-
- Make Your Research A Success
- Posted 3 months ago
5 Industry Skills I Never Thought I Would Use in my PhD
Economics PhDs are aware of the transferable skills they should master to land a job in industry. But what about the reverse: is prior industry experience valuable for a PhD program?
en de -
- Weighing Up the Options
- Posted 1 year ago
The Pros and Cons of a Career in Research
Soon after the completion of a Master's degree or PhD, everybody is faced with the big question: what next? Although it may seem like a natural progression to continue with further research, there are many other careers open to academics in business, education, communications and journalism, to name but a few examples. So how do you know if research is the right career choice for you? Well, like with most big decisions, a good way of figuring it out is to weigh the pros and cons of an academic career.
-
- Preemptive Action
- Posted 1 year ago
10 Biggest Struggles of PhD Students
Starting a PhD is an incredibly daunting task. Normally at least 3 years, there are some challenges that you are almost certainly going to have to face during the program. Below we look at some of the biggest (and most common) problems that PhD students encounter.
en de es fr it -
- What You Need to Know
- Posted 1 year ago
A Post-PhD Career in Research: Jack of all Trades, Master of Some
Our favorite caricature of a post-doctoral researcher: a frail man (or woman) with unkempt hair, hunched in front of a computer screen, with a half-filled cup of coffee by his side. As the coffee gets colder and time flies by, he appears oblivious to his surroundings â he is happy spending long hours at his desk conceptualizing arcane theory on obscure topics the real world does not care about. He is in a state of eternal tapasya â meditating on his eternal love-affair with knowledge⊠because, life is an eternal quest for knowledge! Or, so the world believes⊠This is because once the PhD has been completed, and freshly-minted researchers decide that research is what they would like to do for the rest of their lives, their friends and family might start assuming that a Doctor of Philosophy is just another armchair intellectual.
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 3 years ago
4 Ways Economists Can Market Their Research Projects
Itâs not uncommon for those in field of economics research to feel a little hesitant about the idea of âmarketingâ themselves. After all, youâre not really selling a productâyouâre sharing valuable knowledge so that other people can benefit from it. But if you want others to take notice of that knowledge in the first place, youâll need to take some steps towards promoting your work.
-
- Study Advice Article, Career Advice Article
- Posted 3 years ago
4 Ideas to Promote Your Research
When you have important research to share, speaking at a conference is one of the best ways to network, create connections, and make your voice heardâbut with so many people competing for attention, sometimes it can feel more like a drop in a bucket. In times like this, you need a secret weaponâsomething that makes your presentation stand out and ensures that audience members will remember it enough to take action. Check out our conference listings
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 3 years ago
How to Find and Avoid Predatory Publishers
A recent investigation by British newspaper The Guardian and several German publishers has highlighted the vast number of âpredatory publishersâ who are operating in academia and are publishing fake science for profit. These publishers invite researchers to publish their work in a journal and then charge exorbitant fees.
-
- Study Advice Article
- Posted 5 years ago
Types Of Difficult PhD Supervisors And How To Successfully Deal With Them
Supervision is a difficult task, and there is often conflict between supervisors and their PhD students. Even if you find a supervisor with whom you have excellent rapport, there can still be problems. Here are some of the types of difficult supervisor which you might encounter, and tips on how to manage them.
-
- Study Advice Article
- Posted 6 years ago
Last Check List Before Submitting Your PhD Thesis
The big day is here â you're finally ready to hand in your PhD thesis! Years of work have culminated in this one piece of work, and you're prepared to submit it to your university office. You're almost certainly stressed, exhausted, and very glad to be done. But there are a few quick points you need to check before you formally submit your thesis, so take a look at this checklist and make sure everything is in order.
-
- Study Advice Article
- Posted 6 years ago
How to write an essay
If you're working your way through your degree, you may well be required to write a number of essays for your assessment. This can be tricky if you don't have a lot of experience in essay writing, so today we're sharing tips on how to manage the essay-writing process.
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 6 years ago
Importance of research autonomy when employed in academia
One of the great advantages of performing your research within an academic setting rather than a commercial one is the degree of research autonomy which you posses. This means that you have the freedom to pursue the work which you think is interesting and worthwhile, and to pick the methods and research approaches which you find to be most suitable. In fact, having flexibility and freedom over your work was identified as one of the top advantages of working in an academic institution in our 2015 Academic Institutions Report. Clearly, this is an important issue which is one of the major differentiating factors between academia and industry.
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 6 years ago
Working as a researcher in a company vs university: Social Sciences
For graduates of the social sciences, there is a wide range of career possibilities open. For people who are curious, self-motivated, and capable of both good organisation and creative thinking, research can be an extremely rewarding career.
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 6 years ago
Open access: the case for making your research publicly available
Open access refers to materials which are publicly available without restrictions on access or reuse. To publish your research in open access means that anyone, including other researchers and the public, will be able to read your paper in its original form. In order to support this free access for users, journals which publish open-access charge a fee (often in the region of several thousand Euros) to the authors. But, this cost comes with advantages. Today we're looking at the case for making your research available in open access form.
