RE: vert. paleo paths

["Andrew A. Farke" <andyfarke@hotmail.com>]

I write this reply from the perspective of someone who is about half-way
through his Ph.D. program. What follows is a mixture of personal experience,
advice given to me by advisors and fellow students, and observations.

I got my B.Sc. in geology from SDSM&T. On looking for a graduate school, I
found myself faced with a dichotomy: did I want to be a biological
paleontologist, or a geological paleontologist? Although a paleontologist is
classically a mixture of geologist and biologist, most graduate programs are
geared in one direction or another. Geologically, you'll find yourself in
isotopic or stratigraphic research, and biologically, you'll find yourself
in functional morphology or systematics. This is not to say that you're
constrained one way or the other - for instance, the Columbia program (which
has produced Makovicky, Sereno, and others famous [or infamous] for their
systematics work) is in an earth sciences department. I ultimately chose the
biological route because: a) my questions (functional morphology) were
better answered through a biologically-leaning program; b) my interests were
turning more biological; c) anatomists have a pretty decent track record of
getting jobs; and d) I was finding myself far more interested in a lifetime
of teaching anatomy than a lifetime of teaching physical geology.

In my feeling, this geo/bio divide matters because it will largely guide the
type of work you'll do as a grad student, and the types of resources you'll
have access to. It doesn't mean that you're completely constrained (but this
may depend on the school or advisor, too).

Also, it's important to think about the type of department you'd be
entering. If there is only one paleontologist in a department, and everyone
else you'd have contact with are metamorphic petrologists, chances are you
won't get much beyond what your advisor has to offer. The best part of my
education so far has been interactions with the anthropologists in my
department - many of them look at the world in a very similar way (it's
amazing how often the "latest method" at SVP was presented 10 years ago at
the anthro meetings, and vice versa)!

> How long does the average PhD program for this
> sort of thing take?  3 years? 5 Years?  7 years?

It depends on the program (and the country, too). 5 - 6 years is about
typical. Be wary of programs in which grad students take 10 years to finish
(and be aware that many reasons can contribute to this, whether family or
financial circumstances). This *may* (but not necessarily) indicate that
there is not enough support (financial or academic) to finish in a timely
manner.

> Do you need to be in a really excellent program
> with 'brand name' recognition to get to a point
> where you can be hired and have at least some
> spare research time for paleontological research?

After living through a few job searches here, I would say that "brand name"
recognition is only one part of it. If your research is crap, or if you
can't relate to another human being, the shiniest diploma in the world won't
do you much good.

To relay the bit of advice given me as I looked for grad schools, I would
take a good hard look at who has come out of a given grad school over the
past, say, 10 years (many places have this information on their web pages).
How many of them have jobs in paleo? How many of them were never heard from
again? Do the positions they have correspond with the sort of job you see
yourself doing 10 years from now? I found this to be a very instructive
exercise.

> I'm in what is probably a mid-level graduate
> school, what are my basic chances for getting
> into such a well recognized PhD program?

I would say your performance in grad school, rather than the name of your
grad school, is more important at this point. "Performance" may include
research experience, quality of thesis, grants, presentations, etc. I'm told
that recommendation letters may also be important. 

If you are serious about a graduate school, visit it, and visit with the
faculty and students. SVP is a great time for the latter. Personal contact
gives a chance for the admissions committee to put a face with the name -
this can be important, especially if they're wading through a pile of 50
apps! Plus, it gives you a chance to get a feel for the program. If you
don't click with the students or faculty during a two day visit, you likely
won't click with them during five years or more of graduate school. Consider
carefully the type of advisor you want, and talk with their current students
to get a perspective. Don't choose an advisor just because they've had 10
Nature papers in the past year - this doesn't mean they treat their students
well. And, take a look at other types of expertise in a department.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions, particularly on my experiences
at Stony Brook, please let me know!

Best,

Andy