Best Wishes for Exams !

[Flehrad]

To those who have exams,

I hope you all manage to do well, and survive through another semester of university exams, and congratulations to those who might be finishing their degree programs at the end of the year.

Best wishes to all 8)

[grantwomack]

Cheers!
Only one presentation to go! :D :bday: :bday:
Good luck to everyone else.

[Aarleks]

Yeah, good luck to all. Only a week (with two exams and one essay in it) to go for me. Yay!!

[recurve boy]

I have none! I will be finished with uni in 24hrs and 14mins. Yay!

Good luck to the rest. Don't work too hard! And remember to keep some theraband with you or you will be bored while you procrastinate. :)

[compound boy]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh..................kill me now

[mike]

Geez Flehrad, you're a bit slow. You posted this on 6 Nov -- the same day as my LAST EXAM!!!!

So, I've already finished exams, and the degree!!

Now I just have to do honours....

[Aarleks]

Well done Mike! How do you think you went?

[Eberbachl]

Congratulations on finishing the degree Mike :D

[grantwomack]

Now I just have to do honours....

Then, come Monday, I'll be one up on you! :D I can't wait to get this over and done with, espeically since I have realised that I hate what I am doing... :(

[Flehrad]

I'm sorry for being so slow, but since I wasn't a uni student when I posted it, I have some slack in that, and in addition, Exams don't start until this Monday at Sydney Uni hehehehe
So I wouldn't know when the exams are for other academic institutions around the place :P

[mike]

Well done Mike! How do you think you went?

No idea really. Some of my exams were mostly computational type ones -- you know where you come out of it knowing that you wrote something down under all the questions but that it could be COMPLETELY wrong!

So, I probably got either 80% or 20%...

Mind you last time I felt like this about them I pulled off 4 HDs, so here's hoping...

Good luck to everyone else!! :D

Then, come Monday, I'll be one up on you! I can't wait to get this over and done with, espeically since I have realised that I hate what I am doing...

Well you're a silly one then aren't you?! :P I'm only doing honours cos I want to! I realised that I like what I am doing!! There'd be more money in me just getting a job...

But, hope it all goes well Grant! Good luck in whatever you end up doing with it! (What did you do again?)

[grantwomack]

Well you're a silly one then aren't you?! :P I'm only doing honours cos I want to! I realised that I like what I am doing!! There'd be more money in me just getting a job...

But, hope it all goes well Grant! Good luck in whatever you end up doing with it! (What did you do again?)

I started honours with the intention of making science my career. Then I realised about half way through that there is no creativity involved, which is something I desperately need in my job (and also realised about that time). So I have decided working as a lab researcher isn't the way to go for me. Plenty of other things to do down the same path that sound more interesting to me... Med school, scientific illustration, medical photography, etc etc. I'll work something out! :D

[Shirt]

Did you know York now has a Med school? Bet you could get a job there...

Student nurses... yummy. :D

[James Park]

Shirt,
How is the weather in York? Will be going through that area in a couple of weeks, and assume it will now be getting a bit cold.

[Aarleks]

Jim, when will you be in the UK? I'm going in a few weeks also. 8)

[James Park]

Aarleks,
I leave this Tuesday. Return to Australia at the end of November.
Of course, this does pose the prospects of an Archery-Forum Dinner in York!!!

[Aarleks]

Ah, bummer. I leave not long after you get back.

[Shirt]

Weather is OK at the moment, although people are beginning to start complaining. 7 to 10 centigrade.

Dinner in York - actually, there are several half-decent restaurants. Could be interesting...

[grantwomack]

I leave on Saturday for York. So there will be a few of us around when you are there James...

[James Park]

I will figure out what days I am in York, but it will be the week after this.

[James Park]

In York from 15/11 to 21/11.

[recurve boy]

Then I realised about half way through that there is no creativity involved, which is something I desperately need in my job (and also realised about that time).
99% inspiration, 1% persperation or whatever Einstein said if indeed it was Einstein who said that. I can't remember.

Just don't become a philosopher.

[mike]

So I have decided working as a lab researcher isn't the way to go for me.

I agree, lab researcher is probably not for me either. But I'm in a science that demands fieldwork (if you're going to have credibility). And you just get other lab workers to do your lab tests for you.

SO, in short, I get to cruise around the bush, make observations, collect samples, have someone else process the samples, then colate all the info and come up with something clever to say about it. And in geology, that requires creativity!! :D So some might say its the perfect science. :)

[grantwomack]

I reckon a more creative aspect of your job will be pursuading the people that a human actually needs to do the work that a computer could do if you wanted it to.... :D
Nah, sounds like you have it better than I did. The most outdoors I saw on an average day was riding to uni on the CityCat. After that, it was riding home on the CityCat. :(
And cruel fate has led me to apply for a job as a lab monkey - washing up bottles and autoclaving media for them all... :cry:

[mike]

I reckon a more creative aspect of your job will be pursuading the people that a human actually needs to do the work that a computer could do if you wanted it to.... :D

Luckily, most of the work that the geo does is in the collection of raw data and in interpretation of results. Neither of which can be done by a computer. All the stuff in between is gladly given to a computer to process (drawing maps by hand is a bitch, GIS makes life a heap easier).

That said, there is a lot of "voodoo" to geology and it is the illusion of vastly superior knowledge about everything rock-related that allows us to control our destiny in that regard -- it has generally been other geologists that have developed the best geological computer packages.

