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Social norms about hiring freelance assistants
Is it considered ethical or appropriate for a researcher to hire a freelance contractor to perform or assist in some secondary tasks related to the preparation of a research papers? To make some concrete examples, what about (1) drawing illustrations, (2) transcribing manuscript notes into Latex, (3) preparing numerical simulations, (4) proofreading, and so on?
The field is mathematics. And the assistant would not be a professional researcher, just someone with some scientific background and relevant skills in Latex, Matlab, or whatever appropriate tools.

I see no problem with any of that provided that the funding is appropriate. There may be provision in grants for such aid, for example. Research and publication should be about ideas extending knowledge, not about the manual preparation of documents.
And RAs often do some of that.

Thanks for your reply. Should the "assistant" be acknowledged or under which circumstances should co-authorship be considered?

None of the cases you suggest would necessarily result in co-authorship if paid. Some might need an ack, I think, but it is a judgement call. Illustrators are more likely to be acknowledged than proofreaders. Preparing simulations may be an "in-between" case, depending on how much the work contributed to the intellectual content. If the work fundamentally depends on a simulation, then the person creating it is a collaborator in many cases, not just an employee.

I think it depends on the conditions of your source of funding. If it's a grant or money from your university or whatever, just have a glance at the terms or contract or whatever, to see if there are conditions on what you are allowed to spend it on.
You should probably also have a look at such things as confidentiality, proprietary
information, and such like things. If the research assistant is going to be looking at information that is supposed to be anonymous (such as medical records, for example) you need to make sure it really is anonymous before the assistant gets to look at it.
But generally speaking, that sort of work is expected to be done by some such hired assistant. And, it's a frequent way to get some support to graduate students. So unless your funding source puts limits on it, it would seem quite reasonable.
Also: Kudos on being interested in the ethics of the situation. Some people would just charge ahead and spend the money on whatever they felt like. Well done you.


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Will it be a problem if I take a letter of recommendation from a lecturer in my department?
I have a pretty well connection with him academically(taught several courses and was one of the teachers of my final year major) and personally. But I am confused if the designation is going to be a problem.
I have requested and managed two from my thesis supervisor and another assistant professor.
I am planning to apply for graduate studies in the USA.

What country is your current university in? "Lecturer" means different things in different countries. If I understand correctly, in the UK it means something like "assistant prof" or "associate prof" does in the USA.

I am from Bangladesh. A lecturer here is also a permanent faculty member like an assistant professor or an associate professor. The difference is seniority I'd say. First you are a lecturer, then you become an assistant professor, after that associate and finally professor.

While a professor would be better, a lecturer should be fine, especially if they hold a doctorate. You want letters from people who know you well enough to make a prediction about your future success, and so a lecturer with whom you have interacted may be a good choice.
The letters need to speak both about your past accomplishments and about your potential for success. Choose the best people for that.
I would worry a bit if the person doesn't have a doctorate, however, unless they are also currently in a doctoral program. They need some experience in the situation you are applying for. But a lecturer - current doctoral student probably will work nearly as well. Note that I have a few misgivings about the last statement. Think hard about it if this is the actual case.

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Does it reflect worse on a student to skip class or not go to any office hours?
Does it reflect worse on a student to skip class or not go to any office hours? My professors so far think it's better for one to never show up to ask questions but go to classes but I disagree because classes aren't always useful. Sometimes my professors read right out of the book for the entire lecture and I don't need someone to read for me.

If you ace the exams, then both are OK: you obviously do not need the lectures and you do not need the office hours.  Is that your situation?

I would try to look at it from the other side of the desk. Your professor probably:

Does not think the lectures are useless, and
Feels that most of your questions were answered in class.

I am sure you disagree, but that's how your professor will see it.
So in terms of how skipping class and attending office hours reflects on you -- well, I am sure they find it obnoxious. By the way, if you skip both class and office hours, then they won't know you at all, which is only marginally better than being actively disliked.
At any rate, if you are the only student attending office hours, then it would be difficult to justify refusing to help you (assuming you are respectful, etc.). If there is a crowd at office hours, however, it would be reasonable to favor those students who attended the lecture.

If you don't attend class or go to office hours, you're effectively saying you don't need the professor to teach you. If this is indeed true for you, then more power to you. The professor might at most be mildly annoyed by how you're not coming to class if you continue to ace the exams.
Two caveats:

If you never come to class, the professor will have no impression of you beyond what you write in the homework & exams. You can't really ask them for a recommendation letter because they won't have much to write about.
More importantly, most of the time, students who don't come to class do worse - much worse. In fact I'm pretty sure there's a strong correlation between how often a student comes to class and how well they do.

Feel free to not go to class if you're confident, but if you start having trouble with the homework / mid-terms, it's time to attend.

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Why are some highly-cited papers shown by Google Scholar arXiv preprints?
I found some papers somewhat related to my work, and, on Google Scholar, the citations are for the arXiv preprint, not a journal version of the paper.  Why is this? The citations are in the thousands, and the professors are pretty well-known.

I may throw some insights in the fields related to computer science and machine learning. Nowadays those fields witness an explosion of advancement: numerous international conferences and workshops are hold every month. With such a rapid speed of development, it is a common practice that the authors upload their preprints to arXiv even before their work is accepted, just to establish their progress.

Right, indeed my question is specific to this area.  However, the papers I have in mind, with thousands of citations, are now nearly 5 years old, and they are still in preprint status?

I am not 100% sure, but I guess it could be for the following reasons: 1) with so many citations and hence some fame, it is not necessary to submit it to a conference to get publicity. Moreover, there is no novelty at all as a submission. 2) what is possibly more favourable is to submit a journal version, but the authors may be busy or don't care about it or do not have more results to make a journal version. This is in particular more likely for big names.

RDing : I think its more of knowledge sharing, rather than the word "establish".

Are the papers actually still in preprint status, or is Google Scholar merely linking to the arXiv version as one of many available?

Rajesh Dachiraju: You are definitely right. I was trying to argue that in some rapid developing areas, it is common that similar research takes place simultaneously. Those who have got some results would like to be the first to publicize their results. That is what I meant by 'establish'.

JeffE: That I am not sure. I guess it is possible that Google would link to the latest public version of the paper, where sometimes the arXiv version is the latest.


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During a PhD, what should I do that is not research?
I am PhD student finishing my first year in Computer Vision. While I take my research seriously, I was wondering what I could (or should?) do that is not research. I can think of very different things:

Studying related subjects that do not directly benefit my PhD as Natural Language Processing;
Studying completely different subjects that interest me: Finance, Chinese, Management, etc;
Go to the gym;
Sleep more;
Play PC games;
Watch movies;
Travel;
Look for jobs for after my PhD;
...

So far, I have been focusing on research during the week, and if I'm tired of it during the evenings or the week-end (which is usually the case), I just rest or read a book.
Not sure if this is being lazy or having a good life-work balance, but at least I am still very motivated and things are going not too badly (I am quite close to completing the key experiences of my first paper).
So, what should I do?

do what thy wilt

I see no way to answer this question objectively - this really depends on what gives you a good work-life balance, which is different for everyone. Perhaps you can look into what the region in which you are working in has to offer in particular?

Get a job as a tutor/teaching assistant at your university to get teaching experience?

I vote for "Studying completely different subjects that interest me".  You have that opportunity now, but may not ever have it again in the future.

Socialize perhaps?

As the comments say, do what you want.
It is your free time. There is no meed to sacrifice it to your PhD. Otherwise you might later end up feeling that you have "wasted" time, as in this question. Your research work seems to be going well, so there is also no pressure to put in more hours.
There is no need to optimize every aspect of your life. Try out those things you have mentioned, see what works out for you/what you enjoy more. We cannot make that choice for you.

First, take care of your health. Get enough sleep and exercise. Aerobic exercise is especially good. Eat properly.
Next see to your relationships, both personal and professional. For professional relationships try to build a circle of people who might be willing to collaborate with you in the future. Conferences are good for this, but some of it can be local in a large university. Exploit your advisor's circle if possible.

I see "go to the gym" as one of your options. I would definitely try to fit in that, or some sort of vigorous exercise program. Personally I'd go for running or brisk walking outside, as it gives one some time to think about random stuff without a lot of noise and distraction.

Bicycling is good, too. Favor aerobics over strength.


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Marijuana use and job/grant opportunities
I am now living in a state (in the US) where marijuana is legal (for recreational use) and I'd like to be able to try it. However, I am concerned that doing so might effect my job or grant prospects as a current graduate student. In my field, students can intern for the DoD or NSA and my understanding is that smoking marijuana is a disqualifier for those kinds of positions.
Am I correct in this?
Are there any other grants or jobs for which this would be disqualifying?

You could Ask them...

Internships for DoD/NSA are not prerequisites for job/grant applications, are they?

