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Hello, I hope everyone reading this is doing well and enjoying the warmer weather. I know I am!
Unfortunately, I received terrible news at the end of my day at work on Thursday (and I had off work on Friday), and now I don't know what to do. Apparently, the director at my agency has decided to close down all research at my agency. I've been planning to conduct my dissertation research at this agency for the past two years, and that was actually how I became interested in working at this agency. Now, I am nearly ready to send my dissertation proposal to my committee (well, I'm probably within a month of sending it), and now I won't be able to carry out my research as planned.
Because I work for a federal government agency, I'm going to see if I can carry out my research at a similar facility that is about an hour away from my home, and hopefully that will work out. Even if that does work out, I'm still upset and frustrated because I've been working hard over the past two years to establish relationships at my current agency and I will be starting fresh at the other agency. I even became a voting member of my agency's institutional review board (IRB) last fall, and now I'm guessing that that will be a thing of the past too.
As you can probably imagine, this situation has caught me off-guard and has been weighing on my mind all weekend (it's now Sunday evening). I knew that I would likely have difficulty getting funding, but the thought that I may not be able to actually conduct my dissertation research at my agency never crossed my mind. It's my goal to become a full-time researcher at this particular location, but as long as we have our current director (who has been wanting to end research at my agency since he arrived), I guess that won't happen.
I'm a very positive person, actually I'm probably overly optimistic, but this news has really thrown a wrench in my plans. After working on this proposal for over a year, I'm at the point where I really want to defend my proposal and get on with my study. I'll be talking with the research and development committee this week to get more information, and I'm hoping that they'll make an exception and at least allow me to collect my data. Please stay posted for my next blog entry for an update. (Also, I mentioned in my last entry that I resubmitted my funding proposal - still no word on that other than being told that it's going to take awhile until I hear something).
Please feel free to leave me a comment! :)
Hello! Well, not much has changed since my last entry (still working and managing a hectic schedule), but I have an update on the funding I had applied for last October. However, before I give you that update, I must say that this whole dissertation proposal/funding application process has really taught me patience, compromise, and persistence. I'm usually the type of person who makes a decision, acts on it, then moves on to the next thing. The whole "process" aspect of the dissertation phase has been a growing experience for me!
Okay, so I applied for dissertation funding in October. Initially I was told I'd hear about the results sometime after December 8, then the date was pushed back to early January. Around the middle of January I received a letter about my application. (Remember this was basically a statewide competition for funding). Basically, two scientific experts in the field (of my topic) reviewed my protocol, as well as a research committee member. Generally speaking, if an applicant scores a 2.5 or LESS they qualify for funding. The first scientific reviewer gave me a 1.8 (yay!!), which was in the "excellent" and fundable range. The second scientific reviewer gave me a 2.0 (yay!!), which was also in the "excellent" and fundable range. The research committee member gave me a 2.6, which is also good, but just barely out of the fundable range. So, the letter I received recommended that I revise my protocol and address the concerns that were mentioned, and resubmit in the future.
All that sounds fine, but this darn economy is now interfering with my plans to resubmit. When I contacted the committee chairperson about resubmitting, I was told that normally that would be fine, but the funding is limited and nearly gone already for this fiscal year (which doesn't end til October). This was very disappointing to hear, but after consulting with the research folks at my place of employment, we agreed that I would revise my protocol to address the concerns, drastically cut the amount of funds I was requesting, and resubmit. So, now I'm back to the waiting phase. I resubmitted my protocol last week and I'm assuming I'll hear something hopefully within a month. I'm not overly hopeful because I'm well aware of the reality of the budget for funding in the midst of an economic recession. But, I haven't given up because this money would save me from having to use my student loans to pay for my dissertation, and this award would help pave the way to future (larger) funding.
Please keep your fingers crossed for me, and I will post an update when I hear something! (And please feel free to leave me a comment).