If you ever see a bloke standing at a road cutting, waving his arms in the air and holding a rock hammer, before you call the police, consider that it might be a geo... :)

[Flehrad]

Well, I have two degrees and no job, talk about picking the wrong career paths......
And I have applied for a 3rd degree, with at least a guarenteed job at the end of it, thankfully, though my application has to be accepted first for that sigh of relief to come.... :cry:

I have a B.Science degree in anatomy... and that doesn't go very far really since I don't want to do med... I have worked in a anatomy lab, but jobs are far and few inbetween.

I also have a M.Science in microscopy & microanalysis for light, confocal and electron microscopy.... and that would go far execpt those who have jobs in the field dont want to give them up, and all the new money with the nano technology fields are going to machines instead of people with big budget projects.

SO

I have applied to teach secondary school science in either biology or physics, and because NSW is desperate for teachers, especially science, and even more desperate, for physics teachers, I have a instant job placement after the degree... but it might be rural :o
But I guess at least it is a job.....

[grantwomack]

Alternately, when you finish, you could go overseas to somewhere like the UK, which is simply CRYING for teachers. No rural jobs either. Anywhere you like, really. If worse comes to worse with me, I am going to go into the teachers training program in the UK next academic year. At least then I would be doing something I liked.

Speaking of confocal microscopy, check out the York University jobs website. A job like that up there at the moment in flow cytometry and all that. York University (http://www.york.ac.uk).

[mike]

Well I started a law degree after school, but failed half of 2nd year and 3/4 of third year and was basically kicked out (spent WAY too much time drinking -- its a trap for uni students I tells ya). I just wasn't interested, but there was pretty good money in it potentially I guess (but I never could get with the idea of me being a lawyer)

Started the BAppSci (Applied Geology) because I wanted to do a science, and it seems to have been a good decision -- have got HDs in about 3 out of 4 subjects over all.

After honours, lets see -- choices (this is say assuming that I was offered the job):

1. $50k + p/a as a graduate for a mining company or oil company
2. ~$43K in a government role or working for a consultancy
3. $25K tax free p/a to do a PhD (which could lead to academic positions)

So lifes fairly good for geos by comparison to most other sciences.

Gotta say I feel for you Flehrad. But I guess you went into an Masters like that knowing that the job market is going to be fairly thin...

But jobs aren't the reason to do higher degrees any way (unless you have to for a given position).

You should only go to uni because you are really interested in the subject matter. Thats my opinion anyway -- I have no sympathy for people who whinge about the demands of a course that they are not particularly interested in -- get out and do something else instead I say!

I may well end up going the PhD/Academic route -- I think I am a tragic academic at the end of the day.

I recommend you look closely at the OS options Flehrad, its amazing how many jobs there are OS for scientists. Australia has to have one of the worst scientific job markets in the western world. I mean in my case I could go OS and earn like $70k US DOLLARS as a graduate in some cases.

[grantwomack]

Oh what a feeling!
Finished my final presentation for honours! :D
Now only the viva left to do... Friday for that. But it is really nothing to worry about. I hope.....
Who else finishes their degree soon?

[recurve boy]

I'm was done last friday. Have to get a job now...

[Flehrad]

Just had a look at the confocal job... 7-8 months to cover maternity leave, which isn't the most promising start if it involves major cost of relocation just for such a short time period....

Yes, I did undertake my masters knowing that jobs would be scarce, but I really enjoyed the topics and had lots of fun learning and using the machines.

At the moment, I would like to stay local in Australia for a few years yet until I have saved enough to branch out overseas, and also I am waiting for my girlfriend to finish her studies before making any "permanent" decisions of moving places.

[StevenB]

well I'll have my advanced Diploma in Electrical Technolog (A lot of the subjects were networking orientated) by the 3rd of December :bday:

[grantwomack]

Flehrad -
Fair enough, just thought I'd mention it because it was fresh in my mind. I applied for a job there last week so knew the flow cytom. job was there. And yes, relocating to the UK is a big expense and hassle trying to get things sorted out before you go. There are ALWAYS loose ends to tie up. You'd think that with 5 trans-continental moves under my belt, I'd be getting pretty good at it by now... :-?

[Aarleks]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAW!!!!! :bday: :bday: :bday:

Just finished my last take-home exam, so I am done for the year. :D :D
Like Mike that's my degree done. On to Honours next year, then postgrad, then......

Damn this feels good. 8) Now to top the day off I get to go shoot some arrows. Yay!!

[archerybob]

take home exam!!!!!!!!!! must be tough :lol:

[Aarleks]

(yawn, stretch) Yep... real hard. The weirdest thing was the amount of time we had to do it. Ususally you get a week to do two 1500 word questions (or equivalent). This one we had sixteen weeks to do three 700 word questions. Go figure. :lol:

Saying that though, in my defence I might say that I also handed in a 3000 word essay and a 2x1500 word take-home this week. 8000 words all due in the same week for three different subjects was a little challenging, especially as I only had a week and a half for the essay (typical of political philosophy :x ).

[mike]

I should have done arts!

I had to hand in 2x4000 word (approx) and a couple of <1000 word reports in the final week.

THEN I had to go and do 5 exams!! And they were the non-take-home-only-get-one-chance-not-open-book variety. Well, one of them was open book, but the hard ones weren't.

But seriously, well done Aarleks! Have a big celebration... :bday: :bday: :bday:

[Pete]

You people do too much work! I only had 2 2500 word essays + 1 2 hour exam. But then again, I've still got a year to go at uni :-?

[StevenB]

one of the guys I worked with was doing a tourisim course and had a 20,000 word thesis to do, it worked out that to get 20,000 words he had to write about 60,000 cause a lot of it didn't count to word count