Many of us find that our time in grad school has taught us a thing or two– about research practices or even life in general. Below is a collection of lessons learned by real grad students, not organized in any particular order.
- Establish strong connections with other grad students in your lab/research group. They have gone through the same obstacles as you and can be a great resource. Oftentimes my advisor is too busy to ask specific details, so I relied heavily on the other grad students in my lab at the beginning of grad school.
- Don’t be afraid to let someone know if you’re struggling (classes, research, journal articles, emotional stress, harassment, etc.). These struggles are the unfortunate reality of grad school, and we have all dealt with them or have seen other people dealing with them. If you see something out of the norm or find yourself thinking “this doesn’t seem/feel right”, please know that there are people who care and can help you with whatever you may be going through.
- When I started my research, I did not have a lot of guidance because my advisor was going through a lot of things personally. I didn’t know how to best present and analyze my research until about my 3rd year in grad school. The learning curve is steep so be open to learning new techniques along the way and improving upon methods that you thought were great your first year.
- There may come a point in your grad career where you become the “expert” in your research (compared to your advisor), which is perfectly fine and normal. Don’t think that your advisor can’t help you any more, though. Reevaluate how to continue having productive meetings with your advisor.
- Some advisors take a “hands off” approach to advising. This is okay. You may feel lost at times, and your advisor may not check in on you every day or every week. You have to remain productive, ask questions when you get stuck, and continue progressing. It helps to have a personal to-do list or checklist to keep yourself in check and monitor progress.
- After you finished taking classes, your schedule will seem very open. It was definitely an adjustment for me when I no longer had classes to dictate how I spent every hour of my day. Maintain some sort of scheduled work hours. Grad school is a marathon, not a sprint, so don’t burn out early! Also make sure you take a scheduled break day. Find a hobby you love that can take your mind off the everyday stresses. You are more than your research, papers, proposals, etc.
- Don’t wait on anyone but yourself. At the end of the day, if you’re caught waiting during the course of your degree program, you’re only holding yourself down. Drive forward. Take action. It’s up to you to get this degree.
- Talk to other grad students, not just the ones in your lab or the same year as you. This can help you get advice for future years, see how other lab cultures are, and can be helpful for studying/classes. It’s overall been very helpful to me being friendly with many people in the program. (this is harder during the current pandemic I realize, but I think METHODS helps a lot.)
- No one else cares about your finances/income as seriously as you do. Don’t rely on other people to keep your finances straight. Stay on top of getting paid on time and the correct amounts! Check your bank account every month to make sure you received the expected amount by the expected time, and inquire quickly and repeatedly until you resolve any issues.
- Learn how to communicate with your advisor. Learn how to distill what you want to say into the smallest necessary tidbit. You don’t necessarily need to give all people all the details all the time. A “good description” in science is not measured by “having all possible details present,” but rather “nothing else can be left out of my description.”
- Find a professor you mesh at least somewhat nicely with.
- Do your research on any professor you are planning on joining including asking their student’s questions. Going in without much knowledge is a recipe for disaster and stress.
- If you’ve joined a lab/project you hate, advocate for yourself. Make a decision quickly and join a new lab/project. If you do it within your first year or even 1.5 years, you won’t get pushed back terribly.
- Your grad mentor’s job is to find your weakness and hammer it until it’s not so much a weakness (i.e. you graduate). It feels bad, but it’s good for you in the long run.
- Some of those in PhD are stronger in the class and others the lab (I’m the former). In my opinion, at the end of day, your lab work is more important than school work (as long as you get B’s).
- Prioritize the lab over school work if you have to triage. At this stage, classes are something to inspire new research methods and are not for GPA boosts.
- If you are struggling, and try to prioritize both, you will end being sub par in both the class and lab.
- Whether extrovert or introvert, everyone needs something to love. Whether that be friends you always hang out with, a pet, etc. These are essential to maintaining a healthy state of mind, and you should actively seek what best fits you. It’s very easy to spend all your time alone immersed in books and work.
- If you are interested in a dog vs cat, I recommend getting a cat. Your time in PhD will keep you from home for long periods of time each day. This lifestyle can be detrimental to a dog both physically and emotionally unless you have someone else to take care of them.
- Poor mental health is the worst obstacle to completing a PhD, in my mind.
- I maintain a small pocket size notebook called “Research ideas and questions” book, where I write all the cool research ideas I get when I either read something, or observe something in the field or think when I listen to someone’s talk etc. Sometimes I get ideas even in the night when I am sleeping and I write them in this book. Since I started doing this, I have written 20 possible questions and research ideas that I can pursue in my field in the future and I will be exploring some of these options in the future (after graduating) if no one has pursued it already. This will not only confine me to my field/study organism but help me broaden my scope.