Hello PhD

You might believe that because you’re in grad school and receiving a research stipend, you don’t really need to worry about paying an income tax.  You don’t have a ‘real job’ and no one asked you to fill out any paperwork so you’re off the hook, right?

Wrong.  Utterly, expensively, illegally wrong.

The Tax Man Cometh

The truth is, graduate students and postdocs who receive paychecks, stipends, fellowships, grants, and any other type of pay are expected to pay income taxes.  Unfortunately, that’s not always made clear by your department.

This week on the show, we talk with Emily Roberts, PhD, about the special tax questions grad students and postdocs should be asking.  Emily earned her degree in Biomedical Engineering, but now spends her time helping trainees navigate the world of personal finance.

Emily explains that there are two broad categories of trainee income:

* Compensatory pay – this is money you receive for doing work, like research assistant, teaching assistant, or any other ‘real job’ you’ll have in your life.  You’ll get a W-2 form, and your employer will withhold taxes throughout the year.  This is how normal people do taxes.

* Non-compensatory pay – this is ‘awarded’ to you.  It might be a fellowship, scholarship, or training grant, but it’s not considered pay for performance.  And that can lead to a whole heap of side effects when it’s time to pay Uncle Sam.

Students and postdocs who receive non-compensatory pay may not have taxes withheld, and their department may not even let them know they’re required to pay taxes! They’re also not eligible for certain tax breaks.

What can you do?  Check out some of the following resources to learn more, and be sure to ask a tax professional for details on your own situation. That way, you won’t get a nasty surprise in year three of your training when an IRS auditor shows up at your door!

* IRS Publication 970 Chapters 1, 3, and 6 (particularly p. 5-6)

* Compensatory and non-compensatory pay and their tax implications.

* Tax lies told to graduate students

* How do I calculate and report my taxable income?

* Can a grad student contribute to an IRA using his stipend?

* Do I have to pay income tax throughout the year and how do I do it?

 

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Also in this episode, Josh takes his love of gaming to a whole new level by exploring the non-random outcome of a coin flip.  It turns out people are actually doing peer-reviewed research on coin flipping, including magician-turned-mathematician Professor Persi Diaconis!

And since we’re bemoaning the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution (income tax), we might as well celebrate the 21st (the repeal of prohibition!) with 21st Amendment Brewery’s Brew Free or Die IPA. It’s an excellent West-Coast IPA from the heart of San Francisco and you may be able to find it in your area.

 

You might believe that because you’re in grad school and receiving a research stipend, you don’t really need to worry about paying an income tax.  You don’t have a ‘real job’ and no one asked you to fill out any paperwork so you’re off the hook, right?

Wrong.  Utterly, expensively, illegally wrong.

The Tax Man Cometh

The truth is, graduate students and postdocs who receive paychecks, stipends, fellowships, grants, and any other type of pay are expected to pay income taxes.  Unfortunately, that’s not always made clear by your department.

This week on the show, we talk with Emily Roberts, PhD, about the special tax questions grad students and postdocs should be asking.  Emily earned her degree in Biomedical Engineering, but now spends her time helping trainees navigate the world of personal finance.

Emily explains that there are two broad categories of trainee income:

* Compensatory pay – this is money you receive for doing work, like research assistant, teaching assistant, or any other ‘real job’ you’ll have in your life.  You’ll get a W-2 form, and your employer will withhold taxes throughout the year.  This is how normal people do taxes.

* Non-compensatory pay – this is ‘awarded’ to you.  It might be a fellowship, scholarship, or training grant, but it’s not considered pay for performance.  And that can lead to a whole heap of side effects when it’s time to pay Uncle Sam.

Students and postdocs who receive non-compensatory pay may not have taxes withheld, and their department may not even let them know they’re required to pay taxes! They’re also not eligible for certain tax breaks.

What can you do?  Check out some of the following resources to learn more, and be sure to ask a tax professional for details on your own situation. That way, you won’t get a nasty surprise in year three of your training when an IRS auditor shows up at your door!

* IRS Publication 970 Chapters 1, 3, and 6 (particularly p. 5-6)

* Compensatory and non-compensatory pay and their tax implications.

* Tax lies told to graduate students

* How do I calculate and report my taxable income?

* Can a grad student contribute to an IRA using his stipend?

* Do I have to pay income tax throughout the year and how do I do it?

 

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Also in this episode, Josh takes his love of gaming to a whole new level by exploring the non-random outcome of a coin flip.  It turns out people are actually doing peer-reviewed research on coin flipping, including magician-turned-mathematician Professor Persi Diaconis!

