What to Do After Getting Your Academic Email ID?
A Comprehensive Guide for PhD Candidates
Congratulations on obtaining your academic email ID! This pivotal step opens doors to a world of opportunities and connections in the academic realm. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do next:
1. Update Your Social Media Profiles
Many Ph.D. candidates shy away from social media, but it can be a powerful tool for networking. Update your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter profiles to reflect your research scholar status. Even if you prefer not to label yourself as a research scholar, consider using “Pursuing Ph.D.” This subtle change can attract collaboration opportunities and highlight your interest in data, reports, and co-authoring of papers in your research areas.
2. Email Setup
Configure your academic email for seamless communication. Learn how to forward emails from your academic account to your personal Gmail. — Here is a link on how to do it. Additionally, explore the “send from” option in personal Gmail to streamline your email correspondence. That is, you can send mail from your academic email ID as if sitting on a personal Gmail account. — Here is a link on how to do it. Note that the Google Workspace service provider should have enabled this option; otherwise, the institute admin too cannot help in linking you to the SMTP credentials.
3. Research Network
Join reputable research networks to enhance your academic presence.
a. ResearchGate
Research Gate is number one in this space. ResearchGate stands out because of it’s interactive Q&A with other researchers across the globe, it’s automatic suggestions that are apt for your research topics, and it also provides pre-print options and job listings. It fosters meaningful interactions, making it a superior choice compared to academia.edu.
b. Academia
Academia.edu is a close second to ResearchGate, offering a plethora of uploaded documents. It’s very good on providing stats like reading history, etc.
c. Global Linker
Avoid Global Linker; it lacks credibility and resembles an email scraping site.
4. Setup alerts for your topics on Google Scholar
Immediately after opening an account on Google Scholar (preferably your personal Gmail ID and alternate id as your academic email id), you will be guided to create a profile, cite your articles, and update your settings.
Go to the alert section from the menu and create daily alerts for your mail research topics.
For example, for me, the three keywords are
- entrepreneur
- startup
- innovation
With this, you will get daily, freshly baked results about what’s happening right now in the areas of your research right in your inbox.
5. Obtain Important IDs
Ensure you have essential IDs from reputable platforms; if not, ask your institute:
a. Orcid.org
b. Scopus
c. IRINS
6. Join Relevant Channels — Connect with fellow Ph.D. candidates
a. Reddit
c. A local WhatsApp Group of peer researchers
7.… And finally, your daily dose of coffee and comics
Conclusion
Following these steps will help you establish a strong academic presence, network effectively, and maximize opportunities. Best of luck on your academic journey!
