6 Expectations
In addition to agreeing to follow our lab Code of Conduct, we expect everyone in the group to echo our Lab Culture and Philosophy.
Individual mentoring plans: Katie will work with each of you to develop your individual development and mentoring plan that serves to ensure your time in the Markovich lab progresses your short, medium, and long-term goals. This is a useful planning document that assists in aligning expectations. Graduate students will revisit the mentoring plan during an individual meeting with Katie at the beginning of each semester & the start of summer. Other lab members will revisit these at appropriate time scales (e.g. every 6 months).
In addition, it is useful to have broad (for all lab members) and specific (i.e., grad students, research staff, etc.) expectations of our roles clarified. These are outlined below.
6.1 Working hours
Katie generally does not hold people to working a fixed schedule. As adults, we should all set the working schedule that is the right fit for us, and it is likely that what this ‘fit’ is will change over the course of the time you are in the lab. Depending on the nature of your appointment, there may be specific hours that will need to be worked and you should work with Katie to outline these. That said, there is value to interacting with others as part of your work, and we do expect you will be available during normal working hours for at least some of the time during the week. We also recognize that there will occasionally be times where there is a need to work more to meet a deadline, but this should be the exception - an expectation of overwork is not to be normalized.
Katie generally does not work evenings or on weekends, and does not expect that people in the lab are available at these times. Lab members should also not expect others to be available during these times.
6.2 Remote work
One of the benefits of joining a group that does predominantly computational work is that we don’t have to be on site (whether that is in the lab or the field) to be productive. Katie recognizes that we all have full lives outside of work and that there are numerous reasons for and benefits of occasionally being able to work from home or elsewhere. Once mutual trust has been established, Katie is open to working out hybrid schedules or extended periods of remote work. Continued use of this priviledge will be dependent on remote work performance. TL;DR, if you get your stuff done, it’s all good, but if you don’t, we will have to revert back to in office work.
6.2.1 Funding
Katie does not typically accept students into the lab without being able to guarantee full funding for the duration of the degree (2 years for MS, 4 years for PhD). Students are encouraged to seek and apply for extramural funding to support their work — scholarships and fellowships for salary, but also smaller grants for travel, workshop attendance, or research costs. Some resources are outlined in Extramural Funding.
Your monthly stipend comes from a research assistantship (RA), teaching assistantship (TA), or a mix of the two:
| Research Assistantship (RA) | Teaching Assistantship (TA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid from | One of Katie’s grants | College of Arts & Sciences |
| Your effort goes toward | The grant’s research goals — usually overlaps with your thesis, though not always | Assisting with undergraduate courses |
| Who assigns your work | Katie | The instructor of record |
| Typical load | 25% or 50% appointment → 10 or 20 hrs/week | 25% or 50% appointment → 10 or 20 hrs/week |
| Structure | Less structured — Katie sets clear goals/milestones and holds regular progress check-ins | More structured — grading, leading labs, etc. as assigned |
Your weekly hours will vary week to week, but your average workload shouldn’t exceed your contracted percentage — if it consistently does, bring it to Katie’s attention. RA hours go toward the nitty-gritty of research (programming, data analysis, modeling, fieldwork, data entry), including the training time needed to learn new methods and software.
The remaining ~20 hours of your week are your time as a student earning a degree — classes, seminars, reading, networking, developing and writing your thesis/dissertation. You aren’t directly paid for these activities beyond having tuition covered; the degree itself is the reward. This “job” + “student” balance is why graduate students are officially classified by the university as “student-employees” — you’re both: this is more than a job, but it’s also a job.
6.3 Email
In the lab, we communicate via email and via the Markovich Lab slack channel. You should therefore check your email at least once a day during the normal work week. Note that being available does not mean that you are available 24/7 - this is not expected. Do not expect responses to emails after regular business hours on weekdays, or on weekends. However, because we recognize that lab members should be able to create a working schedule that is right for them, lab members should not be penalized for sending communication during these times.
6.4 Attendance at regularly scheduled events
Attendance is expected at:
- Departmental seminars
- Weekly lab meetings
- Individual meetings with Katie to discuss and work on your research
- UNM thesis defenses
- Annual UNM EPS research symposiums (undergrad and grad)
6.5 Expectations for the PI
Katie (as PI) will (at a minimum) provide:
- Technical support for analysis (e.g., access to computing, training on techniques)
- Positive feedback & constructive criticism on work
- Professional career support
- Support for non-technical aspects of making career progress
- Regular meetings to discuss work & maintain progress on goals
- Provide clear and honest appraisal of your funding situation
6.6 Role-specific expectations
You are responsible for your degree. This means you need to stay on top of program and university deadlines, requirements, etc.
Course of study: The UNM EPS graduate program requires students to meet with their advisor in their first week to make a list of classes that you will take during your academic program — this will vary based on how many credits you can transfer from undergrad or a previous graduate degree. Before registering for each semester, you are required to meet with your advisor (Katie) to discuss plans for the forthcoming semester (classes, activities, etc.).
The UNM Water Resources program maintains a helpful list of classes on their website. You should also consider taking a course at NM Tech — they have a fantastic hydrology program. A list of classes that lab members have taken, and a suggested course of study schedule for Markovich lab grad students, can be found in the Courses chapter (todo — chapter not yet enabled).
We schedule regular individual meetings with Katie throughout the year — at a minimum every two weeks during the semester, though there may be times when more frequent meetings are needed. These meetings are a chance for you to get focused time with Katie to discuss and work on your research. They are your time, not Katie’s — come with an agenda listing what you want to accomplish.
You will most likely be working with one of the lab’s research team as your primary research supervisor. The grad student or postdoc you’re working with on your project will be your primary point of contact — work with them to establish your work schedule, protocols, and the equipment you need.
Although the grad student/postdoc is your primary contact, always feel free to reach out to Katie as lab PI. We’re excited to help you use your position in the lab to further your career goals.
Postdocs are independent researchers and likely will have significant collaboration with researchers at other institutions as part of their research and position. Postdocs in the lab may also be sharing time between UNM and another opportunity.
In general, postdocs are expected to:
- Be present and involved in lab meetings, workshops, campus seminars, and conferences
- Provide mentorship, technical support, and assistance to other lab members
- Communicate both successes and sticking points on a regular basis with the PI
- Work independently and collaboratively
- Participate in professional development opportunities
- Lead and assist in designated research projects
- Develop and submit proposals to fund future research
6.8 Conference presentations
In addition to publishing our findings (with transparent and reproducible methods and data), The Markovich Lab is committed to sharing our research at local, national, and international meetings. Katie strives to provide financial support for grad students to attend at least one major conference per year to present your work. This financial support includes airfare, lodging, conference registration and abstract fees, and a per diem for meals/local travel— costs that can easily exceed $2,500 per conference. In return, students are required to give a draft presentation (poster or talk) at a weekly lab meeting before departing to ensure the materials and delivery meet the quality expected of a lab representative at a conference. Failure to do so will jeopardize future financial support for conferences.
The following meetings are good ones to target (differing in size and the types of folks in attendance–consult Katie for what might be best based on your research and professional goals):
- American Geophyiscal Union Fall Meeting (every December)
- International Association of Hydrogeologists World Groundwater Congress (every Fall, usually)
- Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (every Fall)
- American Groundwater Trust New Mexico Groundwater Conference (every summer)
- New Mexico Water Data Initiative Water Data Workshop (every other Fall)