my designation in CV since February 2020 or is it illegal to put the designation before the official appointment begins? If not the former one, what can I put in my CV to show the time from February to May? Casual researcher? Research scholar?
I was not paid during the period (January to May). My now Postdoc advisor (earlier PhD advisor) has told me that she can write in my recommendation letters that I was a postdoc since February, if needed.

I doubt that five months needs any explanation at all, especially at the present time. But, unless you are in an unusual legal system, "postdoctoral" is a descriptive not a legal term. "Independent researcher" also works.
But a line in the CV suggesting "Independent collaborative research" would seem to me to cover it well and also be positive.
In interviews and discussions you can go in to the visa and pandemic issues.

For a normal CV, I would do nothing at all. A five month gap is completely unremarkable. If I received such a CV (and I've done a fair amount of hiring...), if I noticed at all, in a normal year I would probably assume you took a few months off, and applaud you for it. Given this year's unusual circumstances, that would not be a realistic assumption, and I would just not bother assuming anything.
If you're concerned about the upcoming job hunt, a mild concern might be whether you have made sufficient research progress to show momentum and "compete" favorably with new Ph.D's. That is a separate issue; hopefully you have been able to make some progress as an "independent researcher" nevertheless. However, especially if your productivity has been suboptimal, I would be leery to effectively backdate your start date since that may increase others' expectations of your progress.
All of this of course doesn't apply if you need your CV for some formal requirements where you are obligated to have no gaps, e.g. for certain visa applications etc.
Finally, a broader thought. You are making a transition from student to research professional. Things are of course messier in real life, but part of that is a transition from having success measured as "ticking the boxes" and "performing well in your student cohort", to "having interesting research successes". A year or two down the road, no one will care what trajectory you took and what activities you did when, merely whether by then you have established a track record of research success.
Good luck in your new position.


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When sending my final grades to one professional school, my transcript shows I am enrolled in another program
I have been accepted to two professional schools for next year, one of which is part of my current university (Program A). I need to send an official transcript with my final semester's grades to the other school (Program B). Before submitting a request to my current school to send my transcript, I checked my unofficial transcript. I was surprised to see that since I already graduated with my undergraduate degree, the transcript lists that I am currently attending Program A, including the classes I would be enrolled in for the fall semester.

Does my unofficial transcript reflect how my official transcript will appear?
If it does list Program A, will Program B regard this as an issue? Or can I just submit my transcript as-is with no explanation?
If this is an issue, is there a way I can circumvent it?

(Note: I'd like to hold on to both acceptances until nearer to the end of the summer, as Covid-19 might be affecting where I'll be living next year.)

You need to take this up with the university. There is no common answer.

Are you referring to my current university, or the other one?

@Buffy I also don't want my current school to know about the other, especially since my current school is offering me a scholarship.

You may be able to ask for a "degree" transcript at some universities.

Just to be clear - you have not officially enrolled in Program A, nor otherwise notified them that you intend to do so?

@zhantongz thank you for your suggestion!

Does my unofficial transcript reflect how my official transcript will appear?

Only your university knows how they handle the two types of transcripts.  But it's possible.

If it does list Program A, will Program B regard this as an issue? Or can I just submit my transcript as-is with no explanation?

I think it would be reasonable to inform Program B that this is an error and that you have not enrolled in any program at A for the fall semester.
It's true that this might reveal that you have applied and been accepted to A, but I don't think that's a serious concern.  Every university knows that applicants apply to many different programs.
If anything, the fact that you've been accepted to another program would likely motivate B to try harder to recruit you, since it's confirmation that you are well qualified for professional study, and it shows B they can't expect you to accept a low financial offer out of desperation.

If this is an issue, is there a way I can circumvent it?

Sure; contact the office at A responsible for maintaining academic records (e.g. the registrar). Inform them that your transcript erroneously shows you as enrolled in the program, and ask for it to be corrected.

Thanks! I appreciate your help and will reach out to the registrar.


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Asking questions of examiners in PhD thesis defense?
I have my PhD defense coming up and understand that I'll be asked if I have any questions for the examination committee, like asking for advice on turning chapters into publications.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm completely stumped!
FYI the defense includes just myself and a small examination committee (three people) so no audience, peers etc.

Which country and discipline?

Are you interested in staying in academia (or turning the chapters into publications)? If no, just say "no questions".

