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[14 Sep 2011|10:20pm] |
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Ok it's been a while since I posted. There's a TON of stuff that I want to rant about, like all the republicans surrounding me, and the lack of support for female physics grad students, and how hard my classes are, and how crazy my quantum prof is, but it's pretty late right now XD
The one thing I do want to mention is that I'm going to NJ to visit my parents from Dec 18th through the 2nd of January! Looking forward to it, I miss our bird!!! Josh will also be joining me but for only one week, since he barely gets any time off... a true American job... I really want to move to Europe! :3
Anyway I can't wait for the weekend. Josh has been working like crazy this week, since his company is in production this week. Going in at 7am and yesterday he didn't get out until 9PM, today not until 7:30PM. He doesn't get paid for overtime. It's kind of crazy. And my hours are from 9AM till about 8PM every day after which I do homework, so we only really "see" each other the 4 hours we spend in bed together sleeping XDDD man how depressing! Let this week be over sooon!!!
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[28 Aug 2011|03:05pm] |
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mood |
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I'm so sick of graduate school! This semester I'll be working nearly 60 hours a week, on less than 20k a year. Several people have been kicked out of my research group because there is no money and they "didn't work hard enough". I am one of those people kicked out for lack of money, and I'm actually waiting for someone to tell me I didn't work hard enough this summer XD Hasn't happened yet...
I failed the common exam, as expected, which is also putting me at a disadvantage. But what is the most annoying is that the people replacing the graduate students that were kicked out are NON-graduate students. They are here at the U working for our group because they couldn't find a real job and are not yet in grad school. What the heck??
Eh whatever, I kind of want to get a real job and get out of here, I'm so sick of dealing with professors and homework and grading and UGH. This summer was nice because I could work a nice solid 40 hours a week, nothing more, nothing less. Nice 9-5 work hours... man I'm envious of people who get to have those hours now XD My hours are going to be something like 9 - 9 every day! D: then add homework on top of that. In classes that use books by Landau & Lifschitz and Jackson.
Maybe I should go to the office and ask what would happen if I changed from a PhD to a Masters student. It really wouldn't surprise me if in the near future they found better grad students and kicked me out of the group, especially since even JP was kicked out! He's been working here for forever and knew what was going on, just like me, and that's the only thing I have going for me. Sigh. I should go into IT, get a nice high-paying job, and enjoy my life. :3
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| contemplations |
[18 Aug 2011|03:17pm] |
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As a graduate student, you spend most of your time in limbo. A lot of the time you're wondering whether you're good enough to work on a certain project or to teach a certain class. At other times, you are being held back by examinations or defenses. Most of the time you are being ordered around by your committee. You worry - especially in this bad economy - whether you will be able to stay with your group, and whether you can pay your rent and food this month with the measly about you make.
It's even worse than having a job, because you can get fired at any point! No unions to back you up, no contracts... it's all a privilege to work as a slave at the hand of professors and researchers. (It kind of is, working in research labs is awesome...)
Someone I know is being kicked out of the group I work at, because of lack of money. They gave her a date, August 31st, and are kicking her out. She can't stay at the university either because she can't get a TA. She's actually almost done... I think she does have to start writing her thesis though, so not entirely. They're kicking me out too, for this semester, also because of lack of money. I'm starting to doubt my decision to stay in the US for grad school. Ok great a PhD from a US school is mostly better than any others, but at this rate I think that will change. With such a lack of funding, how can research groups survive?
What would I do outside of grad school? Becoming a teacher might be fun, but I'm not sure. There are also a lot of other things that I enjoy doing, like coding, learning new languages, art... If I were in Europe I wouldn't mind even working at a zoo or something XD or at an animal rescue center, or goodness knows what. Health insurance and other things are not an issue there, since you get them for living there! Man my whole life would be FUN. Not the everyday worries of living in the US. The government is like a black cloud hanging over us poor / lower / middle class folks, and it really puts a damper on us.
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[19 Jun 2011|02:17pm] |
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mood |
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Happy Father's day!!! I really wish I could spend this day with my family, but I'm stuck here in Utah :(
My trip to Austria.... awesomeness :3 Sadly I got sick right after I got back, with the flu. :( But anyway, "some" pictures on my sister's flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51788486@N07/sets/72157626968407920/
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