Right but it's federally illegal, even though it's legal on the state level (@Zarrax). Also, definitely not (@Dmitry) but it's nice to have more options

Clearly you've never dealt with clearances before. So many people do things of this nature that if they disqualified them based on them, they wouldn't find hires. Just be honest when asked. It's so common for people to have smoked pot even where it is not legal on the state level, that it is extremely unlikely to work against you.

Maybe you'll get better answers on workplace stack exchange?

Just to clarify, you may not be able to use marijuana while being a federal employee, but past casual use of marijuana is so common as to not be a disqualifier (I've heard this from several people I know). But if you try to conceal past use that will be highly frowned on. Maybe someone with first-hand experience can write a full answer.

@Zarrax I remember hearing a story about how one of the three-letter agencies used to have a policy that banned the hiring of anyone who had ever used marijuana, and how they had to remove it when they started trying to hire computer hackers because they couldn’t find any of them that hadn’t indulged at some point.

A simple search will turn up the fact that it is probably criminal to lie on any US federal job application. The issue is that it is a crime to lie to a federal agent - the recipient of the application. Whether this makes sense or not is immaterial. DOD and NSA in particular are paranoid about these things.

@nick012000 Was this before or after recreational cannabis became legal in several states? I have trouble believing that someone would be disqualified for past legal use.

@ElizabethBenning A long time before. IIRC it would have been back when “we need to hire computer hackers” first became an issue they needed to worry about.

How do they find out?

@nick012000 The Georgia Bureau of Investigation "sort of" works that way for internships, cf. https://gbi.georgia.gov/employment-opportunities/internship-program : "Students will be disqualified for any of the following: Illegal use of marijuana or non-prescription steroids within one year of internship application date." (my emphasis).

@Clément That strikes me as a ridiculously unenforceable clause. Good luck trying to prove that someone used marijuana a year ago.

Regardless of current policy, your career may be affected by policies 30 years in the future. Although the trend seems to be towards increased tolerance of marijuana, it is not possible to predict how things will be throughout your career. When I was a teenager US federal policy seemed to be moving in the direction of eliminating poverty and racial injustice as important objectives - see the "Great Society" programs.
You seem to be in a field that may lead to US government employment, or needing a US security clearance, or both. That makes you very vulnerable to changes in policy. The consequences of not being able to truthfully deny ever using illegal drugs could change in either direction.
You will have to make your own trade-off, but remember that you need to consider what could happen over several decades, not just what is happening now.

Hopefully things improve, as you say. But currently the federal government treats marijuana exactly the same as it treats heroin and cocaine. State laws may be more lenient but that may be of no consequence if you bump against a federal official. See: https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/federal-marijuana-laws.html

@Buffy only sort of. marijuana, heroin and cocaine all will result in a failed drug test, but when evaluating someone for security risks, they actually use common sense.

Although the actual use of it is a gray area, you're still risking doing something stupid while under the influence (just like alcohol, and lack of sleep). I wouldn't spend too much energy to deliberately try something like this. I haven't met anyone later in life that said "Darn, I really wish i tried marijuana when I was young." but plenty that really regretted that drink or that other substance which lead to a disaster.

@Nelson That's more a question of responsible use, rather than use vs. non-use.

@lighthousekeeper:  How do you expect to be "responsible" when the primary effect of alcohol and drugs is to completely jack up the parts of your brain that are responsible for being responsible?  I mean, you get drunk at home in a responsible way, and then your inebriated brain decides it would be fun to cross the local high way at night, in the dark, bare ass naked - and you get run over by a truck and spend the rest of your life paralyzed  from the neck down.

@JRE You inform yourself about safe dosages, and consume a safe dosage. Also, in the case of marijuana, the chances of somebody voluntarily leaving the house while under the influence are usually rather slim.

I agree with @lighthousekeeper. I sometimes consume alcohol. A glass of wine with dinner does not make me want to cross a highway naked. It is a safe dose for me for most purposes, but I do think it tends to increase my reaction times, and might affect judgement, so I don't drive until at least 10 hours and a night's sleep after drinking.

I seriously doubt that you would be "very vulnerable to changes in policy". Doing something commonplace that was legal on the state level but not federal level 30 years ago is highly unlikely to interfere with security clearances, as long as you are forthright about it. And please don't insert these politically motivated snippets like "seemed to be moving in the direction of eliminating poverty and racial injustice" that aren't related to the issues at hand but will elicit an emotional response.

@emory I'm referring to things that don't involve interactions with foreigners, things that are just aspects of one's personal life. It's not credible to me that marijuana use will be so taboo in 30 years that having used it years ago would make it harder to get a clearance.

I work for the DoD and have colleagues who have been arrested related to marijuana. I am not aware of any grants that require additional drug testing or more than a provisional security clearance. All of our positions, even internships, require the individual to complete an SF86 and be granted provisional clearance. Past drug use, and even convictions, does not disqualify you from gaining provisional clearance. Not all positions require a pre-employment drug test and not all positions are testing designate.
I would (do not) worry about recreational use of marijuana and its effects on future employability. The key, like everything on the SF86, is to be honest. If you have used in the past, or have a conviction, you need to declare it. Things get messy and from my understanding, it is not clear if you need to declare drug usage that is illegal in the US if it was used someplace that it is legal.

It's amazing that even 5+ after legalization this is still a grey area. OTOH, since the feds have done basically nothing to challenge those states in all that time, it seems like it would be shaky ground to retroactively penalize someone for doing something completely legal.

@Elizabeth But it isn't completely legal. It is still illegal at the federal level. States cant override federal law. The feds not enforcing the law for a period of time doesn't make it not the law.

The conversation about government dominance has been moved to chat. Please read this FAQ before posting another comment.

I've gone through the process, so here is my experience.
Marijuana use won't be disqualifying in itself but it will be considered a negative factor for getting a security clearance.
Usually if it occurred well in the past and doesn't establish a pattern of questionable behavior (for example you used marijuana, had a DUI, had other misdemeanors in the same period ), it will be OK.
It's a much bigger problem if the use is ongoing or fairly recent and can not be chalked up as youthful indiscretion.
If you are planning to apply for any jobs / internships that require security clearance, I suggest not using marijuana. And yes, there are internships that require security clearance.
You might even be disqualified from some jobs that don't require security clearance. I worked on a NOAA contract that required "public trust" - basically a background check - which actually uses the same process used for getting a security clearance. While the bar for getting that is much lower, they still ask for drug use and expect you to disclose it.
Just recently HR sent a company wide email forwarding guidance from the federal government that despite states making marijuana use legal, it (the federal government) still considers it illicit drug.
So long story short - if you are planning a career that has anything to do with the federal government do not use marijuana.

In my field, students can intern for the DoD or NSA and my understanding is that smoking marijuana is a dis-qualifier for those kinds of positions.

I would clarify a few points:

Many grants are sponsored by the DoD, and it is common for academics (in universities and industry R&D) to receive these grants. You do not need a clearance to get a grant unless the grant requires classified work. This often leads to a first-mover problem: you need a classified contract to get a clearance, and you need an active clearance to be competitive for many classified contracts.
Getting a clearance takes a months, and can take years in extreme cases. So, I would not most expect a summer internship to require a clearance. There could be exceptions, but they would have to hire you and start your SF-86 several months in advance.
It is true that recent or ongoing marijuana use would certainly prevent you from maintaining a clearance. Historical marijuana use is unlikely to be a problem if you are honest about it. I am not aware of any hard cutoff between "recent" and "historic," but anecdotally I have heard 1-4 years.

Are there any other grants or jobs for which this would be disqualifying?

I am not aware of any grants, at the DoD or otherwise, that would ask about your drug use. On the other hand, random drug testing is mandatory for all/most federal employees as well as many large companies (though even the companies that do drug test may or may not care about marijuana).

Provisional clearance can be granted pretty quickly and is often all that is needed to work at secure locations. Not all federal positions are testing designated. I am not sure if current usage would prevent clearance, especially if you are not in a TDP as they would never find out.

Thanks for your notes. Replies: (1) They can be super quick, particularly for young people with no foreign ties. They can also take YEARS, even for interim. (2) ok, I said all/most to leave myself wiggle-room, I guess it is "most." (3) The DoD is a big place, but I have never heard of anyone getting it without at least a year since last use. You could lie, I guess, but some positions do require polygraphs, and getting caught in a lie is the easiest way to lose your clearance.

