Hi! I wanted to do things differently for this post (while I figure out vectors2 still not quite happy about vectors one and will continue to update it here and there!) and talk about grad school!
Grad school is a conundrum (especially a PhD). Your in school to learn, you are frequently paid (but not always) and if your going for a masters are also probably paying! It’s not like undergraduate though (though I can only speak from the stem side of things). It’s like Who’s line is it anyway where the work’s made up and the grades don’t mater! And while the grades do matter and if you cheat on your work or research come clean and fix it or get out of the scientific community(!), its more the effort you put into the work than the A+.
Really its about contributing to science, and that means two different things for a master’s and PhD student. For a master’s student its getting the basic skills, learning to read about science, and starting a project that someone else will mostlikey finish and write a paper about. A PhD is about all of that, then continuing the project and learning how to take it in various directions and find new exciting things out about science! That’s exciting! You (as a grad student) are contibuting to research and the scientific comunity you belong to!
If that sounds like something you want to do awesome! Go for it and apply, and keep applying till you get in!! Be warned, there be dragons. Oh no! An ominous warrning about a fire breathing-flying-ancient-lizard while talking about grad school, I’ve seen this on all the grad student and post doc blogs. You probably have!
Look, no sugar coating, grad school is hard and frequently just horrible. Long days (8 hours will be your short day), long experiments (simulations could run for months, and one failed spliced fly could put you back a months too!), terrible pay, confusing and arbitray dead lines, issues with advisors, classes, TA’ing, committee meetings, dating, free time, … It’s not just that it’s only exhausting intelectually and physically, it is emotionally draining (find a therapist while in grad school! Trust me it will help.).
Why do it then? I cannot speak for others. For me it was 2 fold, curiosity and an interest to try and give back to society.
If you go into grad school, go for it, make a difference and learn! I have three thoughts it might be useful to consider
- Be picky: location,location,location (state/country, city/town, advisor). Choose a place you want to live for 2-7 years, in a town/city with things to do, and in a college where your advisor meshes with you (I got lucky with mine [that’s not to say we did not butt heads]).
- Have hobbies or you will burn out. It doesn’t mater what those hobbies are!
- A grad school degree is not a measurement of intelligence, it is a mearsurement of grit.