BOOKS on Grad School Advice

[Guest NotReadyToHangMyself:)]

Not sure if I'm posting this in the right forum. Mods, feel free to move this to a better place if I am mistaken posting this in General.

Okay, let's get a discussion going on grad school books. The only one I've looked at was "Getting What You Came For" by Robert L. Peters. It takes a very grim view of graduate school.

In a nutshell, the message the book puts out is "Don't get a PhD if you want to be rich. If you want to be rich, get an MBA and work in the business world. Work in academia because that's what you truly want to do, and you love your field. The odds of success in getting a PhD after being accepted are low (less than 50%), so be sure that's what you want to do".

It is a MUST BUY for any grad student. Trust me.

Any others out there?

[Guest Ida]

I suggest some better (and free) things to read:

1. http://www.phds.org/ -Science, Math, and Engineering Career Resources. Lots of how too articles on applying,succeeding in grad schools, and also later career advice.

2. http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/ -The Chronicle of Higher Education. Mostly a site for professors, but there's a lot of good advice for students if you look for it. At least you learn about what you signed up for.

[alphaflight]

Does anyone have any advice for someone jsut starting graduate school. I am entering an MS program.

[Leahlearns]

I'd like to find a book on getting to most of out grad school. I'll be in an MA program, but I will probably apply to a Ph.D programs later. In any case, I'm looking for a book written by someone who knows the game who could tell me things they wish they had known when they started out (in terms of planning, choosing classes, choosing an adviser, doing research, landing internships, the whole nine yards...). Any suggestions?

[abluedude]

Cindy Moore and Hildy Miller wrote A Guide to Professional Development for Graduate Studies in English. It's got good advice for an MA student in English (or humanities) looking to develop a decent CV while in the MA program.

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Development-Graduate-Students-English/dp/0814119239/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1237515079&sr=8-1

[liszt85]

I think if you're entering an MS program, you will build a profile good enough for grad schools to accept you if you are passionate about the subject and research.

As for students already accepted to grad school, we either have it or we don't. I suggested reading about subjects and sub fields that are interesting to us rather than wasting time on such books. Just how I see things.

[rising_star]

I'd like to find a book on getting to most of out grad school. I'll be in an MA program, but I will probably apply to a Ph.D programs later. In any case, I'm looking for a book written by someone who knows the game who could tell me things they wish they had known when they started out (in terms of planning, choosing classes, choosing an adviser, doing research, landing internships, the whole nine yards...). Any suggestions?

You don't need a book. You need to talk to professors in your MA program (and even more so if that department has a PhD program) because they will be in the best position to tell you what you need to do. As far as choosing an advisor, you want someone that you can work with, that will support your work, and that won't force you to just do what they want you to do. When you sit down with prospective advisors, remember that you're interviewing them just as they are interviewing you. Take classes that further your interests and goals.

[abluedude]

You need to talk to professors in your MA program (and even more so if that department has a PhD program) because they will be in the best position to tell you what you need to do.

I agree with Rising Star to a point. At my MA university, only 1 professor had good advice about what to do and how to do it. The others (Others?) were too old and out of touch to know much about the current trends and expectations. Be wary of old folks telling you what to do -- they're not in the loop.

[Leahlearns]

Thanks everyone. As an undergrad, even though I was at a small school, I didn't feel as though the advising was all that great. (I switched advisers midway through because I wasn't satisfied and still wasn't particularly impressed.) I was responsible enough to figure out what I needed to do to meet graduation requirements, etc. on my own. However, there are some things that given that I was considering grad school from fairly early on I wish my adviser had urged me to do. They weren't requirements, but they would have improved my chances quite a bit in this whole process. I ended up doing okay on my own, I guess. Still, I feel like my situation going into this process could have been better than it was and I am trying to avoid feeling the same way if and when I apply to Ph.D programs. As an undergrad, at least early on, I don't know that I knew what questions to ask. It does seem like advising should be better in a MA program and this time around I do feel like I have some idea of the questions I should be asking. Still, if there's a good book out there I would read it. I don't want to waste my time. I appreciate that advice. But I feel like we're talking about the kind of book I could skim within an hour. Then I could go into a meeting with my adviser and say, "I heard it's wisest if I want to be able to [whatever] to [whatever] does that sound right to you?" thereby making my questions as specific as possible.

I will look into what people have recommended here. What I have seen reviewed on amazon thus far doesn't look like what I'm looking for.

[jasper.milvain]

In my program, there's one professor who is THE person to ask about professionalization/job market/PhD questions. She landed an insane post-doc and actually turned down three tenure track positions before she found her dream job (she fully acknowledges how crazy this was). She's also an academic guide book geek, and looking to write her own. She's absolutely incredible and was an invaluable resource during my applications.