This is not an expert answer, and hopefully someone will provide a better one, but here is what I could gather.
My impression is that: past use of marijuana is unlikely to impact your employment prospects at federal agencies. The greater concern would be with ongoing use. I have no solid information on the frequency of drug testing during federal unemployment, but it is in principle a possibility; more significantly, it seems that a drug test is a rather common component of hiring, especially for employees requiring a security clearance, which is common for scientific positions in national security.
To provide one piece of data, it seems that the Department of Energy, one of the largest federal employers of scientists, requires a drug test during the security clearance process. This reference asserts that cleared employees in general should expect a drug test when changing jobs, though not necessarily during employment.
In short, I can find no evidence that trying marijuana while not in the federal hiring process has any associated employment risks, and I have very strong priors against the idea that it would. However developing a regular marijuana habit would likely make it quite difficult to get hired at these organizations.

Honestly, I would just not disclose that type of information and instead tell them that you don't use those substances. The fact is that public policy is extremely out of touch with substance use and it really shouldn't matter what you do in your personal life if you are qualified to be doing the job. Just like your sexual orientation, you really should not be disqualified from something you're qualified for because you decide to make a personal decision about what goes into your body. As long as you're not the type to be abusing substances to the point that it would impact your performance on the job then I truly cannot see any reason why you can't be doing both. However, with all of this being said, if they do drug testing then you're facing a very different set of risks. Many top performing professionals in their fields have used and do use substances, so live your life while also getting that position.

This doesn't answer the question. While I'm sure all us good progressives agree that marijuana prohibition is silly, the American Department of Defense is not run by us, and the question was whether marijuana use could have a negative impact at such an institution.

When going through the clearance process, you will most likely be asked about your prior drug use.

I do understand that, but I am failing to understand why simply just saying "no" would not be the default? They can't prove that you have or have not and so it seems to me that giving the answer that they would like is your safest option regardless of if it is true or not.

@D.Gray Because they drug test.

@Kevin Carlson If drug testing is on the table, then I agree, everything that I have said falls out the window and it's better to just be clean when going into the job.

Dangerous - career killing dangerous -  because you affirm, under oath, to the honesty of your answers.

@D.Gray Yes, and luckily there's a fact of the matter about that, which an answerer should try to determine. In any case I question whether it's reasonable to assume that everyone will be comfortable, either ethically or practically, lying to federal law enforcement.

Isn't this an easily refutable lie with severe consequences (such as lying to a federal instituion)?

@D.Gray Because if they find out (say through a lie detector test) you'll likely be unable to get a clearance in the future, and there may even be legal consequences.

If anything, at least there's now a healthy discussion as to why this answer might not fit the particular interests of the OP. Thank you to everybody for contributing to a healthy discussion.

@Zarrax: And on that note, certain types of clearances require a routine polygraph test for all applicants, on which one of the questions is whether you have ever used illegal drugs.

@KevinCarlson In response to your first comment, it seems to me that the question of whether marijuana use can have a negative impact is answered here by "not if they don't find out". I can understand not liking the answer because it proposes lying and/or breaking the law, but you can't claim it isn't an answer. Also the comments about drug testing are ignoring the fact that you generally can't get positive test results beyond a few weeks to a month.

@KevinCarlson As for whether or not "everyone will be comfortable" in lying, it's worth considering that such a person is is already comfortable breaking the law by consuming marijuana in the first place, so it isn't too unreasonable that such a person might feel comfortable lying about it as well when asked.

Lying on your clearance application is actually a felony.


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Correlation between GRE Scores and Profile
I have recently taken GRE general and GRE subject tests and going to apply to US universities for Ph. D. in mathematics. My GRE general score is bad (verbal 138 + quant 163). My GRE subject mathematics score is 810 with 79 percentile.
My question is how do these scores affect my profile for getting admission? Is there any hope of getting a good university at all? Thanks to everyone.

" Is there any hope of getting a good university at all?" there is always some hope.

It will really depend on the university. Some universities look closely at the GRE score, others, like the one I teach at, require the GRE but only use it for borderline admission cases. There's a growing trend among universities to ignore the GRE altogether, since it doesn't correlate well with success in postgrad.


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Is it ethical to apply for a short-term grant with a partner/spouse/girlfriend?
My partner and I live in different countries, and we have been discussing a research topic for some time but have had difficulty making progress due to the distance, local responsibilities, etc.  We have recently found a visiting researcher grant that would allow me to visit her for a couple months and work exclusively on our project.  We would both continue to receive salaries from our respective institutions (the grant requires this), and we plan to request only enough funding for travel and basic living expenses (i.e., a round-trip flight, daily meals, and daily transport; the latter two, because her country is more expensive than mine).
Are there any ethical issues with us applying for such a grant?  We do not, for example, plan to request housing funds, since I will stay with her.  We are not sure whether we should disclose our relationship status in the application, because it's a small grant, and it could be seen as distracting or superfluous information. (See also the discussion under @DanRomik's answer.)
Edit: to be clear, we are each qualified in our fields to carry out such a project.  Indeed, we've already been carrying out the project, but at a slow pace, and the main goal is to have a couple months of focused effort on the project.

Kudos for thinking of ethics before you do it. Well done you.

@puppetsockreinstateMonica I'm only in it for the kudos.  And the fake SE points.  But mostly the kudos.

Hmmm. Withholding all kudos, kiddo. ;-)

Provided you are qualified and intend to do a good job under the grant, I see no ethical considerations at all. Many people (most?) applying for grants in other countries have a variety of goals, not all of which are relevant to the position itself. Wanting to live in Paris is pretty common, I'd guess.
There would be an issue if she is the decision maker on who gets the grant. In such a case she should recuse from the decision and pass it to others, such as a superior. But otherwise, there should be no problem.

Would you then say this person should apply for funding to pay half the rent?

@Dawn, paying the rent is a personal matter. Applying for additional funding just to pay rent, might raise other ethical issues. Not enough to decide here, I think.

Neither I nor my girlfriend is part of the decision-making process-- it's a national grant, more important people give the final yay or nay.  And it may be a flat amount of money we receive, regardless of the housing situation.  I figured we should at least mention we don't need it, perhaps increase our chances of getting something.

I doubt that mentioning it would matter. It should be awarded on the merits only.

I agree with this answer, but I think you should disclose your relationship - if you're qualified then you should still get the grant and it removes any possibility of any complains being raised after the fact

There is the issue of propriety, and there is the somewhat separate issue of the appearance of propriety. Although I agree with @Buffy that from an ethical point of view all that really matters is that you are applying for the grant in good faith with the intention of actually carrying out the research you are proposing, the fact that the intended research is with your significant other certainly has the potential to create the appearance that, at the very least, you are mixing your personal interests with your stated professional goals in a somewhat unhealthy and perhaps ethically compromised way (and no, it’s not really comparable to “wanting to live in Paris” as in Buffy’s example - as evidenced for example by the fact that you were concerned enough about doing this to ask this question). And at worst, some observers who learn of this may be inclined to assume an unethical motivation and regard this as a (perhaps mild) form of abuse of the grant funding system. Whether they are correct or not is besides the point; people sometimes jump to incorrect conclusions, and you should protect your reputation.
My advice is to disclose the relationship and let the people in charge of the grant decide if this is a problem or not. If they are okay with it,  no one can fault you for accepting the funding — you have a watertight defense in case someone down the road criticizes your actions. And if they aren’t, well, there’s a pretty strong case to be made that hiding that information with the intent of increasing your chances of receiving the funding would have been somewhat unethical. It’s maybe in a gray area of things that people do once in a while and usually get away with, but I wouldn’t recommend it, both because it’s ethically problematic and so you can sleep better at night.
Edit: your edit to the question, and some of your comments, give me the impression that you read my answer as questioning your motivation or criticizing you in some way. Let me be clear, I see no reason at all to question that your motivation is pure.
With that being said, you asked “are there any ethical issues”, and frankly there are some “ethical issues” with doing something that, while you privately know it is ethical, can lead other people to think that you are doing something that may not be ethical. As I said in a comment, we live in a world in which grant funding, and other taxpayer-funded resources, do get abused sometimes. By behaving in ways that other people may perceive as unethical, you risk hurting your own reputation and career, and also push the delicate equilibrium many parts of our societies are built on in a direction that (ever so slightly) encourages genuinely unethical behavior by other people in the future. Conversely, by disclosing the relationship you will be enforcing norms of good governance. From a social point of view, you will be helping academia function a little bit better.
It’s fine if you disagree with any of this, but talking about “tuning out” because of “judgmental glares” misses the point of what I’m saying. I welcome any sort of critique of my logic and reasoning as long as it’s itself based on logic and not on emotional arguments like you being annoyed about people being judgmental. For example, Buffy’s argument that society is better off if grant applicants are not turned down because of wanting to work with their significant others is a valid one (not completely compelling in my opinion, but at least valid, and based on logic).

It seems to me, that if the funding committee takes such information in to account, then it is not awarding the grant on the merits. This is to no one's benefit.

Frankly, I don't give a damn about people speculating about appearances.  The moment judgmental glares get that meta, I tune out.  I've got a couple follow-up questions, though: if two long-time, platonic friends apply for the same grant and the visitor lives with the host during that time, would you consider that improper as well?  And why would I think that hiding that our relationship status would increase our funding chances?  (Honest question-- I can't see why someone would think it would help.)

