Grad School guidebooks

[snes]

Now that DECISION2012 is over for me and a lot of others, I've been putzing around Amazon looking at the tons of books offering advice on getting through grad school, writing a dissertation, getting a job in the humanities, writing in general, etc. I love books like that, so I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for GOOD (and current) grad school help guides I could read this summer before I no longer have time to read!

[cokohlik]

Unfortunately my favorite one is a few years old, but when it comes to discussing timelines, time management, picking out an advisor/thesis topic/dissertations and your exams & defenses, it's awesome! "Getting What You Came For" by Rober L. Peters.

[mandarin.orange]

Here are a few:

Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or Ph.D.

by Robert Peters

If you want to take a longer view and get a sense of what a career in academia now entails, then I recommend:

The Academic's Handbook

by A. Leigh DeNeef and Craufurd D. Goodwin

[cokohlik]

Yay! Mandarin Orange and I like the same book!! :) (Peters')

[Dal PhDer]

Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide to content and process by K. Rudestam & R. Newton

This was just given to me by my advisor and so far it's a great guide!

[mandarin.orange]

I would also recommend a comprehensive tour through the PhD Comic archives.

[Dal PhDer]

I would also recommend a comprehensive tour through the PhD Comic archives.

Agreed. I would make it part of your weekly routine!

[TakeruK]

I've heard some good reviews of Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to go to Grad School by Adam Ruben ( http://www.amazon.ca/Surviving-Your-Stupid-Decision-School/dp/0307589447). I think he is a popular science writer / science journalist as well. Has anyone read it -- if so, any thoughts?

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I've heard some good reviews of Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to go to Grad School by Adam Ruben ( http://www.amazon.ca...l/dp/0307589447). I think he is a popular science writer / science journalist as well. Has anyone read it -- if so, any thoughts?

I read it. It was pretty funny (maybe funnier after you've been through what he's talking about) but wasn't actually an advice book, more of a book about stereotypes in academia. It was things like "Identifying different kinds of undergrads - Part 1: The Jock" -- or things like that.

This was a good review:http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegelife/gr/survivinggrad.htm

Personally, I'd say time is better spent reading the PhD Comics archives. SOoo addicting...

[surefire]

Grad Skool Rulz: Everything you need to know about academia from admission to tenure

Author: Fabio Rojas

Don't let the playful spelling fool you, this is a very pragmatic and comprehensive piece!

I would nominate this book because:

- As I said, comprehensive.

- It addresses how to meet the stipulated requirements of your program AND ALSO how to contend with the "unspoken rules", the stuff that you generally have to learn the hard way.

- Author's orientation is social science, like me! As well, the book is specifically framed for doctoral students (so, not so much the professional degrees) who are going in gunning for tenure-ish track. Less fortunate for me: the context is mostly U.S.

- Everything is blunt, the first chapter is called, "Do not go to Graduate School". The book discusses, in a straight-forward way, a lot of grad school aspects that are awkward to ask/think about or plan for: like departmental conflict, the job market and knowing under what conditions you should consider "getting out".

- It's recent.

- You can get it as an e-book for two bucks here: http://www.smashword...ooks/view/93455

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm definitely going to do some proactive reading in the next few months!

Edited April 19, 2012 by surefire

[juilletmercredi]

I read Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision…. Hilarious book that will amuse and depress you, but not really an advice book. It's great stress relief, though.

I agree with Getting What You Came For - yes, some of the material is outdated, but the non-technological advice is solid and ageless. It's a great book, but it does focus more on the sciences. Most of the advice is widely applicable, though. I've heard that Graduate Study in the Twenty-First Century is the humanities equivalent. (I'm in a lab-based natural/social science and I've found that advice books geared towards the sciences are more helpful for me than ones geared towards the humanities, simply because our grad school and hiring processes are closer to science fields.)

As for writing, I have heard positive things about How to Write A Lot and Writing Your Dissertation In Fifteen Minutes a Day. Both of these are planned summer reading for me, since I am beginning my dissertation this summer/fall.

