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On August 04 2011 18:17 anycolourfloyd wrote:
i've gotta apply for phd scholarships for next year now, contemplating doing one in the biomechanics field (from a mech eng background)
it really appeals to me that i could do research that improves quality of life of the human race..
Where in aus? I started off doing mech engineering too, but switched over to exercise science and now doing postgrad physiotherapy. Dabbled in a bit of biomechanics research at the end of my undergrad degree using a program called OpenSim
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On August 04 2011 15:44 taldarimAltar wrote:
I know this girl who has a PhD from Harvard after 7 years, now she's hopelessly overqualified for any job and she realised she isn't that into academia, the job she'll most likely be doing.
When I did staffing for high end positions for Fortune 500 companies a few years back, I ran into people with Ivy League Masters and Doctorates. The issue was usually not them being overqualified (very rare in fact, especially if they are fresh out of school with little experience) but rather the expectations that they had. They believed their degree made them far more valuable than the market was willing to pay for them.
While there are some companies out there willing to pay top dollar for them, unless you had that connection while you were attending the school, it will be more challenging to find the position after graduation. Some of them accepted that an MBA or PHD did not mean an instant high paying JOB and finally got hired but I was never able to place someone right out of Ivy League into a job over someone with far more experience.
YMMV, but that has been my experience. Tell them to swallow their pride, prepare for the loan repayment, and be realistic. It is a similar situation where home sellers believe their home to be worth the same as when they got it years ago at triple the current prices. You are only as valuable as the market allows, no matter what the qualifications. Also, academia is not too bad; tell her to try online schools. You can take 2-4 courses per school, across several schools, and make 6 figures working from home in your PJs most of the time. 
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this might not be related to the topic, but i thought of a growing penis when you drew the diagrams. i guess most PhDs have huge "epeens" which would make sense with the diagram.
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Wierd how everybody is talking about a PhD as if you learn it for personal worth, as if the extra knowledge will improve their quality of life. My dad came to england as a student and he got a PhD in statistics so he could get a british passport. Funny really.
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I like the distribution. Haven't thought about it to much myself but i feel that a PhD on top of a medicine degree is beneficial to me to specialize and "get ahead" in the field ive specialized in. It gives me the knowledge and possibility to help develop that area of medicine which can lead to new medicine/new methods etc.
Only advice ive heard from others (since im not there yet) is to know what and why. Know what you want from it and why you want it. A PhD can give TONS and teach you a lot but it can also end up giving you no more than a new title.
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3.5 years into my PhD this is a nice little bit of perspective. Back to pushing!
Editted for more insight:
My experience of a PhD is mostly a pleasant one. I have however not finished...yet. When people ask me what is the hardest thing about a PhD, my answer, always and without hesitation, is the motivation. For a few years of your life, you have to do your own work...for you. And it is not necessarily easy work. Most often, even if you are not pushing at the edge of the human sphere of knowledge, you are pushing at the limits of your personal sphere, and that is never easy, though usually rewarding in the end. But you have to do it for 3-5 years. And finding the motivation to do that is very hard, at least for me.
However, you also have an almost unparalleled amount of freedom in what you do, the only constraints usually are ones negotiated between you, your supervisor, and perhaps other relevant people.
Two pieces of advice I hold close to my heart about the process of doing a PhD are these:
1) "If it was easy, everyone would do it" (From my dad, who did a PhD some 30 odd years ago).
2) "When you absolutely hate everything about your life - you are 6 weeks away from finishing" (From a post-doc in my department)
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On August 04 2011 19:36 Geordie wrote:
Wierd how everybody is talking about a PhD as if you learn it for personal worth, as if the extra knowledge will improve their quality of life. My dad came to england as a student and he got a PhD in statistics so he could get a british passport. Funny really.
I know someone who did a PhD to avoid getting conscripted and sent to fight in Vietnam, so yeah, the reasons for doing them can often be other than you might think.
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On August 04 2011 19:38 Jt4096 wrote:
3.5 years into my PhD this is a nice little bit of perspective. Back to pushing!
Editted for more insight:
My experience of a PhD is mostly a pleasant one. I have however not finished...yet. When people ask me what is the hardest thing about a PhD, my answer, always and without hesitation, is the motivation. For a few years of your life, you have to do your own work...for you. And it is not necessarily easy work. Most often, even if you are not pushing at the edge of the human sphere of knowledge, you are pushing at the limits of your personal sphere, and that is never easy, though usually rewarding in the end. But you have to do it for 3-5 years. And finding the motivation to do that is very hard, at least for me.
However, you also have an almost unparalleled amount of freedom in what you do, the only constraints usually are ones negotiated between you, your supervisor, and perhaps other relevant people.
Two pieces of advice I hold close to my heart about the process of doing a PhD are these:
1) "If it was easy, everyone would do it" (From my dad, who did a PhD some 30 odd years ago).
2) "When you absolutely hate everything about your life - you are 6 weeks away from finishing" (From a post-doc in my department)
This holds with my two year experience so far, and is great advice
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I gotta say, this boundary of human knowledge is pretty damn resilient....
