tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post482184168010886544..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: The Five Stages of Proposal WritingFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-34360801172401304092012-10-15T17:40:50.248-05:002012-10-15T17:40:50.248-05:00I'm a successful post-doc, lots of good papers...I'm a successful post-doc, lots of good papers, good ideas etc, but the idea of writing endless grants that seemingly get accepted or rejected on largely irrational or subjective grounds has been enough to convince me that I don't want to be a TT academic. I've also figured out that I really want to remain in intimate contact with the detail of the science, and this doesn't seem to be possible on the TT- the work is more or less handed over to students and post-docs and the prof takes on more of a managerial role. I've often seen TT academics flounder in talks when asked a simple but detailed question relating to 'their' work, I don't want to end up that way. I'm now thinking of an alternative scientific career that fulfills some of these preferences, but such positions, a 'permanent independent researcher' if you will, are very hard to come by in most countries. For good financial reasons, I suppose...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-80014913721232849302011-06-28T08:53:42.254-05:002011-06-28T08:53:42.254-05:00at it again...grant writing, my third this year. ...at it again...grant writing, my third this year. I feel like the stress and exhaustion associated with writing grants has caught up to me. How do you consistenly stay focused and enthusiastic to get the job done?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-9346440281300400662010-01-30T12:02:10.476-06:002010-01-30T12:02:10.476-06:00Is there a way to figure out if the negative revie...Is there a way to figure out if the negative review was an anomaly that can be ignored (these happen even to senior researchers) or if there is something constructive you can learn from it to help you with a new proposal (i.e., by talking to a funding program administrator)? Negative reviews are painful, but the best antidote is to submit another proposal (or two) and try to move on. Your previous success might indicate that your negative experience might be an unfortunate random event.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-46176398096525001892010-01-30T05:40:02.066-06:002010-01-30T05:40:02.066-06:00How do you stay motivated to write grants after a ...How do you stay motivated to write grants after a particularly nasty review? I am a junior postdoctoral researcher in Australia and was blessed with funding success in my early carrer, but have now hit a "bump in the road". How do I push forward with confidence and retain my sanity?Aussie postdocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-87273213226067314652008-05-21T10:00:00.000-05:002008-05-21T10:00:00.000-05:00Professional management is about process not produ...Professional management is about process not product. Management is rewarded for enforcing rules whether or not they make sense in context - or any sense at all.<BR/><BR/>American grant funding is management dictated by politics. Young faculty are not funded because they lack a success inventory. Those are the folks with new ideas! Accountancy values an enterprise upon liquidation - but science is not meant to go bankrupt.<BR/><BR/>We defer to vermin defining truth and morality by convenience of the moment. It is a sad day when a country's future arrived yesterday.<BR/><BR/>http://blogs.scienceforums.net/swansont/archives/325Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-24406967297689868712008-05-21T09:30:00.000-05:002008-05-21T09:30:00.000-05:00I love this description. Though I don't know how I...I love this description. Though I don't know how I feel about the forms part- since (as a student) I've only written a psudeo-grant for our comps. <BR/><BR/>@ doctor pion- it is absolutely essential to tell grad students what's involved in obtaining tenure at a research university... but you have to remember that only ~1-5% of those that enter the field as students will ever be getting tenure at the sort of institution they were trained in (this is true for medical bioscience, it might be less true for other fields... but in any, it is an extreme minority). I think grad students are best served by learning to write grant proposals generally, not *only* those details that are germane to the kinds of grants one must write to get tenure. Proposal writing is an imporant career skill in more places than TT-positions at Res I unis.Beccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356974556397009124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-34609734592400118462008-05-21T09:22:00.000-05:002008-05-21T09:22:00.000-05:00I am in the middle of writing my first "single-aut...I am in the middle of writing my first "single-author" proposal as I started as a faculty member a few months ago. I am loving it so far. I finally get to write down this idea I've had for 4 years! I am also already starting to think about the best strategy for the next few proposals and that prevented me from falling asleep last night... <BR/>I also think about cleaning my office after... but since i have another proposal to write (6 weeks after this one) I doubt that will happen..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-39980739543576922032008-05-21T08:13:00.000-05:002008-05-21T08:13:00.000-05:00It is absolutely essential for graduate students t...It is absolutely essential for graduate students to learn what is involved in earning tenure at a research university, not to mention paying them.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-1081267857136190712008-05-20T15:46:00.000-05:002008-05-20T15:46:00.000-05:00I fucking love writing grants! It is so much more ...I fucking love writing grants! It is so much more fun than writing manuscripts. This is because you get to write about how totally fucking cool things are going to happen, instead of about how totally fucking cool the things are that have already happened.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-67629726768273345882008-05-20T11:08:00.000-05:002008-05-20T11:08:00.000-05:00I also like to write late at night, and this is wh...I also like to write late at night, and this is when I write best. Why change? This is not a habit to conquer but to enjoy.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-69671919609753850112008-05-20T11:06:00.000-05:002008-05-20T11:06:00.000-05:00Time.. I didn't say anything about time. I spend a...Time.. I didn't say anything about time. I spend a lot of time thinking about proposals in advance, and then I write them within 2 weeks. Two weeks for a proposals is fairly typical among my colleagues, not because we are poor managers of time or respond only to deadlines, but because there are so many other things that take our time.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-89766375725480764122008-05-20T09:40:00.000-05:002008-05-20T09:40:00.000-05:00I HATE writing proposals.I think it's because I ge...I HATE writing proposals.<BR/><BR/>I think it's because I get so bogged down in the mechanics that I forget that I am actually enthusiastic about the concept of the research described - which of course makes me describe the research in the most boring way possible, which makes my proposals not very successful, which makes me hate writing them even more, and so on.<BR/><BR/>So I really appreciate you reminding me that the best part (the research) is the part that I should focus my mental energy on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-84724559455318719292008-05-20T09:34:00.000-05:002008-05-20T09:34:00.000-05:00"I really like writing proposals."Me too! I love ..."I really like writing proposals."<BR/><BR/>Me too! I love having the opportunity to think about new questions and ideas. Unfortunately, I seem to write best very late at night...any ideas for conquering and changing this habit?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-13840309853737645482008-05-20T09:18:00.000-05:002008-05-20T09:18:00.000-05:00I'm sad to see more than half of the steps involve...I'm sad to see more than half of the steps involve Form Hell. I'm in the midst of submitting my first large proposal and I did find step #2 exhilarating. This last bit,not so much. And apparently it won't be over any time soon...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-55150800862836797512008-05-20T09:08:00.000-05:002008-05-20T09:08:00.000-05:00I love you! Your posts are well-written, relevant...I love you! Your posts are well-written, relevant, and regular.<BR/><BR/>I want to be an FSP too (post-doc now) and my PI just asked me to find grants to write. Today's post was especially timely.LEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16044670355258868249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-53928050565303963322008-05-20T08:30:00.000-05:002008-05-20T08:30:00.000-05:00Sounds like you start working on things before a m...Sounds like you start working on things before a month before it's due. Glad to see my advisor's model (only working on things when they become IMPERATIVE) isn't the only one. I think he is stimulated with a looming deadline. Unfortunately, I think good science (and good preliminary results) don't happen in two weeks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com