I’d love to connect with other mature PhD students to share experiences.
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@Kimberley Great move! When I did my PhD, I found two lovely PhD students from Scotland and Australia on formerly-a-great-place-Twitter, who were also (back then) somewhere 30+, with kids and at some point simultaneously pregnant with our youngest. We tweeted our shared experiences with the hashtag #PhDmums. They were my coven and the village one needs to write a PhD thesis. We are still friends. This year, we met physically for the first time.
@thesismum I miss the old Twitter for things like that. I'm hoping to find my own coven. The candidates in my cohort are all great and we get along well but they are not far off 20 years younger and in a different phase of life so it'd be great to meet others approaching this at a similar phase. I'm going to a mature students social in a few weeks so hopefully I'll find some new friends there
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I'm 69, about 6-ish years ago I decided I didn't want to write a dissertation and switched to a Research Professional position. Doing the same things but without the pressure or committee meetings. I'm working in deep Earth seismology.
@wanderinghermit Fair enough, a PhD thesis is a huge piece of work so I don't blame you for skipping it and focussing on more enjoyable elements!
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@Kimberley I graduated a long time ago but I was a grad student who was a few years older than most candidates at the time. If that perspective is valuable to you I'd be happy to connect on here
@withinity I'd love to hear your perspective
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@Kimberley I think @pseudonymsupreme is working on a PhD, but I don’t know what subject.
@garland Thank you
@pseudonymsupreme
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I’d love to connect with other mature PhD students to share experiences. I’m 41 and just getting started researching citizen science in river health monitoring and restoration.
@Kimberley I was in the procedure of starting a PhD at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) when COVID happened. Had to switch focus (work) and had some health issues.
I'm looking for possibilities to pick it up again. In the field of VET (Vocational Education & Training). Don't know if it will come to it again, but it is still on my mind.
I'm 58 now. -
@Kimberley oh! hi! I'm 46, starting my 3rd year in citizen / school science on vegetable fermentations as a safe learning environment for microbiology education in highschool.
I combine that research with a full time job as a teaching assistent. One of my promotors used to be my student (and got hooked on microbiology during my labs )
CitSci is the best, though I notice lots of people who still feel like "their SciComm work is not thei real research". River health sounds like a great allround topic for citizen scientists too!@kmmich Hello! How exciting to find somebody also researching citizen science! My supervisor would love your research, she's the lead for school STEM outreach here. I love the SciComm element of it and that's a key part of my project
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@Kimberley ageism is real.
Also I hope you already have a permanent/secure job, because see above. (finished PhD at 42, most precarious decade of life ever since)
Be wary of becoming a threat. Life experience outside [dogma of research field] is not necessarily welcome
@adamsteer Sounds like you didn't have the greatest experience? Ageism is definitely a big concern. Thankfully my non-academic life experience was a big part of why I was offered the position so I'm hoping it won't count against me but obviously not all institutes and academics I interact with will have the same perspective as where I am now.
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@Kimberley That is how mine is going when I email. Even worse is that there are few funded PhDs in areas I'm motivated to study.
I am working with a mentor from my professional society and that helps keep me motivated.
@ml I really hope you find the right fit for you
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@adamsteer Sounds like you didn't have the greatest experience? Ageism is definitely a big concern. Thankfully my non-academic life experience was a big part of why I was offered the position so I'm hoping it won't count against me but obviously not all institutes and academics I interact with will have the same perspective as where I am now.
@Kimberley doing the work was amazing. Like you, the previous life exoerience played a big role. Having people I'd worked with a long time before PhDing in the same group pull the rug as soon as I finished - and the void since - less so.
I hope your experience is very different!
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@Kimberley I was in the procedure of starting a PhD at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) when COVID happened. Had to switch focus (work) and had some health issues.
I'm looking for possibilities to pick it up again. In the field of VET (Vocational Education & Training). Don't know if it will come to it again, but it is still on my mind.
I'm 58 now.@teacher_rick Is there any possibility of resuming with your previous supervisor at Wageningen?
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@teacher_rick Is there any possibility of resuming with your previous supervisor at Wageningen?
@Kimberley I guess so, but I'm not sure about the subject anymore. 5 years later, a lot has changed.
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@Kimberley doing the work was amazing. Like you, the previous life exoerience played a big role. Having people I'd worked with a long time before PhDing in the same group pull the rug as soon as I finished - and the void since - less so.
I hope your experience is very different!
@adamsteer Yeah that sucks, I'm sorry that happened to you. I don't know if I'll continue in academia after this yet, at this stage of life I don't want to be chasing precarious post-docs and having to uproot my life often so I'll most likely be looking elsewhere unless there's opportunities to stay on here
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@Kimberley I guess so, but I'm not sure about the subject anymore. 5 years later, a lot has changed.
@teacher_rick That's understandable. Good luck with whatever path you choose
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I’d love to connect with other mature PhD students to share experiences. I’m 41 and just getting started researching citizen science in river health monitoring and restoration.
I'm on a rollercoaster PhD ride.
I just left one due to their technological infrastructure, and I've just joined a new one with a questionable communication setup. If I don't succeed in actually reaching the point of taking a class, then I give up.
My only choices are fully remote.
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I’d love to connect with other mature PhD students to share experiences. I’m 41 and just getting started researching citizen science in river health monitoring and restoration.
@Kimberley I'm 71 and retired, 2 years ago I started as self funded external PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), where I also graduated in sociology and worked at the library in IT and data. My research is about something completely different: early modern urban history, specifically the repurposing of urban convents and monasteries during the reformation and Dutch revolt in the 16th century. I work in splendid isolation, which suits me fine
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@thesismum I miss the old Twitter for things like that. I'm hoping to find my own coven. The candidates in my cohort are all great and we get along well but they are not far off 20 years younger and in a different phase of life so it'd be great to meet others approaching this at a similar phase. I'm going to a mature students social in a few weeks so hopefully I'll find some new friends there
@Kimberley @thesismum
Have you seen Post grad research hub?
https://www.pgresearchhub.com/
It's an online group for post grads with co-working groups and social events. It's a really friendly and helpful community. -
@Kimberley I'm 71 and retired, 2 years ago I started as self funded external PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), where I also graduated in sociology and worked at the library in IT and data. My research is about something completely different: early modern urban history, specifically the repurposing of urban convents and monasteries during the reformation and Dutch revolt in the 16th century. I work in splendid isolation, which suits me fine
@lukask that sounds really interesting. Does being self-funded give you a lot of freedom in your research? My project is funded with a partner organisation
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@Kimberley @thesismum
Have you seen Post grad research hub?
https://www.pgresearchhub.com/
It's an online group for post grads with co-working groups and social events. It's a really friendly and helpful community.@Research_FTW @thesismum I haven’t, thanks for sharing, I’ll check it out
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@lukask that sounds really interesting. Does being self-funded give you a lot of freedom in your research? My project is funded with a partner organisation
@Kimberley Well I had to submit a detailed and well defined plan etc. But within those limits my supervisors give me a lot of freedom, and I don't have any other obligations, like teaching, at all
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I’d love to connect with other mature PhD students to share experiences. I’m 41 and just getting started researching citizen science in river health monitoring and restoration.
@Kimberley @KorinnaAllhoff
Hi hi! I am 37 years old and started my PhD 2 years ago. It's on ecological evolutionary modelling dealing with biotic interactions and how they affect diversification! Glad to see that I'm not the exception of starting "late" -
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