Being a successful grad. student

[Sassytune]

http://www.uwyo.edu/...dentSuccess.pdf

[shahman101]

  On 4/15/2010 at 6:33 PM, Sassytune said:

http://www.uwyo.edu/...dentSuccess.pdf

3rd year PhD student here. The greatest and only tip I give to beginning PhD students is to do you own stuff. Don't take the same courses as everyone else, don't do the same topics as everyone else including faculty. Find your own niche. If you do the same thing as your peers, when you are on the job market, nothing will distinguish you from the rest. Take chances. Things might not always work, but when they do, they work in your favour. Stand out from the crowed.

Now that I think about it, this "philosophy" isn't only for grad students. It's for life.

[Slorg]

http://www.weizmann.ac.il/mcb/UriAlon/nurturing/index.html

[rooster34]

  On 4/15/2010 at 10:52 PM, shahman101 said:

3rd year PhD student here. The greatest and only tip I give to beginning PhD students is to do you own stuff. Don't take the same courses as everyone else, don't do the same topics as everyone else including faculty. Find your own niche. If you do the same thing as your peers, when you are on the job market, nothing will distinguish you from the rest. Take chances. Things might not always work, but when they do, they work in your favour. Stand out from the crowed.

Now that I think about it, this "philosophy" isn't only for grad students. It's for life.

In short, be a contrarian. Whether it's grad school, investing, or just about anything, in my 35 years it has served me well. And now, as I head off to get a PhD at 36, I am once again being a contrarian.

[liszt85]

  On 4/16/2010 at 6:47 PM, rooster34 said:

In short, be a contrarian. Whether it's grad school, investing, or just about anything, in my 35 years it has served me well. And now, as I head off to get a PhD at 36, I am once again being a contrarian.

Welcome to OSU!