tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14779053.post646562465478143823..comments2023-10-24T07:39:20.317-07:00Comments on Is this thing on?: Different Questions for different Networksyeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04255656208440246594noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14779053.post-19000611906689468042007-08-03T07:52:00.000-07:002007-08-03T07:52:00.000-07:00Brent,Glad to be of help!I am biased toward the fi...Brent,<BR/><BR/>Glad to be of help!<BR/><BR/>I am biased toward the field positions as that is the way I came in.yeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04255656208440246594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14779053.post-84831354252365152882007-08-03T06:30:00.000-07:002007-08-03T06:30:00.000-07:00I've read through the very late entries of the blo...I've read through the very late entries of the blog and found what I was looking for... thanks for the info!Brenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16816205233149911359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14779053.post-3652109330593037652007-08-02T00:07:00.000-07:002007-08-02T00:07:00.000-07:00I'm a final year PhD and my 'networking' has come ...I'm a final year PhD and my 'networking' has come from friends and chance introductions. Most PIs don't even think about explaining how collaborations really come about... maybe they don't realize most PhD students are clueless. <BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, I don't want to go the post-doc route so my network has been alot of people outside of my University. Speaking of which, what position is more desirable for a single PhD graduate: Field Application Scientist (50% travel) or Technical Application Scientist (troubleshooting customer service at HQ)? I would write that question separately somewhere but not sure where that would be.Brenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16816205233149911359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14779053.post-74858986765648854012007-07-30T10:28:00.000-07:002007-07-30T10:28:00.000-07:00I definitely agree with you that a grad student wh...I definitely agree with you that a grad student who is posting a message saying "how do I get a post-doc?" has done a poor job of networking. But unfortunately, networking [ie, building relationships with peers and those slightly ahead of us] is not something that 99% of grad students are ever exposed to. And it's hard. So people don't do it. Posting a message on a message board is a lot easier, so people tend to do that instead. <BR/><BR/>And I agree that personal networks are certainly important. <BR/><BR/>But I also think you are leaving a lot of resources untapped and maybe putting yourself at a long-term disadvantage. No matter how good your personal network is, you have access to only a very small segment of the total number of views, opinions, and information available in your field. There are now tools that allow you to find someone who has good reason to want to talk to you and who has very specific information that can help you. A lot of people out there are learning to use these tools. I find that I get the best answers to my questions by combining both approaches, but as always, YMMV.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com