:)
The semester's almost finished, and the students are nearly done with their classes! This is very good news -- they deserve a break! :)
I'm still plugging away at my dissertation proposal. If you were to look at my proposal, you would probably say, "Wow, you're almost done!" However, it seems to me like it's taking a very long time, especially considering I only have 30-60 minutes each night after I get my son to bed and before I start getting everything ready for the next day.
I haven't heard yet if I'll have dissertation funding or not. I should find out this week, so I'll let you know! I'm not counting on it, given that this particular funding is very competitive, but it's worth a shot.
On a side note, my house is decorated and ready for Christmas! Even though my life is hectic, I still love decorating and shopping and reading Christmas stories to my son. My son's 8th birthday is aslo coming up soon, so I'm trying to plan a special party for him. Plus I'm still volunteering in his classroom once a month, and I love that!
Feel free to leave me a comment -- I'll respond through email. Have a very Merry Christmas!! :)
Welcome back!! :)
It's been several weeks since my last blog entry, and I'll tell you why -- it's extremely hectic trying to work full-time (and then some) and developing my dissertation proposal (while also being the church pianist and raising my almost-8-year-old son).
I'm enjoying my new job, however, it's really the job of 1 1/2 people, which means it's high stress and I often have to work extra just to get the necessary things done. Things were looking better for awhile because I was told that changes would be made to my position; that was before we found out that the VA's budget is not being increased this year with the failing economy. (This is quite a blow after receiving a 15% increase last year!) For now another social working is helping me, but we'll see what happens in a few months when she can no longer help out.
My dissertation proposal is coming along pretty well, and I was able to apply for dissertation funding. I'll find out in December if I get the funding, so I'll keep you posted! I'm not holding my breath since it's competitive funding across all the VA's in PA, but it was still a good experience to complete the application. I am finishing my draft of my method section of my dissertation proposal right now, and it's my goal to have my proposal to my entire committee by the end of November. I was hoping to defend my proposal before the Christmas holiday, but I believe that is impossible at this point, and it will more likely happen when everyone returns to campus in January.
Needless to say, I don't have much of a life outside of work, school, practicing piano, and family. I did start volunteering in my son's classroom one afternoon a month, and I really look forward to that. I'm also not as tired now as I was when I first started working full-time, so I think my body has adjusted. Unfortunately, my house is not as clean as it once was, and sometimes I actually have to take time off work to clean, but for now I've accepted this as part of life.
Also, and I forgot to mention this earlier, I'm still working with some other UMB students on publishing articles from our practicum class. This is not good timing for me, however, it's a great experience and I'm glad for the opportunity. I'll let you know when we're approved and awaiting publication!! I am also still working on submitting articles from two other classes I took at UMB -- I'll keep you posted on those as well!
It is recommended that you don't work while writing your dissertation, and if you have the means (like if you have a spouse with a decent salary!), it's best to follow that advice. But, if you're on your own, already have three years of student loans to pay back (on top of previous student loans), you do what you gotta do and are thankful for the determination and stamina to keep going every day.
Although I am certainly experiencing some stress this year, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and, more importantly, I'm loving the time when I can actually just focus on my dissertation research. It gets a little tedious at times, but it's an exciting process, and I'm hoping to be able to do research full-time in the future.
Please feel free to leave me a comment! :)
Hello, and welcome back to my blog! It's already a few weeks into the new semester, and I can't even believe summer "vacation" is over. I started a new, full-time job back in June, and nobody warned me, after not working full-time for over 5 years, how hard it is to adjust! For the first couple months, I would pick up my son after work, and then come home and immediately nap for 20 minutes just to get enough energy to get through the rest of the evening. I even (briefly) had second thoughts about my job, because working was really impinging on my free time. :) However, I made it through the adjustment period, and I'm enjoying my job. I no longer have to nap when I get home, and I'm finding time here and there to do things like cook and clean.
