Books on grad student life

[oldlady]

Has anyone read a book on grad student life worth recommending?

Someone told me to read Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or PhD by Robert L. Peters. I'm finding it informative, if a bit dated.

[Sarah S.]

Has anyone read a book on grad student life worth recommending?

Someone told me to read Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or PhD by Robert L. Peters. I'm finding it informative, if a bit dated.

Agreed. If I recall correctly, it makes computers sound like this new and awesome idea?

[johndiligent]

I've similarly heard that that's a good one.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

http://www.phdcomics.com/book.htm

[Matilda_Tone]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for ( it is not a guide book)- but a very amusing book on academia in general is a novel called Small Worlds by David Lodge- it follows the adventures of a young academic fresh out of graduate school. Definitely a fun read.

[oldlady]

Agreed. If I recall correctly, it makes computers sound like this new and awesome idea?

Yes, exactly!

Not sure if this is what you are looking for ( it is not a guide book)- but a very amusing book on academia in general is a novel called Small Worlds by David Lodge- it follows the adventures of a young academic fresh out of graduate school. Definitely a fun read.

I wasn't looking for a particular book -- I just thought it would be fun to exchange good reads. Thanks for the recommendation!

Anyone else have a recommendation (or a poor review)?

[BCHistory]

For anybody interested in learning more about life in law school, I suggest One L, by Scott Turow.

[mudlark]

Anyone in the humanities/social sciences should pick up Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities by Gregory Colon Semenza. It's written in a very strong voice and the author has specific opinions, so it's not everyone's cup of tea (contentious advice includes not wasting your time at grad conferences and only doing department or university level service instead of volunteering for grad associations). I love this book because he's aware of the current job market, and what one has to do to succeed in it, but his advice is empowering and calming instead of panic-inducing. When I was drowning myself in service and teaching, reading this book helped me back up and reprioritize my time and energy.

http://www.amazon.ca/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/1403969361/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267804060&sr=8-2

[coyabean]

Agreed. If I recall correctly, it makes computers sound like this new and awesome idea?

You mean those new "word processing" systems?

[oldlady]

Anyone in the humanities/social sciences should pick up Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities by Gregory Colon Semenza. It's written in a very strong voice and the author has specific opinions, so it's not everyone's cup of tea (contentious advice includes not wasting your time at grad conferences and only doing department or university level service instead of volunteering for grad associations). I love this book because he's aware of the current job market, and what one has to do to succeed in it, but his advice is empowering and calming instead of panic-inducing. When I was drowning myself in service and teaching, reading this book helped me back up and reprioritize my time and energy.

http://www.amazon.ca...67804060&sr=8-2

This was actually recommended to me as well, and even though I am in business (not humanities), I found it to be a good read.

[rogue]

I just picked up The Academic's Handbook. I'm not very far into it, but so far it's great. It's a collection of essays by profs and administrators on all sorts of relevant topics: different kinds of institutions, the tenure system, technology in higher ed, securing research funds, the job market, university presses, etc. It's really probably more for folks emerging with shiny new Ph.D.s than those of us just getting started, but I'm finding it helpful nonetheless. It's giving me a good idea of what's in store, which is always a good thing. I like to be prepared.

[rooster34]

I also read the book by Peters and found it relevant but dated. (Make sure you go to a school where you are guaranteed time on a computer!) Here's a website that I think gives some sound advice: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html

[oldlady]

I also read the book by Peters and found it relevant but dated. (Make sure you go to a school where you are guaranteed time on a computer!) Here's a website that I think gives some sound advice: http://www.cs.unc.ed...uma/hitch4.html

Good website -- thanks!

I have now picked up The Compleat Academic: A Career Guide by Darley, Zanna, and Roediger, recommended by a tenure-track prof at a top school, and it seems to be quite informative and to the point.

[Medievalmaniac]

Here are the books I have read and enjoyed and/or found helpful on this topic:

Ms. Mentor - she has two books out, and they're geared predominantly towards women in academe. She is HILARIOUS, but also has a lot of really good points, especially in her first "Impeccable Advice" book for women in academe. She also writes a column for the CHE.

Mentor in a Manual is a good book in terms of understanding the basic outline of an academic career from beginning through tenure.

Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day. I'm still not 100% certain this is REALLY a realistic goal, but it definitely helped to calm my nerves about even the prospect of the diss. process.

Paul Gray, What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School focuses mainly on the first couple of years out of the PhD, but it was a good, solid set of advice.

Dora Farkas, The Smart Way to Your PhD - essentially, she collected several successful students' observations about what to do, what not to do, and so forth and compiled them. Worth a look.

[rogue]

I just got another one in the mail from Amazon: The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career: A Portable Mentor for Scholars from Graduate School Through Tenure. I haven't delved into it yet, but from just leafing through, it looks good. (Though, oddly, it seems to be written as a conversation between the three authors.)

[oldlady]

Just found this link on a TM thread, and am finding it to be quite valuable -- not only the blog, but also the comments. Check it out:

http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/grad-skool-rulz/

[coyabean]

Just found this link on a TM thread, and am finding it to be quite valuable -- not only the blog, but also the comments. Check it out:

http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/grad-skool-rulz/

I came to add the same link. I just found it last night! Serendipity.

[Kathiza]

As I have to learn not only about grad student life, but about life as a student in the US as well, your suggestions helped me a lot. Thank you!

[eco_env]

The Ph.D. process : a student's guide to graduate school in the sciences by Dale F. Bloom, Jonathan D. Karp, and Nicholas Cohen. found it useful for applications to grad school.

[rsldonk]

I liked Playing the Game: The Streetsmart Guide to Graduate School by Fred Franks and Karl Stein. It's pretty irreverant and has some profanity, but it also has a lot of great advice, especially for choosing your committee (which they say, and I agree, is the most important decision you can make in grad school).

[balderdash]

Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis. Still the best novel about someone falling out of love with academia. And it's hilarious.

[natsteel]

I would recommend the Semenza book to anyone. Not only does it give a clear picture of what you can expect down to a very detailed level, but it also offers sound advice for coping with it. It also has a handy appendix with samples of the kinds of documents grad students need, i.e., CV, Teaching Statement, Conference Proposal, Book Proposal, Syllabus, Cover Letters for jobs, etc... It should be included with your graduate school's handbook.