Asperger's And Ph.D

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1) Read PhD Comics, an online comic strip about grad school life.

2) Realize that this is what you are in for.

3) Decide if what you seek is worth what you will face in #1.

No worries. I post up drunk regularly and I know I come off as unintentionally abrasive at times, so I figured if you were mad it was probably my own fault. Honestly I know a lot more about grad school itself than the Spanish language I just finished my first year of master's and am going to be applying to Ph.D's (in clinical psych and maybe one bioanthropology program) this year. I was just curious about your experience with the language because some of the best times of my life were when I was overseas, but it was mad confusing and difficult compared to what I had learned.

This can depend on the degree. First, I just defended my dissertation successfully, and I think it was a very worthwhile experience. I would encourage you to consider what areas spark your interest, because if you aren't interested in the field you study, it will be a very painful waste of time. Also, you WILL be required to use interpersonal skills, whether you engage in biological sciences, social sciences, or humanities research. Earning a PhD depends greatly on the relationships you build with your faculty advisor, and not having a good relationship could break your candidacy. Additionally, many fields will expect you to present research at professional conferences. That being said, you can typically find assistance in learning how to do this. Many departments consider your professional development to be part of the process of earning a doctorate. You will want to get a good idea of the job opportunities in your field, however. Many humanities fields (languages are particularly problematic) produce far more degrees than openings for academic jobs exist. As for research outside of academia, it exists, though it depends on your field. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, require researchers to develop medicines. Think tanks that develop policy often obtain research grants from interested parties and conduct research on their behalf. Certain government organizations require researchers, such as the Census, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Defense. Options are available, but you'd be best served speaking to an expert in your field to find out what particular opportunities exist.

My dream is to get my Ph.D someday. I graduated with my bachelor's in 2009, but alas, I have not yet been accepted to grad school. It is very frustrating, because everybody tells me that I'm the perfect candidate for grad school, and that my Aspie-ness would make me shine in research. I have the grades, the research experience, and most definitely the passion and focus, but I have a feeling that the social aspect of interviews and such is why I have not been accepted. I want to be a professor very badly, and it hurts me to think that my AS may not get me there...
-OddDuckNash99-

how's your gre score? if that is good than it is just a matter of applying i.e. widen your scope of schools and apply to more of them.

My GRE score was decent. It will never be high, though, as I have Nonverbal Learning Disorder and my math score will never break 600. I think the GRE is stupid, though. My GRE score was around the same as my SAT score, but that didn't stop me from graduating college with honors. As for applying to a lot of schools, the trouble is that my area of interest in my field is a very focused one, so not many schools have the type of research that I want to specialize in. I have to be more selective than most. I got an interview to one school, but only 1/3 of the interview applicants ended up getting in. It just angers me that I know lots of people who didn't do as well as I did in school and/or don't have the passion I do for my research, but they got in to grad school and I didn't...
-OddDuckNash99-

I wonder how Temple Grandin got into graduate school. This is what makes me scared about it, idk if they will think I'm a perfect candidate, but now that I know all this, I am gonna focus on my area of interest deeply in college so I'll be accepted. I hope you do get accepted to a graduate school soon, you sound very interested. A professor is a good job for many aspies because we can talk about what we like all day and no one can tell us to shut up. I am wondering if you have things in the way of your studies though; like are you married? because in your picture there is a guy and girl.

Yeah, the story of Temple Grandin makes me both inspired and angry. It inspires me that somebody with AS could get into grad school, so I think that I maybe have a chance, too. But it also angers me, because she is in the very small minority, and the increasing knowledge of her seems to me to have made the challenges associated with AS and school appear smaller.

I've never even been on a date, so no, I'm not married. My avatar is from A Beautiful Mind, my favorite movie and one of my biggest special interests. When I was in school, from elementary school throughout college, that was my life. Studying is my passion. I am a perpetual student. Memorizing facts is what I'm best at, besides teaching science to others, which is why being a professor would be the ideal job for me.
-OddDuckNash99-

I would also like to be a professor teaching a language. You sound really interesting, you seem to be less social and dedicated to your interest. Im the same way. Any tips for me on how to get into grad school? I want to keep myself busy, I dont want to graduate, get a job, then i go home and be all alone and depressed because I have so much time to focus on socializing. I'd rather make myself useful to society and spend my time studying my interest and that way I wont do anything to hurt myself because I'll know that I have a meaning in this world.

so any tips?

The only tips I have are the ones that people keep telling me, although they never seem to work for me. Just keep applying to many schools, the more schools the better. It's hard for me to apply to a lot, though, because my special interest is very, very focused. I refuse to go to grad school to study something I'm not intensely interested in, just to say that I went to grad school. Since grad school is so research intensive, I want to actually be studying what I'M interested in. Thanks for saying I sound interesting. You do, too. If you want to talk more, just PM me.
-OddDuckNash99-

I would love to get a PhD in primatology eventually. If I work my way up I could get there I'll just need to work my arse off.
Dr. Sophie Hobson, primatologist.