Life as a graduate student

[Javier]

Hi, I would like to know how is the life of a graduate student, specially for PhD students, so I would really appreciate if someone could answer the following:

What are your sources of income?

If you have a fellowship/RA/TA, does your income cover for your expenses?

If so, what is the amount/percentage of money left after covering your expenses?

Thanks in advance

[Xerxes314]

What are your sources of income?

RA plus extra money teaching.

If you have a fellowship/RA/TA, does your income cover for your expenses?

Yes, happily.

If so, what is the amount/percentage of money left after covering your expenses?

If expenses include beer, then 0%.

Xerxes :beer:

[Javier]

Thanks xerxes, anyone else?

[homology]

Originally posted by Javier
What are your sources of income?


Teaching assistanship 9K a year with an option to earn 3K more in the summer teaching a course.


If you have a fellowship/RA/TA, does your income cover for your expenses?

Expenses like tuition? That\'s waived although there are still a few hundred dollars in fees. As for living expenses sure.


If so, what is the amount/percentage of money left after covering your expenses?

:lol:
Well I have a wife (a german major) and two children. So....I have no money left over

Kevin



[Edited on 7-25-2004 by homology]

[Javier]

Hi homology, I sent you a message, please read it would you?

Thanks

[Fernanda]

We get about $15.5 K a year, and after you pass the qualifier a little more.

Life as a grad student? Depends...if you are an experimentalist you\'ll forever be in the quest for more data, which there is never enough of. Theory, you\'ll have to ask Xerxes.

You\'ll have to teach and take classes...they are much more difficult than undergrad, but most colleges I researched allow open book exams. Not the qualifier tho.

The qualifier depends on the school. Some are on Graduate courses, others on Undergradute material, and others yet have a slight mixture....somewhere in between, like my school.

You wont have a lot of time, but weekends are generally free if you dn\'t have classes. I usually grade and review then, but I have a family, so I keep my weekends open.

Money wise, my income helps out a lot, but my husband also works. So we get to have a new car as opposed to an old beat up problematic old clanker...haha

you\'ll generally find dorms, but it depends on the school and at what quality. Dorms may not be as cheap as renting with buddies.

Some areas are easier than others to work...for example, particle Physics you\'ll have to depend on beam time and do a lot of data reduction and computer work. You\'ll hardly see a lab unless you\'re working on detectors. But I think that\'s old Physics anyway :P
I\'m in condensed matter...75% of my time is maintaining, what looks like a deep water submarine, an ultra high vaccum pressure...and there are a gazillion obects to take data with. But I like touching my experiments and not waiting on big labs to give me beam time or telescope time. I get more flexibility with it, but not too much. And I can always work till midnight, or weekends if I have too...specially since in my lab no one else is using my main equipment. I take my own data and that\'s important to me.

Anyway, ask some more questions of you like. There are plenty here willing to answer.