@Buffy that’s their decision to make.

@artificial_moonlet I don’t know what you mean by “meta”. I don’t think it’s meta at all. We live in a world where grant funding, and other types of official resources and power, do get abused sometimes (as anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock recently is aware), so any “judgmental glares” would in fact be based on a completely reasonable premise. If you don’t care, that’s your right, but the fact that you asked the question suggests you do care at least a little bit. About your follow up questions: ...

... 1. I didn’t say that I consider your grant idea improper, so “would you consider that improper as well” is a loaded question. In any case, with platonic friends I think any concerns about appearances would be lessened, to the extent that my advice about disclosing the relationship would probably be different.

You said you are not sure about whether you should disclose the relationship. The only reason to not disclose it would be to increase the chances of getting the funding (by eliminating the possibility that you will be denied the funding on some kind of technical grounds because of your relationship with your collaborator). So I don’t really understand the question. If I misunderstood, perhaps you should clarify why you are hesitant about disclosing the relationship.

You mentioned propriety, and I didn't ask if you think the grant idea is improper.
It seems the main reason you bring up propriety is because the applicants in my case sleep together.  2) It's easy to overload an application for a small amount of money.  I wondered if mentioning we're in a relationship is even necessary; I never said I was hesitant about disclosing it.

@artificial_moonlet see my edit. Yes, I think you should disclose the relationship. And I don’t care who you sleep with, I meant propriety in the ethics sense, not in a sense of puritanism or anything related to that.

This reminds me of "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" by Henry Fielding where a main character says to the protagonist "It is not enough to do good. One must be seen to be doing good."   Merit and impression sometimes run counterintuitively.  I can understand that too much information could be seen as irrelevant (and potentially harming to the application), but it's also possible that full transparency avoids the possibility of an accusation of deceit.  In my experience, making short simple statements of truth allows the meritous facts to be clear and irrelevances dismissed easily.

If the authorities choose to place weight on those irrelevances, then you probably avoided bigger issues with your grant anyway.

@DanRomik My point was simply, fretting about all of the fringe things that people might perceive just seems paranoid and unhelpful.  I also don't understand how deception plays a role here.  I stated that we would not request housing funds, because we'll stay together.  At that point, why would the nature of our relationship even matter, if it doesn't matter for platonic friends?  What could we, long-term partners, possibly do to deceive or abuse the grant that long-term friends wouldn't do?

@DanRomik Again, these are honest questions-- you must be aware of some abuses specific to life-partners working in research that haven't crossed my mind.

@DanRomik Now that I've re-read your answer and our discussion, I think this is the core of my confusion: what specifically would people think we've done wrong if we didn't explicitly disclose the nature of the relationship?  What perceived benefit would we reap by hiding it?

@artificial_moonlet please note I am not saying this applies to anybody here.
There are some people out there who (regardless of the truth) will always assume the worst in others, these people may see a grant application where you have stated that your research partner is also your life-partner and will just immediately think 'they are abusing this grant to pay for date nights' as opposed to 'these two collaborators have managed to make really good use of this grant and have advanced knowledge of topic X because of it'

@EdHunter I really find this very strange.  We've been together for a very long time.  If we were married, would it be different?  And friends do research all the time, and no one assumes they are abusing the grant for beer nights, right?

@artificial_moonlet Nobody ever said it made sense. In regards to if you were married then I am sure this would alter the situation for some people (for example: 'Why do they need a visiting researcher grant when they are married, they are not incurring any extra expense')    Again I am not saying that this WILL happen just that it is how some people think.
If you were applying for the grant to work with a lifelong platonic friend would you even think about mentioning your friendship or would you refer to them as a colleague in the grant application?

@artificial_moonlet you are (way) overthinking this. A small footnote disclosing the relationship would not be “distracting” or “superfluous”. Most likely no one will care one way or another. And to answer your honest question, there have been numerous well-publicized scandals involving politicians (among others) who misused public resources they controlled to benefit their and their spouses’ private interests. You just don’t want to be seen to be behaving in a way that puts you in the same category as those people. That’s all there is to it.

@artificial_moonlet it is extremely common for organizations to not only care about impropriety and unethical behaviour, but also anything that lend to the impression or appearance that something wrong is going on.  I just took a company-wide required course on situations that should be avoided not because they are wrong per se, but because they can appear unethical.  Such training is common in large orgs.  There are very good reasons for this that have nothing to do with being 'paranoid'.

@DanRomik I kind of feel like you're overthinking this.  Of course I'm aware of political scandals.  But two postdocs, for a short-term grant?  Stating we're in a relationship is fine, it's not that big of a deal (it's implied by stating that we'll be sharing housing anyway), but doing so because I'm afraid of the perception seems so strange.

@artificial_moonlet let’s agree to disagree. I’ve said all I have to say on this subject, in the end it’s your call and you can obviously decide to do whatever you like. Good luck, hope things work out for you and your partner!

Based on personal experience, I don't feel that there are any ethical violations in simply applying for a grant with a significant other, and I certainly don't feel that you are required to disclose this information in your application. I am aware of many academic "power-couples" in my field that co-PI large projects, including projects on federally-funded grants. I have read the entirety of a few of these proposals, and I have never seen indication that the collaborators are married/partners, including those who have different last names. In fact, as a reviewer, I would find this information extraneous, distracting, and even unprofessional, especially if you have a strong track record of collaborative work together already.
Where I DO feel that there are ethical issues is if a collaborator includes their significant other on grant proposals, student committees, or papers when they did not/will not contribute substantially. For example, if a graduate advisor forces their student to put their spouse on their graduate committee to help the spouse achieve tenure requirements. These are examples of nepotism that definitely raise ethical issues.


text:
Possibility of negotiating a better contract if I am offered an asst prof position?
I attended an interview last week for an asst prof position in math in a university in the UK that is much lower ranked than the universities where I did my PhD and postdocs, for instance, my PhD university is one of the top 20 worldwide whereas this university is ranked in the 300-350 bracket. The university is in the city where my girlfriend works hence why I decided to at least apply for the job but I am in no way going to jeopardise my career just to live in the same city as my gf if I decide this is position is not a good move.
Do you think that if I was offered the position I could negotiate a better contract? For example, if I was to request that instead of coming it at the very bottom of asst prof scale, I come in several ranks higher?
I would be in the running for asst profs jobs in much higher ranked institutions, or I could make alot more money by going to industry which many of former PhD colleagues have done - so from my perpsective if I am to sacrifice positions at better institutions/higher salaries there would have to be some compensation. This is a very big sacrifice since, as far as I understand it, you can step down in the university rankings as much as you want to take a job but you won't be stepping back up..and I imagine it will be much harder to apply for and get funding, etc. coming from a much lower ranked place.
So do you think it is possible to obtain a better contract or is the academic hiring system so rigid in general that there is no room for manoeuvre here and I would be forced to come in at the bottom rung of the ladder?

Most people who get faculty jobs end up at  lower ranked... universities than where [they] did [their] PhD and postdocs. Looking down upon their school will quite likely mean you will not be getting a job offer their if their search committee picks up a hint of your view of their school.

You can negotiate your way upward if you sense that they really really (really) want you. Otherwise you probably won't get far. You can try, of course, but be prepared for disappointment.

I don't understand what the problem is here. If you don't want the job at the offered contract, then you have nothing to lose by negotiating.

I'm not surprised when a Msc/PhD candidate gives too much credit to institutions rankings, but  after a postdoc you should know better: university rankings are at best a general indicator of the quality of the institution, not of every individual who ever graduated there. If anything your argument should be based on your individual track record: awards received, international collaborations, attracted funding (this last one can be a particularly good argument btw). If your institution ranking is your main argument for claiming a better contract, forget it.

In the UK, there is typically much less negotiation of entry-level academic contracts, compared to the US market, or general stories of how it was in past. Full professors still can negotiate their contracts, but assuming that it is your first permanent post, I would be surprised if the University would engage in a negotiation with you. Typically, the universities in the UK will match your current academic salary or offer you to start one spine point above it. In exceptional circumstances they can offer two spine points, but "I am making a sacrifice here for you guys" is hardly going to count as a good reason. You are expected to compare your options, and if you indeed have a better deal elsewhere, you'd better take it. Comparing their offer with hypothetical offers you could have got from some industry is likely not going to work.
But before all this becomes a real problem, you need to get their offer first. And to get there you typically would need to pass through the interview and convince the panel that you understand what you are getting into and you are genuinely interested in the opportunity as it is offered to you. If you are less than enthusiastic about this particular university and/or the conditions they offer, I would suggest to try and discuss this during the interview, so that the panel can make an informed decision whether to offer this job to you (and perhaps agree on your conditions) or another candidate. If you confirm your interest in the position during the interview and try to re-negotiate the conditions afterwards, it is quite likely that after some discussion the post will be unfilled and the position has to be re-advertised, which is really quite frustrating to everyone involved.

