What does pace of life mean to you? fast? Slow? Or what?

futuristicwiz

more flexible time i guess. and the constant novelty of attempting something new.

For lecturer at overseas, pace of life is FAST! Here's an idea what one has to do and its average MINIMUM time incurred:

1. As a core or secondary supervisor to about 5 Masters or PhDs (10 hours per week)
2. As a core or secondary supervisor to about 2 Honours year students (3 hours per week)
3. Teaching (8 hours per week)
4. Preparing tutoring materials for tutor to teach (2 hours per week)
5. Preparing teaching materials for class (5 hours per week)
5. Marking (2 hours per week)
6. MISC (Preparing exams, tests, quizzes, laboratory sessions, invigilating, working as examiner for PhD and Master's thesis from other universities) (2 hours per week)
7. Professional activities (International journal and conference paper review, organising conference, volunteering as journal editors) (2 hours per week)
8. Research (5 hours per week)
9. Giving talks, seminars, attending conference, keynote speaking, panelist and their preparation (1 hour per week)
10. Liaise with industry, government bodies, ministries, other universities for research collaboration an funding opportunities (1 hour per week)
11. Consultation (2 hours per week)
12. Management tasks (1 hour per week)

Total = MINIMUM 44 hours per week. My computation is very tight as I consider everything goes smoothly, it could be 30% more than that, so a more sensible value is 57.2 hours per week.

If you consider 5 working days, that's 57.2/5 = 11.44 hours per day
If you consider 6 working days, that's 57.2/6 ≈ 9.5333333
If you consider 7 working days, that's 57.2/7 ≈ 8.1714286

During semester break, lecturers have to take up visiting position at other universities or countries. Some begin their sabbatical visit. There are more management tasks.

My research supervisors in Australia and Japan have been complaining high amount of work load. They could hardly have time to relax! most of the time, they have to print my research papers, thesis, and other materials so taht they could work at home during weekend!

Now, this is not relax or flexible anymore

futuristicwiz

This post has been edited by futuristicwiz: Apr 25 2010, 06:56 AM

i would think with experience and a proper databank, 4 and 5 would be significantly less. and i would expect with traveling time and preparation, 9 would be significantly more. and several other items which i would expect to differ from your estimates, but point well taken.

still, most of those task dont sound like "work" to me (supervision, attend seminar/conference, visiting position, sabbatical, etc) , so maybe it is a good match

and of all those, most arent very routine, which is another plus point for me. hmm....

didnt really do too well with my bachelor research though (got an A, but personally, i'd fail myself)

This post has been edited by lin00b: Apr 25 2010, 07:29 AM

Actually, research and consultation could easily take twice the amount of the time that I suggest. Yes, some of them are not real work, but then you have to fulfill the requirement, learn and write report what you gain at the end of the task. I truly believe management task is significant more rather than just 1 hour.

"attend seminar/conference, visiting position, sabbatical, etc" are the best opportunities to meet with prospective research fund providers and collaborators. It's much like business, you try to get funding and deal all the times.

All in all, the responses that I have got in Australia and Japan were NOT relax at all.

To my Australian and Japanese lecturers, Bachelor degree's projects are TOYS. No worry at all

futuristicwiz

This post has been edited by futuristicwiz: Apr 25 2010, 07:43 AM

Hi futuristicwz,

That is great for you, having funded Australian government for you study. i am not realise on the "Teach and study for PhD" routine and i would like to know more about it, i will try to Google it.

But i am doubt that i will able to get any scholarship, as i am not on the "best/top of the class" quality kind of student.

Thank fro you advice mate.

1. If you don't have impressive academic results:

Working experience counts in your scholarships application. Looking for PhD funding is much like looking for a job.

1. You browse the University departments. (i.e. Department of Economics)
2. You understand their research. (i.e. click Research tab)
3. If you like their research, look at their researchers and lecturers. (i.e. click People or Staff tab)
4. See if the lecturer is looking for PhD student.
5. If yes, BINGO! Send your resume and cover letter to the lecturer.
6. The lecturer will come back to you in due course. Normally, HK and Singapore lecturers reply mails in a couple of days; Australia, UK and NZ takes longer; and Japan may take FOREVER or never reply you at all. That's my experience.
7. If the lecturer likes you to be a PhD student, there you go! You apply the scholarships, student visa, etc...

