What aspect of graduate student life surprised you the most?

[inkgraduate]

Hi everyone! I'm a new admit for fall 2015, and since I've been spending a lot of time trying to imagine what life will be like as a graduate student, I'm curious to hear from current grad students. What has surprised you most about graduate student academics/life?

[fuzzylogician]

That it ends too quickly.

How much decisions you make (often inadvertently) early on affect who you become by the time you go on the job market.

How many opportunities you are not aware of. 

[beccamayworth]

That it ends too quickly.

How much decisions you make (often inadvertently) early on affect who you become by the time you go on the job market.

How many opportunities you are not aware of. 

 Hi fuzzy, I got super interested in your answer. Could you expand a little, particularly on how early decisions affect who you become later on? What kinds of decisions? (First-year student here, trying to absorb as much knowledge about this process as possible )

 

Hi OP! What surprised me the most was the stress/anxiety that came along with my first semester in a PhD program. I had already done an MA, and I'm slightly older than the average student, so I thought I was 'prepared'... well, now I am actively trying to find more balance in my life (eat healthier, exercise) to make this whole experience more enjoyable.

[wildviolet]

I am surprised by my inability to manage my time. I'm halfway through my program. You would have thought I'd have figured it out by now.

[GeoDUDE!]

During my masters, I was shocked at how easy it was to live off 13k a year, and actually save money.  How much stuff my parents and people who make a ton of money have is somewhat gratuitous, though I imagine once my 7 year grad school stint is over  ill have that kinda stuff. 

[wildviolet]

During my masters, I was shocked at how easy it was to live off 13k a year, and actually save money.  How much stuff my parents and people who make a ton of money have is somewhat gratuitous, though I imagine once my 7 year grad school stint is over  ill have that kinda stuff. 

 

Yes, I agree! I can still shop at Nordstroms and Sephora (just not as much as I used to)!

[GeoDUDE!]

Yes, I agree! I can still shop at Nordstroms and Sephora (just not as much as I used to)!

 

Yeah! I don't have a car (I bike everywhere) so all the money spent towards a car is savings, or nice clohtes... or new pots and pans (oh god, I'm trying my best to resist). 

[wildviolet]

Yeah! I don't have a car (I bike everywhere) so all the money spent towards a car is savings, or nice clohtes... or new pots and pans (oh god, I'm trying my best to resist). 

 

When I came to grad school, I bought three pots (one small, one medium, and one large enameled cast iron) and two pans, and they have lasted me for the last two and a half years. What I'm trying to resist is buying more baking pans.

[fuzzylogician]

 Hi fuzzy, I got super interested in your answer. Could you expand a little, particularly on how early decisions affect who you become later on? What kinds of decisions? (First-year student here, trying to absorb as much knowledge about this process as possible )

 

Well unfortunately these are not often things you do consciously or that you can actually influence. But, for example, the paper topics you have in your first year and second year seminars will probably determine to some significant extent what your qualifying papers and ultimately dissertation will be about. The people you choose to talk to will inform the theories you will think about. Some of this will be determined by the topics the particular instructors you had in your intro courses chose to cover in the particular year you took the class (and topics and instructors change from year to year) and who was accessible and available to advise you on these projects when you were just starting out. Not to mention the school you chose over other acceptances you didn't take when choosing grad schools. The luck of the draw will determine that some abstract will get into a conference and another might not, and you might pursue the one that was accepted at the expense of the one that wasn't. You might study language X for your field methods class, but if you'd done it the year before/after you'd have studied language Y, and the project that would come out of it would be very different. A lot of projects come out of work in these field methods classes, sometimes leading to whole dissertations and research programs. Same for experimental methodologies - you need to decide very early that you want to be trained in that, and have the luck of having the right courses offered at the right time, and the right advisor being around and available (for example, not on sabbatical or busy with a sick family member), and even the right research question that is amenable to being asked experimentally using the tools you have available. 

