Grad school: the thread

Post Reply New Topic

Let's devote this thread to discussing:

-tips on getting into grad school

-tips on surviving grad school

-how to decide on the best grad school and/or program out of all available options

and

-grad school life in general

I'm going to be graduating with my Bachelor's and taking the GRE by the end of 2013 so this is a topic I'm curious to know more about.

Been there, done that. Ph.D. here.

In graduate school, your teachers will want you to graduate. You are the product, and the success of any graduate program is marked by the students who make it through.

But why do you want to do this? What do you expect to do after you graduate? I have advised a teacher against getting a Ph.D., which is good for teaching, but she's already doing that anyway so...

The really hard part is what to do after you graduate, and I'm still working on that.

Graduate school is at best a training exercise for working on something else that is profitable. You can't eat a thesis or sell it. Funny thoughts about burning a copy of my thesis along with a copy of the Koran on the "Diag" have flashed by.

I haven't made any money on my thesis or academic papers. The relevance of academic papers exists only if you're in a job where the impact points system actually counts but you probably won't be. Don't spend too much time on your papers and thesis.

The only thing you could possibly do for profit in this, is to get your name on some patents, but most of those won't be worth anything, either. Invent something, write it up, and send a patent application into the patent office. Anybody can do this. Even a criminal can hold patents. One of my patents may pay off for me, but this will be highly unusual, if it happens, and the ink is not dry on that one. I can't honestly recommend this path on the basis of expectation value of cost/benefit, even though I may come out ahead.

Don't go to graduate school if you can't get it paid for. Don't go even if you can get it paid for, unless you really have nothing better to do.

Well I certainly have no illusions about money.

Personally I'm planning on doing an M.A. degree. I'm hoping the experience will be worth it.

No, a bachelor's is sufficient for entry-level "suit and tie" jobs, as you call them.

Graduate school is an exhausting and expensive process, and it involves working more closely with your professors and your cohort than undergrad. I see a lot of people posting here on the personal and social difficulties it poses for Aspies. It's usually a time of high stress and extreme poverty. Unless you have a clear goal that can only be served by going to grad school, I don't recommend it.

Pursuing (and completing) a Master's degree allows one to teach at the community college level, which seems like a valuable opportunity. Additionally, I was looking into employment opportunities with a particular NGO that only accepts applicants who hold at least a Master's degree. I also don't mind the thought of potentially applying for a TA position at the graduate level. Therefore I am going to pursue a Master's degree.

I've heard a lot of people (usually those without graduate degrees themselves) decrying the idea of having a Master's degree as a waste of time/money. However, my question is not so much "should I go to graduate school?" as "What should I expect when I am there?"

I just finished my first semester in an MS sociology program. I'm NT, but I think these tips will work for anyone:

-Take advice from other students with a grain of salt (the other students may be stupid/slackers)
-Take advice from professors VERY seriously
-Talk to all the professors in your department
-Read ALL of your textbooks, or all that it's possible to read
-Get someone to proof your work (preferably not a friend)
-Remember that you may know the other grad students for the rest of your life (watch what you say/do around them)
-Enjoy what you're doing, or else it's not worth doing
-Take time to read novels/watch TV/play video games/whatever, even if it's only 15 minutes a day - you always have time for your life

*bump*

Always remember, academic jobs are incredibly scarce. This is especially true in the liberal arts. There are way too many grad students and not enough academic positions waiting for them. Most of them are going to end up screwed, blued, and tattooed; in the meantime, they're exploited as cheap labor, doing the grunt work and teaching the classes that the professors don't want to do. If you think you're an exception, well, you just might not be.

Yeah, I'm not bitter.

I think the smart thing to do is to go into a Master's program that has direct applicability to a specific field "out there" in the real world. My Plan B was to get an MPA (Master's in Public Administration), but then I found myself in a foreign country (long story). If I were still in the States I think I would have done that. There is also an increasing trend towards Masters' in the hard sciences that are tailored towards the needs of private industry, public institutions, etc., as opposed to the academy.

Also, if you're into the hard sciences, if you don't wash out of your grad program, there's about a 90% chance (unofficial figure I pulled out of my pocket) you'll end up in private industry. Only the chosen few will get an academic position in the hard sciences. Bear that in mind. The trouble with liberal arts is that you don't really have that private industry fallback, unless you're slick or lucky (i.e., the few English grads that find their way into the media, advertising, etc.).