That's all.

2. If you have impressive academic results:

Applies for government based scholarships:
1. ORS in UK
2. NUS and NTU PhD scholarships
3. HKU, HKUST, CUHK... univeristy PhD scholarship
4. IPRS + University stipend scholarships in Aus
5. NZISRS or NZAID in NZ.

After graduation with your PhD, I bet you'll NEVER ever feel like going back to MY anymore. Mark my words, please. You'll start to rant like me, how inferior are most Malaysian lecturers and researchers.

futuristicwiz

(A) is it the pay??
nope, if starting salary is what other stated.

(B) Is it the idea of doing research??
50%, i guess... is this a dangerous answer??

© Is it the pace of life??
Well, to be honest....YES!

(D) <The pride of educating other>
Yes, Yes for me...

Thanks again mate,

Now i have something to start with, i guess the only thing i can do now is finish my contract and get enough money for my Msc on 2011 Sept intake in UK.

Is half way, hope i won't get fire...

Dude, may i ask how is the life of a PhD student?

This post has been edited by likimikuku: Apr 25 2010, 04:50 PM

likimikuku,

<<Dude, may i ask how is the life of a PhD student?>>

As far as I can tell, they are UNDERPAID SLAVE WORKERS.

Dreamer

All real PhDs must have gone through sweet and sour moments. You could see it as a good working experience in fact. Here's what I have done:

1. Skim through all new research papers that covers recent problems, issues, solutions, and technologies. You have NO time to read all research papers in details, that's why I said "skim through". Everyday, there are many publications produced around the world, there is no way to read the overwhelming research outcomes in details.
2. Carry out research: write papers, perform platform implementation, perform simulation and analysis.
3. Tutoring.
4. Marking student's papers.
5. Attending conferences, seminars and talks to listen to or to give talks.
6. Peer review other researcher's outcomes.
7. Sleep in the laboratory when deadlines draw near. You can bring your sleeping bag along. You gotta have your publications done on time.
8. Stock pile maggie mee in the laboratory, just in case you have got no time to eat.
9. Have a luggage in your lab, just in case you have got no time to go back, and you can take a shower in the Uni.

That's part of my life dring my PhD and postdoc. Japanese are way too hardworking compared to Aussie. Gosh, everyone works like robot in Japan. I might appear nonsense to sleep, eat and shower in the Uni, but that's true because I completed my PhD at UTS within TWO years though it normally takes 3 years. The normal students are more relaxed actually. I purposely wanted to quick quick finish it to start my postdoc and earn more.

futuristicwiz

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Added on April 25, 2010, 7:24 pmI second this! But then, if one convert the net income from the stipend per month, one could earn up to AUD$1,500 = RM 4,400 per month. That's NOT bad though

In Malaysia, PhD stipend is about RM2,000 only, that's REAL pathetic! I didn't even consider in teh first place!

But then, of course one has to be prudent and SAVE, SAVE and SAVE... that's the mantra loh...

High workload, low allowance... HIGH expectation to publish in journal man...



This post has been edited by futuristicwiz: Apr 25 2010, 07:31 PM

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Added on April 25, 2010, 7:24 pm

I second this! But then, if one convert the net income from the stipend per month, one could earn up to AUD$1,500 = RM 4,400 per month. That's NOT bad though

In Malaysia, PhD stipend is about RM2,000 only, that's REAL pathetic! I didn't even consider in teh first place!

But then, of course one has to be prudent and SAVE, SAVE and SAVE... that's the mantra loh...

High workload, low allowance... HIGH expectation to publish in journal man...

