Behavioral

Coursework should be used as an introduction to ideas, methods, and exercises that you wouldn't otherwise have encountered. Don't worry about the grade you get for the class or an individual assignment -- if you find merit in putting in effort on a certain paper or assignment, then do it! If there's a course you have to take, but don't find particularly useful nor stimulating, then don't spend as much time on it. There's too often a case where a person polarizes the contention between trying hard in a class and completely dismissing it as a triviality; it's neither. Class should be (in theory) subordinate to your research, but you should also be getting the most out of it when/if you can. For my research, a seminar on behavioral economics is going to get relatively more time and energy out of me than a class on a core class outside my relevant interests. I use my time in and out of class to ask questions that I'm interested in answering for the courses that are most relevant to me; for those 'other' ones, I don't give them the time of day if I'm not sitting in the actual class.

Is there anyone stopping you from pursuing more inter-disciplinary projects in terms of your research/dissertation? If not, just stick through the coursework and wait until you're given more autonomy over the topics and methods you employ in research.

I've been going out for aimless walks while listening to audiobooks. This is the first week I've done it and I'm loving it so far. The audiobooks are also somewhat related to my field (they're non-technical popular books on social sciences), so I don't feel guilty about not being cooped up in the office all day.

57F ice cold? I'm from California and even I can tolerate chillier temperatures than that

If it's any consolation, all my friends from California that moved to NYC (thinking they were going to love it) almost unanimously hate it. It's one thing to visit NYC (I love visiting, but feel exhausted after about a week in the city), but it's something completely different to live there. Ask New Yorkers (especially grad students) -- if you don't have a large sum of money to begin with, you're going to be struggling just to survive -- unless you live pretty far out of the city.

It's typically the norm (for credible schools anyway) to offer tuition remission and some sort of stipend; it's usually an un-commonality if a school will accept a student without any funding.

I'm really happy I took doctoral courses as an undergrad, or else all these courses would be hitting me hard in the face.

Who said necessarily? I made sure to address that it doesn't hold for all cases.

In total? $29,000 that week since I also placed my down payment on a house. I spent around $900 on furniture so far for my apartment, and am missing only a sofa (probably getting one used on craigslist for ~$100-$200).

Aside: do those models typically include grad students in their normative advice? i.e., Does the expected increase in income bigger than the increase in fixed costs going from grad student (fellowship/assistantship) to professor (salary)? I think there's an assumption with the 10% savings that income is held fixed or at least 'sticky'.

Just trying to clarify: I'm assuming you're currently taking out loans to finance your education? This option, for example, isn't available to me since I paid off all my undergrad loans and am not currently taking out any for grad school.

And from my experience, there is a positive (strength is up for question, though) correlation between PI success/productivity and size of their lab. If you want to work with a 'superstar' in your field, for example, you'll be one of many wanting to do so.

Yeah, there's no point in frontloading rent payments when it could be accruing interest. Even with low interest rates, the earnings on $10k over a year are worth keeping.

You have my respect for being a rugged engineering grad student, ktel

My answer depends on what you define as 'saving'. Besides my current living expenses at my college town, I usually save around $500-$750 each month to help pay for one of my mortgages back at home (one is being occupied by my mom; the other is currently being rented out). If I itemize that mortgage payment into my living expenses, then I only have around $100-$200 each month to spare, more or less, for messing around.

It might just be the culture at our program (or maybe just business schools in general), but even our most successful students (i.e., the ones being placed at other top schools) seem to be quite social, and they do make time to hang out with other students after class, go out for dinner or a party, etc.

For me, I stayed motivated by looking at the micro level (I should do well on this exam) instead of being overwhelmed by the macro level (I must do well for the rest of my undergraduate career). It's good to stay focused at the large picture, but at the same time it can be distracting for your more proximal goals. Great job on the quiz--keep it up.

Quick datum: My GPA after my first year: 2.7 Eventually my GPA was a 3.6x by the time I graduated Just make sure you develop an upward trend, and you'll be fine.