And since we’re bemoaning the 16th Amendment to the US Constitution (income tax), we might as well celebrate the 21st (the repeal of prohibition!) with 21st Amendment Brewery’s Brew Free or Die IPA. It’s an excellent West-Coast IPA from the heart of San Francisco and you may be able to find it in your area.

 

Reading papers is part of the job, but keeping up with the literature can feel overwhelming sometimes.  If you’re developing a sense of dread for that stack of papers on your desk, it’s time to learn some shortcuts that will get you up to speed.

Paper Pushers

This week, we answer a listener question about keeping up with the literature:

Hello, Hello PhD

I know that scientists are supposed to have the trait that they critically read academic papers. However, I cannot stand reading papers. I find no interest or curiosity in even reading Science or Nature, let alone anything else. My best avenue of scientific reporting comes from IFLscience.com. Any tips (besides “read more and keep reading”) to overcome this?

First off, we have to dispel the myth that all scientists just LOVE to read papers.  The truth is, literature is a tool and you need to learn how to use it to best effect.

There are many reasons you might want to read a paper, and that reason should define your approach.

Are you trying to learn a new technique?  Just read the Methods section.

Checking out a rotation lab or mentor?  Focus on the abstract and introduction for an overview of the field.

And if only one or two other labs study your protein of interest, skip the intro and go over the rest of their paper with a fine-toothed comb.

If you’re still struggling to find the motivation to read, pause for a minute and think about the things you’re already reading for fun.  We’re more likely to enjoy a paper on a topic that piques our curiosity, and using that intellectual attraction can help steer you toward a new lab or research field.

Bottom line: reading papers is a tool to help you with your research, not an obligation or burden. Use the tool to build your knowledge, and don’t worry about consuming every word on the page.

Show us your Strawberries!

To celebrate Mardi Gras, we enjoy some Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager from Abita Springs, Louisiana.  It’s apparently a winter tradition for residents of LA, and very difficult to get outside the state.  We’ve got a connection, and the flavor is Strawberrific!  

Now if only we could figure out how Lousiana is harvesting strawberries in January…

Reading papers is part of the job, but keeping up with the literature can feel overwhelming sometimes.  If you’re developing a sense of dread for that stack of papers on your desk, it’s time to learn some shortcuts that will get you up to speed.

Paper Pushers

This week, we answer a listener question about keeping up with the literature:

Hello, Hello PhD

I know that scientists are supposed to have the trait that they critically read academic papers. However, I cannot stand reading papers. I find no interest or curiosity in even reading Science or Nature, let alone anything else. My best avenue of scientific reporting comes from IFLscience.com. Any tips (besides “read more and keep reading”) to overcome this?

First off, we have to dispel the myth that all scientists just LOVE to read papers.  The truth is, literature is a tool and you need to learn how to use it to best effect.

There are many reasons you might want to read a paper, and that reason should define your approach.

Are you trying to learn a new technique?  Just read the Methods section.

Checking out a rotation lab or mentor?  Focus on the abstract and introduction for an overview of the field.

And if only one or two other labs study your protein of interest, skip the intro and go over the rest of their paper with a fine-toothed comb.

If you’re still struggling to find the motivation to read, pause for a minute and think about the things you’re already reading for fun.  We’re more likely to enjoy a paper on a topic that piques our curiosity, and using that intellectual attraction can help steer you toward a new lab or research field.

Bottom line: reading papers is a tool to help you with your research, not an obligation or burden. Use the tool to build your knowledge, and don’t worry about consuming every word on the page.

Show us your Strawberries!

To celebrate Mardi Gras, we enjoy some Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager from Abita Springs, Louisiana.  It’s apparently a winter tradition for residents of LA, and very difficult to get outside the state.  We’ve got a connection, and the flavor is Strawberrific!  

Now if only we could figure out how Lousiana is harvesting strawberries in January…

Great science speaks for itself, right?

So the next time you need to give a lab meeting or seminar, just drop a couple of figures into the prettiest PowerPoint template you can find.

Make sure to take detailed bulleted notes so you won’t forget anything!

And if you’re feeling cheeky, add one of those cool boomerang animations with a star wipe to get the audience’s attention on slide 28.  People love that!

It burns my eyes!

If you didn’t catch on, everything in that last paragraph is terrible advice.  Science doesn’t speak for itself, and every aspect of the PowerPoint described above should make you cringe like fingernails on a chalk board.

The truth is, your important science isn’t worth much until you share it with the world, and one of the best ways to do that is to explain it to other scientists live and in person.

Presentations are your chance to infect others with enthusiasm for your topic, to attract collaborators, and to impress hiring committees.  Why not take a few minutes to make your science sing?

This week on the show, Daniel shares some specific tips for making your presentations better than the rest.