Perhaps you can ask for advice on post-PhD life? Assuming you're pretty confident that you'll pass your exam (and your advisor shouldn't have allowed you to defend if they didn't think you were 100% going to pass!), your next step will be getting a job or postdoc somewhere. Perhaps you can ask the committee what they found most important during their first few years post-defense?

You may ask their opinion of how to continue the topic being covered by your PhD thesis or how they see the application of it. I expect that your work is somehow closed, but you may get interesting advise you don't see now.


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What motivates you to do research?
I am a research undergraduate student who is in full time research internship in university. I realized that research needs A LOT of patience to obtain validated results A LOT of exploration. A LOT of roads and initial ideas that lead to no results or can't be implemented. I don't feel the dopamine rush that i feel when working on short term projects. So how do you stay motivated ? what's your secret ?

Does this answer your question? How should I deal with discouragement as a graduate student?

There is a saying in math: "You don't choose mathematics. Mathematics chooses you." Some of us are just driven by ideas. You either power through frustrations or learn to sidestep them.

I have found research to be incredibly more stimulating for me than almost anything else. I absolutely HATE when I come up against problems on what feels like literally a daily basis, but after I work through those problems, it's a very wonderful feeling. So I have an immense love-hate relationship with research. Being able to do research is incredibly liberating for me, even when I hate doing it.

You feel quite good when completing a short term project. Imagine how good the feeling is when you finally fix all the problems and find the right way to proceed and complete a long term project.


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It is worth to get a bachelor degree in education?
What can I do with a bachelor degree in education and what are the pros and cons of getting a degree in education?

Pro: you can be an educator. Con: you might prefer to be a firefighter instead.

You might want to specify which part of the world you are in. For example, we discussed here that a degree in education will not in itself allow you to teach in the US (though it's a common path towards meeting the requirements); things are different elsewhere. Note also that undergraduate admissions and post-graduate careers are off-topic here (so your question is likely to be closed), though there is probably some way to reword your question so that it fits.

If you want to teach at any level, even in industry, a degree in education is valuable, and, in many cases, especially at the lower levels, is a requirement. It can also be a gateway to graduate degrees for a person who wants to do educational research, especially in academia. My former spouse, for example, was professor of educational psychology, a common specialty.
In most places in the US, perhaps all, a bachelors is required for a teacher. For elementary education that mostly means a bachelors in education, but there can be exceptions. For higher levels it may be somewhat less of a requirement that your degree be in education specifically, though you probably will need to take courses in education to advance in either elementary or secondary level teaching. Usually, the credits you are required to learn can also be applied to a masters in education.
But note that a degree in education has many possibilities. There are differences in programs that focus on elementary education and secondary education, for example. And some programs, geared toward teaching adults, can be valuable for a person wanting to be a "trainer" in industry.
For university teaching, such qualifications are seldom needed unless you want to teach in an education department. But if you want to teach math, for example, in a university, math degrees are normally needed, not education credits. But a math degree, alone, will probably not qualify you for teaching at the elementary level and may or may not at the secondary level. And, again, someone teaching secondary level math will probably be required to earn several education credits to keep their job, though, perhaps, not to get hired initially.
Whether it is "worth it" or not depends on what you contemplate for your career.


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What does the number of papers presented in a conference say about the conference?
If a conference 'C' has pushed 250 papers(per conference) to IEEE Xplore, and another conference 'B' has 65 papers (per conference) in IEEE Xplore digital libraries.
Does this mean Conference C is better than Conference B ? or is Conference B better than Conference C?
P.S. Both conference are sponsored by IEEE, and they both are in their 4th annual year.

No, it does not mean any of those things just because of number of papers.

It may be a good indicator of how many presentation rooms the conference has access to. Some venues are larger than others.

Short answer: It does not say anything!
Longer answer: Both the number of submitted papers and the number of accepted papers don't mean anything independently. There are topic-specific conferences and their communities are relatively small. Also, there are researchers -for a reason or another- who submit according to the location where the conference is held. All these reasons make it normal that some conferences don't receive a lot of submissions.
However, the ratio of the number of accepted papers to the number of submitted papers can be an indicator of the conference quality. It is actually used by a lot of conferences as a quality advertisement.
In the end, I wouldn't compare the conference 'C' against conference 'B' because this comparison is most of the time subjective. I would rather submit to a conference that has a good reputation and is well ranked (e.g. core) or has a good h-index (e.g. google scholar).