Her favorite book is _Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities_ by Gregory Semenza. I found it really helpful, especially when the author writes about which CV building activities are worth putting your energy into. Things like looking for departmental or senate rep positions instead of student union roles may seem obvious, but his strongly written rationale for being careful about how much you invest in committee work really woke me up when I was getting bogged down in it. The book also gave me the push I needed to say no to a local grad conference and go for a 'grown up' conference instead. I'm presenting in June! Overall, I feel like I'm using my time and energy much more productively since reading this book.

amazon.com/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/1403969361/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237825903&sr=8-1

[Leahlearns]

In my program, there's one professor who is THE person to ask about professionalization/job market/PhD questions. She landed an insane post-doc and actually turned down three tenure track positions before she found her dream job (she fully acknowledges how crazy this was). She's also an academic guide book geek, and looking to write her own. She's absolutely incredible and was an invaluable resource during my applications.

Her favorite book is _Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities_ by Gregory Semenza. I found it really helpful, especially when the author writes about which CV building activities are worth putting your energy into. Things like looking for departmental or senate rep positions instead of student union roles may seem obvious, but his strongly written rationale for being careful about how much you invest in committee work really woke me up when I was getting bogged down in it. The book also gave me the push I needed to say no to a local grad conference and go for a 'grown up' conference instead. I'm presenting in June! Overall, I feel like I'm using my time and energy much more productively since reading this book.

amazon.com/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/1403969361/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237825903&sr=8-1

Coolness. Thank you.

[bethanygm]

In my program, there's one professor who is THE person to ask about professionalization/job market/PhD questions. She landed an insane post-doc and actually turned down three tenure track positions before she found her dream job (she fully acknowledges how crazy this was). She's also an academic guide book geek, and looking to write her own. She's absolutely incredible and was an invaluable resource during my applications.

Her favorite book is _Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities_ by Gregory Semenza. I found it really helpful, especially when the author writes about which CV building activities are worth putting your energy into. Things like looking for departmental or senate rep positions instead of student union roles may seem obvious, but his strongly written rationale for being careful about how much you invest in committee work really woke me up when I was getting bogged down in it. The book also gave me the push I needed to say no to a local grad conference and go for a 'grown up' conference instead. I'm presenting in June! Overall, I feel like I'm using my time and energy much more productively since reading this book.

amazon.com/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/1403969361/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237825903&sr=8-1

I just ordered that book from Amazon. It hasn't arrived yet.

I am all about "How To" books and seeking the advice of as many people as possible. I never would have made it as far as I did in music without all the knowledge I gained by finding and reading all the information I could. I really think that is what set me apart from all the other dreamers out there. Of course you need to learn as much as you can about the subject you are studying. But I think it's well worth your time to seek advice on things. Once you have enough of it, you can more easily discern what advice you would like to (and should) take, and ignore the rest.

[ntrigue]

I would definitely second the recommendation for the Semenza book for those in the humanities. A number of people in my program have read it and it's come highly recommended by profs in the dept. as well. Furthermore, I think it's good for people at any stage of their grad school careers.

[Hopelessly_Neurotic]

In my program, there's one professor who is THE person to ask about professionalization/job market/PhD questions. She landed an insane post-doc and actually turned down three tenure track positions before she found her dream job (she fully acknowledges how crazy this was). She's also an academic guide book geek, and looking to write her own. She's absolutely incredible and was an invaluable resource during my applications.

Her favorite book is _Graduate Study for the Twenty-First Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities_ by Gregory Semenza. I found it really helpful, especially when the author writes about which CV building activities are worth putting your energy into. Things like looking for departmental or senate rep positions instead of student union roles may seem obvious, but his strongly written rationale for being careful about how much you invest in committee work really woke me up when I was getting bogged down in it. The book also gave me the push I needed to say no to a local grad conference and go for a 'grown up' conference instead. I'm presenting in June! Overall, I feel like I'm using my time and energy much more productively since reading this book.

amazon.com/Graduate-Study-Twenty-First-Century-Humanities/dp/1403969361/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237825903&sr=8-1

I wonder if this book would be suitable for someone entering a Psych PhD program? Do you think some of the advice is applicable to other fields? I think the one about going to "grown up" conferences instead of local grad ones applies to my field (although I'm not sure that there are grad conferences in Psych?). Also, I've never really thought much about signing up for committee work....is this an important part of one's CV?

[jasper.milvain]

Hmmm... I'm not sure if it would be good for psych students. I don't know enough about psych. Certain things like time management seem pretty applicable, but I don't know if the advice about where and what to publish would hold (Are there more or fewer psych journals than lit journals? Do psych articles have multiple authors? etc etc). Even research papers must look pretty different. The blunt, wake up and get working tone would probably help psych students as much as anyone, though.

I think committee work is the last thing to worry about after research and teaching. I'm a bit of a committee junkie, and this book helped me realize that I needed to back off and focus on my own work. I kept the position I'm really interested in (chairing our TA union) and took on a really REALLY low effort position as the graduate representative on our social events committee. I just help out a bit at the events I would go to anyway, and being on the committee means I not only get to attend department meetings, but I also get to vote! Since my career goal is to end up at an undergraduate teaching institution, I want to make sure that I have a record of community involvement. I hope that it will make me look like someone who really wants to contribute, instead of someone who is settling after getting shut out of prestigious jobs.