Puff's Pearls of Wisdom
Perhaps nothing is as consistently fascinating to me as the complete disconnect between my own graduate school experience and those of almost everyone else I know. If you were to survey my circle of friends in school right now, at best you'd have a 10% chance of finding anyone who would describe the experience as anything better than a dream-killing, soul-crushing labor of love. I recently attended a graduate student conference where the keynote was an appeal to keep the faith; the endless criticisms, set-backs, and let downs are a part of the process no matter who you are.
Except that they're not. Which brings me to the fascinating part. I can imagine, but have no personal experience with the kind of frustration that makes people question whether getting a graduate degree is worth all the trouble. And a number of folks I know have decided it's not. So what decides the difference? And how do you know if it's for you? Well, a few things:
1. Whether you're actually interested in the field you've chosen. For instance, I know a few aspiring political scientists who have no interest in political institutions. Not a good look. Makes studying for all those exams (on institutions) a lot harder than it otherwise would be. Before you commit to a 6-8 year program, ask yourself, am I interested in numbers, people, or institutions? Then pick a field that fits your interest.
2. The presence or absence of a mentor. I figure the difference between an advisor and a mentor is that the former tells you what you need to know ("Publish or perish") and the latter tells you what you need to hear ("Your dissertation will be great!"). How do you find a mentor? That starts during the application process. Keep track of whether faculty in a given program do little things like return your emails and phone calls, offer to meet with you, express interest in your work, or refer you to other people who could be helpful. If you email someone and they respond by sending you their phone number and saying you should feel free to call with questions, that's a pretty good sign. If you email someone and you never hear from them, maybe save your $85 application fee and don't waste your time.
3. Listening to your mentor (or your advisor if those are different people.) One of the most interesting things I hear from graduate students is that you should never let an advisor discourage you from doing the work you want to do. In some cases, I'm sure this is right. In others... having someone who'll tell you that your project, while interesting, has about a 0% chance of landing you a job, is damn near invaluable. God forbid you have the satisfaction of writing your dissertation on what you're really interested in, only to find out that no one else is the least bit interested in it. Gotta be able to tell when your advisor is just being closed-minded, and when they're actually saving you from years of heartache.
4. Six years is a long time to live somewhere you don't want to be. I must say I hated on many a school because it was in the middle of nowhere. As wonderful as your department may be, your advisors aren't gonna entertain you on weekends. Don't just pick where you want to go to school; pick where you want to live, cuz you're gonna be there for a while. Also, know how close you wanna be to friends and family. Maybe you're a phone person and moving cross-country is okay because you'll still talk to your people every day. Maybe you're not a phone person but all your folks are on IM, so it's cool. Or maybe you're no phone person, have no IM homies, and you're 600 miles from everyone you know and love. Maybe that's not so pleasant.
5. Focus. (Someone somewhere is laughing at me.) Teaching is great. TAing is cool. Being a research assistant puts some extra money in your pocket. But there is absolutely no point in being a well-paid research assistant with an excellent teaching portfolio and no dissertation proposal. No point whatsoever.
6. Funding. The magic word of graduate school. Talk to folks in the programs you're applying to. Are they working full-time and taking out loans, or are they hanging out at Starbucks writing their papers? Does your program pay for health insurance, or do you have to pay them? Do you have to teach to get funding? What if it takes you longer than 4-5 years? Do you have to find money somewhere else? I'm not (necessarily) saying you should go to the highest funder, but it's a consideration at least. Especially for folks who are going back to school after having worked for a salary. Some people don't adjust too well.
7. Roommate. The second magic word of graduate school. Now some of you will attend baller schools that keep you in the baller lifestyles to which you've become accustomed. For the rest of you, having someone to split the cost of living will put a few extra hundred dollars in your pocket every month. That's kick it money. That's leave town to see the homies when you're stressed out money. Don't sleep on it.
8. Relax. Everyone stresses over exams and changes their proposal a million times. Don't think you made a bad life decision just because it's harder than you thought it'd be. However difficult it is, as long as you're getting it done, and they're still paying you to be there, you're cool. Whether you know it or not, The Powers That Be are keeping a close eye on your progress. They'll be sure to let you know when it's time to worry.
To recap...