-
- Work Abroad Article
- Posted 7 years ago
Best Countries to Work in as an Academic: Research Findings
For people looking for a job in the private sector, there are numerous sources of information about best places to work, like Fortune Best Companies or Best Places to Work by Glassdoor to name just two.
-
- Work Abroad Article
- Posted 7 years ago
Teaching abroad: challenges and advice for teaching at a university in a foreign country
Each year, thousands of university teachers leave their native environments to go and teach and/or conduct academic research in a foreign country. Indeed, in this increasingly globalized world populated by a highly networked mobile workforce, there are seemingly unending possibilities, incentives and occasions to teach in a higher education institution in a foreign country. Gaining such experience is encouraged to the point where it is now even expected on your CV. Personally speaking, having taught on 3 continents, I can attest to the value of gaining such international experience. Even as a student in higher education, I fondly recall that my most interesting, passionate and captivating teachers were those who had benefited from a similarly international experience.
-
- Career Advice Article
- Posted 7 years ago
How to Enhance the Impact of Your Research
While we all know the importance of publishing widely in terms of moving forward in an academic career, what is sometimes left out of the discussion is how to make sure that your research has an actual impact in the community it is addressing, or in the world at large. If you would like your research to be read beyond the gates of the ivory tower, you need to know how to effectively promote yourself and your work.
-
- Blog Post
- Posted 8 years ago
Top Apps for Researchers: Social Science Must-Haves
In a 2012 post on Top Apps for Economists, we noted that the word âappâ was becoming integrated into our daily lives. Two years later, Iâd say itâs achieved a solid place in contemporary vocabulary. Yet, while you may not think twice about using an app to check a train schedule, buy a movie ticket or peruse Facebook, you still might not be aware of the plethora of great academic and professional apps available as well.
-
- Ranking
- Posted 8 years ago
Top Think Tanks and Social Science Research Institutes in Spain and Latin America
This blog post is the third in a series of entries highlighting top think tanks around the globe. Last week we posted a list of top institutes in Europe, and yesterday we offered you a list of think tanks in the United States. Today weâll focus on the Spanish-speaking world, with a list of top think tanks and research institutes in Spain and Latin America.
-
- Ranking
- Posted 8 years ago
Top Think Tanks and Social Science Research Institutes in the U.S. 2013
Following up on last weekâs list of Top Think Tanks and Social Science Research Institutes in Europe, this post is dedicated to top institutions in the United States. Although the U.S. is home to hundreds of research institutes, focusing on a vast array of disciplines and issues, there is a certain degree of consensus regarding which are the most respected. In the list below, we chose to highlight top think tanks working in the broad areas of politics, economics and international relations.
-
- Ranking
- Posted 8 years ago
Top Think Tanks and Social Science Research Institutes in Europe 2013
Whether youâre looking for a summer internship, your first postgraduate job or a change in career, gaining experience in a think tank or research institute is always a good way to go. While some think tanks engage in highly specialized research on specific topics, many span a broad range of issues, particularly in the fields of politics, economics and international relations. Weâve decided to dedicate three distinct blog posts to top think tanks around the world, beginning with this list of European institutions. Keep an eye out for upcoming posts on U.S. and Latin American institutions.
-
- Blog Post
- Posted 8 years ago
Women in Economics: Bridging the Gender Gap
As of 2011, significantly more women than men completed secondary education in an astounding 32 of the 34 OECD member countries, according to a study by OECD researchers. On average, women accounted for 58% of graduates overall, though the range between countries is quite great. Moreover, the numbers vary tremendously across disciplines, with the areas of health & welfare and arts & humanities still heavily female, while math & science remain overwhelmingly male.
-
- Ranking
- Posted 8 years ago
Top 10 Research Institutions in Europe
One year ago, we published information about the Top 10 economics departments in Europe to support the educational choices of new professionals. Now we want to direct the attention of our readers to an overview of European institutions from a research approach. The purpose of the following list is to guide people who are interested in developing their careers as economics researchers in Europe in collaboration with top economics authors.
-
- Blog Post
- Posted 8 years ago
Beeronomics
At this time of year, with the summer heat visibly rising from the Berlin pavement, for many there is nothing more appealing than a cold beer in one of the cityâs numerous beer gardens. And perhaps among these Berlin beer lovers, more than a couple of economists might be found as well.
-
- Study Advice Article
- Posted 9 years ago
Navigating the PhD Literature
The literature research students need to rely on throughout all of their thesis writing is diverse. Broadly categorized there are three types of literature useful for PhD students: research/topic literature, methods literature, and âhow to do your PhDâ literature. A somewhat similar classification of PhD materials can, for example, be found in Chris Hartâs Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for the Social Sciences (2010, Sage, p.2), which I recommend immensely.
-
- Work Abroad Article
- Posted 9 years ago
In Which Countries Do Economists Work?
According to our study last year, 35% of economists are working outside their home countries. The majority of economists go to work to the US, Germany and France (11% of the respondents respectively), followed by Switzerland (8%), Italy, Netherlands and the UK (6% respectively).