tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post1588417693327813909..comments2023-06-19T06:28:32.714-07:00Comments on VWXYNot?: I'd like to thank the International AcademyCath@VWXYNot?http://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-42249279793664822142009-10-19T11:15:51.719-07:002009-10-19T11:15:51.719-07:00PiT, just another reminder of the lowly status of ...PiT, just another reminder of the lowly status of trainees, eh?!<br /><br />Viv, makes sense, that's where all the good cars are made too ;)Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-40293711690607253762009-10-18T21:00:35.407-07:002009-10-18T21:00:35.407-07:00Looked to me like mostly Asians and Germans with a...Looked to me like mostly Asians and Germans with a smattering of others. Mind you, as an artist, what would I know :)<br /><br />viv in nzknutty knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00325560883289908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-53760471691956498412009-10-18T17:27:31.587-07:002009-10-18T17:27:31.587-07:00As a postdoc, I paid for everything but as a facul...As a postdoc, I paid for everything but as a faculty member, my institution paid for both my current work permit and the permanent residency application (which is in progress).Professor in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10903558307394806532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-20662536708688489202009-10-18T12:07:34.226-07:002009-10-18T12:07:34.226-07:00I actually have a "status in Canada" sec...I actually have a "status in Canada" section on my CV - it's so obvious from my education that I wasn't born here, and my postdoc supervisor advised me to include "permanent residence application in progress" on my CV when I applied for my industry job back in 2005. For non-postdoc positions, the employer has to get an official labour market opinion done in order to Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-14353566675498848642009-10-18T11:52:45.838-07:002009-10-18T11:52:45.838-07:00Thanks to my accent, people frequently assume that...Thanks to my accent, people frequently assume that I am a "foreign national." I have found myself pointing out that I have US citizenship while talking to potential employers for that reason, which seems to open up a lot of possibilities. It is sad that a piece of paper can change so much.ScienceGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071055167798044468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-3962831088531674522009-10-18T11:15:14.316-07:002009-10-18T11:15:14.316-07:00PiT, jolly good!
Is the expense of those visas b...PiT, jolly good! <br /><br />Is the expense of those visas borne by the applicant, or the institute? I paid for almost all of my own immigration and visa costs (a good few thousand dollars, in all), with the exception of one work permit renewal, which my old company paid for - but that was only a couple of hundred bucks.<br /><br />I wish you and your postdoc luck with the data and the funding. Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-14190371653720505492009-10-18T08:48:45.630-07:002009-10-18T08:48:45.630-07:00Ah, you seem to be implying that the blogosphere i...<i>Ah, you seem to be implying that the blogosphere is full of US biology post-docs complaining about how hard it is to be a post-doc in the US.</i><br /><br />Hahahaha!<br /><br />I'm really the first American commenter on this post? yikes! Maybe you should make another map with your regular commenters' countries. :)EcoGeoFemmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11236907917990309659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-1980262664504069392009-10-17T13:54:49.714-07:002009-10-17T13:54:49.714-07:00I wonder if the greater proportion of foreign-trai...<i>I wonder if the greater proportion of foreign-trained physics PIs helps to explain the shortage of physics bloggers, to come back to Alyssa's point?</i><br />Ah, you seem to be implying that the blogosphere is full of US biology post-docs complaining about how hard it is to be a post-doc in the US.<br /><br />(you're right about marrying an American wife though. But I tell her it'Bob O'Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15666738696003108444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-84557107472512398612009-10-17T13:44:04.893-07:002009-10-17T13:44:04.893-07:00It's ok - I understood what you meant. Most of...It's ok - I understood what you meant. Most of the paperwork for US visas is done by the trainee, HR and the school's international office and for trainees on the "exchange" J-1 visa, it's relatively simple but for the "working" H-1B, the letters, notices, etc can be a nightmare for everyone involved and it's expensive. The H-1B also takes several months (my Professor in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10903558307394806532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-7192358976245254492009-10-17T10:41:05.233-07:002009-10-17T10:41:05.233-07:00I just re-read what I wrote, and realised that the...I just re-read what I wrote, and realised that the penultimate paragraph sounded like it was saying that your first point wasn't a good one. Sorry - that's not what I meant, my bad. I just don't see it as a major deterrent <i>in Canada</i>, but don't know the situation elsewhere.Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-30259021341999643232009-10-17T10:39:06.795-07:002009-10-17T10:39:06.795-07:00EGF, thank you for being the first American commen...EGF, thank you for being the first American commenter! And I'm very glad you're not bored here ;)<br /><br />I hope EGM's foreign status doesn't count against him. I don't know the US system, but here in Canada it seems that every University, research institute, and decent-sized company has an HR department that is used to dealing with immigration and visas and all that. The Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-55831908517459697022009-10-17T09:26:21.979-07:002009-10-17T09:26:21.979-07:00As a non-American who ventured over to the US for ...As a non-American who ventured over to the US for a postdoc, I can understand both the pros and cons for hiring a foreign national. <br /><br />I came from an outstanding overseas school and already had several good publications and links with US researchers so I guess you could say I was a known quantity for my postdoc mentors. Several of my postdoc peers who had also been trained overseas were,Professor in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10903558307394806532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-2011921931320292692009-10-16T19:32:13.320-07:002009-10-16T19:32:13.320-07:00Funny! My brother was just commenting the other da...Funny! My brother was just commenting the other day that his American Engineering Journal was full of work by non Americans. He also said that the last big conference he went to in Singapore only had 3 US papers and they were all military based. Not a good look for the future there he thought.