Is It Possible To Enjoy Graduate School

[Threeboysmom]

Okay, this may be an odd question, but I would like to know. How many of you are enjoying your graduate school experience? Obviously, there is a ton of work! But are you enjoying the work? Do you feel like your training is worth it?

[Edge]

This really depends on your mindset and personality.  Breaking it down you can compartmentalize into three aspects, class, research and life outside of school.

 

Class:  It's class, you have to do your 32-64 credit hours.  Some classes you'll love, some you'll hate, some you'll tolerate.  You'll be stuck in a few group projects which everyone seems to hate.  In my opinion, try not to focus too much on the classes, by all means do the assignments and attend the lectures, I tend to pay more attention to the professors.  Specifically, their teaching styles, how they act, how they command respect/attention, how they lose the attention of the students, etc.  Even if your end goal is not being a professor it doesn't hurt to learn public speaking styles. Is it "enjoyable"?  Sometimes.

 

Research:  Much more important than classes.  After your class hours are completed, this is all you do in school.  This is how you'll spend your time, obtaining research, organizing thoughts and eventually preparing your thesis or research paper.  This is the culmination of your graduate education, a massive 150+ page paper with your name on it that other people in your industry can/will read.  This is your impact in your field so you should focus more on this than on classwork.  Is it "enjoyable"?  That depends on if you like your research topic, if you think you'll be making a difference, if you find your work fulfilling, etc.

 

Life outside of school:  It is what you make of it.  Join some clubs, meet people, make friends.  Is it "enjoyable"?  If you're doing it right, yes.

[Threeboysmom]

This really depends on your mindset and personality.  Breaking it down you can compartmentalize into three aspects, class, research and life outside of school.

 

Class:  It's class, you have to do your 32-64 credit hours.  Some classes you'll love, some you'll hate, some you'll tolerate.  You'll be stuck in a few group projects which everyone seems to hate.  In my opinion, try not to focus too much on the classes, by all means do the assignments and attend the lectures, I tend to pay more attention to the professors.  Specifically, their teaching styles, how they act, how they command respect/attention, how they lose the attention of the students, etc.  Even if your end goal is not being a professor it doesn't hurt to learn public speaking styles. Is it "enjoyable"?  Sometimes.

 

Research:  Much more important than classes.  After your class hours are completed, this is all you do in school.  This is how you'll spend your time, obtaining research, organizing thoughts and eventually preparing your thesis or research paper.  This is the culmination of your graduate education, a massive 150+ page paper with your name on it that other people in your industry can/will read.  This is your impact in your field so you should focus more on this than on classwork.  Is it "enjoyable"?  That depends on if you like your research topic, if you think you'll be making a difference, if you find your work fulfilling, etc.

 

Life outside of school:  It is what you make of it.  Join some clubs, meet people, make friends.  Is it "enjoyable"?  If you're doing it right, yes.

Great perspective, thanks.

[bsharpe269]

Well, I know that I started a thread about being stalked by another lab member today so that would not send the signal that I love grad school but actually, aside from the stalker, it is really great! I enjoy research more than anything else but my classes are great too since I am studying someone slightly different than undergrad so I feel like I am learning a lot. Also, I am surrounded by people with similar interests, motivation, and intelligence which is a lot of fun! In the normal world, people have no desire to sit around and talk about science all day but in my little academic world, everyone does!

[wildviolet]

Yes! I'm enjoying the work--it's intellectually stimulating, which is what I was missing in my old line of work. I even enjoy the deadlines, as they force me to write (a task that I find enjoyable in the editing stage but not in the beginning stages when I'm staring at a blank screen). You have to juggle many priorities--work, family, your own research, fun--but, at least in my experience in the social sciences (where data collection in the field is less time consuming than data analysis at home, in the office or a coffee shop), I have had more flexible time to spend with my kids. They've even said that they get to see me more as a grad student than they did when I was a teacher.

[GeoDUDE!]

Yes

[Guest |||]

It is possible

 

but mind you it also possible to enjoy things that most of us consider horrendous

[juilletmercredi]

Yes, but you have to be purposeful and do certain things.  I enjoyed 4 out of the 6 years of my PhD program.

 

I didn't really enjoy all of my coursework.  I came to a PhD program straight from undergrad and honestly, I was tired of taking classes.  I just wanted to do research, and I was really eager to be an independent researcher.  I feel like I learned a lot in most of my classes, and they were necessary, but there are only a few I can remember genuinely enjoying.

