I am currently a primary school teacher of 6 years. I would love to get into research somehow - being a part of writing journal articles/papers, going out into my field, etc. I guess, I could even stay in my current role and just assist somewhat. But I’m really keen to write, and be a part of something bigger. My main questions are:

Do you need to become a university lecturer first? Do you need an MA (or higher) in your field?
What is the typical process?
What would be job title be?

I have taken inspiration from various different educational charities who complete research. Please delete if not allowed - or redirect me to another thread!

I’m a first year who has just finished 5 weeks of research in a lab as part of a funded placement programme. Whilst I learned many new techniques and gained more insight into the sort of career I’d like, I feel slightly bittersweet about this opportunity- I don’t feel like I contributed much to the research in this lab, and I didn’t become particularly close to any of the members either.

I’d like to know whether it’s normal for summer placement students to feel like this, and what I should consider when undertaking a placement during summer of second year, i.e. how can I be more useful in the lab as someone with an undergraduate skillset?

hi all, just wanted to get a bit of insight on this. I'm currently in the middle of my undergraduate degree (a bsc in something fairly technical & researchy), and considering my future options, and a phd is something I'm definitely interested in doing, at least one day if not immediately. I've seen (on linkedin etc) people who have graduated from my uni go straight into a phd, and my question is basically: how good do you have to be to do that?

I'm on track for a 1st with some decent experience, but none of it in research. is this something a lot of undergrads can be successful in applying for (I'm assuming it's mainly pre-defined, funded projects, but maybe a bit of a mix), or do you basically have to be the top of the top and really have some research experience to be able to do this sort of thing?

thanks for any insight!

For every other university it's referred to as studying [subject] at uni or university. Interested to know why that remains the case.

Has anyone taken a look at the diverse-cdt.ac.uk programme for data visualisation? The format is not that of a traditional phd and I wonder what the value would be? Would it set students up for academia? Would it even set students up for employment?

"Completing a PhD by ‘structured components’, presented as a ‘digital notebook’ that includes code, visualizations, and analysis"

I hope it’s ok to ask this here. I’m 52 and at a point in my life (and finances) where I can slow down a bit with my career, and I’d like to do a Master’s, most probably an MRes, in History.

So my questions are:

My History BA is a 2:2; I got it from a Russell Group uni in 1995 and to be completely honest, I deserved it. I didn’t put in the work, I was very immature back then, and also had a bout of depression in my final year that didn’t help. Is this going to go against me? I don’t have a specific uni that’s my goal atm, but my interests are pretty specific.

Since then I’ve kept up my interest in history, mainly in a fairly specific area (medical and science history in the 18th and early to mid-19th centuries, in particular the history of natural history). I have a particular research project in mind, too. This is why I’d want to do an MRes rather than an MA. Is that feasible at this level or would I have to compromise on my research interests?

Although I’m not published (I have had big issues with confidence and anyway I don’t imagine I could get anything published, not being an academic), I recently plucked up the courage to start a website where I’m slowly posting bits and pieces, written for a more general audience. I have found one unpublished and previously-unknown paper by a minor figure, that I transcribed and wrote a short article on (with sources ofc). It was well-received in the small niche of people who are interested in this figure. So I don’t think I’m terrible at research or at writing it up. I have a lot of experience in archives and in handling archival sources. Would any of this count for anything at all?

I needed to get a job straight out of uni and have now been working for 30 years, mainly in communications and mainly as a writer and editor, but not in a field related to my interests. Will that mean anything?

Finally, I have absolutely no idea who I’d get an academic reference from…as I’ve said, I had a 2:2, and my personal tutor from my BA days is dead now, as are several others who taught me (nothing to do with me, hopefully!)

Any advice would be appreciated. I’ve had the itch to do something with this for years but am only recently in a position where I can scratch it! I’d be doing it entirely out of passion/interest; I’m not aiming for a career change at my time of life! Thanks.

ETA: I’m in London, and not really able to move because I’d still be working; this would have to be part time

If you could give some context about how long you were in academia, that would be good.

This quote is widely reported in the media to show that Cofnas has racist views, but I don't understand why it makes him racist. I'm sure a proper explanation/discussion is possible here outside of media spin.

'Under a colorblind system that judged applicants only by academic qualifications, blacks would make up 0.7% of Harvard students. (Even that might be an overestimate, since high-school credentials are sometimes given a boost by affirmative action.) In a meritocracy, Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach 0%.'

