This is extremely sad and unless I somehow become a star in my field this is exactly what is going to happen to me. First year here btw.Why not do something about it?
I'll try my best
Finished fourth year and no pub
-
Does publishing in “lesser known” journals matter at all for the job market? Sounds like your classmates wasted their time on pointless projects.
All else equal, for our UVLRM this would be a good signal.
UVLRM demand side here. 1000% this.
Almost all of the advice candidates get is geared towards getting top 50 jobs, because that is the experience that advisors at their schools have. Some of that advice is counterproductive for getting a job at a non-R1 school, which is the game most candidates are actually playing. The biggest mistakes are "don't worry about teaching, focus entirely on research" and "any non-top publication is irrelevant".
At my R2 school, a decent (say top 100) publication is very useful for getting a job. It won't make your candidacy, but it is the sort of thing that will often be a tie-breaker for interviews, flyouts, and sometimes even offers among a pool of similar candidates.
To answer the OP's question directly. I am assuming you are planning to go in 6, as if you were planning to go next year you probably won't have time to publish a paper no matter what. If that's the case, evaluate your JMP. It needs to be pretty much finished in 15 months. Can you afford to take the next few months off and still meet that timeline? If so, work on getting your other projects out the door ASAP, because the publishing process is lengthy. And then go back and work on your JMP, trying to stay ahead of schedule, because you hopefully will have to take some more time away from it to complete an R&R. Send them to good journals, but be realistic. You don't have time to have the 4 or 5 rejection cycles that can happen.
-
I just wanted to express some concerns I've been having lately and I'm hoping for your insight. I'm in the fourth year of my PhD at LRM, and the reality of the publishing process is starting to dawn on me.
I've been noticing that several friends at different universities have already published their first or second papers. Although these are typically in lesser-known journals, each announcement of this kind sends a wave of anxiety through me.
As I progress further into the final stages of my PhD, the complexity and challenges of finalizing a paper to the point of being published are becoming more apparent. I'm currently juggling three projects; one is in its last stages, another is my ongoing JMP, and the last one is a coauthored project with a junior faculty member.
I've been pondering where to direct my energy at this point. Should I focus more on my JMP, or should I aim to have a paper ready for submission? My advisor has suggested the former, but I would really appreciate hearing other viewpoints.Apart from a few exceptions, the strategy is often: Either he/she coauthored with a team, often including the supervisor. Or it's a regression paper with some new data but not too much theory.
-
What are you talking about? I'm at a LRM and 50+ % of us get post docs or AP positions, even without having published (but I guess most have submitted). Not US fwiw.you can forget academia. the odds were stacked against you already.
time to prep for non academic jobs. -
you can forget academia. the odds were stacked against you already.
time to prep for non academic jobs.What are you talking about? I'm at a LRM and 50+ % of us get post docs or AP positions, even without having published (but I guess most have submitted). Not US fwiw.
Im sure most of those jobs are dominated by industry options for most people
-
I would focus on jmp and getting your advisors to sell you. That is still the single greatest component to the market. But I do agree with others that I would also think about industry too. What type of industry jobs might you like and what would make you competitive for them?
-
I would focus on jmp and getting your advisors to sell you. That is still the single greatest component to the market. But I do agree with others that I would also think about industry too. What type of industry jobs might you like and what would make you competitive for them?
second this. looking at the placement records of my LRM, it is really the JMP and advisor name.
-
you can forget academia. the odds were stacked against you already.
time to prep for non academic jobs.What are you talking about? I'm at a LRM and 50+ % of us get post docs or AP positions, even without having published (but I guess most have submitted). Not US fwiw.
There is no chance this is true. It isn't true for Harvard
-
You said you are at a LRM so presumably you are going to apply for LRMs or below.
Of course, a publication is better than none. But I think for my-LRM-or-below school the pipeline matters a lot. If you have three or more completed papers when on the market that's good because in six years you'll convert them into pubs. And one way to signal that you non-JMP papers are completed is by sending them out.Needless to say, "forthcoming in X" > "R&R in X" > "initial submission to X". But frankly I don't think it's feasible for a PhD student in your position to have a publication in the remaining 18 months until the job market unless you greatly undersell your papers, which is not necessarily is a good idea. I'd say make sure you that your other non-JMP projects are completed and, perhaps, submitted. And that, in addition, you have a pipeline of projects. It would definitely give you a high chance of getting interview with the school like mine.