And, after taking the summer off from working on my dissertation proposal, I'm getting back on track. At first I was disappointed because I am behind the schedule I set for myself, but once again I realized that life happens along the journey through the doctoral program, and as long as my bills are getting paid, I can't get too stressed over a missed deadline. Now, that being said, I was just alerted to potential funding at my job that I would LOVE to have for my dissertation research. And, the deadline for the application is 10/7, so I will be working my butt off until then to get this application finished. The application is basically an abbreviated dissertation proposal, and unfortunately I don't have any of my method section done (or even started!) yet. It's very competitive funding among 10 VA medical centers, so I'm not holding my breath. I'll keep you posted on my progress!
I must say it's very strange for me to not be on campus this year. I was in the pattern of starting classes in the fall for the past 3 years, and I miss seeing everyone and the whole learning process in general. However, although I'm a couple hours away, I still hear back right away from my co-chairs and the other students when I email them. Overall, I'm still enjoying this whole process, and although it's very challenging to being working full-time while working on my dissertation proposal (while also finding the time to volunteer in my son's class and find time for friends and myself), it's worth it! :)
Please feel free to leave me a comment and I will get back to you.
Hello! I'm back from vacation at Disney World. I had a wonderful time with my son and enjoyed a much needed break. After I got home, I had one month to work like crazy on my dissertation proposal, and I just started a new full-time job this week. My dissertation proposal will be done by mid-August (I'm being optimistic - yes, it WILL be done). I also got my paper from my independent study ready to submit for publication, so that's a huge task to cross off my long list of things to get done this summer. My son is going to summer camp this summer, which was sort of hard for me because I was used to being pretty much home with him over the summer the past 3 years while I was in school, but luckily his camp is great and he's really enjoying it. And, I'm able to flex my hours so I can work 2 longer days on the days his dad picks him up and 3 short days on the days I get him, so that makes it better.
I will continue writing this blog for the next year, so you can now follow me through my dissertation phase. We'll see how I do balancing a full-time job with working on my dissertation. I'm not sure how everything will work out yet, but I'm not worried about it. If I could balance going to school full-time in Baltimore while raising my son, working as a research assistant, and even providing outpatient therapy part-time, I think this will be a breeze. Well...maybe not a breeze, but you know what I mean!
Please feel free to continue leaving my comments this summer. I'm not sure how many blog entries I'll do, but I'll keep you posted on my progress this summer! :)
It's been a few weeks since I posted a blog entry, and that's a sign that's it's the end of the semester and I've been very busy!! I can't believe how quickly the semester has flown by, and I also can't believe how much I need to get finished in the next couple weeks. However, although I'm very busy, I'm not feeling totally overwhelmed, and I'm still able to go on with life as usual, (which included going to my son's first baseball game of the season yesterday). I also decided a few days ago that I want to take my son to Disney World in two weeks to celebrate the end of my semester and to spend some quality time with him.
And........I got a job!! I'll be starting a new position around the end of May, and I'm thrilled. I haven't had a full-time job (outside of being a student) the past 3 years, (well, actually longer than that because I was working less than full-time before I started school) so I'm a little anxious. Plus, I need to get my dissertation proposal finished by mid-August, finish a paper I'm working on (and hoping to publish) for my independent study class, finish (and publish) an article I'm working on as part of my research assistantship, and also co-author three articles with the other students in my cohort off the data we collected for practicum. I'm used to taking it easy over the summer and relaxing by the pool, so this summer will be very different. However, right now, I'm just focusing on going on vacation with my son, and I'll worry about the rest when I get back.
Please feel free to leave me a comment, and I would appreciate any suggestions on Disney World!! :)
Hello!!
