Ode to a Grad Student

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Ode to a Grad Student
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Things I Learned From Dr. Edwards

• All of us are very different, among faculty,
  among students, between faculty and students.
• We all have our own personal setting
• Education
• Work Experiences
• Hobbies
• Home Economics
• Families

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Things I Learned From Dr. Edwards

• There are some critical similarities between
  successful students and professionals in our
  field.
• Ultimately our success as professionals is judged
  independent of our personal differences.

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Goals

• I will not pontificate on the sacrifices that one
  must make to be a good grad student and
  professional.

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Goals

• Point out a few characteristics that successful
  professionals have in common (based on my own
  personal experience).
• Point out the BEAUTIFUL parts about being a
  graduate student in our program.

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We all know the bad parts

• Dont get paid enough
• Office is too small
• Have to work too hard for what I get paid
• My advisor is an idiot
• The administration is disrespectful
• Too many trivial requirements / hoops
• Parking sucks

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But there really is BEAUTY!
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Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all Ye
know on earth, and all ye need to know.
John Keats
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MYTH 1 Professional Student vs Student
Professional

• Being a graduate student is just a good way to
  avoid getting a real jobit is an extension of my
  undergraduate experience.

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REALITY 1 Ego-Booster

• Graduate students are students AND
  professionalsit is much, much harder than simply
  being a student or simply being a professional.

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REALITY 1 Ego-Booster

• Your job is to
• Produce an independent research product (thesis
  AND manuscript).
• Extend and Intensify the learning that you began
  as an undergrad.
• Participate in a collaborative effort to advance
  science.

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REALITY 1 Ego-Booster

• Successful graduate students behave like
  professionals that have an opportunity to work
  towards a graduate degreenot like students.

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REALITY 1 Ego-Booster

• You are more than a student, you are more than a
  professional, you are a Student-Professionaland
  that is a noble thing.

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REALITY 1
REALITY CHECK
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MYTH 2 Im in school therefore Ill learn

• As a graduate student, most of my learning will
  come through courses that I take and anything
  outside of classes should only focus on my own
  research.

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REALITY 2 you pack your own chute

• You are ultimately responsible for how much you
  learn while you are in graduate school.

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REALITY 3 the X-factor

• 90 of what you learn should take place outside
  of a classroom.
• Reading!!!
• Seminars
• Conferences
• Discussion Groups
• Experiential

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Reading

• 5-7 papers per week
• 20-30 papers per month
• 240-360 papers per year
• Avg MS student should read 800 papers before you
  graduate.
• Avg PhD student should read 1200 papers.

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Reading

• Successful students read almost continuously.
• Not reading just to read take notes, read the
  notes, think, reread, consider how it affects
  your research, think about any good ideas it gave
  you, write those down, do this over and over
• Before you know it you are an insufferable know
  it all.

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Reading

• If you do not develop good reading habits while
  you are a student, there is no way that you will
  as a professional.
• If you do not continue to read and learn as a
  professional, you will degrade into an
  incompetent professional.

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Reading

• Get in the habit of going to the library and
  looking through the most recent journals of your
  choice.
• My choices have always been
• Ecology Ecological Monographs Ecological
  Applications
• Oecologia Oikos Journal of Animal Ecology
• American Naturalist Copeia Env Bio Fishes Can J
  Fish Aqu Sci
• Trans Am Fish Soc Journal of Fish Bio Freshwater
  Biology
• J NA Benthological Soc NA Jour Fish Man
• Limnology and Oceanography

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REALITY 4 grab-it-and-growl

• As a graduate student, this is your best
  opportunity to obtain the full range of knowledge
  and experiences needed to be a successful
  professional.

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REALITY 4 grab-it-and-growl

• Explore topics unrelated to your thesis.
• Help Your Friends (field work, analysis,
  conceptual discussions).
• LIVE, EAT, BREATH SCIENCE while you are a grad
  studentyou will not get the opportunity again.
• If this doesnt sound like much fun, then you
  will be miserable here and in a future job.

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MYTH 3 Work Ethic

• How hard I have to work as a graduate student is
  determined by how much or little I get paid. I
  will work real hard when I get paid real money.

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REALITY 5 money is a touchy subject

• Everyones view of money and need for money
  varies.
• Help from parents
• Spouse that works
• Spartan existence
• Cable, Cellphones, Internetall adds up.

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REALITY 6 a bulldog is a bulldog a poodle is a
poodle

• Hard workers tend to work hard regardless of how
  they are compensated (perhaps even out of spite).
• Slackers tend to be slackers.
• Others work hard (out of spite and/or fear) until
  they are paid well and then work less hard
  (Assistant to Full Professor Law)

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REALITY 6 a bulldog is a bulldog

• In my experience, students that are exceptionally
  hard workers
• Complete the best theses and publish the best
  papers
• Get good jobs quicker
• Move up the totem pole quicker
• Are the most successful professionals

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Successful Students

• Act like professionals and expect to be treated
  as professionals.
• Read like Nazis are going to come burn their
  books.
• Constantly look for ways to optimize their
  learning experience.
• Work like fools.

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Being a Graduate Student is a Beautiful Thing!

• Opportunity to work and get a degree
• Opportunity to Eat, Sleep, and Breathe Science
• Opportunity to work towards a meaningful
  publication
• Opportunity to collaborate with and help friends
• Opportunity to read, think, read, think, read
• You can sleep when you are old

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