"If you are less than enthusiastic ... discuss this during the interview" Surely it's better to avoid applying rather than to apply and then shoot yourself in the foot.

"In the UK, there is typically much less negotiation of entry-level academic contracts, compared to the US market" Is this because the UK is usually unionized?


text:
Question asked in phd application form - How you intend to fund your studies
I am a masters student in mathematics in an Asian country and I am applying for Phd position in Europe.
While looking at website of one university in UK I came across this question which need to be answered by phd candidate

An outline of How you intend to fund your studies

If university doesn't gives me funding then I am ready to do some part time jobs during weekends( eg  working in some restaurant or anything like that)
Also, my parents say that they could arrange for possibility of education loan and as my parents are government employee , there would not be much problem in that.

Considering that I am really enthusiastic to do research in the field I like, I have no problem in doing some jobs  during weekends or going for the option of loan if my parents agree.
But the problem is what exactly should I write as an answer to this question in the application form ? and what should I  not write.

Check carefully with the math department (it should be on their website) how their specific department handles funding for phd students. Funding can be very different between departments at the same university. I personally applied for a phd at a US institution in math and this question was on the general application form. However, the math department committed to funding all their phd students, so in my case the answer was 'the math department will pay for me'.

I would caution against saying "my family can pay for me". I had a family member say that to a particular PhD program (health sciences), and the department took that as an opportunity to string them along as an unpaid worker for several years, and not actually take steps to award them a degree. My family member ultimately had to quit that department with no PhD.

The correct answer is "If the university doesn't offer me funding (through an assistantship or fellowship) then I will go elsewhere."

@JeffE That may be the right answer in the USA, but it is definitely not the right answer in the UK, and is highly likely to lead to immediate rejection of the application.

@David Loeffler then what should I write  and what must not be written?

@user686624 I recommend Arno's answer below.

For PhD studies in the UK, funding and admission to the program are usually separate steps. Funding opportunities will generally marked explicitly as such, and many of them are only available to UK/EU citizens resident in the country. If you are just applying for admission to a PhD program, there is an expectation that funding is taken care of separately.
The "ideal" answer for such the question regarding the funding source in a UK PhD application takes the form "I have been awarded the following competetive scholarship which will cover all my funding requirements". Other good typical cases are "My employer (company or government agency) really wants me to do a PhD and will foot the bill". These answers strengthen the application, because they show that someone else is sufficiently convinced of the whole PhD thingie to put a significant amount of money behind it.
"Neutral" answers are "I/my parents are rich and we can just afford this" or "I'm getting student loan from XY". Be prepared to provide evidence of claims like this! These answers mean that funding is taken care of, but don't add to the application beyond that.
"I'll get a part-time job" is NOT a good answer. University regulations typically restrict how much work PhD students are allowed to do, and with that number of hours it is probably not even feasible to cover cost of living, not to mention university fees. Anyone who needs a student visa to come to the UK is subject to even stricter regulation, which will actually be enforced. For the universities, the rationale is that PhD students who spend a lot of time working for a living, and a lot of energy worrying about how to make ends meet are far more likely to underperform or even fail than PhD students focused on research.

Is "I'm a self-made millionaire" also neutral?

@Allure If it's true, that would take care of the funding issue and thus should be accepted. Be prepared to provide proof though, it's slightly above neutral I suppose.

The main purpose of this question is not to receive your detailed answer on where you will get funds from. It mostly to receive a confirmation from you, in a form of official statement in your application, that you are aware that PhD is going to cost you money and you have a sensible plan where the money will come from. This is mostly to prevent late complaints such as:

No-one told me I will have to pay for this, surely PhD is more like work and it is University who should be paying me.

or

My friend did a PhD with you last year and they payed for the first year OK but then they got these classes to teach which covered years two and three, and I expected the same deal to be available for me.

From University point of view, candidates who are likely to drop out early due to financial problems are best to be avoided.
Hence,  Universities always prefer candidates who come with external funds (stipendship) covering tuition fees and living expenses and providing some reasonable accommodation for parental leave or long-term illness. In general, such funds are very competitive and hard to get.
Failing that, a candidate can fund their own studies themselves. Often there is no need to explain in details where the money are going to come from. Saying "I'm going to work part time" is not going to make your chances much better than a brief statement "I will fund studies myself" or "My parents will support me". Both are less than ideal, but your PhD application is not likely to be rejected just because of this.

can you please give a rough idea how many% of enrolled phd students are not funded?

@user686624 it depends hugely on the discipline, the country and the profile of the  university. Also, note that in many countries (US and UK are exceptions from the list) PhD students don't pay tuition fees and may actually get stipend/salary from the country/University.

your answer is also very informative but I can only accept one for green tick. Thank you very much.


text:
PhD Application Consultants/ 'Services': Can US/EU professors/ admissions committee tell when someone uses these?
Disclaimer: I did not use these, but I have acquaintances who did.
I'm asking from the perspective of an international student.
These 'PhD/ MS Consultants' do the following (in ascending order of sketchiness):

Assist in CV/ Resume/ Visa Interviews
Provide a list of universities to apply to based on your CV strength
Write your SOP for you

My question is: Can admissions committees tell? Some people who used these got into pretty good universities (Ivy League), which seems rather weird.

If consultants are honest and do their job well, I doubt that the reader of an application could tell. I also have no issue with using consultants. People who are unsure of how to proceed with an application seek advice many places. Some seek it here, actually.
An honest consultant will work with a candidate to develop an application. Saying that they "write" the SOP is a bit incorrect if the ideas in it come from the candidate. This might be especially true for non native language speakers applying outside their own countries. But the honest consultant will work closely with the candidate, not just put their own ideas to paper.
But a dishonest consultant would be more likely to provide "boiler plate" information, not really related to the candidate. Those might be easier to detect, but only if a given committee saw previous applications that were similar.
But for a lot of candidates who get in to the ivy league, their own parents may be good consultants who do all of what you suggest. Of course, the recent news also suggests a few are willing to pay bribes as well.
I think that writing the SoP, if done properly, is fine. But if a "writing sample" is requested from the candidate, that person should be the one to write it. But even there, seeking advice on what to say and how to say it is probably pretty common.

I disagree strongly: I believe it is completely inappropriate to have someone else write your statement of purpose for you, just as it would be inappropriate to have someone else write an essay for a course.  It is expected to be your own work.  Some universities have explicit policies:  Cornell: "Cornell University expects all applicants to complete their application materials without the use of paid agents, credentials services, or other paid professional assistance."

@NateEldredge, if there are explicit policies they should be followed, of course. But not everyone has the same advantages. But detecting it is still pretty hard. Should an ALS sufferer (Stephen Hawking) type his own applications?

I said write, not type.  In my view, the applicant should compose the work themselves (deciding what is written).  Others may give feedback and advice within reason, but it should be ultimately the applicant's own work.  I believe this should be followed regardless of whether it is explicitly stated.  I would expect universities to enforce it and punish violations under general academic honesty rules, again whether or not there is an explicit policy.  Of course there is no problem with having someone else type the words that the applicant has composed.

If someone cannot compose a personal statement on their own I'd very much be concerned about their ability to complete a graduate program.

@BrianKrause If they need someone to do the physical writing for them due to a disability, refusing them on that account could very well see your institution the subject of an anti-discrimination lawsuit.

@Buffy, I don't mean 'type', I mean they furnish substantial amounts of text that ends up as is in the 'students' SOP.

It is one thing to "furnish substantial...". It is completely different to work with a candidate on what they should or shouldn't say in an SoP. I'll note that secondary school teachers/counsellors do this as a matter of course working with student applications for college. There are honest ways to approach it as I hope to imply.


text:
A question related to writing of SoP
I am going to apply to some US universities. So SoP is one of the important things in the application procedure. My question is related to this topic.
So, after completing the Ms degree (from University X), I will be a first year PhD student at some other University (say University Y). However, I am still looking for an US University for Ph.D. Now, as a student of University Y, I have read some topics which are considered advanced in my area of preference, that's to say these topics are bridges between the Ms degree and the Ph.D. degree.

Should I include, any sentences like this in SoP, "I have done some
  credit courses like a,b,.... at University Y as a first year Ph.D. student".

Thanks in advance.

Ask the faculty who taught those courses.  I don't see how you will get a useful answer from someone who does not know what program you are applying for and has not seen your transcript.