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At the bar I work at, one of the team leaders has been doing his PhD for about 7 years now, as soon as he stopped working at the bar, he ended up doing the most work on his PhD that he's ever done!
I personally have been considering doing a PhD after my MEng, however, not for any real reason other than wanting to be Dr. *. As such, I'll probably just go into work after uni and if I get wealthy and motivated enough, I may do one then. :3
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On August 04 2011 18:58 emjaytron wrote:Show nested quote +On August 04 2011 18:17 anycolourfloyd wrote:
i've gotta apply for phd scholarships for next year now, contemplating doing one in the biomechanics field (from a mech eng background)
it really appeals to me that i could do research that improves quality of life of the human race.. Where in aus? I started off doing mech engineering too, but switched over to exercise science and now doing postgrad physiotherapy. Dabbled in a bit of biomechanics research at the end of my undergrad degree using a program called OpenSim
i'm at adelaide uni.
opensim is an ergonomics program yeah? there's a guy in SA who does a lot of ergonomics research for holden and other car manufacturers.. lot of money there i imagine.
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On August 04 2011 20:33 Caloooomi wrote:
At the bar I work at, one of the team leaders has been doing his PhD for about 7 years now, as soon as he stopped working at the bar, he ended up doing the most work on his PhD that he's ever done!
I personally have been considering doing a PhD after my MEng, however, not for any real reason other than wanting to be Dr. *. As such, I'll probably just go into work after uni and if I get wealthy and motivated enough, I may do one then. :3
Lol, that's about my only motivation after college to consider higher education.
I'll be happy enough with a steady-paying CSCI job with just a bachelor's. There may come a day when a masters would be a nice addition for a nice promotion. Beyond that, it will have to be purely from desire of being Dr. Whatever and a true desire to push my knowledge in my specialty.
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this is gr8 stuff. I am a yr and half away from my phd (tentatively)..in syst engg and operations research. And that is very encouraging!
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PHD = Penis Head Drawing apparently.
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On August 06 2011 18:05 anycolourfloyd wrote:Show nested quote +On August 04 2011 18:58 emjaytron wrote:On August 04 2011 18:17 anycolourfloyd wrote:
i've gotta apply for phd scholarships for next year now, contemplating doing one in the biomechanics field (from a mech eng background)
it really appeals to me that i could do research that improves quality of life of the human race.. Where in aus? I started off doing mech engineering too, but switched over to exercise science and now doing postgrad physiotherapy. Dabbled in a bit of biomechanics research at the end of my undergrad degree using a program called OpenSim i'm at adelaide uni. opensim is an ergonomics program yeah? there's a guy in SA who does a lot of ergonomics research for holden and other car manufacturers.. lot of money there i imagine.
Whoa shit dude. I am doing my Physio masters through UniSA at city east. What do you know. Opensim is for musculoskeletal modelling, it's more aimed at simulating movement and internal forces on the musculoskeletal system from motion/force capture data.
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On August 06 2011 18:14 Ashes wrote:
this is gr8 stuff. I am a yr and half away from my phd (tentatively)..in syst engg and operations research. And that is very encouraging!
Since you're actually involved with a PHD, I have to ask:
What do you even do in getting your PHD? Is it research? What exactly does it entail(can be specifically for you)?
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Dad's one. Mom's one.
I'm Grandmasters.
More letters in Grandmasters than PHD.
Fuck yeah.
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On August 06 2011 18:37 ZiegFeld wrote:
Dad's one. Mom's one.
I'm Grandmasters.
More letters in Grandmasters than PHD.
Fuck yeah.
Are you being serious? This just sounds like lame bragging. No one cares.
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On August 04 2011 17:19 akalarry wrote:Show nested quote +On August 04 2011 15:44 taldarimAltar wrote:
I know this girl who has a PhD from Harvard after 7 years, now she's hopelessly overqualified for any job and she realised she isn't that into academia, the job she'll most likely be doing. depending on her specialty, she can do A TON of things with a phd from harvard that isn't related to her field. what does she do out of curiosity?
History
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On August 06 2011 18:25 emjaytron wrote:Show nested quote +On August 06 2011 18:05 anycolourfloyd wrote:On August 04 2011 18:58 emjaytron wrote:On August 04 2011 18:17 anycolourfloyd wrote:
i've gotta apply for phd scholarships for next year now, contemplating doing one in the biomechanics field (from a mech eng background)
it really appeals to me that i could do research that improves quality of life of the human race.. Where in aus? I started off doing mech engineering too, but switched over to exercise science and now doing postgrad physiotherapy. Dabbled in a bit of biomechanics research at the end of my undergrad degree using a program called OpenSim i'm at adelaide uni. opensim is an ergonomics program yeah? there's a guy in SA who does a lot of ergonomics research for holden and other car manufacturers.. lot of money there i imagine. Whoa shit dude. I am doing my Physio masters through UniSA at city east. What do you know. Opensim is for musculoskeletal modelling, it's more aimed at simulating movement and internal forces on the musculoskeletal system from motion/force capture data.
haha, cool, you might actually know one of my honours supervisors. dominic?
yeah i think the ergonomics guy, gunther, from unisa mawson lakes campus, uses opensim.
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EPT