Spring Break was last week (and in my mind I'm still on break until I return to campus tomorrow). :) In reality, it was a break from travelling to campus, but I ended up working on school work a lot of the time. My son had off school last Thursday and Friday, so I enjoyed spending that extra time with him. On a side note, I told my son (age 7) last Thursday that Friday was going to be Good Friday. He very emphatically said, "Oh great, that means I'm not going anywhere tomorrow!!" I asked him why, and he said, "Because the stores are gonna be packed!!" I tried not to laugh too hard, and I explained to him that tomorrow was Good Friday, not Black Friday, and that's there's a big difference in the meanings. :)
Anyway, back to school stuff. At the beginning of break I finished the first draft of the intro and method section of my practicum paper and emailed that to my professor. She will review it like a journal editor would and return it with her comments. In the meantime I'm looking over the data we collected and am preparing to write my results and discussion sections of the paper. She will then review those sections, and then I have to make all the revisions to the whole paper. I'm very excited about my project. We mailed out nearly 500 surveys in January, and so far over 60% of the survey recipients have responded. That's an awesome response rate! Now we're entering the responses into our data analysis system and are starting our individual projects. You probably think I'm crazy, but it's actually quite exciting! Besides practicum, I'm getting started on my paper for my independent study and continuing to work on my paper for my research assistantship.
However, besides those things, I've been spending the major part of my break on my dissertation literature review. This is very tedious (in my opinion), and although it's interesting, I'll be glad when I can move on to the next section. I have a lot of questions about it, and besides talking to my co-chairs about my concerns, I'll have to spend some time in the doctoral lounge reading dissertations by previous students. I'm feeling like my literature review isn't long enough, or deep enough, or that it just isn't good enough, you know what I mean? I think the word 'dissertation' is intimidating me right now, and I just need to look at it as a paper or class project. I also worry about missing something important in the literature, and for future reference, you can really end up driving yourself crazy if you don't know when to stop reviewing literature! :)
Feel free to leave me a comment, and as a reminder, I am on campus on Wednesdays and Fridays, and I would love to meet with you for lunch if you are considering the program and have questions! :)
Hello!
Well, if you read my last entry, you may have sensed that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. However, things are looking much brighter this week. Although I really wanted to finish my classes and defend my dissertation proposal this semester, after several sleepless nights, I realized that that was simply too much for one semester. There is so much to learn in every class here, and I don't want to miss out on that or not give 100% because I'm so busy trying to get my dissertation proposal done in time. I also want to enjoy the dissertation process and learn as much as I can from the experience. So, I've decided to put my proposal defense off until the end of summer or even next fall. I'm going to focus on my research class, my independent study, and my research/teaching assistantship. I'm going to continue working on my dissertation proposal, but I'm not going to put the majority of my time into it. I will start spending a lot more time on it once my classes are done in May.
Throughout my doctoral education I've learned that sometimes I need to make sacrifices, and that I can't do everything and please everyone at the same time. It's been hard, being a single mom, working, and going to school full-time. I think my son will be happy when he starts seeing me sitting on the sofa someday instead of glued to my computer, however, he is also happy now that I'm able to volunteer in his classroom every Monday, read to him every day, do his homework with him every day, and listen to his stories and jokes. I've learned to live in the present and enjoy where I'm at. I understand that I'm going to school to prepare for my future, but I'm also loving the process of going through the program, attending classes, and getting to know the people here. Although I will be happy to start earning a larger salary instead of borrowing student loans, I am very appreciative of my time here.
Feel free to leave me a question or comment! :)
We've been back in school for a few weeks now this spring, and I'm already amazed at how quickly this semester is flying by. That's good in some ways and not so good in some ways. That's good because this is my last semester of classes (after 3 years), and summer break will be here before I know it. It's not so good because I have a workload this semester that feels overwhelming right now. Most students finish their classes and then focus solely on writing their dissertation proposal, and they usually take up to a year to write it. I'm taking two classes and writing my dissertation proposal - in one semester. If you remember, I'm a transfer student, and I've ended up squeezing 3 1/2 years of work into 3 years. I could have stretched it out, but the student loans and credit card debt has been catching my eye lately, so these are the decisions I've made for myself. However, looking at the big picture, having a lot of stress for a short time is better (in my opinion) than having a lot of stress in a job where I'm unhappy or unsatisfied all the time. In other words, it's worth it.
Please feel free to leave me questions or comments. Also, students who are interested in our program are welcome to sit in on a class and even have lunch with a current student. Our classes are Thursdays and Fridays, and I'm also on campus on Wednesdays. If you're interested in visiting, please contact Dr. Harrington, the program director.
