Five Things I’ve Learned in my First Semester of Grad School

 

(Note: some of this I’ve compiled from other blogs, notably southernfriedscience.com.  Great minds think alike.)

1. Have a hobby

This is probably one of the most important things that will help keep you sane during your time in graduate school. It can be cooking, exercising, or creating four horrible, terrible minutes of…something, I don’t know.  Regardless, having something that you can involve yourself in regularly that has nothing to do with research will postpone the inevitable nervous breakdown, at least until you have undergads who you can dehumanize.

2. Make your research a 9-5 job

This wasn’t something that I found out until after a few months, but it helps a lot to treat school like an office job in that you should try and stay on campus or in the lab for about eight hours a day.  This doesn’t have to be a strict schedule, and some days you will have things elsewhere that demand your attention.  But sticking to this idea shows your PI that you are motivated to put in the long hours needed and that you are capable of managing your own time successfully.  

You can eyeball vodka on your own time

3. Read everything you can, and then some

This goes hand in hand with number two, in that if you find yourself sitting at your desk or in the lab with nothing to do, print out an article and read it.  My first semester I must have read over 75 papers, and I cannot stress how much they helped with my research.  Not only do you get a sense of what type of work is being done in your field, it will make you a better writer.  Technical writing is essentially another language, and the best way to learn it is to immerse yourself in it.  Again, this not only makes you a more educated graduate student, but it will demonstrate to your PI your strong work ethic and desire to absorb everything you can.

 4. Find ways to motivate yourself week to week

Just to be clear, you should be absolutely sure that grad school is right for you before you decide to do it.  However, even those of us who love what we do face many obstacles, especially with regard to our research.  Writing proposals, fine-tuning protocols, and dealing with administrative issues can really take their toll on one’s drive. It happens to everyone, and it can be easy to forget why we love science when it seems to be conspiring with the universe to make us fail. I’ve found it helpful for myself to set small, weekly goals (sequence 16 individuals, bang out these two grant applications, etc). This, much like number one, can be different for everyone, but find little things to motivate you through the rough patches.  Happy hour certainly counts, due to its ability to either act as a celebratory catalyst or unite people in suffering.  

5. Get to know your peers and other researchers, and have a life in school

This should be number one in terms of importance, but I put it last because it’s Friday and my mind is gone.  Having some sort of social life while in the lab or on campus makes the other four things so much easier.  If music is your hobby, find other grad students who have similar tastes to jam or talk music with.  It’s a lot easier to put in long hours if the cute marine mammal Ph.D is also working late.  Join a journal club, or if your program doesn’t have one, start one.  It’s a great opportunity to improve your scientific literacy while also meeting people and getting exposed to research outside of your field.  And as I mentioned before, but should stress again, there’s nothing that brings grad students together more than bitching about our rough days.  People say that one of the first things to go once beginning grad school is your social life, and that may be true depending on how you define it.  But I don’t think it has to be an either/or issue, you just have to find ways to make the two overlap.

Pictured: Friends?