 

In the 1-2-3 year most people are not in a position to articulate their research program -- which is ok and makes sense, because to a large extent that is determined by your research experiences. But by the time you get to 4-5 year and go on the job market, there is not too much you can do to "invent" parts of your profile that don't exist but you wish were there. Not too many advisors will actually have a conversation with you once in a while about how your profile as a scientist is developing (and a lot of people may not want that or may be too intimidated) but as it turns out, my profile now as a 1st year postdoc is determined almost exclusively by what I've done in grad school, which in turn was determined to a very large extent by accidents of topics and instructors that happened in my first year. That determines to a large degree the broader research questions I can formulate that encompass (most of) my previous work and the work I want to do in the future (or at least, the work I tell hiring committees on job interviews that I want to do). 

 

This all said, I am of the firm belief that although my research might have been very different had I gone to a different school or had a different independent study advisor in my first year, or if I had not stumbled onto experimental work, etc., it would have been just as good. My character is my character and my abilities are my abilities, so my productivity would have been similar, just that the actual papers and topics (and methodologies, languages of interest, etc) would be different. I think it would have been good either way, just.. different in ways I can't imagine, which is what I mean when I say that early choice points lead to very different possible outcomes.

[beccamayworth]

Well unfortunately these are not often things you do consciously or that you can actually influence. But, for example, the paper topics you have in your first year and second year seminars will probably determine to some significant extent what your qualifying papers and ultimately dissertation will be about. The people you choose to talk to will inform the theories you will think about. Some of this will be determined by the topics the particular instructors you had in your intro courses chose to cover in the particular year you took the class (and topics and instructors change from year to year) and who was accessible and available to advise you on these projects when you were just starting out. Not to mention the school you chose over other acceptances you didn't take when choosing grad schools. The luck of the draw will determine that some abstract will get into a conference and another might not, and you might pursue the one that was accepted at the expense of the one that wasn't. You might study language X for your field methods class, but if you'd done it the year before/after you'd have studied language Y, and the project that would come out of it would be very different. A lot of projects come out of work in these field methods classes, sometimes leading to whole dissertations and research programs. Same for experimental methodologies - you need to decide very early that you want to be trained in that, and have the luck of having the right courses offered at the right time, and the right advisor being around and available (for example, not on sabbatical or busy with a sick family member), and even the right research question that is amenable to being asked experimentally using the tools you have available. 

 

In the 1-2-3 year most people are not in a position to articulate their research program -- which is ok and makes sense, because to a large extent that is determined by your research experiences. But by the time you get to 4-5 year and go on the job market, there is not too much you can do to "invent" parts of your profile that don't exist but you wish were there. Not too many advisors will actually have a conversation with you once in a while about how your profile as a scientist is developing (and a lot of people may not want that or may be too intimidated) but as it turns out, my profile now as a 1st year postdoc is determined almost exclusively by what I've done in grad school, which in turn was determined to a very large extent by accidents of topics and instructors that happened in my first year. That determines to a large degree the broader research questions I can formulate that encompass (most of) my previous work and the work I want to do in the future (or at least, the work I tell hiring committees on job interviews that I want to do). 

 

This all said, I am of the firm belief that although my research might have been very different had I gone to a different school or had a different independent study advisor in my first year, or if I had not stumbled onto experimental work, etc., it would have been just as good. My character is my character and my abilities are my abilities, so my productivity would have been similar, just that the actual papers and topics (and methodologies, languages of interest, etc) would be different. I think it would have been good either way, just.. different in ways I can't imagine, which is what I mean when I say that early choice points lead to very different possible outcomes.

 

Thanks so much!! A lot of food for thought. 

[shadowclaw]

I am also surprised by the opportunities I wasn't aware of, not just in grad school but those that were available as an undergraduate. For example, there were many paid summer internship and field jobs related to my field that I could have applied for which would have made me an amazing ecology applicant had I done them. In terms of grad school, I honestly had no idea that fully funded masters programs existed when applying, nor did I know that there were job boards advertising these positions. I also never heard of the NSF GRFP prior to this past summer. Don't ask me how.

I was also surprised at how much time I ended up spending sitting. I spend so much time on the computer or a tablet reading and writing.

During my candidacy exam (and the time spent studying for it), I was surprised by how much I really remembered from my intro courses. At the same time, when preparing for my TA position, I was surprised at how many little things have slipped my mind.