You’ll learn how a pencil and paper can save you hours at the computer and hear some specific advice on how to show immunofluorescence and complex diagrams.  We’ll also share some advanced tricks to make slide transitions and animations a part of your message, rather than a distraction.

But above all, remember the mantra: “Guns don’t kill people. Bullets kill people!”

 

Handy Handout

Next time you put together a PowerPoint of your own, try out this handy checklist to remember the do’s and don’ts of good design.  It also has some less-common shortcuts that will help you finish in record time!

PowerPoints that Don’t Suck Checklist

 

And if you’re looking to take your slides to the next level, check out slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte from your university library, or buy a copy for your shelf.  You’ll refer to it again and again.

slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

 

IPA Latte

Also in this show, Josh explains how typing more slowly can improve your writing, and we get the jitters from a growler of  Debut Coffee IPA from Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet, Virginia.  It’s just a matter of time before you can order an “Eye-Opener-and-Closer” at your local coffee shop!

Great science speaks for itself, right?

So the next time you need to give a lab meeting or seminar, just drop a couple of figures into the prettiest PowerPoint template you can find.

Make sure to take detailed bulleted notes so you won’t forget anything!

And if you’re feeling cheeky, add one of those cool boomerang animations with a star wipe to get the audience’s attention on slide 28.  People love that!

It burns my eyes!

If you didn’t catch on, everything in that last paragraph is terrible advice.  Science doesn’t speak for itself, and every aspect of the PowerPoint described above should make you cringe like fingernails on a chalk board.

The truth is, your important science isn’t worth much until you share it with the world, and one of the best ways to do that is to explain it to other scientists live and in person.

Presentations are your chance to infect others with enthusiasm for your topic, to attract collaborators, and to impress hiring committees.  Why not take a few minutes to make your science sing?

This week on the show, Daniel shares some specific tips for making your presentations better than the rest.

You’ll learn how a pencil and paper can save you hours at the computer and hear some specific advice on how to show immunofluorescence and complex diagrams.  We’ll also share some advanced tricks to make slide transitions and animations a part of your message, rather than a distraction.

But above all, remember the mantra: “Guns don’t kill people. Bullets kill people!”

 

Handy Handout

Next time you put together a PowerPoint of your own, try out this handy checklist to remember the do’s and don’ts of good design.  It also has some less-common shortcuts that will help you finish in record time!

PowerPoints that Don’t Suck Checklist

 

And if you’re looking to take your slides to the next level, check out slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte from your university library, or buy a copy for your shelf.  You’ll refer to it again and again.

slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

 

IPA Latte

Also in this show, Josh explains how typing more slowly can improve your writing, and we get the jitters from a growler of  Debut Coffee IPA from Starr Hill Brewery in Crozet, Virginia.  It’s just a matter of time before you can order an “Eye-Opener-and-Closer” at your local coffee shop!

If you are a scientist, then I know a little something about your personality.  Almost by definition, you are curious about the world.  And I’ll bet that extends beyond your particular laboratory or field of research.  If there’s something intriguing and knowable, you want to know it.

Well, we are scientists too, and sometimes we get carried away.

 

Food for Thought

This week on the show, we round up a smorgasbord of bite-sized stories, discoveries and games to share with the Hello PhD audience.  Why?  Because it’s in the news and on our minds!

We start with the ethanol, of course.  This week, it’s the Dogfish Head Brewing Company’s Namaste White Ale.  It’s got lemongrass, peppercorn, and a strange hominid with jazz hands and a pig tail.

 

Carrots and Codenames

Then it’s a rapid-fire roundup of science in the news.

The “Big Game” is coming up in a few weeks, but did you know one NFL player is earning a PhD in mathematics and machine learning from MIT?

Not to be outdone, a computer in Missouri discovered the latest, largest prime number way back in September, only to have its human overlords notice the result in January!  We can’t print the number here due to length (it’s over 22 million digits long) but we can give you the formula in case you’re itching to fry a calculator: 274,207,281 − 1.

Don’t forget the minus 1 part!

And the same scientist who killed Pluto is back in the news to tout his discovery of an invisible planet orbiting our sun.  He’s got the best one-line, drop-the-mic, argument-ender that you can use in your next laboratory debate.

Along the way, we find out precisely where baby carrots come from and Josh reviews Codenames, a board game that’s fun to play with a group of your closest conspirators.  Just watch out for the assassins!

 

So buckle up and prepare for a random break from our regularly scheduled inanity.

If you are a scientist, then I know a little something about your personality.  Almost by definition, you are curious about the world.  And I’ll bet that extends beyond your particular laboratory or field of research.  If there’s something intriguing and knowable, you want to know it.

