What I learned in my first year of grad school

Grad school... grade school...

Almost a year ago I was just entering grad school, and thankfully this year did NOT fly by. There were so many varied experiences I had that it seemed to take it’s sweet time.
About a year ago, when I arrived at the university, I had tons of optimism and hope and was giddily excited for the learning and the research and all the doors that were opening for me in science and in life in general. For any of you that are either considering grad school, are currently in grad school, or just want to know what grad school is like, I list here a few of the lessons I’ve learned, observations I’ve made, and other interesting tidbits that presented themselves during my first year as a PhD student. (By the way, here is only ONE, though my favorite, link about other grad school info)

1. Know the program you’re getting into: how big it is DOES matter, the amount and types of classes and credits you have to take DOES matter, the prerequisites, the way you’re funded, and especially your PhD qualifier all are important. DON’T just look at the cool research being done.

2. However, you definitely do want to take a look at the research, usually done through the internet. This will be a TINY FRACTION of what the professors will tell you about when you first talk with them, which is also another (albeit not as small) fraction of what they plan on doing, would like to do, or would agree for you to research under them. Don’t limit yourself by not going to/applying to a school that doesn’t have your one specific interest if you like everything else about it. You will most likely find a way.

3. If you’re moving to a whole new area, decide whether you want roommates, and if you do, how many and what kind of living situation. Roommates can be awesome and become the people you hang out with and meet a lot more people through (as was fortunately my case ) or they can be a burden. If you don’t know your roommates ahead of time it’s a toss of the coin really - think of whether it’s worth the risk.

4. Entering grad school can be like entering undergrad: the orientation and classes where you meet your classmates and everyone is seeking to make friends, the exploration of a new college town, the learning your way around campus are all exciting. There are of course, plenty of ways in which grad school is nothing like undergrad: you will not know about the campus or it’s history, and you will probably not care as much about the sports teams. Nor will you feel a part of the undergrad crowd.

5. On picking an advisor/lab: There are plenty of articles out there about this. In summary: pick someone whose personality/work style complements yours, or someone who is the only one who will fund your obsessive quest for creating sentient noodles (or something similar). Know what he/she will want you to do and the kind of updates and work schedule you’ll have. Though honestly, until you’re actually a part of the lab, you won’t know the whole deal.

6. If you have some hobbies extracurricular activities you do, DO make sure that you can keep them up at whatever area you’re moving to if they are important to you.

7. In grad courses, your professors will treat you much more like colleagues, take your opinion on class structure more seriously, and provide you with information and knowledge much more specific to your field. If you’re in the right field/program you will LOVE IT. Given that though, there will be times when you hate life because a class is very hard, or you THINK you may not use something in your doctoral research. But honestly, why would you say no to knowledge which can only help you since it’s in your field, even if you may not want to delve deep into it?

8. Mostly, your program wants you to pass your classes and qualifier, since it will look bad if you fail out. People do fail out, however, so in my opinion, you should still try hard in classes (though not obsessively to the detriment of everything else).

9. Go to seminars - they’re loaded with cutting edge information, and you get the chance to talk to the researchers.

10. Think of the area around the university as a resource extension. Not only in the “get away and have fun” sort of way, but also think of the other nearby universities, government centers, and industry in your field. In the sciences those matter more than you think. The DC area, for example, has not only the FDA, NIST, NIH, NSF but also medical schools and pharma/life science/engineering companies in the vicinity. If your program allows you to do research in those places, the opportunities for you open up by A LOT, not to mention contacts for possible future jobs.

11. You’ll start to understand PHD comics and chuckle uneasily.

So here’s just some stuff I think is important - but like I said again, there’s tons of info out there, especially the link I have above is a good starting point. Basically, grad school is unlike undergrad, and it’s unlike “the real world” - it’s in a whole other dimension and grad students are another group of people who really like to make fun of their own lives and predicaments.