[/quote]

If you have the qualification, why bother coming back and starting your career in Malaysia? At the current state, you'll be just nothing more than a number to make up the statistic that is underpaid, undervalued, unappreciated and no real career progression worthy of any significant note. All talks about patriotism and contributing to the home country are plain BS. You may try to change things, but so have others before, but nothing has changed much for the past 10-20 years. Brain drain is not a new issue anymore. People are going out or looking to go out regardless of skin color, you can take that as a yardstick to measure how bad things are...

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Added on April 25, 2010, 1:25 am

depster666,

When rain fall from the sky, some went into soil and nourish the plant. Other went to drain and get wasted. Now, just because some rain gone to waste, does it means the sky should top raining??

When you post something in the forum, some people are at the right level and right frame of mind to listen. Hence, they learn. Others would not. So, would you stop posting just because some couldn't learn??

Dreamer

[/quote]


Dreamer, I was just trolling on your post . Anyway, I tend to agree with most of your posts in LYN. But bear in mind that there are types of people

1. who posses similar level of thinking with you, or similar experience that can see things at macro and micro level
2. who understand what you are trying to impart, yet refuse to do so... lack of self esteem, me guess.. and these people tend to be VERY defensive.
3. who posses idealistic and skewed perceptions about anything and everything in Malaysia... maybe they are well-connected or have a big brother to fall back to..

Nah, dont bother to teach those thick skulls, I bet only a few atoms could pass through the skull on daily basis.

this only applies for phD studies? up to masters still the traditional route right?

futuristicwiz,

I slept on the average of 4 hours per day when I do BSEE and MSEE. I worked 2 part-time jobs = 40 hours per week while doing my degrees. I did 20 semester hours per semester too. But, I graduated with 5 years of working experience. I get a speed up on my career and get paid for 5 years of working experience.

NFL = No Free Lunch. Pay now or pay later.

Dreamer

there are a lot of ipta and ipts right here in malaysia...

Futuristicwiz & Dreamer,

Thank for the heads-up, it does sound like a hard way.
Appreciated all the advices/tips given…
BTW, which sector are you guys. Anyway, I am in the construction industry.

likimikuku,

IT / Data Comm / Telecom.

Dreamer

Sigh... I really understand your circumstances. I bet its's close to NIL that the XY new generation study and work like you nowadays. I could be the only student who complete my PhD in TWO years. I did not work part time much and fully concentrate on my research. The Ang Moh PhD students were astonished by my progress as they could easily stress out. Some called me "crazy" and "stupid" because I failed to relax!!!

futuristicwiz

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Added on April 26, 2010, 3:56 amIf you have the motivation to pull through, it's NOT hard at all. Malaysian lecturers are producing many craps, so if you were to study there, you'd produce crappy publications that no other developed nations bother to read and recognise you. I have shown a BS example by a Uni Malaya prof. in a post in this thread.

I'm doing signal processing in EE.

This post has been edited by futuristicwiz: Apr 26 2010, 03:56 AM

futuristicwiz,

My older brother, worked 40 hours, finished his BSEE in 2 1/2 with CGPA of 4.0 had early retired at 49. Now, he spend his time traveling and vacationing between New Zealand, Malaysia, USA, HK and so on. So, there are REWARD for working hard when you are young.

Thank you NEP. Without NEP, we would not have been FORCED to work that hard and achieve that much.

Success is the BEST revenge.

Dreamer

This post has been edited by dreamer101: Apr 26 2010, 04:54 AM

Just an interesting information to share on University Malaya:

_________________________________
All Academic Staff,
University of Malaya.

New Incentive for Publication in the Top Journal: NATURE or SCIENCE.

I am pleased to announce that the university has decided to offer a new reward for publication in the Top Journals i.e. Science or Nature. Consistent with the practice of many top universities in Asia, any academic staff of UM who is able to publish a full length article in any of these two journals will be given a monetary reward of RM50,000.00 per paper and there is no limit to the number of paper anyone can claim. There is only one condition to this: The UM academic staff MUST be the first author in the paper.

I hope this new reward will become a great inspiration to all academics to work hard to go for the highest quality in research and publications.

Best personal regards.

(GHAUTH JASMON)
Vice Chancellor.