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[tamiam]

Good morning forumites!

I'm going to be spending the day by my computer.

If anybody's interested, I'd like to get a little "betting pool" going on what's going to happen in the fall:

Situation: Ph.D. student with a couple of classes left, taking comps the next spring. Very well regarded by the prof's in the department (she is, after all, close to their age!). So well regarded, in fact, that she is one of the few with full-time funding, tied to teaching. (Having graduate students teach is not typical in that department.) Said grad student has requested, and been given the opportunity, to teach the class that the department head normally teaches next fall. It's quite a vote of confidence. Department head has been making noises about retiring, and the other profs are convinced that department head will take the opportunity to retire during the next academic year while somebody else is taking his class. Ph.D. student is not convinced because she knows that she's the one who asked for the class.

Meanwhile, Ph.D. student has a new advisor with a very active research agenda. Advisor has obtained funding through an external grant for Ph.D. student to focus on THE COOLEST research project EVER for the next academic year. Advisor will need to get Ph.D. student released from teaching if he wants her to be able to focus on the research.

Ph.D. student is going to keep her mouth shut on this one and let advisor and department head negotiate her immediate future. Which way will it go?

Your votes and any similar stories appreciated. Now, on to this week's lecture notes....

[dino]

Between them, advisor and department head will decide that PhD student can handle both responsibilities and somehow manage to put in a full-time effort on both of them. They'll smile and agree, shake hands, and tell PhD student that this is an extraordinary opportunity and it will be good for her! They may even tell her how hard they worked in grad school, with two jobs/ teaching/ research/shoveling coal/ hiking through snow drifts...

[So that's my vote... unless research project involves so much field work or travel that they can't even pretend that the two jobs are compatible.]

[%sig%]

[tamiam]

I'd say you're probably spot on. Ugh. I really need to get out of the business of working all the time, and this kind of a schedule is not going to be helpful.

[Millie]

tamiam, I prefer to bet on the past.  I rarely lose (though when I do lose, it really sucks).