[StrangeLight]

my grad school bible is graduate study for the 21st century: how to build an academic career in the humanities by gregory colón semenza.

this is not a book that tells you how to survive grad school or why you should/shouldn't go. it's a book that tells you how to EXCEL in grad school once you're actually there. i've found a lot of these grad school guides that are published in the current climate of a terrible job market and a public attack on the humanities and higher education spend a good chunk of their time telling you everything that's wrong with the grad school as an institution. this book assumes you've read all that and just gets to the meat of knowing how to excel in your program. really great, occasionally counterintuitive, advice. has a great timeline for humanities students, but it's a little less applicable to social sciences degrees that require fieldwork.

[snes]

*adds all of them to amazon wishlist* Thanks guys!

[OregonGal]

Looking at the blurbs and chapter titles, these books seem more geared towards PhD students than for Masters students. Do you feel that's the case, or do you think these books are still good for those of us who don't need to worry about the dissertation/defense/academic job/tenure stuff?

[fuzzylogician]

I own Getting what you came for and Graduate study for the 21st century: how to build an academic career in the humanities. The timelines in both books are not applicable to me, since I'm in the social sciences, but most of the (non-technological, timeless) advice is great.

[rockhopper]

Any books specifically tailored to Life Sciences?

[SeriousSillyPutty]

I'm reading Getting What You Came For right now, and his thesis was on sexual differentiation of swordtail fish -- or something like that. So, while he tries to write the book for all sorts of grad school people, his perspective is from the life science.

(And, OregonGal, It also has sections specific to master's degree stuff, but his experience is PhD.)

[misgengen]

any book recommendations ppl going for a professional degree? I would love a few for my 16 hrs plane flight next week!

[Dal PhDer]

Looking at the blurbs and chapter titles, these books seem more geared towards PhD students than for Masters students. Do you feel that's the case, or do you think these books are still good for those of us who don't need to worry about the dissertation/defense/academic job/tenure stuff?

I think they would be good reference. I mean, your Masters still has many factors/situations/relationships that are much like a PhD. And I really think writing a Masters/PhD thesis is quite a similar process, just at different scales.

I am sure parts of these books are useful for anyone in grad school- if anything, it will let you know if what you are experiencing is normal!

[OregonGal]

My point is that I'm in a "professional" Masters program, not a theoretical/academic program; I may have a capstone project but I won't be writing/defending a thesis. I think that while certain aspects are the same (getting used to school, departmental relations, housing, TAships etc) there's a lot of difference between a professional program and an academic program where Masters/PhD is a matter of scale or where the Masters is used as a jumping off point for the PhD. I was hoping someone would have a book more geared for those who aren't preparing for an academic career.

[fanon_fanatic]

I would also recommend How to Write Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day for students going into a Ph.D or MA program that requires a lot of writing. I read that book for my MA thesis and got so much valuable advice for developing a writing practice that can not only get me through a big project, but help me complete conference papers, course papers, and just writing in general. It's a super easy read--I did it in under 3 days with a ton of other reading to do. The suggestions are really practical and encouraging and manageable.

[Skip]

My point is that I'm in a "professional" Masters program, not a theoretical/academic program; I may have a capstone project but I won't be writing/defending a thesis. I think that while certain aspects are the same (getting used to school, departmental relations, housing, TAships etc) there's a lot of difference between a professional program and an academic program where Masters/PhD is a matter of scale or where the Masters is used as a jumping off point for the PhD. I was hoping someone would have a book more geared for those who aren't preparing for an academic career.

+1

[QxV]

I highly recommend "A PhD Is Not Enough"

http://www.amazon.com/PhD-Is-Not-Enough-Survival/dp/0465022227/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345102905&sr=8-1&keywords=a+phd+is+not+enough

[lonelymonk]

'A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development- Steven Krantz'

Though the book is intended mainly for mathematics graduate students, there are some pertinent points that are applicable equally to students from other disciplines.

The part where he advises about GRE should be skipped though.