As someone who's now in grad school, I have some tips, some I've already learned, the rest is advice from friends who've finished the course. I'm doing a coursework/research course so some of these tips won't apply to everyone:

- Be selective in choosing your supervisor, but be flexible with your research project. You will be in frequent contact with your supervisor, so you need to get along with them. Of course pick someone who is working on something you're interested in, but don't just look at their projects. Talk to members of their groups, anyone you know who has gone through the program (if possible) and perhaps someone like your disability officer or someone else you trust.

- Be assertive about expectations you have of your supervisor and what they have of you. Try to figure out things such as how often they want you to meet with them (usually often at the beginning and less often as the project goes on), group meetings (if there is any), access to facilities, etc. Also be sure to let them know things like major assessment periods for coursework (so you can work around it if possible), if you don't understand something or if you think you can't manage to do something for when they want it.

- Get as much sleep as you can, you need it to make the most of your program.

- Go to department seminars, especially the ones with food/beverages afterwards. The seminars will help give you ideas for any oral presentations you may have to make and after-seminar functions are a good way of networking with people. It's actually common behavior for academics to lock themselves in their office/lab most of the time, socialize at these functions then go straight back to their office/lab.

- Get started on your thesis asap, even if it's just a literature review. If you find it hard doing a literature review - read an article in your field and write down whether it has anything relevant to your thesis.

- If you have coursework, dedicate a reasonable portion of your time to coursework. You can do extra research during teaching breaks.

- Get to know the admin staff, they will point you in the right direction.

- Try and pick subjects based not only on what your supervisor thinks is relevant to your project, but also on what you like studying.

- Procrastination may work in undergrad but it doesn't work as well in grad school.

- Have something outside of the course to focus on. This could be a club, team or a hobby. Use it to get a few hours per week to give your mind a rest from your course. At the same time, don't let this outlet take away too much time (days rather than hours) from your studies.

- Balance any employment with your study. Whatever amount of work hours you managed while doing a similar load at undergrad, cut it in half or even less.

- Get to know people in your course and research group. You don't need to be very social, just remain on good terms. You never know when you will need their help.

- Take advantage of free, catered events and other student-friendly deals if you have the time.

- The standards for work will be higher and you will be expected to do more work in less time.

- There will be highs and lows. You can spend weeks getting frustrated, then a day feeling awesome because something worked.

- Prioritize marked assessment over non-marked tasks - if it's just pass/fail just make it pass-worthy, put in more effort on things that have a marking scheme.

- Whatever you're feeling - whether it's stressed, overwhelmed or tired, chances are your fellow students are feeling the exact same to differing degrees.

As for getting in, I have no helpful advice. I scraped through undergrad and got the minimum required for post-grad in the major I actually completed. Even then, I applied for the wrong course and the admin staff went out of their way to allow me to submit a late application for the right course.

Having just enrolled in a grad school, my main concern is getting a job afterwards. I am in a preprofessional program, so I feel I am career oriented, but I am going into a highly cyclical profession. Seven years ago, there were more open jobs than their were professionals to fill them. Now, the situation is reversed. It has been this way for decades, and will be this way for many more years, but I am worried.

Also, I trust my fellow students. We are a big tent sort of profession, and only do well when we collaborate. We are also very driven, at least in my profession.

Going to graduate school right after undergrad can be risky. Many jobs require experience and not all will allow subbing of a Master's degree.

I've seen a guy with an AA degree get picked over a guy with an MA degree. Why? The job required 3 years experience and the guy with the MA had 0.

If you found out your undergrad was not profitable, don't get a Masters in the same subject.

Remember that many employers offer tuition reimbursement. Often you can get a job as an undergrad and get most of your Masters paid for.

I'm in a biomedical sciences PhD program and just successfully completed my 1st year of the program. During the 1st year of this kind of program, students had to take tougher classes, study for classes and work in labs. It was challenging. In addition, students are required to serve as TA's for undergrad science labs (in some science PhD programs). These are a lot of big things that one has to fit into his/her schedule.

When in grad school, DO NOT procrastinate or slack. Work hard, take good class notes, keep up with all assignments, and manage your time effectively. Don't spend too much time on one thing, and less time on the other thing. Should you need help, seek help from your advisers now! Don't let Autism, AS or any learning disability slow you down in grad school! If you wanna watch TV during break time, watch 1-2 shows or movies per week.