Research work load during grad school ?

[Jbenrod]

I have been hearing that some grad students put in some very long hours doing their research. 

 

I suspect this is part of the culture where everyone is led to think it is required in order to be successful, much like top students going into consulting or law.   In these two areas students sort of kid themselves that getting to purchase and wear the nice dress cloths and working long hours makes them special when it is more like they are young and naive, and it takes a couple of years for them to figure it out. 

 

Can some of you with more experience in the engineering PhD programs comment on how you spend your time during the week.  I know there will be crunch times but if one is "expected" to be working much beyond the traditional work day, everyday, then it may be more of a sign of immaturity combined with being taken advantage of by some PI's.  

 

I guess a first year student would be a lot different than a third or fourth year as well.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Jbenrod

[Quantum Buckyball]

My typical work schedule, I only stay in the lab until really late during the weekends. I'm definitely taking the advantage of being single and with no kids status.

Some of my peers thought it was a bit extreme and that I have "no life". But remember, you're in graduate school to be productive and and not have a "life". Your productivity will dictates where you go after you're done with your PhD. In addiction, a lot of programs make their students to finish within 4-7 years because they officially kick you out or stop funding you.

You can always have a more "well-rounded" life style after you're done with school.

Monday 10 am - 9 pm

Tuesday 9 am - 8 pm

Wednesday 10 am - 9 pm

Thursday 9 am - 8 pm

Friday 10 am - 9 pm or 12 am

Saturday free day

Sunday 12 pm - 6 pm

or

Saturday 10 am - 12 am

Sunday free day

Edited March 9, 2013 by Quantum Buckyball

[evolution786]

Are those hours including class time? Or do you only conduct research?

[HappyEngineer]

That sounds like some hard work.

[Quantum Buckyball]

Are those hours including class time? Or do you only conduct research?

Yes, the classes time are 8-9 am and 11-12 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be done with my coursework by the end of this semester.

Edited March 10, 2013 by Quantum Buckyball

[DStory247]

Jbenrod,

 

I'm a prospective Chem E student, and this is a major concern of mine as well. I've talked about my concern with several different PIs and current grad students at the two programs I'm considering, and most of them will say that the requirements (self-imposed) are not much more, if any, than a traditional work week. One PI even told me he likes his students to not come in on the weekends if they don't have to, because he wants them to have a life and be able to take a breath during the week. He believes his students can be more creative and fresh if they have time for themselves. Most students stressed that it comes down to you; you can get a week's worth of work done in 40 hours by staying focused and driven while in the lab, or it can take you 60 hours while you lack focus and let things distract you.

 

Maybe you and I will need to visit this topic again after a semester-

[Quantum Buckyball]

Jbenrod,

 

I'm a prospective Chem E student, and this is a major concern of mine as well. I've talked about my concern with several different PIs and current grad students at the two programs I'm considering, and most of them will say that the requirements (self-imposed) are not much more, if any, than a traditional work week. One PI even told me he likes his students to not come in on the weekends if they don't have to, because he wants them to have a life and be able to take a breath during the week. He believes his students can be more creative and fresh if they have time for themselves. Most students stressed that it comes down to you; you can get a week's worth of work done in 40 hours by staying focused and driven while in the lab, or it can take you 60 hours while you lack focus and let things distract you.

 

Maybe you and I will need to visit this topic again after a semester-

You have a valid point. It's all depends on what you want to do after graduation.

If you intend to go into industry then 40 hrs/week is enough for you to get there. However, if you intend to do a postdoc at a top place, then 40 hrs/week might be too low.

[DStory247]

Quantum, that's a noteworthy distinction, and I'm glad you brought it up-

 

My ultimate goal is to stay in academia, and I've begun to learn that postdoc-ing is nearly necessary to do so. As such, do you think that universities and research laboratories will be able to make a distinction between Student A who produces X volume of work in 40 hrs/wk, and Student B who produces X volume of work in 60 hrs/wk?

 

My point is, I think this topic is better discussed in terms of quality and quantity of work, not hours worked. Once we get to school, Jbenrod, I think our PIs will be the largest external influence on how much time we spend in the lab, second only to our own work ethic and style.

[Deadmeat]

You should really talk to the adviser you want to work with, they can vary widely in what they expect. 

 

A couple people at the school I'll be starting at in the fall flat out said "I expect you to be here 9-7 monday through saturday, and I expect you to only do your homework at home" others were more of the mindset "get your work done, put in a normal 40 hour work week and you are fine". The former was a little intimadating since I'm not what I'd call 'gifted' it takes me many hours to really read over class notes and do homework. I'm an efficient worker but I'm precise and slow, so expecting 50+ hours of research a week doesn't leave much for homework in there labs.  So I think expectations of adviser is a key role, you can always work more than expected of course. I'm fully expecting the 1st year or 2 of my Ph.D. to require more effort than I'm used to due to qualifying exams. 

 

I'm only finishing my Master's degree right now, but I usually come in around 10am Monday-Friday, and leave somewhere between 7 or 8pm. Then I use Saturday as a bonus day, coming in for 3-5 hours in the middle of the day. That way I can still go out Friday night and sleep in Saturday but still get little work done. Then I have have all Saturday night and all day Sunday for a good work-life balance. I'm also home early enough each weeknight to still enjoy my free time and exercise. All told it's 50+ hours a week but never seems like that much. I felt like I was working 100 hours a week only have an 8-5 job because I hated it so much!

 

In terms of coursework I usually budget about 1 'day' of work to each 3 credit graduate class I have. That's ~3 hours of lecture time, and about ~6-8 hours of homework per week, per class. 

Edited March 11, 2013 by Deadmeat

[Eigen]

I would say the usual expectation is a bit more than the normal work week. If you want to stay competitive, probably more on the order of 50-60 hours rather than the usual 40. Some people prefer to work longer day, some people prefer to work on weekends. 

 

Also, when you're applying for post-docs, your work may not show how many hours you worked a week... But your letters of rec probably will. 

 

It's not an either/or thing: it's not work more hours and slack some, or work fewer hours and be focussed. If you want to be competitive for top postdocs, you need to work more hours *and* be focussed. Either working too few hours or not being focussed about your work will drop your productivity, and your future chances. 

 

And as addressed, there are definitely crunch times where you'll be working a bunch of 15-16 hour days in a row. 

 

The expectation in our program was that you should be able to, after your first semester, balance your class requirements such that they weren't significantly eroding your work day. Even in the first semester, the general expectation was that you'd do homework and study when you went home at night, for the most part, and spend your days between the lectures and your lab. 

 

Also remember, if you're going into academia, that the expectation for hours that post-docs is higher than that of grad students, usually, and faculty are often putting in significantly more than 40 hours per week (although probably not the insane 70-80 hour weeks post-docs frequently do).