 

I actually enjoyed studying for my written qualifying exams.  In my program they focused on research methodology and that's one of my specialty areas, so I appreciated having 3 months to just read books and articles about statistics and methods and think deeply about issues in that area.  I think it solidified for me how important it was that I incorporate innovative, cutting-edge methods into my work and that I wanted to focus on that for a postdoc (which is what I am doing).  My orals...eh.  Again, necessary, and I didn't hate them.  Honestly, I didn't dig into them as much as I should've, even though I did very well.

 

I actually also really enjoyed writing my dissertation.  One thing that helped is I had a dissertation fellowship, so I only had to work 10 hours a week to supplement my income and so I spent nearly all of my time focused on writing.  I finished in 9 months (12 months if you count the proposal preparation process) so it wasn't a protracted amount of time.  But if the reason you come to graduate school is because you love research/scholarship, having a year or two to just really immerse yourself in a topic you're interested in and explore angles of a question - with the guidance of leaders in your field - that's like a scientist's wet dream, right?  I got to read all these interesting books and articles, and sit down and just really formulate opinions about my field.  I generated a career's worth of research questions, and I taught myself a challenging new statistical method (which I was complimented about several times in my defense yesterday).  Really, I taught myself how to learn, which I think is the most valuable thing you bring from a PhD program.

 

And I had a couple of side projects, which I also enjoyed.  I really like analyzing and writing, and that's why I came here.  So I could take or leave the coursework, but I enjoyed writing papers with my colleagues.

 

As for social life, you only have as much of this as you plan for.  I was miserable in the middle 2 years of my program because I didn't manage my time well (I didn't in the first 2 years, either, but it was less noticeable because less was expected of me then).  In years 5 and 6 I learned how to better structure my time and that's why I enjoyed the dissertation phase so much - I gave myself more time to enjoy and do things; I made sure to prioritize hanging out with friends and spending time with my husband; I also made time for me (running, working out, getting massages every now and then, reading books for pleasure, etc.)  I probably read more pleasure books in the last 6 months than I did in the entire middle two years of my PhD program, lol.

 

Was it worth it?  I think it was...of course, my success in my postdoc and the job market will make that clearer in the next 2-3 years, but at the moment I do think it was worth it, sort of.  I wish I had had fewer mental health issues in the middle; I could say "it was worth it" with more confidence if that were the case.

[Nerd_For_Life]

Yes, even when I'm completely overwhelmed and stressed out about school I love what I'm doing and I'm doing what I love. As for whether or not it is 'worth it', I guess I'll wait and see? Even if I don't find work in my field though, I'm fairly confident that I'll still be able to reflect back happily on the years I've been able to spend doing my own research (but hey, I'm only halfway through so who knows?).

[St Andrews Lynx]

I do enjoy grad school. 

 

The work challenges me...which is something I find invigorating. I get on well with my labmates/cohort/fellow grad students in the building. I enjoy the part of TAing where I get to interact with the students in the lab session (grading is less enjoyable...but I guess that isn't a surprise). 

 

But grad school is also a stressful, time-consuming, frustrating thing. For me it is a lot of positive & negative things all at once, with mundane stuff thrown in the middle.

 

If you're overwhelmingly NOT enjoying grad school - any part of it - then it's probably a case of a bad match between you and the school. 

[Quantum Buckyball]

its ah-mazing. as long as you know how to ignore and distance yourself from bxtches and moochers. 

[ProfMoriarty]

I haven't started my program, and I'm not going in for a PhD (Master's), but I suppose it's worthile to post here, in case I have a skewed vision of what grad school should be like and I'd appreciate it if someone with the experience corrects me if I'm wrong!

 

Obviously there will be awesome classes and not-so-awesome ones. As for your research, as long as you love what you're doing, it's pretty much a given that you'll enjoy it.

 

But I also think it's important to balance work and play, and I think this is a key component to making grad school (and life, in general) enjoyable. Naturally you'll be dedicating most of your time to your research, but joining clubs, having hobbies and finding time to enjoy something other than school is impotant to keep sane. I was VERY dedidated throughout my undergrad (and I know it's different from grad school, but I think the experience can be translated into gs), and more often than not I would keep from hanging out with people, going out, or distancing myself from my studies because I was so set on doing everything, and doing it perfectly. I was clearly fooling myself because, in the end, I would end up procrastinating and not being able to focus very well because I clearly needed some "off" time every now and then - it was silly to try and force myself to dedicate all of my time to reading and writing. By the time I was half-way through my major I was at the top of my class, sure, but had very little friends, because while everyone else managed to balance school work with down time, I was all about working hard. This takes a toll on your spirit and your work.

