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[theholme]

*Sees thread title, enters, makes fart joke, leaves.*

Why would I do a troll? I can feel your sentiment looking at my number of posts. Anyway this post of yours alone will increase your number as well, I guess. Or check my very first post

Thanks!

As astonishing as this may seem to you, bcohlan's post has nothing to do with you being a new member or having a low post count. I know this is the first possibility people always jump on, but it's wrong.

English is obviously not a language in which you are comfortable, so you may not know that "silent killer" is a phrase commonly applied to, well, certain bodily emissions that are inaudible but very perceptible to the nose.

(Actually, your dichotomy of "overachiever" vs. "silent killer" makes no sense at all, but I figured I'd just let that go, until you decided to take a whack at bcohlan.)

VP

I had no intention of taking whack at bcohlan. But his very post herein alluded this post as a troll. I used to dwell in graduate forum in collegeconfidential, but since I started my program, I kind of wonder what's the potential prospect of graduates after 5-6 years. That's all I wanted to know. That's why I came here in postdoc thread. I'm glad that some of the postdocs offered their previous experience.

I meant "silent killer" metaphorically, not literally. Taking connotation of "killer" in killer app, but then I'm wrong. I should have used dark horses.

 

[helpful]

I meant "silent killer" metaphorically, not literally. Taking connotation of "killer" in killer app, but then I'm wrong. I should have used dark horses.

 

What are you saying? "connotation of 'killer' in killer app? What does that mean? What do you mean by 'silent killer' metaphorically?

[theholme]

I meant "silent killer" metaphorically, not literally. Taking connotation of "killer" in killer app, but then I'm wrong. I should have used dark horses.

 

What are you saying? "connotation of 'killer' in killer app? What does that mean? What do you mean by 'silent killer' metaphorically?

it is something that becomes successful. So I coupled it with "silent" to convey the idea that some of the people might be introverts but they become successful. But then again, I said I'm wrong even if I used metaphorically.

[helpful]

I meant "silent killer" metaphorically, not literally. Taking connotation of "killer" in killer app, but then I'm wrong. I should have used dark horses.

 

What are you saying? "connotation of 'killer' in killer app? What does that mean? What do you mean by 'silent killer' metaphorically?

it is something that becomes successful. So I coupled it with "silent" to convey the idea that some of the people might be introverts but they become successful. But then again, I said I'm wrong even if I used metaphorically.

Thanks for the explanation. It is hard to cut a metaphor in half. 'Killer' app goes together as a metaphor. You can't take one part without the other. As you say, it doesn't make sense if you do that.

[totoro]

A "silent killer" is usually something like radon gas - you can't hear it, see it, or smell it but it can kill you.

[polly_mer]

A "silent killer" is usually something like radon gas - you can't hear it, see it, or smell it but it can kill you.

Yes.  To be more explicit, Vox's post refers to the fact that farts are often called "silent, but deadly" as a joke.

OP, no one here accused you of being a troll.  That's something in your head because you are lacking the appropriate cultural reference.

[mystictechgal]

OP, no one here believes you are a troll. If it was so someone would, by now, likely have posted such a speculation and others would likely have jumped on the bandwagon. Your post is not one that a troll would have posted. Your question isn't one designed to push people's buttons, for one thing (the definition of a troll post). By the time Bcholan posted you'd already received much useful information that can only be improved on by the addition of more anecdotes, which will probably be more of the same (although still worthwhile and informative). S/he was merely injecting a bit of levity based, as others have said, on your choice of title.

Threads do diverge, often, sometimes, when they are serious and after the good advice has been dispensed. I sincerely doubt any ill will was intended, just a bit of frivolity, perhaps (although I can't speak for him/her) to get you to laugh and not obsess on the actual question.  Laugh and move on. It's okay. Really. Look at it this way: your thread lives on a bit longer, possibly garnering even more good insight, and you get a good-natured lesson on colloquial English. That, too, although you didn't ask for it, may help you in the future, and it's not a lesson that anyone here would spend time offering to someone believed to be a troll.

[bcohlan1]

Only now do I return to see what manner of kerfuffle I have wrought!

As others have explained, OP, I didn't intend to imply anything negative about you or your question; it was just a joke, intended only to amuse (certainly not to insult or attack).

[theholme]

I apologize for any misunderstanding I brought into this thread. Thanks everyone for your supportive comments.

Thanks to mystictechgal for your insightful perspective as well. bcohlan1 .. my fault that I didn't see it first as a joke.

See you all around.

 

[lyndonparker]

OP's question is interesting. I guess it depends upon how one defines "star." If it means being on the cover of Time, getting millions in grants, or the like, that's one thing. The reality is, however, that the vast majority of t-t positions are at teaching intensive colleges and universities. To be a star at a place like this involves being a good teacher and being able to conduct some form of research on one's own. I don't think the faculty at most doctoral-granting institutions really think much about teaching, but if someone is unable to reach mediocre students they are not going to be successful in most places.

[aprilmay]

From my own Ph.D. cohort and watching students in our program, some top doctoral students go on to be top faculty and some do not. The ones who truly make the insightful comments, versus just liking to hear themselves talk, tend to be the ones who do well later. Rarely does someone who is not a top student become a true international leader in their field, but I would not rule it out. The top student is not necessarily the ones who talk a lot in class, as OP described.

[oldfullprof]

1.  Blonde
2.  Medium intelligence
3.  Sucked up to mid-career profs with trendy interests
4.  Flavor of the month dissertations
5.  Upper middle class background

None save one has done very well, but they mostly got better jobs than mine.  The one has been at two secondary RUs. 

I was a killer, but had to settle for three masters comprehensives.  I was done in four, but emerged with only one recent pub.  I had two from the PhD program I left ABD ten years before. 

[westcoastgirl]

This thread is a bit old; I've resurrected it because I'm making sure to do "searches" before posting questions.

My husband was a dark horse of sorts; he was admitted without funding, etc. He didn't actually speak a whole lot in class and certainly didn't name drop. His advisor still says she's never met anyone as unpretentious and who never put on any airs. He started to publish in graduate school and is the only one of our cohorts who has finished. He is in his early thirties and graduated in his late 20s.

Yes, he has gone on to do quite well. I have no idea what your definition of superstar is, but he has 2 international awards, a NEH grant, his book is out, and bundles of articles in top tier journals. I swear he writes some in a week.

His has a great job, but due to some factors in our lives, it would be better if he were employed in a different geographic locale. And he doesn't fare well on the market.

So to answer your question, the prospects are probably good if you do well. If you do "alright", the prospects aren't that great. But in this market, there is no guarantee of anything.

And he still has a lot of trouble getting a job.