Since the SoP is intended to detail your goals and path ahead, you could say something similar to that if those topics support those goals specifically. But if those courses are also in your CV or transcripts it will also be known that you have studied those things.
However, detailing that you studied them as a doctoral student is less useful. But, after mentioning your intended sub field of study you can certainly say that you have taken certain advanced courses in that field.
But in general, make the SoP focus on the future, not what you have done in the past. Other parts of the application will detail your past accomplishments.


text:
Several questions regarding the writing of SoP
I have several questions regarding the writing of SoP (for math Ph.D. admission to some US universities), which are written down sequentially. There may be some vague questions. I will be helpful in any comments. Thanks in advance.

One of the US university ask only SoP describing background and interests, no CV at all. Should I write all necessary details like my past achievements, which course I have attended(sort intro to the key topics of these syllabi), my CGPA, or percentage of marks in my SoP?
Should I include any professor's(of the university where I am going to apply) name and his work(some articles and books) that I used in my past study?
Is there any rule of decorating the SoP, I mean use of margin, font size, space between paragraphs. I asked this question because, in some lines, I have to write some mathematical notation(contained in the name of a topic), and in this case, I have to use Latex. So is there any problem If I submit it as a .pdf file made by latex language?
Should I include any sentence like, "I have plan to take some courses on..... in the upcoming semester''? Here upcoming means, if a grad school selects me, then the gap between the joining and current semester.
If some grad school offers an independent study program, should I write a sentence like " the independent study program of your university is also a flexible way of enhancing my knowledge required for research"? I know that I am intended to join as a research student, but still, not all requirements can not be completed just after passing the MS degree, at least in case myself.
After completing the MS program, I have joined some university in the home country as a regular Ph.D. student. So there is a one year gap between passing MS degree and applying for US university. So should I write what I have done in this gap year of that particular university? I have done some credit courses (in this gap year) that are helpful for research in my domain.

Too many questions, actually.

@Buffy, another question, Should I write the above in two different questions? If you agree, then I can do it. Actually I do not know, how many can be asked once at a time in this site?

Leave out what isn't essential.

This is not a very good fit as a question. Could you focus on just one aspect? I would remove Q about styling. Also your Q6 about 1y of PhD program is separate question, not about writing SoP.

Have you seen sample SoP on the internet? there are website that can provide you with good starting point, right now you literally starting with blank sheet of paper. Get a draft, find a friend in twitter (AcademicChatter?) to review it

As others have noted, we discourage long lists of questions. It's better to post separate questions that are meaty enough to stand on their own. But I'll take a stab at it (disclaimer: not a mathematician).

One of the US university ask only SoP describing background and interests, no CV at all. Should I write all necessary details like my past achievements, which course I have attended(sort intro to the key topics of these syllabi), my CGPA, or percentage of marks in my SoP?

Usually they will request your transcripts, which contain this information. Still, describing past achievements is usually appropriate, as this describes the foundation for your future plans.

Should I include any professors(of the university where I am going to apply) name and his work(some articles and books) that I used in my past study?

There are a lot of posts on this site about how and when to mention specific professors that you might hope to work with. Being familiar with a professor's textbook or article might be worth discussing with that professor, if you reach out to them. But it's a bit strange to mention it in an SoP, unless you work it in as a "fun fact" rather than a serious topic.

Is there any rule of decorating the SoP, I mean use of margin, font size, space between paragraphs. I asked this question because, in some lines, I have to write some mathematical notation(contained in the name of a topic), and in this case, I have to use Latex. So is there any problem If I submit it as a .pdf file made by latex language?

This is entirely down to your university's rules. I would expect that most would accept a PDF. But I would also suggest that mathematical notation should be kept to a minimum (and Microsoft Word is able to handle fairly sophisticated mathematical notation, though it is painful).

Should I include any sentence like, "I have plan to take some courses on..... in the upcoming semester''? Here upcoming means, if a grad school selects me, then the gap between the joining and current semester.

It can't hurt, but again, this should not be the focus of your SoP. Your SoP should focus on your achievements, interests, and plans. I suggests reading some other posts about SoPs on this site -- there are lots of common traps (e.g., far too many SoPs talk about inane childhood stories; this is a professional document and should focus on your professional interests and plans).

If some grad school offers an independent study program, should I write a sentence like " the independent study program of your university is also a flexible way of enhancing my knowledge required for research"? I know that I am intended to join as a research student, but still, not all requirements can not be completed just after passing the MS degree, at least in case myself.

I don't really understand why a PhD program would offer independent study. In any case, mentioning your familiarity and approval of any university's particularities is a good thing. But I would work on the writing -- your sentence is very long and contains no real information other than your familiarity with this requirement's existence.

After completing the MS program, I have joined some university in the home country as a regular Ph.D. student. So there is a one year gap between passing MS degree and applying for US university. So should I write what I have done in this gap year of that particular university? I have done some credit courses (in this gap year) that are helpful for research in my domain.

Sure, this is part of your narrative. But I would expect them to require a transcript from this school, so you don't need to dwell on it.
Finally, one unsolicited comment: I would seriously consider hiring an editing service (ideally one familiar with academic norms) to help you revise your document. In my experience (and basing this off the writing in your question), a good editor would be able to take 4-5 pages from you and help you cut it down to a very well-written 1.5-2 pages, just by deleting and rewording. And you will learn a lot from watching them do this; this is a very valuable skill.

I have a question regarding the second answer. Suppose I have mentioned only the article's name and corresponding professor name in a sentence like, "I am also impressed with the works of Prof. ABCD in the XYZW domain (I have used some papers related to EFGH of him while reading PQRS), where I also ﬁnd my most current penchant," then is it right? Or I have to take permission from the professor.

Here I am just talking about precisely one professor. Also, I have said that I have done the course PQRS in recent months and what I have done and what is the impact of the course on me.

I think your overarching question is "What do I include in a statement of purpose for US PhD applications". You can find several great answers to that question if you search this forum. Further there are many, many sample SoPs available online. If you review previous forum answers as well as sample SoPs, you will be able to answer these very specific questions on your own.
And please do have a native English speaker proofread your SoP, your CV, and all other application material before you submit.

I won't deal with the specific questions, but give general advice.
The primary thing that your application must show is that you are a great candidate for success in whatever you are applying to. For application to degree programs, there are normally three components:
The CV is intended to show your past accomplishments. This brings you to NOW, but details the past.
The SoP is intended for you to mention your goals and how your past enables you to achieve them. It should be entirely forward looking.
The Letters of Recommendation give an independent view of people who should know of the likelihood of your success.
But if you can't submit a CV for some application then the SoP has to do double duty. Hopefully it can be long enough to detail your past, but it should still be focused on your future and how you intend to achieve it and can be expected to.
But you don't need to list everything from your past in such a combination document. List, primarily, those things that are enablers of your goals and show how they make you a good fit for the program you apply to.


text:
Kicked out of PhD program, I have been delayed two years until find a new one
It maybe sounds emotional, but I am struggling because I have been delayed two years until I found a new program that could accept me. I was kicked out because of a racist supervisor. It hurts me as in the new year everyone asks did you finish your Ph.D., I panic as I did not let anyone know. What hurts me I was a top student and get master with excellence. there are certain events in my life that derailed me, now I am approaching 29 and I didn't even make a progress in my personal life and this delay in my professional caused me self-confidence. I escape from any gathering with people know me when you finish as they did not what happens and I don't want anyone, but the result I am struggling with these thoughts and I am living alone. I don't know if anyone could face that, what you should do when you used to be successful and all of a sudden you get derailed when you approach 30.

Why a two year delay? Just the normal application sequence?

two year as I was looking for other opening and my ex-supervisor badmouthed me, it was hard to find program as we pretty small field.

do you get or consider getting psychological help? Sounds like you could use some. (and there is nothing to be ashamed of it)

I am currently in therapy, but it is very slow and I called them once I had suicidal thoughts because of this pressure and they said we cannot do anything call helpline, the next available appointment next month. Unfortunately, mental illness isn't taken seriously.

I voted to close because this is not a question.

you are successful, you escaped toxic supervisor. better  late than never

I was kicked out because of a racist supervisor.

That is quite an accusation. I'd suggest that you consult an attorney, if you have any evidence that you were discriminated because of your ethnicity. There is a chance that you might resume the programme. Of course, provided that the expelling took place based on some sort of discrimination.

i tried, but no one helped me in the workplace, i couldnot find and i was funded by that supervisor project, it wasnot easy, it just want to restore my confidence, but dont know how

@Erik No, not in the workplace. An external lawyer with their own practice.

The supervisor was racist, but decided to fund you? An advisor sinks a lot of time and money training up students. They must of saw something in you to make that investment.

@TheCodeNovice, I dont understand your comment, but all I can say, I was kicked out because I argue about a method and he was trying to force me to do something isnot true in research, actually I noticed some red flags at the beginning, but I neglected and he turned to be racist, narcissistic and sociopath

@nick012000, it is along story, I switched countries because  that supervisor was trying to destroy my career, while other position they have to get back to him, anyway I cannot go back two years, now I dont know how to cope mentally because of the pressure that I am delayed.