 

I'm not saying you should slack off, nor am I saying that your research shouldn't be your #1 priority... but I think part of making the university (ug and postgrad alike) experience enjoyable is to find a balance and acknowledge that writing, publishing and researching isn't all there is to it. In some other thread someone posted about their plans to dedicate 100% of their life to grad school and, honestly, that stuff isn't healthy. Even if you enjoy your research, you're going to become overwhelmed at some point of another (as others have mentioned in this thread), which is why you need to have spaces that allow you to distance yourself from the "serious" stuff from time to time.

Edited August 5, 2014 by espeletia

[RunnerGrad]

The current graduate students I've spoken to, both in my program, and the ones I've helped with research over the past three years, have all said that they greatly enjoyed graduate studies and they think I will too!  My undergraduate thesis supervisor is strongly encouraging me to return to my undergraduate university to complete a PhD after I finish my master's.

 

Things are typically a little different here in Canada than in the U.S.  It is extremely rare to go straight from undergrad to PhD - most PhD programs require students to have a master's degree in order to be eligible for admission to a PhD program (although yes, I know there are some at UofT and York that take strong students straight from undergrad - but those are the exception, not the rule).  So a lot of students do a master's degree and stop there.  I think starting with a 2 (or sometimes 3) year program makes things a little more "accessible" and a little less intimidating than starting right off with a PhD program.  Those who continue on to a PhD after their master's will typically spend about 4 years in the PhD program.

 

I think that committing to two years for graduate school (a master's degree) as a start helps to make the process more enjoyable.  Although I hope to continue on and obtain a PhD after my master's, it's nice to know that I can work for a few years after my master's once I have my RD, save up some money, pay off our car, and then go back to do a PhD.  I don't have to commit to 6 or 7 years all at once.  The master's also gives me time to narrow down my research interests.  I have a general idea of what I'd like to research, but a master's will help me to refine those ideas.

 

All of the master's students I know have busy lives outside of school and research.  They are involved in athletics, hobbies, have busy personal lives (spending time with fiances/spouses), volunteering, etc.  Everyone tells me it's important to continue to participate in activities, hobbies, athletics, etc. outside of grad school, and that it's typically the students who spend their entire lives in the lab or at school who are the most unhappy.

[wildviolet]

its ah-mazing. as long as you know how to ignore and distance yourself from bxtches and moochers. 

 

While some people say that graduate school tends to attract a certain type of person, I'm also inclined to say that there is variety within the grad student population... what I mean is, when I came to grad school, I felt like I had found "my people." But, as Quantum Buckyball so eloquently put it, there are bxtches and moochers.

 

There are a lot of first-born go-getters in grad school, um, including myself, (at least in my program, we did an informal survey and found that the majority of my cohort were overwhelmingly first-born children). There are plenty of moochers--for example, people who don't really help with the work but still get their name on conference proposals and publications. There are bxtches--people who turn on you for no apparent reason. I spent my first year being friendly and helpful. I spent my second year separating real friends from potential enemies (yes, a strong word but grad school can be competitive for fellowships and things like that and you never know who's going to be your "friend" and then sudden enemy).

 

Of the 100+ people in my program, I think I can safely count on one hand the number of people I would trust with my life. And that's fine by me, 'cause that's all I need. As one of my recently graduated friends said, "the first year is all rainbows and unicorns" and then after that you start to find out who people really are. That's life--no big deal--it's just that now I feel so stupid and naive about being so optimistic. I was just talking to a friend who has a sh*t advisor who doesn't really seem to care about her and makes assumptions about her life and how it will affect her work. I'm lucky to have an advisor who's awesome (even though I sometimes have to double or triple check his advice with others because every advisor is a little different about what they believe the grad student experience should be). Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a rant... I really do enjoy grad school!

[fuzzylogician]

Did I enjoy it? Yes. 

 

I mean, it's hard work but I've found it very rewarding. I enjoyed a good portion of my coursework and even the ones that were outside my main interests taught me new things and were valuable. I've hard several projects over the years and many collaborations that have taught me a lot and have become my friends. I had sort of a slump in the middle, around the end of third year, before I figured out what I wanted to do for my dissertation research, but I was in a place where that was expected and I had the time to do it, so I allowed myself to be lost and ask for lots of advice from lots of people. Can't say I enjoyed not knowing what I'm doing, but it was a valuable experience. It probably took me a whole semester, into my fourth year, to be back up to speed. I enjoyed my dissertation research itself and also writing it up and talking to people about it. I definitely did not enjoy going on the job market at the same time, because going on job interviews at the same time as trying to write can be very distracting. Overall though, it was a positive experience.

 

Whether it was worth it? Ask me again in 2-3 years, when hopefully I'll have successfully concluded my postdoc and found my first tt job.