What is expected of you during your time in this lab

It is expected that you abide by our Code of Conduct throughout your time in the lab. Let Julia or Kristina know if you have any questions or concerns related to this.

• Please read the short article The Care and Maintenance of Your Advisor

• Communicate largely over Slack and don’t send her files. Instead, share a dropbox (or one drive etc.) and give her the file path to get to the document.

• Know what you need from her. Stay on top of requirements for your degree (e.g., committee meetings) and come to meetings with a list of topics or things you need from her.

• Be proactive!

• Give as much time as possible for reference letter and such.

Academia is demanding, in terms of the amount of hours it requires in order to be successful, but it also allows for flexibility in when we work.

Where? As we come out of COVID, we are resuming work in person in the lab. Most of us are now in the office most days of the week. You may work at home some of the time, if you feel you are more productive there, but in general we are finding great benefit to being back together in person.

When? It is good to maintain a fairly regular schedule, while also recognizing that academic work has periods that are much more intense than others (e.g. before a grant deadline, field work prep, before a big meeting, etc.) when you will need to work additional hours.

Lab staff are expected to work 8 hours/day (40hr/week). The reality is that for the rest of us academia often demands more, in order to stay competitive in the field. Thus, while working excessively long hours (60-70/week) is not maintainable over long periods and can lead to burnout (which we want to avoid!), depending on your career goals (e.g. being a strong candidate for external scholarships or postdoctoral fellowships, obtaining a faculty position), unless you are exceptionally efficient, 40 hours per week may not be enough time to get all that you need to done. Push yourself, while also taking breaks and maintaining your mental and physical health.

As for a daily schedule, you should be in person for meetings whenever possible, but you can generally choose a schedule that works for you. For example, if you are a morning person then feel free to come in at 7:30am and leave at 3:30 (but if you have a meeting at 4 then you will have to stay later on that day). If you are not a morning person then you could come in at 10 and stay till 6. It also does not need to be the same everyday. Do what works for you but most of us generally work 8-4 or 9-5 type schedules in the lab since that is just easier for meetings.

Additionally, there is no need to log your hours (unless you want to do it for you own reasons) and Julia will not be keeping track so it is on you to make sure you working enough. Generally if you are making good progress and putting in the time then that is good enough. If you are not making good progress but have a reasonable explanation (harder than expected, etc.) convey that to Julia so she knows.

As for days of the week - generally we all work M-F since that is easier with meetings and planning time away from work with friends who work strictly M-F jobs. But there are times where you may take a weekday (make a long weekend or need a mental health day) off but you do not want it to count as vacation…. you can just make it up by working on the weekend or even working a couple longer days.

Everyone has to go to the doctor, dentist, get hair cuts, etc. and most of the time these have to be done during business hours. So it is understood that there are times you will not be present when you normally would. Just make sure that it doesn’t interfere with a meeting (unless absolutely unavoidable/in an emergency) and make up the time later.

Bottom line - Be present for meetings, manage your own schedule to fit your work style, be efficient, and work the hours that you need to to make regular process and meet your goals.

This encompasses but is not limited to contributing a couple of hours a week to help other lab members and with group activities like organizing or leading lab meetings, maintaining equipment, hosting lab visitors etc.

You are expected to attend weekly lab meetings, weekly Departmental (or School of Environmental Studies) seminars (depending on which is more relevant). Additionally, you should attend and participate in EcoStats, journal clubs, and Ecology@UVic when this would be beneficial to your learning.

You are also expected to attend our annual lab retreat. This is typically 2-3 days during the week before or after Labor Day weekend. We have been alternating between going to Bamfield and camping somewhere.

“They are the 21st century business card” - Lia Chalifour

It does not have to be fancy, just a place where you have you publications, research experience, and other relevant information for potential employers. Recommend Squarespace, Weebly, or GitHub (check out Jenn’s) but people have also used Wix. Uvic does allow for creating and hosting websites but you either have to create it using HTML or through Wordpress and I would not recommend Wordpress.

Check out other lab members (previous and present) for ideas of design and content. :)

I will provide you with a laptop and large monitor (or a desktop, depending on your preference) to be used for your research while you are a student in my lab. Please note that all such equipment needs to be returned at the end of your degree, as it is all UVic property

Julia covers student conference costs ONLY if you apply for all relevant travel awards. Even if unsuccessful she will pay - BUT you have to TRY.

UVic Grad Student Travel Grant

CUPE4163 (if you are a TA)

Apply for any grant/scholarships that the conference may have.

You can also look into volunteering. Often they will waive or reduce your fee if you volunteer for a couple of hours.

For PDFs, Julia will usually cover the costs for you to attend one conference a years.