@Erik Then see a lawyer in the same country as the university, but not one who is affiliated with the university. They’ll be able to advise you about how to go about suing the university.

@Erik personally I would build a support network of individuals who have your best interests at heart to bolster your spirits. I would be hesitant to sue unless you have them on tape or video doing something outlandish. Regardless of the veracity of your claims, the fact that you sued someone would close more doors than open. If your track record is indeed strong you can pivot and find another place to pursue your degree. I would not go into details and simply state was not a good fit. Maybe fill a research tech role at a new institution to start building yourself back up.

Note that often such accusations are hard to prove, lawyers are expensive and it may lead to nothing (even if true). Maybe you should add this caveat into the answer

Being successful until almost 30 must be rough. I had failed at several things that seemed really important at the time, and learned to pick myself up and get on with life, before I was 12. Picking yourself up and carrying on after something goes wrong is an important life skill because very few people get through life without ever failing at anything. I am afraid it is one of those skills that has to be learned through experience.
If you do not yet feel comfortable discussing the situation in groups, pick one friend who is sympathetic and well-connected. Tell that friend exactly what is going on, making it clear you want them to spread the information but that it is a sore subject you do not want to discuss. You will feel more comfortable in groups that way, and get more emotional support.
As you start on the new program you will need to be able to talk about your background, or you will be very isolated. Decide in advance how much you are willing to say about what happened, and how to present it.

I cannot do it as I can trust 100 anyone in that new place. i wish i can find that person. i was always successful never failed, it is hard to take in

I completely agree. Each person has a different path's life which can be easier or harder: we cannot choose our lives. Many fails do not depend on us but only on the situation.

@Erik Why do you need to trust someone 100% to talk to them? A risk-free life would be a very lonely, restricted life.

Could you clarify what you mean by the first sentence? I know certain people who could also say "I was successful in my life" but that doesn't mean that they never failed in something at the age of 12?

Success can be interpreted in many ways. You can be a successful man without a bachelor's degree if you do something that is important for you. You have 30 years and you are doing a PhD, it's perfectly normal. Thre are people that start their PhD in their 40s or laters. Two years are nothing.
Remember that we cannot choose the life that we live, but we can adapt ourselves to get the best in our possibilities.

i am still figuring out,but it is hard when you were successful, it is like hiting a wall.

you rely too much on other judgments. Each person has a different path.


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Redundancy of letters of recommendation for scientific and mathematical majors
I have recently finished my master’s in pure mathematics, and I wish to apply for PhD positions.
I had got the top grades of my classes (with a gpa of around 19.5 out of 20). Moreover, I am going to take a toefl test soon, and I think I will get a high grade.
However, the only issue in my doctoral applications is apparently the loathness of almost all of the university teachers who know me to write a letter of recommendation for me. On the other hand, every doctoral institution seems to require letters of recommendation.
Hence, my question specially to mathematics professors is, why do they require letters of recommendation when the level of mathematics (or a scientific discipline) of the applicant can be fairly determined by an interview?

Why don't people want to write on your behalf?

One of them said she’s on a leave so she couldn’t. Another one said he would do it if I had taken at least two of his courses. Another one did not answer my email.

May i ask how did you get into the masters program?

It was through a mathematics test @scaaahu

Most universities want some independent advice about candidates. This should come from people who know the candidate and can attest to their suitability and likely successful outcome. It is hard to gauge that with material provided only by the candidate, even in an interview.
And there is more to graduate school (or a job, for that matter) than raw competence. There is a social aspect and so a desire to accept people who will get along well in the program or job. (That is why I asked the question in the comment, actually.)
But it is what it is, so in your case, you just need to live with it. I'm surprised that few teachers know you, actually. Think about others who can help. But I would keep trying with the three that you mention in the comment. Let them know of your need and the difficulty of finding others to help.

I’m in general introverted and not ubiquitous unlike almost all students.

Actually introversion in mathematicians is ubiquitous. Almost a badge of honor. But you can learn to act otherwise when needed. Introversion isn't a personality flaw. But sometimes you just need to put yourself out there in the mix. You might not recognize it from my writing on this site, but I'm also very introverted.

Thanks for your suggestion. Also I am working on my first mathematical paper to obviate this problem

“Actually introversion in mathematicians is ubiquitous. Almost a badge of honor.” Certainly NOT in my experience.

@Eric, My implication is that introversion is no problem for a mathematician, but saying it like that would be a bit boring. Please don't take it so seriously.

@Buffy But then your comment contradicts your answer: “There is a social aspect and so...” The reason to correct you is that it is a common stereotype outside of math and a damaging one to new mathematicians that carry it in. Without socializing, you will have no LoRs (the OP), no collaborators, no internal seminars, etc. I correct you because I had the same impression at first, and it would have been incredibly damaging to me and my career to believe that I could continue in that way; i.e., my math stands for me. Had my advisor not corrected my course I doubt I would still be in academia.

@Eric, not exactly. You do point out some cautions that introverted people need to be aware of, but I was more speaking of the problem of the brilliant person who is also a jerk and doesn't get along with anyone. I am, myself, very introverted and got a doctorate (math) and had a great career, though I switched to CS. But I learned how to act "in the world" so that introversion wasn't a problem (eventually). It is a learned skill like many other things. Introversion isn't destiny.

About the interview part. It is true that mathematical skill can be determined by an interview. Also the language skills can be somewhat determined by an interview. The truth is that interviewing each candidate would take a lot of time. Even scheduling interviews for every single candidate would be a mess. Same for reading previous publications / thesises. With the volume of applications each university is getting, it is practically impossible to investigate each application in depth. Also, as Buffy mentions, there are social aspects to a candidate which cannot be measured by a single interview. At least not completely. Similarly I do not think an interview would accurately gauge someone's mathematics abilities. At least not every single time. An interview puts the candidate on the spot and it is a high stress situation. Many are effected negatively by that.


text:
Writing a mathematics paper
As a sequel to my previous post “ Redundancy of letters of recommendation for scientific and mathematical majors”, I wish to ask a relevant question.
I have been informed that a master’s student of mathematics is not required to have published a paper in order to be admitted to a doctoral institution. However, my applications all experienced rejection so I am trying to write my first paper.
However, my knowledge in mathematics is limited and in a limited time I cannot come up with an impressive result. On the other hand proving a small result and having it published is against my scientific principles, but I think I will finally do it.
Is it possible that a high gpa (19.5 out of 20), a simple published mathematical paper and a good TOEFL grade, but not good letters of recommendation or lack of letters of recommendation will guarantee admission to a top-tier university?

your title probably needs to change.

Yes, but I wanted to highlight what I think could help me get an admission

Did you write master thesis or research report before you finished your masters?

yes, but it was just a small survey of a theorem rather than coming up with an original result @scaaahu

Did you have an advisor when writing your master’s thesis? Normally this person would feel responsible for writing you a letter of recommendation. If they didn’t agree, it suggests that something more is going on than you being introverted. Instead of trying to work around the system by writing a math paper when you don’t have the relevant skills or an idea that you consider worthy of publishing, my suggestion is to confront the problem head on and try to understand why these professors didn’t want to write you a letter.

Yes I did. He will write a letter of recommendation for me, but usually graduate schools require 3 or 2 referees @DanRomik

@MorganRodgers actually yes. A couple of classmates of considerably low GPAs with good letters of recommendation got admitted while I am at home reading books to enhance my knowledge and to complete my paper

What did the students who got good letters of recommendation do differently from you? You need to work that out, and change what you are doing accordingly. My first guess would be that they engaged in more collaboration and interaction. If so, staying home reading books may not be the best strategy.

Nothing guarantees admission at top-tier universities. Sorry. It doesn't work like that. The competition is fierce.
But note that the expectations for entry into any doctoral program vary by country. In the US, a doctoral program normally starts with coursework leading to the comprehensive exams. So less (in the CV) is likely to be required on entry. Other places, more is needed.
Again, though, you really need good letters of recommendation. I don't expect much success otherwise.
As to publishing, small results will probably help everywhere, even if not dramatically, but you might be able to do something bigger if you do it collaboratively. And, especially, if you can do a publishable project with one of your professors you can hit two targets simultaneously; both a better publication and a good LoR. Even a paper more or less ready for publication along with a good letter would be a plus.

To add to @Buffy’s answer, in all math graduate programs I’m aware of, at least in the US, letters of recommendation are a requirement. So a “lack of letters of recommendation” is actually a guarantee that you will not get admitted. This is not something you can solve by publishing either one “simple” paper, or even many non-simple ones, except in the indirect sense that if you publish many papers then good letters of recommendation are likely to follow more or less automatically.
Keep in mind that this applies to all programs, not just “top-tier” ones.