Our spring semester starts next week after being off since Dec. 14. Although the holidays were nice, my break was actually very busy with GRA projects, an outside research project I'm doing with UMB and the VA hospital, working on dissertation research, helping my sister w/ her kids after she had some surgeries, putting the finishing touches on a paper to submit for publication, and revising a poster I made that I'll be presenting this week at the SSWR conference in Washington D.C. SSWR stands for Society for Social Work Research and it's "the" social work research conference. Every four years or so it comes back to Washington D.C. Last year it was in San Francisco and I think next year it'll be in Miami. It's a very competitve process to have a poster or presentation accepted for SSWR, so even though it's been stressful and hectic, I didn't want to miss this opportunity. The poster that I'll be presenting and the article I'm submitting for publication are actually the outcome of a project I did for my Statistics II class. It was a lot of work at the time, but worth it given the positive outcomes.
This semester I'm taking Research Practicum II, an independent study where I'll learn some advanced statistics, and some dissertation credits. I'm planning to depend my dissertation proposal in May (keeping my fingers crossed!) but I have a lot to do before then.
Please feel free to leave me a comment or question. :)
I received a comment to my last blog asking if a research background is necessary for this program. Speaking from personal experience, I would say that a research background is not necessary. I didn't have any experience with research before starting this program (I was a clinician), so this was all new to me. However, this program is really grounded in research and takes you through the research process step by step. In fact, although I didn't really know much of anything about research when I started the program, I am planning to go into a full-time research career upon graduation. :)
Hello! I missed writing my blog last week. I was working on a take-home mid-term as well as a lengthy assignment for another class, and the time flew by. Thank you, Diana, for your comment to my last blog; I will do my best to answer your questions.
The first question was about whether a lack of social work experience might pose a problem for acceptance into the program. For an exact (official) answer, I suggest emailing Dr. Harrington, the program director. From my anecdotal perspective (and from looking at the other students in the program), the students here have quite a range of experiences. Some, like me, have all of their degrees in social work, while others have degrees in related fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc. Some students are fairly new social workers, having just finished their master's program, and others have been out of school for 20 years and are returning now to get their doctorate. While having social work experience was beneficial when I was in my master's program, it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference at the doctoral level. The reason I say that is because this is not a clinical program and we don't really discuss our personal work experiences in class. This program is solidly geared towards research and teaching, and it's fairly rare that anyone shares an experiential story. So, that's not a very concrete answer to the question, but overall your acceptance into the program is based on a number of things, and I don't think lacking a lot of social work experience should keep you from being accepted into the program.
The next question was about GRA positions, and if there are positions geared towards teaching undergrads or being an advisor to incoming students. Again, I'm referring to Dr. Harrington for exact answers on this, but I'll give you my perspective. The GRA positions for first and second year students are all research-based, hence the title graduate research assistant. However, when you're in your third and fourth year you can have a TA, which is a teaching assistantship. You need to complete one or two teaching courses first, then you are able to teach a course (either bachelor's level at a different campus such as UMBC or a master's level at UMB) under the supervision of the regular course professor. After you complete a one-year TA, you can also teach as an adjunct professor at any of the University of Maryland campuses.
Regarding being an advisor to incoming students, I'm not exactly sure how to answer that because I don't know if the question is referring to incoming doctoral students, master's students, etc., and I'm not sure what kind of advising is being referred to. (Please write back, Diana, if I don't properly answer your question). After you complete your first year in the doctoral program, you will be asked if you'd like to be a peer mentor for an incoming doctoral student. As a current peer mentor, this is a great experience. (But one that you don't get credits or paid for). As a third year student, if I'm not mistaken, you can also be a field liaison for master's students. They like the field liaisons to make a two-year committment if possible, and they meet with the students and their field supervisors at their field placement. That is the only kind of advising that I'm aware of. Some professors here are studying social work supervision and have published extensively on the topic, so I can give more information on that another time if that is of interest.
