Hello! I found this via piranha_gooroos, and it's been a fun thread to read, so I'll add to it.
What your job title is, and what that means
I don't think I have a title, as such, beyond "Graduate Student". As that says, I'm a student in the Mechanical Engineering department, working towards a doctorate (Ph.D.) degree. I've been doing this for about four years, and am a little less than a year from finishing. At this point, it means that I've finished all of the classes that I am going to take, and am working full-time on doing research that I will write up as my final dissertation (a book-length writeup that's sort of the equivalent of a final paper for a class).
Also, I could claim the title of "Research Assistant", which means that I get paid for doing the research that I'm doing.
A description of a typical day
I'm not sure that there's a typical day; instead, I'll describe some of the things that I do. The research that I am doing is in "Computational Fluid Dynamics", which means that I work on ways to use computers to calculate how liquids and gasses flow. Sometimes this means sitting in front of a computer and writing programs (or, more often, debugging them), and sometimes it means using a pen and paper to do mathematical calculations to figure out what to put into the program. I also do a lot of reading scientific papers, to see how other people have done similar things and to get ideas for how to solve the problems I'm facing, and I do a lot of writing scientific papers of my own. Most of this is sitting at a desk in my office....
Occasionally, I go to conferences to "present" my papers, which means that I talk about my work for 30 minutes to an audience of usually about 40 people, and listen to them talk about their work. These are fun, because they're often in interesting far-off places, and I get to talk to people who are excited about the same sort of work that I'm excited about.
One of the great benefits of being a graduate student is that I have almost infinite flexibility. I meet with my advisor (the teacher who oversees my work) every couple of weeks or so, and tell him what progress I've made. Other than that, I can work when I want to, and to a large extent on what I want to as long as it's making progress towards the end goals we've set. The downside is that sometimes I need to work long hours to get to those goals, particularly if there's a deadline for a paper coming up. Usually I work pretty normal hours, though, although something like 10am to 7pm instead of 8-5.
What you need in the way of training/education/experience to do this job
A doctorate degree is what comes after an undergraduate (bachelors) degree, and a masters degree, so you need both of those. Often, the process of getting a masters degree is considered the first step of getting the doctorate, though, so those are sort of the same job. Most people get their undergraduate degree in the same subject that they're getting their doctorate degree in, but you don't have to do that.
Why you like it
Mostly because I like figuring things out. The particular problem that I am working on is one that's been challenging people for a hundred years, and while I certainly can't solve the whole thing (it's far too complex for that), I hope to make a small dent in it. And, as a result of my work, people will be able to calculate things that they couldn't calculate before. And, on a personal level, it's a challenge of puzzles to figure out.
I also like having the flexibility of a free schedule, and being able to decide what I think is important and follow that path without needing to ask someone else if I can do it.
no subject
What your job title is, and what that means
I don't think I have a title, as such, beyond "Graduate Student". As that says, I'm a student in the Mechanical Engineering department, working towards a doctorate (Ph.D.) degree. I've been doing this for about four years, and am a little less than a year from finishing. At this point, it means that I've finished all of the classes that I am going to take, and am working full-time on doing research that I will write up as my final dissertation (a book-length writeup that's sort of the equivalent of a final paper for a class).
Also, I could claim the title of "Research Assistant", which means that I get paid for doing the research that I'm doing.
A description of a typical day
I'm not sure that there's a typical day; instead, I'll describe some of the things that I do. The research that I am doing is in "Computational Fluid Dynamics", which means that I work on ways to use computers to calculate how liquids and gasses flow. Sometimes this means sitting in front of a computer and writing programs (or, more often, debugging them), and sometimes it means using a pen and paper to do mathematical calculations to figure out what to put into the program. I also do a lot of reading scientific papers, to see how other people have done similar things and to get ideas for how to solve the problems I'm facing, and I do a lot of writing scientific papers of my own. Most of this is sitting at a desk in my office....
Occasionally, I go to conferences to "present" my papers, which means that I talk about my work for 30 minutes to an audience of usually about 40 people, and listen to them talk about their work. These are fun, because they're often in interesting far-off places, and I get to talk to people who are excited about the same sort of work that I'm excited about.
One of the great benefits of being a graduate student is that I have almost infinite flexibility. I meet with my advisor (the teacher who oversees my work) every couple of weeks or so, and tell him what progress I've made. Other than that, I can work when I want to, and to a large extent on what I want to as long as it's making progress towards the end goals we've set. The downside is that sometimes I need to work long hours to get to those goals, particularly if there's a deadline for a paper coming up. Usually I work pretty normal hours, though, although something like 10am to 7pm instead of 8-5.
What you need in the way of training/education/experience to do this job
A doctorate degree is what comes after an undergraduate (bachelors) degree, and a masters degree, so you need both of those. Often, the process of getting a masters degree is considered the first step of getting the doctorate, though, so those are sort of the same job. Most people get their undergraduate degree in the same subject that they're getting their doctorate degree in, but you don't have to do that.
Why you like it
Mostly because I like figuring things out. The particular problem that I am working on is one that's been challenging people for a hundred years, and while I certainly can't solve the whole thing (it's far too complex for that), I hope to make a small dent in it. And, as a result of my work, people will be able to calculate things that they couldn't calculate before. And, on a personal level, it's a challenge of puzzles to figure out.
I also like having the flexibility of a free schedule, and being able to decide what I think is important and follow that path without needing to ask someone else if I can do it.
(continued)