It's a lot of work being "professional" and $$$$ 8^O

[Rukh O'Rorke]

My latest goal achieved was presenting at a national conference in my field, and I'm trying to wrap my mind around how much *extra*, *unpaid* *late night* *nobody but me really cares* work it was.

The conference was very developing .......professionally, and I jotted down many notes for future studies I could do (and some other tips)....But....is each one going to take 3-4 years of "spare " time?

But keying in to mj s thread on motivation, I'm wondering how worth it it will all be in the end.... I like it, but....so much work, unpaid, to get to the next level....

Hopefully I will regain my usual unfailing drive when this semester ends and I get an actual weekend. But right now, feeling confused and conflicted on what is the best path....

[dee27]

One step at a time! You will have to gauge what you can or cannot do.

[ZaireinHD]

yes - it is a LOT of work.

before current times at my job. I really had no problem doing the extra, unappreciated, no mention of someone actually saying 'Thank You' work! putting in some minor overtime hours to get paid. minor OT meaning 10 hours per month. when actually working at least 35 to 40 hours OT per month. but now! pfft! I have been specifically told to stop IT. specifically told no overtime at all and what ever I don't finish; F-It and go home. and don't get caught working on the weekends on my own time!

I am like geez! WTF!

so to answer your question. keep going with your unpaid actions. but only if you truly want to for personal, very personal happiness. if you think working all this extra will lead to promotion, and work recognition. Then STOP! or at least slow down. and in the meantime, while slowing down. fine a different way to keep busy.  

[zibazinski]

I got paid the same amount as people who didn't give a damn about their job. It didn't make me feel
Motivated to do more.

[Deleted]

Rukh O'Rorke , I may be totally wrong, but I think your problem is that you are buying into the demands of the academia track when that really isn't your goal.  Presenting papers at conferences, etc. are expected of wannabe tenure-track asst. professors.  It's the lowest notch of the totem pole, but these presentations show the potential for the type of publications that eventually get tenure.

Does your profession outside of academia really care other than to say, "That's nice"?

If so, suck it up.  I bet you didn't have to pay for the privilege of presenting, which many graduate students do.  If not, concentrate on what will get you the degree you want--your dissertation.

I've said this before: don't let yourself get distracted.  It is easy to lose sight of the goal.

[Deleted]

Those conferences are great networking opportunities.  Think how many people saw you, read your name in the program, and talked with you.  You ARE on LinkedIn, right?  It's an investment.

BTW, if you want help with presentation skills, I HIGHLY recommend Toastmasters.  I'm still a member because I enjoy it and it gets me out of the house- it also helps me keep up my skills so that when I have to speak in front of a group for something related to my volunteer activities, it's easy.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

My question would be where do you want to go?   I know a lot of academics who scoot by just fine on attending an occassional conference and only putting out the required amount of papers a year they need to keep their funding.

Then I know people like my former boss at Creighton who thrives on having a bazillion publications a year (last year I followed him on PubMed he was up to 11 papers and was only six months into the year ), attends conferences all over the world and also does grant review every single year.   It's who he is, we used to joke one day we'd come in to find him dead at his microscope because we pictured that as the only way he'd ever slow down.

My former boss here is in what I'd consider the middle.  He wears a lot of hats but the main bread and butter of his existence is being an ICU pharmacist.   He still publishes and attends conferences but he's not busting his butt over it, he doesn't need it.  If the academic side of his career were to fall thru he would have his professional license to fall back on.

Have you really stopped to think about what you want the next phase of your career to look like?   You're so close to finishing it might be worth sitting down with yourself to have an honest discussion about what you want out of life and if all the work you are doing now fits into it.

[Cookies Galore]

Apr 30, 2017 21:07:57 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

Rukh O'Rorke , I may be totally wrong, but I think your problem is that you are buying into the demands of the academia track when that really isn't your goal.  Presenting papers at conferences, etc. are expected of wannabe tenure-track asst. professors.  It's the lowest notch of the totem pole, but these presentations show the potential for the type of publications that eventually get tenure.

Does your profession outside of academia really care other than to say, "That's nice"?

If so, suck it up.  I bet you didn't have to pay for the privilege of presenting, which many graduate students do.  If not, concentrate on what will get you the degree you want--your dissertation.

I've said this before: don't let yourself get distracted.  It is easy to lose sight of the goal.

We're in similar industries. Research and presentation at a conference is a big professional achievement. She's going to be a psychometrician, she's going to have a lot more research presentations in her career.
Congrats, rukh!

[MJ2.0]

May 1, 2017 8:57:32 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Have you really stopped to think about what you want the next phase of your career to look like?   You're so close to finishing it might be worth sitting down with yourself to have an honest discussion about what you want out of life and if all the work you are doing now fits into it.

you really need to dedicate some time to sit down and carefully think about what it is you want out of all this. Doing extra work is a means to an end.

[alabamagal]

As a "professional" you have to find your own balance.  You have to determine how much effort you want to put into your career, and if there will someday be a payoff for all the hard work.

I am not downplaying the stress of having a professional job, but it is pretty much all mental stress.  If I have a busy week at work, by Friday I feel like my mind is just too full to do any more deep thoughts.  Buy you can contrast that to your body giving out.

I have a stressful job.  I manage large projects, make impactful decisions, determine how large sums of money are spent on capital projects.  But almost all my time is spent in an office or meeting room.  I do travel some, a lot of it on my own time.  With this responsibility comes a nice paycheck, usually get a nice bonus and I have a bit of control over my day-to-day tasks.  I probably average 50 hours per week, but I often spend times on weekends organizing information so I am more effective during the week.  