This requirement needs to be reviewed and modified if not canceled

@Mathephile2020 telling all of academia that it needs to change, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t even understand why academia works the way it does, isn’t helpful and doesn’t show a great level of maturity on your part. Perhaps it is your own ideas that need to be reviewed and modified.

There is a social aspect to university studies - the elusive collegiality - that one cannot ignore.  Nobody wants to teach or work with a highly abrasive student.

I think what I meant wasn’t got across well. In my opinion, even one letter of recommendation from a supervisor is enough while from more than one referee might be considered as optional but favorable.

@Mathephile2020 thanks for the clarification. There isn’t room here to discuss why the system works the way it does, and I don’t claim that it’s a perfect system either and cannot possibly be improved, but that’s beside the point. If you want to get into grad school you’ll have to play the game by its current rules. Complaining that you don’t like the rules won’t get you anywhere. Anyway, good luck!

Yes you are right. I am in academia so I should obey the academic rules to improve step by step. Thanks @DanRomik

I cannot imagine getting in a top program without reasonable letters of recommendation, and I see this as much more important than having a published paper especially as in a previous post you wrote “ However, the only issue in my doctoral applications is apparently the loathness of almost all of the university teachers who know me to write a letter of recommendation for me”.
You also admit your knowledge of math is limited: indeed without a strong GRE math score, a high gpa is not very meaningful.
You need to realize there are finitely many slots available and that pretty much all those admitted to a top program will have high gpa but will also have strong reference letters.  A paper might help but with your limited knowledge and without a mentor to help you putting a result - even an average result - in proper shape, the odds of publishing in a reasonable journal in a fairly short time are next to nil.

By a limited knowledge I meant I had still a long way to publish a paper at a top-tier journal. I think GRE is all about calculus and basic algebra if I’m not wrong

Take the GRE and ace it then.

My next exam is TOEFL. I would like to take a GRE test too

The GRE has an advanced subject matter test that is pretty challenging. It tries to account for the wide variety of programs and so covers ground that many students have never been exposed to. I was totally depressed after finishing the exam (many years ago), but wound up doing pretty well. Not very school requires it, but some do.

I am pretty sure the answer is no. There are very few things that can guarantee admission to a top tier school. Some of the things that can get near guarantee a the top of my head,

A faculty willing to work with you.
A very strong research background that admission board can recognize its strength.
Big dollar donations (this is true of undergrad admissions, not exactly sure if it would work in grad. level)

About the last bit, an ex-undergrad. admission official said on camera that it would be 6-7 or even 8 figure donations but sometimes 6 figures + a connection from the school board would do it. I can fish the source if anyone wants it.

Hmmm. I hope you were just being cynical with the last bullet. Such things are normally considered unethical, even illegal. But yes, it happens. Not for you or me, though.

@buffy nope, I am pretty sure it is legal. But yes, I am probably being cynical. I agree it is unethical. There are very shocking testimonies about this issue regarding UG admissions.

@Buffy isn’t that how some libraries or buildings get named :) ...

@SolarMike, hmmm, The Dr. Buffy Center for Mathematical Studies. Nope, doesn't work.

I don't understand the downvote here. I hope the side discussion didn't influence that.

I upvoted it in order to offset the downvote @Buffy

@Buffy, I sometimes wonder if people ever downvote things they do not wish to believe it could ever be true.

@BoatyMcboatface do you really think it’s helpful to OP, and to the world at large, to give out practical information, including links to videos, on how making unethical use of large amounts of money can get you ahead in academia? I agree with @Buffy’s critique, and suggest deleting that part of your answer.

@DanRomik, deleting comments as this only empowers the ones who are involved in this practice. People who have this sort of financial power are either aware or easily made aware of this possibility. On the other hand, no one really talked about this way of getting into colleges until recent admission scandals. It is for the benefit of us all to understand what "big school" tags entail. If do not openly dispute this system and question the reputation of these "top schools" then who do we get ahead of this?

@DanRomik about being helpful part, I am just answering the question. If it is asked "how can US government can torture people?" and I post answers about the legal loopholes, am I enabling the question asker on how to torture?

@BoatyMcboatface (answering your first comment) good point, I agree with what you said. However the way you discussed this in your answer is lacking in context and suggests that you are throwing it out there almost as a practical suggestion to OP and others. Both Buffy and I seem to have misunderstood where you were coming from (and I suspect that’s the reason for the downvotes). Perhaps an edit to clarify your point of view is in order.

Well, my question wasn’t meant to cause a skirmish. I would like you to behave in a friendly way toward each other :)


text:
I am reading a paper that I barely understand. How can I make the best of my mentor in this situation?
Half of my inability to understand the paper comes from not being acquainted with the folklore of this particular part of the field, and the other half might be because I am lacking general background knowledge. I cannot just go to my mentor asking them to fill in every single step I am missing. I am also sure they can put things in perspective, or just say something illuminating.
What kinds of questions are reasonable in this case?

Have you read papers it references?

Some of them, yes. My understanding is still superficial and will remain so for a while at my current rate of progress.

What is your field? Math, I'd guess.

Jumping in to a new sub field can be hard. The vocabulary is new and you don't yet have the insights of those with more experience.
If you trust your advisor, you could just say what you say here, but ask for the important background papers (or books) that will help bring you up to speed quickly. This is what a colleague would do, so it isn't impossible for a student as well.
As Patricia Shanahan suggests in the the comment, a typical way is to go back through a chain of references until you come to things you understand and then work forward again. This is hard and time consuming of course. It also implies access to a good library (and a good librarian).
But one way to attack the problem is to write down your questions about the paper as they arise. I'd suggest using index cards for this. One question per card. This leaves space for you to supply answers (or references to answers) as you come across them and your understanding improves.
Those cards, once you whittle them down to a reasonable number, can be used both for research (searches, say) and for a conversation with your advisor. Getting answers to a few key questions might let you fill in the rest.
Everyone starts out knowing nothing. In math, insight into some things may help give insight into others, but it isn't guaranteed.

I agree with this, especially the second paragraph. Tell your mentor that, in trying to read this paper, you've found that you lack some of the necessary background; mention a couple of concepts that the paper presupposes but you don't know yet.  Ask what you should read to fill in the background.


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Can you ever get funded while you are in a different country?
I'm not quite sure where this question fits, but is it possible in any field to get funded while you are abroad? As a post-doc is it possible to get funded say while you work remotely? I'm mainly talking in the EU.
This is purely hypothetical I'm just curious if this would ever be possible for any scientist. Maybe more possible for a theorist, someone who doesn't need a lab or equipment.

My son had a 3-year postdoctoral position in the U.S. that not only allowed but actually required him to spend a year abroad at a partner institution.

"but is it possible in any field to get funded while you are abroad?" There is a whole funding agency in Germany for this: https://www.daad.de/en/

Postdoctoral positions usually (always?)  come with a salary. So yes, for all academic disciplines, postdoctoral researchers are funded. The funds can come from your PI grant (in which case getting funds is not your problem), or from a university directly, or from a funding agency. The rules and regulations of providers vary widely: many large agencies make no restrictions based on nationality, but there are also many national agencies offering funding for candidates from EU or from a particular country only. Some funding streams are reserved for women or under-represented groups.
Distant work is not very usual in academia. Most universities will have strict rules saying that all full-time staff, postdocs included, must relocate to where the University is. Exceptions are possible in case of fieldwork or project work with partners overseas. However, if you want to get a postdoctoral position in country X and continue to live in your home in country Y, it may often become a dealbreaker.

I'm aware of quite a few cases where people at postdoc level have been officially employed in Country A, but spend a considerable amount of their time in Country B (typically because that's where their family is based). In some cases they have a secondary affiliation with an institution in Country B. However, this relies on the supervisor being willing to countenance such an arrangement. Typically supervisor and postdoc had already worked together; clearly it is necessary to establish trust first.

"Distant work is not very usual in academia": I've never had an academic work contract that prescribed relocation (I know such contracts for people working in hospitals, though, presumably including university hospitals) and I've done substantial amounts of academic work remotely (from home office in same town to living & working several 100 km away). Living in a different country would cause HR burocracy here in Germany to go from one heart attack to the next, though.

Here are some examples where it might be possible:
You could probably get funding for for work at an EU university that required, say, archaeological work in Thailand. There are lots of similar situations. Some fields are like that.
Some scholars need access to library materials that are not portable. Ancient Maya stelae for example. You have to go there to read them. Manuscripts in monasteries, ...
But even a student of mathematics might need to go to say the US for a while to work with someone there. But the association would remain with the EU university.
People all over the world go to CERN for research, but maintain their affiliation and funding with the home university.
But, probably not, if the goal is just to see the world. Not on a post-doc, anyway. Likewise if the goal is just to avoid moving from where you currently are.