Thanks a lot, and please feel free to leave me a comment! Have a great week! Ann :)
Hello! It's a rainy day in Baltimore today, and as I was walking the four blocks from the train to the school, I was taking time to remind myself what I like about school. (It's better to count your blessings than to complain about little things like rain). One thing I really like about our program is the diversity of the student body. Our classes are very small, like 4-8 people in a class, and my cohort alone consists of myself (from conservative Lancaster County, PA), a man originally from Nigeria, two women from South Korea, a woman born in the Phillipines, a woman from Brooklyn, and a woman from Virginia. The new cohort this year also includes a woman from the former Soviet Union, and a student from Israel recently graduated. So, think of the rich discussions we often have in our classes. Everyone has very different worldviews, yet we're all here for essentially the same purpose. Also, the friendliness of the students really makes my time here enjoyable. The "upper classmen" are always available to help the students in the newer cohort, and there is not the competition between students here that takes place at other schools. We're all in this together, and we're going to be professional colleagues and friends after we graduate, so why not work together. So...even on a rainy day, I am still happy to be exactly where I am. :)
Hello again! I was asked to talk a little bit about second year classes, so I'll do my best with that. The only required second year class is Research Practicum I in the fall and Research Practicum II in the spring. Other than that you take electives (I believe you need 5 electives to graduate). The research practicum provides an opportunity to work with your cohort on developing a study and takes the entire year. This semester so far we have chosen a topic, conducted a thorough review of the literature on our topic, developed a survey and selected a sample population, and now we're getting ready to pilot test our survey. Next semester we will distribute our survey to a large sample of people and each student will write an individual paper on our specific research questions related to our topic. Perhaps none of what I just said makes sense, but don't worry, this terminology becomes second nature by the end of the first year. I believe most practicum classes also end up publishing their work, so that's exciting.
My situation regarding electives is a bit different than other students since I am a transfer student. So, I took my electives at a different school, with the exception of a qualitative research class I'm taking this semester. I'm really enjoying this class, and I'm glad to fit it into my schedule. The research methods classes, statistics classes, and practicums all primarily focus on quantitative research methods, so this class provides a refreshingly different point of view. Most students here also take some teaching electives that are available in the School of Social Work, and some students take measurement classes, advanced statistics classes, or just other classes at different schools within the University of Maryland system, such as the School of Nursing or School of Pharmacy. There's many opportunities here to cater your coursework to your interests, so it's not a problem to get your courses completed here.
Please leave me a comment with further questions! Ann :)
I thought I would return this week to my previous discussion on financial aid for doc students, specifically the GRAs. New doc students can apply for a Graduate Research Assistantship as part of their financial aid package, and they can request either a 10-hour or 20-hour GRA. Often the 20 hour GRA is actually two 10-hour GRAs, meaning you have two supervisors and you work for each of them 10 hours/week. There are many different GRAs available (I believe you can see a sample list on the UMB website). Incoming students rank their choices of GRAs, and the program director does her best to match students up with their preferred choices. A research assistant gets to do quite a variety of tasks, depending on the their GRA. Tasks may include doing literature searches for their supervisor's current projects, helping to write and publish journal articles, collecting data (i.e. interviewing) families in Baltimore, analyzing data, and the list goes on and on. Students typically meet with their supervisors about once a week, and many students can do some or even most of their work from home. Financially, the GRA covers full tuition for a 20-hour GRA and half tuition for a 10-hour GRA. It also covers your health insurance and pays you a stipend that is enough to cover my rent, car payment and most of my groceries each month. (I get student loans to cover the rest of my bills). If you have a 20-hour GRA, the school strongly recommends that you don't have another job because of the amount of time needed for full-time schoolwork and a GRA. I believe you're supposed to aim for 3 hours of study time per credit, on average, so for 9 credits you should allow around 27 hours for homework/studying each week. Add that to your 20-hour GRA and travel time (which is 10 additional hours/wk for me), and you can clearly see why you shouldn't work outside of school.
Feel free to leave me a comment if you have further questions on the GRAs or any other topic!
Ann :)
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