newguy2

Did you end up making a decision? I am actually in the same position. I was presented an opportunity to do a research internship/study aboard in England for the summer, but this would delay my graduation until August (rather than May as I had intended). Like you, I am not an academic and have been looking to get to work as soon as possible. I don't know if I should take it (and delay gradutation) or wait out for job opportunities. It would be great to hear your perspective and/or decision.

Thanks for the response Grashupher. My school does offer an October degree and I will probably apply apply for that. To give a little more detail on my stiuation, I am currently working on two projects for my thesis. I have just begun to collect meaningful data for one project, but the other is stuck since the machine I use is not working, but I had already had some data prior to that. The goal was to publish two papers for my masters, but I might get one (if I'm lucky) or none at all. I've heard it's quite rare for masters students to get their work published, but it was something my advisor and I are hoping for. Since one of my projects is making slow (yet steady progress), I think I could still graduate in May. My advisor is wanting the same as well, so we are working towards that. In a worst case scenario, I may see myself graduate sometime in the summer.

Hi everyone, I am currently in my last semester of my masters degree. However, it looks like my research hasn't gone the way it planned and I'm afraid I may not graduate in May as I had intended. I also put this date on my resume as the time where I can start a full time job and already had interviews for full-time positions. At this point, it's become harder to push, keep working, and stay motivated when I am so stressed out from researching not working, not graduating on tiime, etc. Has anyone been in a similar situation, where your research/thesis prevented you from graduating and moving on? I would definitely like to hear any similar experiences. Some advice may be helpful as well.

Hi everyone, I am doing my MS in engineering and this is my first research experience. I hope to graduate by the end of this year, as this is my second year in grad school. So far, one of my three research projects isn't going as well as I hoped. Being almost 10 weeks into the semester, I still have no data to show for. Every time I take one small step, I suddenly take five steps back. I feel lost and don't know what to do. The goal is to publish two papers before I graduate, but the way things are going now, I feel like I may not get things done on time and I'm afraid of not graduating on time. I was wondering if other students (preferably masters) have experienced such a roadblock in research and fear of not graduating on time. Is 10 weeks with no data concerning? I have heard/read other stories of Phds spending years and not getting things done, but as a MS student, time is not particularly on my side.

You're right on the money there! I came into grad school without any prior research experience, so that may explain my struggles/frustrations. My research project is something completely different from my field so it's taking time to figure out what I need to focus on. I'm still fine-tuning my experimental technique, but the data analysis is something that is way over my head. As far as classes go, pulling 6 hrs a day in lab with courses seems a bit of a stretch. I spend about 2 whole days on HW/projects for classes and the rest of the week for research. It will probably change some weeks due to projects for those courses. I am really hoping I get the courses/research routine down soon, as my hope is to graduate this year with my masters. I definitely feel burned out most days so it's extremely hard to stay motivated at times. Any advice for getting over burn out?

As far as equipment training is concerned, I do know how to use it, but it's troubleshooting the equipment that was frustrating. I actually figured it out today, so I should be ok from that standpoint. From the research standpoint, the objective of my project is rather broad, so there is more than one question to answer and solve. The problem for me is trying to narrow down my focus and try to solve one particular problem at hand, instead of tackling it all at once. Maybe I will figure it out as I go. Classes are actually ok right now. I have done well in all of my HW and midterms are this week. I just recently fell behind a bit and I guess I exaggerated a bit about failing. I apologize about the previous post. I wrote it in a moment of extreme stress and frustration, which I am still trying to deal with.

I'm in the second year of my masters degree in engineering and this is the first semester that I really have become involved research. I managed to get a head start from working with previous graduate students in my lab last year and have started writing a chapter for my thesis. I took the summer off for an internship. That being said, I haven't quite figured out how to manage myself in this environment and this is extremely new to me. I have taken on two classes and two research projects this semester and it's been difficult trying to manage it all. I feel like I don't get very far in research because 1) of the workload of the classes and 2) from the fact that I have no idea what I am doing in terms of research. I run experiments, but have no idea as to what I am looking for so I feel I am doing my research blindly. According to my advisor, it isn't research if I know what I'm doing, which is probably very true. My advisor also hinted that research should take priority over classes, but I'm afraid that if I could fail my classes by doing that, which would hold me back from graduating on time. I have already falling behind in classes because of research. What's also frustrating is that I have very little resources or training to do the work, so I spend a lot of time just restocking supplies and searching for people who know how to use certain equipment. I almost have to fight for the resources I need to do my job. I guess it has shocked me that I have to work almost 100% independently, with very little resources and training to do research. I feel extremely uncomfortable with the lack of structure. As of now, almost half of the semester is done and I still have nothing to show for since last year. I am hoping to graduate by end of next semester or the summer due to a job offer, but the way things are going now, I feel like I may not graduate on time. Are these the typical growing pains of a graduate student? Could anyone offer advice on how to manage all of the crazyness?

First, a little background for everyone. I'm currently a 2nd year grad student in engineering. As I am getting a masters, this will be my last year before I graduate. I went out of state for graduate school, moving from my hometown in AZ to VA as my older brother is getting his PhD here. I figured it would be easier to make the transition away from home. While I have learned so much from my time in grad school and grateful for the opportunity to grow both academically and personally, it hasn't gone the way I wanted it to, particularly from a social standpoint. I spent much of last year without many friends and found myself spending many weekends in my apartment alone. In general, I just find that grad students aren't particularly receptive to social interaction, espeically since most are so absorbed into classes and research. I tried speaking with people within my research cohort. They are also pretty quiet and since most of them are international students, they typically hang with people of their respective ethnicities (not true for all, but have seen it with others). To this day, I have about 3 people whom I would consider as friends, all from which I took classes with. We never really have time to hang out on a consistent basis, given the hectic schedule we all have. I have hung out with my older brother and his cohort, but they seem to talk about work and research all the time, so I feel out of place with them. I tried joining clubs but now that I am much more involved in research, it's hard to keep a consistent commitment. Easy to say that grad school has been one of the most loniest experiences of my life. I have plenty of friends back home and it seemed easier to make friends there, maybe because it's within my comfort zone. I went back home this summer for an internship and made so many friends on the job, but it's a different story when I get back to school. I guess I'm frustrated with the fact I have not been able to fully adjusted to life outside of home, especially after a whole year. Maybe it shouldn't matter since I only have a year left and I will be moving again to who knows where. Has anyone else experience something similar after moving away from their hometown for graduate school? I would definitely like to hear other perspectives.