- #36
manphdsowhat
- 1
- 0
Regarding the PhD system in UK: They pay you 3 years but your time to do a PhD can take up to 5 years: 3 years paid + one allowed unpaid year leave + one extra unpaid year. Hence, save money “just in case”.
There are people that get a PhD without publishing a paper in engineering, it depends.
In reality, for your sake, try to publish JOURNALS. Forget conferences, presentations and so on. JOURNALS are what it is counted, no more. Why? Conferences include some already published idea that you are testing in another environment. Journals usually demand new ideas, (yours!) so they are more original. Unfortunately, many advisors push PhD students to go to too many conferences. Although this can be good at the beginning of your PhD, it takes time from your concentration. Please, have this in mind.
How many JOURNALS (rather than the more generic term of paper)? Well, 2 accepted journals in well-established journals is good enough, provided you are the first or only two authors or even better: you are the sole author.
How 2 or more? One is a lucky shoot, two is a consistent work.
You should have in mind that the publications have to be submitted under the time you have as a PhD student. The previous papers, prior your enrollment as a PhD student, do not count in UK.
About the quality: Make sure that your journals are based on YOUR new ideas, something that people have missed but you have shown that it is possible. That will show to the persons, which are supposed to choose among many other applicants, that you can generate new things, have a mind worth to invest, etc.
Back to the real world: Despite all those things above, there exist two main variables to be taken into consideration:
Backstabbed: If you work in a group, probably, by the time you leave the group, your work will be taken by new PhD students there. That is, your former group will compete against you, based on your ideas you inserted during your time there. Hence, by the time you start a postdoc elsewhere, you are “out of shape”. In fact, you will be probably blocked by your former PhD advisor once you leave his group, i.e. he/she will try to reject your papers. Hence, never show all your cards, while doing a PhD.
Ethnicity. Why? Usually, professor from country X working in country Y will be favorable to PhD students from countries X and Y. The other PhD students are likely to get tougher subjects, i.e. the advisor cannot help you much there. If you are successful, your results will be passed to PhD students from X and Y and you will be backstabbed faster.
Ah, remember that your new postdoc advisor will do the same as your PhD advisor. These people have turner-track positions not just because they are brilliant scientists, in fact, many are mediocre. They have those positions because they have been capable to parasite other people minds, work, reject papers they think their work are questioned, etc. In one word: crooks.
There are people that get a PhD without publishing a paper in engineering, it depends.
In reality, for your sake, try to publish JOURNALS. Forget conferences, presentations and so on. JOURNALS are what it is counted, no more. Why? Conferences include some already published idea that you are testing in another environment. Journals usually demand new ideas, (yours!) so they are more original. Unfortunately, many advisors push PhD students to go to too many conferences. Although this can be good at the beginning of your PhD, it takes time from your concentration. Please, have this in mind.
How many JOURNALS (rather than the more generic term of paper)? Well, 2 accepted journals in well-established journals is good enough, provided you are the first or only two authors or even better: you are the sole author.
How 2 or more? One is a lucky shoot, two is a consistent work.
You should have in mind that the publications have to be submitted under the time you have as a PhD student. The previous papers, prior your enrollment as a PhD student, do not count in UK.
About the quality: Make sure that your journals are based on YOUR new ideas, something that people have missed but you have shown that it is possible. That will show to the persons, which are supposed to choose among many other applicants, that you can generate new things, have a mind worth to invest, etc.
Back to the real world: Despite all those things above, there exist two main variables to be taken into consideration:
Backstabbed: If you work in a group, probably, by the time you leave the group, your work will be taken by new PhD students there. That is, your former group will compete against you, based on your ideas you inserted during your time there. Hence, by the time you start a postdoc elsewhere, you are “out of shape”. In fact, you will be probably blocked by your former PhD advisor once you leave his group, i.e. he/she will try to reject your papers. Hence, never show all your cards, while doing a PhD.
Ethnicity. Why? Usually, professor from country X working in country Y will be favorable to PhD students from countries X and Y. The other PhD students are likely to get tougher subjects, i.e. the advisor cannot help you much there. If you are successful, your results will be passed to PhD students from X and Y and you will be backstabbed faster.
Ah, remember that your new postdoc advisor will do the same as your PhD advisor. These people have turner-track positions not just because they are brilliant scientists, in fact, many are mediocre. They have those positions because they have been capable to parasite other people minds, work, reject papers they think their work are questioned, etc. In one word: crooks.