Even the ratio may vary a lot based on the field. A highly popular field can have very low acceptance rates in top conferences, while a less popular field may have a higher rate due to there being fewer researchers working in it and self selection when submitting. The ratio is more useful to some extent when compared among different conferences for a given subject area.

@GoodDeeds I fully agree! there are even factors; for example, receiving a lot of bad quality papers or the opposite. I personally don't believe in these factors and I find only experience a factor to assess venues. Conference organizers usually use the ratio to give brief statistics and some times to advertise the quality of the conference.


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Contributing to open research in 2020
I am interested in getting into a research oriented role in future and would really like to learn more about the process and gain experience by being part of it.
Can someone please share any information about any such current open research initiatives where I can participate or contribute or get a chance to work with other researchers (for example Stanford's crowd research initiative).
Also, if there are other ways, can someone please guide me.
I am particularly interested in the field of Mathematics or Computer Science.

Computer Science as Open Science could mean participating to projects such as http://refpersys.org/ and contributing to code it on https://gitlab.com/bstarynk/refpersys/ - feel free to email me to basile@starynkevitch.net


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What is the role of the supervisor in paper writing?
Should the supervisor be involved in writing parts of the publication with their students? correct parts the student writes or shoould the supervisor just submit the paper after the student has complete with writing it? which is more common in the EU CS labs?

Are you asking about a dissertation related paper or something more general?

As I recall, initially their role consisted of spilling lots of red ink on my perfectly good prose... Well, OK, not so good as it turns out.

Well, it really depends on circumstances - the student, how far along in their studies they are, and on the philosophy and the workload of the professor.
Based on what I do with my own students and see other professors do, I would say the most common trajectory in applied CS labs in the parts of Europe I worked in (Austria, Switzerland, Sweden) is roughly as follows ("supervisors" may include postdocs or other more senior lab members that mentor the student):

For the first one or two papers, a lot of very direct support is provided. Supervisors sit with the student frequently, give rapid feedback on short text passages (subsections or even paragraphs), and write or re-write good chunks of the paper themselves.
For later papers, the supervisors (intentionally) get more hands-off. Drafts are of course still read, but on a more coarse-grained level (say, section by section after the student has written what they believe to be a mature draft). Most, though typically not all, text in the final manuscript is predominantly written by the student.
Given that the goal of a PhD education is to train independent researchers, the hope is that by the end a student can write a more or less submittable paper without much input by the supervisors at all. Supervisors may still help polish the final papers a bit, or give feedback on a more strategic level - or they might drop out entirely and ask the by-then mature student to submit the paper alone or with other collaborators.

I would say "submitting the paper" is the student's job in all phases. This is a fairly boring and, sometimes, tedious task, and I see no particular reason why it's a good use of valuable supervisor time to do that. I do sometimes sit with the student and do it together with them if they are taunted by a particularly obnoxious submission system.

Of course there is substantial deviations from this, both between labs and between individual students. To be frank, many students in practice never learn to write well enough to ever fly solo in their PhD education, and they never leave the second phase. Some professors will start directly in the second phase, expecting somewhat mature writing from the get-go. Some supervisors have no problem with writing or revising some sections of the paper for a student, others categorically do not do that and only comment on the student's writing.

I think the answer to the question is that the supervisor should be involved in all parts of study design, study execution, and the writing process. That is, after all, what is commonly considered necessary to be a coauthor.
That is specifically true for papers written with junior authors who surely all can use the mentoring that comes with involvement in writing papers.
Of course, what I think you are really asking is "what do I do if the supervisor is not involved". But that's a different question, and one that has many previous answers on this site.

It of course depends. Sometimes, the role of the supervisor is limited to finding the funding, proposing the work, supervising the work, checking the article to be submitted and correct or ask for corrections, and approving the publication. Strictly speaking, just funding and proposing the work is not enough for authorship, but this rule is probably violated a lot. There are also many cases where the supervisor is more involved.
For first time authors, it is very common to underestimate the contribution of a supervisor.
Since you are in CS, combined authorship is much more common than in pure Mathematics, where the rule seems to be more that everyone needs to contribute at least a result (Lemma, Theorem) and Ph.D. supervisors are usually not a co-author.