I don't have a job where my body is stressed daily, I do not get physically tired at the end of the day, I don't have others determining my work schedule.  I will take my professional stress any day.

[janee]

If it will help you bring in clients for Ruhk, Inc--go for it. Totally worth the time.

If it won't help, shelve it until you're done with schooling. You have so much on your plate. 

If it doesn't help with paying clients, AND if you enjoy it, budget the time once you have more free time.

Congrats!  You're doing great.  It's so nice to hear of your successes.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

May 1, 2017 9:03:20 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Apr 30, 2017 21:07:57 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

Rukh O'Rorke , I may be totally wrong, but I think your problem is that you are buying into the demands of the academia track when that really isn't your goal.  Presenting papers at conferences, etc. are expected of wannabe tenure-track asst. professors.  It's the lowest notch of the totem pole, but these presentations show the potential for the type of publications that eventually get tenure.

Does your profession outside of academia really care other than to say, "That's nice"?

If so, suck it up.  I bet you didn't have to pay for the privilege of presenting, which many graduate students do.  If not, concentrate on what will get you the degree you want--your dissertation.

I've said this before: don't let yourself get distracted.  It is easy to lose sight of the goal.

We're in similar industries. Research and presentation at a conference is a big professional achievement. She's going to be a psychometrician, she's going to have a lot more research presentations in her career.
Congrats, rukh!

Thanks cookies!

Yes, you need nearly as much research as an academic to be at the top for consulting.

I think I just finally reached a limit on doing more. 3 classes, 2 jobs, this presentation, dissertation proposal.....

That's a lot for 16 weeks. I may lose my 4.0 if I don't get it together this week....3 final projects, and 20 papers to grade. Friday I get 20 more. And loads of work waiting at the office needs doing.

It's been at this level for a month...I need tv time....

[Rukh O'Rorke]

May 1, 2017 10:33:16 GMT -5 janee said:

If it will help you bring in clients for Ruhk, Inc--go for it. Totally worth the time.

If it won't help, shelve it until you're done with schooling. You have so much on your plate. 

If it doesn't help with paying clients, AND if you enjoy it, budget the time once you have more free time.

Congrats!  You're doing great.  It's so nice to hear of your successes.

Thanks Janee!

[MJ2.0]

May 1, 2017 12:48:24 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

May 1, 2017 9:03:20 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

We're in similar industries. Research and presentation at a conference is a big professional achievement. She's going to be a psychometrician, she's going to have a lot more research presentations in her career.
Congrats, rukh!

Thanks cookies!

Yes, you need nearly as much research as an academic to be at the top for consulting.

I think I just finally reached a limit on doing more. 3 classes, 2 jobs, this presentation, dissertation proposal.....

That's a lot for 16 weeks. I may lose my 4.0 if I don't get it together this week....3 final projects, and 20 papers to grade. Friday I get 20 more. And loads of work waiting at the office needs doing.

It's been at this level for a month...I need tv time....

reading your posts makes me feel tired and also like I'm a useless mass of cells.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

May 1, 2017 12:54:03 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

May 1, 2017 12:48:24 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Thanks cookies!

Yes, you need nearly as much research as an academic to be at the top for consulting.

I think I just finally reached a limit on doing more. 3 classes, 2 jobs, this presentation, dissertation proposal.....

That's a lot for 16 weeks. I may lose my 4.0 if I don't get it together this week....3 final projects, and 20 papers to grade. Friday I get 20 more. And loads of work waiting at the office needs doing.

It's been at this level for a month...I need tv time....

reading your posts makes me feel tired and also like I'm a useless mass of cells.

I don't have young ones anymore, I remember years floating by thinking, I've really got to get around to scrapping that banana off the back seat.

I also have a weekly cleaner, that is a huge help....

So,

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Lol,

It's a lot of work, AND a lot of $$money$$.

My little adventure cost about $2,250. I didn't even stay for the entire conference, 3 out of 5 days.

[Deleted]

Any way you could deduct any of this?  I know there's a floor of 10% of Adjusted Gross for business expense deductions but if you attend more than one of these in a year it could add up.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

May 3, 2017 19:29:28 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Any way you could deduct any of this?  I know there's a floor of 10% of Adjusted Gross for business expense deductions but if you attend more than one of these in a year it could add up.

That's a great idea to keep in mind. At the moment, I'm anticipating full reimbursement from my company, with fingers crossed.

This is my first time, so not sure if there are rules/restrictions I'm not aware of, but the policy is company pays if you present, but not if you're just an attendee.

I listed my research as by
Rukh O'Rourke, Theman, ltd.

I guess I'll find out if there is fine print on the deal.

[ZaireinHD]

May 2, 2017 18:55:25 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Lol,

It's a lot of work, AND a lot of $$money$$.

My little adventure cost about $2,250. I didn't even stay for the entire conference, 3 out of 5 days.

wait? $2,250 out of your pocket and not reimbursed?

[Rukh O'Rorke]

May 4, 2017 1:06:38 GMT -5 ZaireinHD said:

May 2, 2017 18:55:25 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Lol,

It's a lot of work, AND a lot of $$money$$.

My little adventure cost about $2,250. I didn't even stay for the entire conference, 3 out of 5 days.

wait? $2,250 out of your pocket and not reimbursed?

I've put in my reimbursement, and that was the figure. So - Hopefully, all reimbursed.

However, it is still an interesting question that a person has to pay this much to advance their field (Putting aside for a moment the person advancing in it). And the important publications that propel science forward, unpaid. It's a bit odd.