<br /><br />viv in nzknutty knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00325560883289908412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-39550734365095397712009-10-16T17:49:08.059-07:002009-10-16T17:49:08.059-07:00I'm pretty sure ScientistMother is correct. I...I'm pretty sure ScientistMother is correct. I think that in some municipalities, there are actually laws explicitly stating that you <i>can</i> discriminate based on sexual orientation. Shameful.<br /><br />It's good to see posts like this sometimes. I'm sure I'm super Ameri-centric on my blog even though I know I have many readers who are not American. It's good to have aEcoGeoFemmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11236907917990309659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-47830398807533110072009-10-16T13:21:38.716-07:002009-10-16T13:21:38.716-07:00Sorry, Dave, our comments crossed. I tend to agree...Sorry, Dave, our comments crossed. I tend to agree with ScientistMother's interpretation of Obama's words in her latest comment, although (like I said) I haven't seen the video of the speech yet. I hope he repeals DADT too.<br /><br />Massimo, yup, and it's usually poorly camouflaged too.<br /><br />I'm glad that this isn't a problem in every discipline. I wonder if the Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-17761959735203085032009-10-16T13:02:08.141-07:002009-10-16T13:02:08.141-07:00Dave - From Obama's speech at the dinner (post...Dave - From Obama's speech at the dinner (posted at Isis's place) he specifically mentioned changing the military from don't ask don't tell policy. In another part of the speech, when he spoke about congress finally passing an inclusive hate crime bill he said that he has asked congress to bring forward an inclusive anti-discrimination bill. He specifically said that you should ScientistMotherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02540317551396323613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-31650788869449870012009-10-16T12:51:47.110-07:002009-10-16T12:51:47.110-07:00I just roll my eyes each time I read that kind of ...I just roll my eyes each time I read that kind of nonsense. It is called "chauvinism", albeit camouflaged under the pretense of scientific rigour. <br />In physics, this is simply a moot point, as the vast majority of applicants for postdoctoral positions in the US or Canada are from outside this continent. This is also reflected in faculty hirings. My <a href="http://Massimohttp://expbook.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-2774179827301317672009-10-16T11:32:16.794-07:002009-10-16T11:32:16.794-07:00WOW. I haven't seen Obama's speech yet - a...WOW. I haven't seen Obama's speech yet - a few bloggers had linked to the video, but I am ridiculously far behind on my blog reading. I had heard of Matthew Shephard though - good on his parents for fighting for so long.Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-44810976491104003232009-10-16T11:31:45.511-07:002009-10-16T11:31:45.511-07:00I think ScientistMother must be referring to Dont ...I think ScientistMother must be referring to Dont Ask Dont Tell, which is a US military policy, but outside of military research institutions, I have never heard of it enforced in academia or industryAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12291507118158076247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-49090376580953421652009-10-16T11:23:53.285-07:002009-10-16T11:23:53.285-07:00Apparently in the US you can fire someone for thei...Apparently in the US you can fire someone for their orientation. I found that out when I was watching Barack Obama's Human Rights Dinner speech. He is asking to pass allow making it illegal to do so. Homesexuality is only now becoming protected under hate crime legislation thanks to Matthew Shepherds parents. After fighting for 11 years.ScientistMotherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02540317551396323613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-34522838302254649022009-10-16T10:35:18.978-07:002009-10-16T10:35:18.978-07:00Yeah, it's weird how that biology bias happene...Yeah, it's weird how that biology bias happened! Luckily for you, I rarely blog about biology any more ;)Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-19189131800346284142009-10-16T10:19:34.153-07:002009-10-16T10:19:34.153-07:00As an astronomer, I feel even more out of the loop...As an astronomer, I feel even more out of the loop. Most bloggers are American <i>and</i> in biology related fields. Half the time I don't get the American references, and the other half I don't understand the biology ones! LOLAlyssahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01695509619557410413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-61548531398917044982009-10-16T10:02:45.643-07:002009-10-16T10:02:45.643-07:00ScientistMother, first of all, are you kidding me?...ScientistMother, first of all, are you kidding me?! It's legal to fire someone for being homosexual??!! I'm going to have to look into that - not that I don't trust you, but I'm having a hard time believing that such an antiquated law would still be on the books. <br /><br />Yes, there is that US-centric bias in the blogosphere. Like I said, natural and to be expected when the Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-36359678138027432802009-10-16T09:45:07.070-07:002009-10-16T09:45:07.070-07:00Oh no Propter Doc. Some are Canadian. That's...Oh no Propter Doc. Some are Canadian. That's the real reason Cath got her pseudo-American citizenship, so she'd be allowed to continue to blog.Bob O'Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15666738696003108444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1149574905485287914.post-70465555328799400802009-10-16T09:23:49.031-07:002009-10-16T09:23:49.031-07:00I've seen most of these 'only hire America...I've seen most of these 'only hire American postdoc' arguments before and they make less and less sense each time. It is the broad generalization that a huge number of postdocs come from institutions of dubious quality. Bah! It propagates the culture of the 'old boys network' - only accepting things from within your (narrow) frame of reference. Like taking a couple of Circehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646237311802933183noreply@blogger.com