Advice for academics

Some 74 percent of professors aged 49-67 plan to delay retirement past age 65 or never retire at all, so let’s face it, you need help.  Here are some resources that will be update as I find them (or they’re pointed to me!).  This will be perma-linked in the upper right-hand corner!

Currently in no particular order (will organize later):

You and your research by Richard Hamming.  A classic which everyone should read.

Some modest advice for graduate students by Stephen C. Stearns

A survival guide to starting and finishing a PhD by Nathan Yau

How to get tenure at a major research university by Sean Carroll

Pro-tips for graduate students (especially in bio/statistics): parts one, two, and three

Choosing a PhD program: what’s important and what’s not and How to choose a PhD program

How to get into an animal behavior graduate program: an outline, getting good recommendation letters, and getting research experience

Having the courage to build your own non-academic career path by Carla Davidson

Getting the right kind of mentorship by Mark Christie

A Guide and Advice for Economists on the U.S. Junior Academic Job Market by John Cawley

Advice for Acadmic Authors by Kwan Choi

Writing Tips for Ph.D. Students by John Cochrane

Ph.D. Thesis Research: Where do I Start? by Don Davis

The Young Economist’s Guide to Professional Etiquette by Daniel Hamermesch

A Few Tips for Being a More Sucessful Graduate Student by Darren Lubotsky

How to Survive Your First Year of Graduate School in Economics by Matthew Pearson

Q&A: Experienced Advice for “Lost” Graduate Students in Economics by Ariel Rubinstein

Giving an Academic Talk by John Shewchuck

The Complete Guide to Getting into an Economics PhD program by Miles Kimball

How North American ecology faculty search committees work by Jeremy Fox

Sources: 1

Unrelated to all that, 03/21 edition

Note: I now post these in my twitter feed first, so check it if you’re super bored!

Monarch butterflies are disappearing.  I can’t think of anything more important or more underreported.

Okay, we’re kind of biased.  Every good bayesian knows ‘not being biased’ often means you’re just not being explicit about your assumptions.  Economists get explicit.

Sharks: now in groups, more terrifying.  Sharks hunt in groups and can learn from each other, too.

I guess that will do the trick.  Pandas have trouble mating and sometimes need a bit of… guidance.

Things were always more fun in the olden days.  On Victorians getting monkeys drunk and hungover, for science.

At least there’s only 20.  Advice for if you want a faculty job, told with a straight face.

As a theorist, I only use fake data.  Apparently in Physics you sometime get given fake data to see what you do with it, going so far as to not tell you until you’re about to submit a paper; I think if this happened to me I’d cry.

Kawaii psychophysics.  Because cats can see optical illusions.

Emperor Tamarins, always the swankiest monkeys.  Some monkeys sit in mud to cool down and relax, only to realize they can no longer recognize any of their friends; vicious fights ensure.