Pick the right field. Get yourself a mentor. Listen to your mentor. Study where you wanna live. Focus. Know the cost of living. Split the rent. Chill out.
You'll be Dr. before you know it.
Except that they're not. Which brings me to the fascinating part. I can imagine, but have no personal experience with the kind of frustration that makes people question whether getting a graduate degree is worth all the trouble. And a number of folks I know have decided it's not. So what decides the difference? And how do you know if it's for you? Well, a few things:
1. Whether you're actually interested in the field you've chosen. For instance, I know a few aspiring political scientists who have no interest in political institutions. Not a good look. Makes studying for all those exams (on institutions) a lot harder than it otherwise would be. Before you commit to a 6-8 year program, ask yourself, am I interested in numbers, people, or institutions? Then pick a field that fits your interest.
2. The presence or absence of a mentor. I figure the difference between an advisor and a mentor is that the former tells you what you need to know ("Publish or perish") and the latter tells you what you need to hear ("Your dissertation will be great!"). How do you find a mentor? That starts during the application process. Keep track of whether faculty in a given program do little things like return your emails and phone calls, offer to meet with you, express interest in your work, or refer you to other people who could be helpful. If you email someone and they respond by sending you their phone number and saying you should feel free to call with questions, that's a pretty good sign. If you email someone and you never hear from them, maybe save your $85 application fee and don't waste your time.
3. Listening to your mentor (or your advisor if those are different people.) One of the most interesting things I hear from graduate students is that you should never let an advisor discourage you from doing the work you want to do. In some cases, I'm sure this is right. In others... having someone who'll tell you that your project, while interesting, has about a 0% chance of landing you a job, is damn near invaluable. God forbid you have the satisfaction of writing your dissertation on what you're really interested in, only to find out that no one else is the least bit interested in it. Gotta be able to tell when your advisor is just being closed-minded, and when they're actually saving you from years of heartache.
4. Six years is a long time to live somewhere you don't want to be. I must say I hated on many a school because it was in the middle of nowhere. As wonderful as your department may be, your advisors aren't gonna entertain you on weekends. Don't just pick where you want to go to school; pick where you want to live, cuz you're gonna be there for a while. Also, know how close you wanna be to friends and family. Maybe you're a phone person and moving cross-country is okay because you'll still talk to your people every day. Maybe you're not a phone person but all your folks are on IM, so it's cool. Or maybe you're no phone person, have no IM homies, and you're 600 miles from everyone you know and love. Maybe that's not so pleasant.
5. Focus. (Someone somewhere is laughing at me.) Teaching is great. TAing is cool. Being a research assistant puts some extra money in your pocket. But there is absolutely no point in being a well-paid research assistant with an excellent teaching portfolio and no dissertation proposal. No point whatsoever.
6. Funding. The magic word of graduate school. Talk to folks in the programs you're applying to. Are they working full-time and taking out loans, or are they hanging out at Starbucks writing their papers? Does your program pay for health insurance, or do you have to pay them? Do you have to teach to get funding? What if it takes you longer than 4-5 years? Do you have to find money somewhere else? I'm not (necessarily) saying you should go to the highest funder, but it's a consideration at least. Especially for folks who are going back to school after having worked for a salary. Some people don't adjust too well.
7. Roommate. The second magic word of graduate school. Now some of you will attend baller schools that keep you in the baller lifestyles to which you've become accustomed. For the rest of you, having someone to split the cost of living will put a few extra hundred dollars in your pocket every month. That's kick it money. That's leave town to see the homies when you're stressed out money. Don't sleep on it.
8. Relax. Everyone stresses over exams and changes their proposal a million times. Don't think you made a bad life decision just because it's harder than you thought it'd be. However difficult it is, as long as you're getting it done, and they're still paying you to be there, you're cool. Whether you know it or not, The Powers That Be are keeping a close eye on your progress. They'll be sure to let you know when it's time to worry.
To recap...
Pick the right field. Get yourself a mentor. Listen to your mentor. Study where you wanna live. Focus. Know the cost of living. Split the rent. Chill out.
You'll be Dr. before you know it.
posted by Puff at 8:52 PM
1 Comments:
Has Ms. Take Four (won't put her name on blast on the net) been hip to this post?
Shoot...has all of WUMellon been hip to this post?
Cause it is real talk if I ever read it....
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