Well, we are scientists too, and sometimes we get carried away.

 

Food for Thought

This week on the show, we round up a smorgasbord of bite-sized stories, discoveries and games to share with the Hello PhD audience.  Why?  Because it’s in the news and on our minds!

We start with the ethanol, of course.  This week, it’s the Dogfish Head Brewing Company’s Namaste White Ale.  It’s got lemongrass, peppercorn, and a strange hominid with jazz hands and a pig tail.

 

Carrots and Codenames

Then it’s a rapid-fire roundup of science in the news.

The “Big Game” is coming up in a few weeks, but did you know one NFL player is earning a PhD in mathematics and machine learning from MIT?

Not to be outdone, a computer in Missouri discovered the latest, largest prime number way back in September, only to have its human overlords notice the result in January!  We can’t print the number here due to length (it’s over 22 million digits long) but we can give you the formula in case you’re itching to fry a calculator: 274,207,281 − 1.

Don’t forget the minus 1 part!

And the same scientist who killed Pluto is back in the news to tout his discovery of an invisible planet orbiting our sun.  He’s got the best one-line, drop-the-mic, argument-ender that you can use in your next laboratory debate.

Along the way, we find out precisely where baby carrots come from and Josh reviews Codenames, a board game that’s fun to play with a group of your closest conspirators.  Just watch out for the assassins!

 

So buckle up and prepare for a random break from our regularly scheduled inanity.

Choosing a lab for your graduate or postdoc research is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Most people read papers and abstracts to find the coolest science.  Or they favor the big labs with lots of people and solid funding.

But those features can distract you from the real secret of scientific success.

 

Your Mentor Matters

This week on the show, we kick off a new series where we interview the people with truly alternative careers – the tenure track faculty!  Josh sits down with Natasha Snider, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As a recent faculty hire (just over 1 year), Dr. Snider remembers all the details of graduate school and postdoc life that contributed to her success, and shares them on the show.

First and foremost, she recalls the importance of good mentors in her scientific training.  Rather than choosing high-profile labs or being drawn into the latest research craze, she assessed the character of the PI and the culture of the lab.

“[I did one interview with] one of the brilliant scientists where you know you’re going to get these hot papers, but one of the first things he said was that he doesn’t yell at his people as much as he used to… After that, I sat through the interview but I knew that wasn’t [the lab for me]”

Aside from obvious anger issues, Dr. Snider shares the warning signs of monster mentors (those are anagrams!), and what type of lab environment you should seek instead.

Good mentors were a foundation for her training, but she also took every opportunity to explore other careers and to build a solid network.  She talks about the importance of meeting as many scientists as possible, and tells the story of how she decided to take a faculty position instead of an industry job.

 

A foraging we will go

And to celebrate the first cold-snap of the season, we enjoy the Fullsteam Brewery – First Frost 2015 Foraged Persimmon Ale.  If you haven’t gotten around to foraging your own persimmons this season, then you’re probably too late, and this high-gravity brew is your best bet for sampling the “Fruit of the Gods.”

Choosing a lab for your graduate or postdoc research is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Most people read papers and abstracts to find the coolest science.  Or they favor the big labs with lots of people and solid funding.

But those features can distract you from the real secret of scientific success.

 

Your Mentor Matters

This week on the show, we kick off a new series where we interview the people with truly alternative careers – the tenure track faculty!  Josh sits down with Natasha Snider, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As a recent faculty hire (just over 1 year), Dr. Snider remembers all the details of graduate school and postdoc life that contributed to her success, and shares them on the show.

First and foremost, she recalls the importance of good mentors in her scientific training.  Rather than choosing high-profile labs or being drawn into the latest research craze, she assessed the character of the PI and the culture of the lab.

“[I did one interview with] one of the brilliant scientists where you know you’re going to get these hot papers, but one of the first things he said was that he doesn’t yell at his people as much as he used to… After that, I sat through the interview but I knew that wasn’t [the lab for me]”

Aside from obvious anger issues, Dr. Snider shares the warning signs of monster mentors (those are anagrams!), and what type of lab environment you should seek instead.

Good mentors were a foundation for her training, but she also took every opportunity to explore other careers and to build a solid network.  She talks about the importance of meeting as many scientists as possible, and tells the story of how she decided to take a faculty position instead of an industry job.

 

A foraging we will go

And to celebrate the first cold-snap of the season, we enjoy the Fullsteam Brewery – First Frost 2015 Foraged Persimmon Ale.  If you haven’t gotten around to foraging your own persimmons this season, then you’re probably too late, and this high-gravity brew is your best bet for sampling the “Fruit of the Gods.”