I've also noticed that students with families have an explicit incentive to get things done early so they can spend time at home.

Before you even start considering about publishing, do you even have the funds to perform your research and gather your data? Grants are the main reason why I wouldn't even dare turn down a professor who wanted to work with me.

Well, the natural marriage of MBA and MPH is an MHA (Masters in Hospital Administration). But if you're excited about Epi, look at MPH in Infectious Diseases (Johns Hopkins, Emory, etc.). It's another major department you might be interested in if you're doing immunology work.

I don't think that's what he's arguing. It's like saying the auto industry is failing, you go into a mechanic apprenticeship, and hope to get a job as an electrician because you don't want to be a mechanic. The training you're given in an experimental psychology PhD program isn't so easily translated into industry (this deals more specifically with what your research is on, though). This rigidity in career path is what pulled me towards business schools instead of psychology or even decision sciences. The professors at my school make a good chunk of change consulting for corporations and consulting agencies while still enjoying (or surviving) the life of academics. Furthermore, they also reap higher salaries than professors in psychology -- which is one of the reasons why you see a lot of psychology PhDs seeking business faculty positions, but not vice-versa.

Depends what type (Masters or PhD) of degree you're pursuing, the department (I'm guessing the STEM sciences have to worry about not only conducting and publishing good research, but also with keeping up with the state of methodology and technical advances in their field, which is something most people in humanities and social sciences don't have to worry about as much), what school/program you're in (I know some business schools are known for being more demanding than others, especially the ones near the top that impose their desire for top placements on their students), and what your goals after grad school are (work in industry, get a job, get a placement at a top university, etc.). For me, my discipline isn't as demanding as, say, my friends' in engineering or physics are. I enjoy a good amount of free time while still being on top of my work (enough so, at least, that I can have fun and even post on this forum and others without feeling too guilty). I know people who are in the life sciences that spend most of their waking hours on their bench, and the remaining ones reading and writing up manuscripts or grant proposals. The type of life/work balance is most definitely a spectrum and some concessions have to be made to reach the target ratio you desire. I'd love to get a top academic placement, but not at the cost of my ability to still enjoy myself (I love research, but I'm not uni-dimensional) and to eventually have a family. I very much treat my research as a job where I'll typically work around 50-60 hours on campus and in my office (more or less depending on what's on my plate), and then I go home or out and try to spend as little time thinking about work until the next day. Anyway, I really feel this is something you learn by doing. As an undergrad, I modeled my schedule and responsibilities as the doctoral students in my labs did and it helped a lot in this weird first-year transition into an actual doctorate. Also, a quick tidbit many of my advisors have told me over the years: if you're going to be an academic, having a family/kids only gets harder the longer you wait. People often discuss how difficult it is to raise a child during grad school, but imagine how hard it is when you're a junior faculty who has to not only do research, but teach classes, mentor students, attend and lead committees, perform other service-oriented duties for the school/field, and worry about getting tenure in a fixed amount of time. Most people, by the time they reach tenure, are already approaching 'middle age' (if you start out of undergrad at age 22, only take 5 years [if lucky] to finish your PhD, take 2 years for a post-doc [some fields, like mine, don't really have them], and 7 years for tenure [assuming you are granted it your first go-around], that's 14 years until you've secured a job at age 35; so falling back on the idea that you'll do it later when you have more time will only backfire.

Your degree/background won't hurt you, but the lack of relevant experience will. I know history, psychology, engineering, and english majors at Kellogg for their MBA, but they all had some exposure to professional experience in business.

1) No work experience => no admissions to a credible b-school. 2) You don't really learn anything useful in b-school. The reason you pay tuition is to have access to alumni networks and recruiting events. I'd only tell people to go to a non-name brand school if their employer was covering the cost of tuition. 3) You're shooting yourself in the foot if you're going to b-school for the sake of avoiding the job market. A mediocre MBA won't get you any worthwhile jobs and you'll be 100k+ in debt, given you don't work while you're in school.