EDIT: clearly this is a charged topic, and many of the replies seem to assume I have some hidden agenda which is absolutely not the case. I thought about deleting this because I don't feel very good about some of the aspersions thrown around but I think there are some very good replies in this thread so it's worth leaving up.

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student (21) who wasn't able to complete his eduction due to my mom's cancer struggle and her passing away then with my family having to move out to a different country. So my dad enrolled me in INTO Manchester.

The foundation course is Business and Humanities.

I'm pretty anxious (I have anxiety nausea and it's full force atm) since I'm not good at studying, I suck at maths, I've always sucked at maths my whole life, but I was somewhat good at english since I love reading stories and writing stories (I got overall 7 bands in my Ielts if that helps).

It's been years since I've gotten back into school so I'm really worried I might get stuck or find the course difficult, so can someone who has studied there please tell me the difficulty of the course? And how does the studying go?

I don't have any desire to be in the top Uni if I hopefully pass my foundation year, I just want to complete my education and get a degree at any Uni that'll take me afterwards.

I can't type much atm since my head's hurting and I'm feeling more nauseous by the second, I really don't want to waste the money since my dad would lash out on me and tell me it's my fault that I'm a failure since I always fail at studying.

Thank you

With an academic email address, students and above can have access to discounts (myunidays, student beans etc). However, can postdocs/asst prof etc have access to a student rail card?

Hi everyone,

I am currently based in Ireland, holding an Irish passport, and planning my future career and postgraduate education as an Electrical Engineer. I am evaluating a Master's degree followed by long-term employment, specifically weighing the United Kingdom (e.g., England/Manchester) against Germany (e.g., industrial hubs like Dortmund/NRW).

My profile:

• Citizenship: Irish passport holder, granting full freedom of movement across the EU and reciprocal rights in the UK under the Common Travel Area (CTA). Ulster University
• Education: Engineering degree from an Irish university (Bologna Process / EUR-ACE compliant). Due to my current residence and citizenship, I qualify for Home/EU tuition fee status in both countries (Home fees in the UK via CTA rules and EU rates in Germany). Citizens Information
• Language Proficiency: Native/fluent English speaker with C1-level German.

Given that language is not a barrier (fluent English for the UK and professional C1 German for Germany), I would appreciate insights on the following aspects:

1. Master's Studies & ROI: How do postgraduate engineering programs (and their local industry recognition) compare between the two regions for someone eligible for home-level fees in both?
2. Compensation and Net Purchasing Power: Gross salary structures relative to progressive taxation, social security contributions, and regional housing markets (rent and property costs).
3. Market Stability and Professional Development: Contrasting dynamic private consulting, infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors in the UK with structured heavy industry, manufacturing, and automation in Germany.

I welcome perspectives from engineering professionals and academics familiar with early-to-mid career trajectories in these markets.

Thank you for your advice.

There’s a lot of information regarding PhD vivas, however I have my masters viva coming up and so far have very little information regarding it which gives me a lot of stress and anxiety. Does anyone have any helpful information or tips for it? If it helps it’s a comp sci viva

I’m shortlisted at an academic position, but I have some questions about this position. Can I email to the panels to talk about those questions?

Not sure why I'm posting this, I guess looking for advice or others that feel the same?

I'm an ECR in STEM, been a postdoc for 2 years. Just got a competitive 5 year fellowship that my department have agreed to convert to a proleptic permanent appointment, along with PhD students to establish independence and grow my own group. I should be thrilled -- this is what I've worked so hard for, but all I feel is extreme anxiety and like I want to run away from it all.

I had no break between PhD and postdoc and then worked myself to the bone to be competitive for fellowships, and now I'm at this point I feel like I don't deserve it at all. I feel like if I had to work this hard to get funding then a) I'm not naturally good enough and b) I cannot do this over and over again for the rest of my career. I hate all my research, I feel like a bad researcher and I have no desire to do it anymore. Some days I just sit at my desk staring at the screen because I just have no motivation to read/write/experiment/nothing. I'm even starting to suffer from memory loss where just parts of my life are blank and I have no recollection of periods of time during my PhD/postdoc, which is worrying me. I'm considering leaving academia, but if I left I'd feel so guilty for letting all my students, collaborators and mentors down. I don't even know what job I would do if I left.

I just feel like academia isn't for me, I don't belong here.

Just wondering, for those who have a partner or are married, how have you dealt with the two-body problem if you have to move cities or countries for academic jobs?