FWIW I have a PhD and webdev skills, so we exist, but I of course totally agree that many people don't exist in both sets.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
One of the biggest problems with people doing PhDs (in my experience) is that as part of their training they aren't told that skills development is probably the most important thing they have to work on.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
By this I mean genuinely seeking out mentoring, coding, collaboration, speaking, etc., opportunities with the help and support of their PI/lab.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
A healthy lab, if people are lucky to be part of one (= more than 2-3 people AND actually functioning well), is like an organism. Every person will play their part extending their skills, helping others, etc.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
In my opinion, very few labs reach such a state for reasons including funding and lack of appropriate leadership/mentorship from the PI and even sometimes PhD students themselves, who carry some very small relatively burden too to get along with each other etc.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
When I encounter PhD students who have been quite clearly failed by the systems they have been through, I feel so sad. Training is so important and yet they are totally led astray by lack of it or by lack of correct versions of it.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
My advice to PhD students out there who are reading this thinking "what can I take away from all this?" is this: genuinely open up dialogues with whoever you can about your skills. If you don't know, for example, how to code, consider investing some time in that if you can.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
The main reason for this, other the ones I have mentioned, is that literally 1% or fewer of PhD students will get a job in academia that is secure (i.e., equivalent to a permanent position). So for your future and your mental health, try and learn as many skills as you can.
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Replying to @o_guest @kirstie_j
Anyway, sorry for tangent, my thoughts turned into a bit too long of a sub-thread.
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Replying to @o_guest
Hehe - no problem! I totally agree with your points. I think the tweet you replied to is slightly badly worded on my part - I do have confidence that people like you exist (obviously!) but I know that those skills aren’t common (as you explain).
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Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to imply I was disagreeing with you. I totally get and agree with your point. Also just to clarify, labs with fewer than 2-3 members are totally healthy and fine. But they don't tend to act like the organism-style way I described.
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