[Pitangus]

I am also surprised by the opportunities I wasn't aware of, not just in grad school but those that were available as an undergraduate. For example, there were many paid summer internship and field jobs related to my field that I could have applied for which would have made me an amazing ecology applicant had I done them. In terms of grad school, I honestly had no idea that fully funded masters programs existed when applying, nor did I know that there were job boards advertising these positions. I also never heard of the NSF GRFP prior to this past summer. Don't ask me how.

 

I didn't understand how grad school worked until the start of my junior year, so up until that point I had little preparation for grad school applications besides a high GPA. Before college I had never met anyone with an advanced degree, so my image of grad school was high school teachers and business managers going to classes at night to get their masters so that they could be paid more. The summer before my junior year I joined a project that was part of my college's summer research experience program because it was paid and it seemed interesting. It was then I learned about grad school from my labmates (they were already planning to apply and would talk about picking research interests, finding POIs, funding, etc).  Before that I honestly had no idea that you could get a MS/PhD and be paid for it, or that classes were just a small part of graduate school.

 

At my college the vast majority of science majors were pre-med/dental/health, and the few that were interested in grad school were into genetics and molecular bio, so it took me awhile to figure out how to find opportunities in ecology. I took a year off after undergrad because it took me too long to get involved in research that was relevant to my interests. 

 

Fortunately one of my recommenders told me about the NSF GRFP in September the year I applied, and my advisor brought it up as well when I first contacted her. I probably wouldn't have found out about it in time on my own (I didn't find this website until December).

 

Honestly I'm still surprised sometimes that I'm getting paid to get a PhD. And that I'm getting paid to work on a project that's all my own. The autonomy was jarring at first: I used to feel uncomfortable with the amount of freedom my advisor gave me in developing my research plans. Some days I do wish someone would just give me a project and tell me what to do. But I'm more confident now, and surprisingly not stressed out most of the time. The whole stressed, starving grad student stereotype has not been my experience at all. 

[shadowclaw]

I didn't understand how grad school worked until the start of my junior year, so up until that point I had little preparation for grad school applications besides a high GPA. Before college I had never met anyone with an advanced degree, so my image of grad school was high school teachers and business managers going to classes at night to get their masters so that they could be paid more. The summer before my junior year I joined a project that was part of my college's summer research experience program because it was paid and it seemed interesting. It was then I learned about grad school from my labmates (they were already planning to apply and would talk about picking research interests, finding POIs, funding, etc).  Before that I honestly had no idea that you could get a MS/PhD and be paid for it, or that classes were just a small part of graduate school.

 

At my college the vast majority of science majors were pre-med/dental/health, and the few that were interested in grad school were into genetics and molecular bio, so it took me awhile to figure out how to find opportunities in ecology. I took a year off after undergrad because it took me too long to get involved in research that was relevant to my interests. 

I was also unaware that you could get paid to earn your PhD until I began looking at PhD programs during my last application cycle and read about stipends on the websites of different programs. I had no intention of applying to grad school until my junior year when I finally came up with some sort of plan of what I wanted to do with my life after taking an amazing field course. I definitely wasn't preparing myself for grad school at all. I did want to gain field experience, but I had no clue about where to find these opportunities. The only big field research experience I had besides my senior project was working for one of my professors on a project for a state agency. Lucky for me I even got that experience. I had impressed this particular professor on more than one occasion, so he had me in mind when he got the grant for the project.

[TMP]

Biggest one in general?  How quickly drama can explode among graduate students and within the department.

 

For me, the ability to work that's "right" for ME.  What worked for others might not work for me.  I spent like a year experimenting with my note-taking and reading for my exams and I'm just... barely nailing the technique (that's right for me) down and my exams are this summer! 

 

On the UPside, I got frequent flier status! 

[Kleene]

When I went to look for grad school abroad, I was shocked to learn that it was possible NOT to get paid for PhDs.

[inkgraduate]

Many thanks for the thoughtful responses. I am very excited about graduate school and am trying to be as prepared as possible. The advice of current graduate students is invaluable!

[maelia8]

I want to second fuzzy concerning opportunities one is not aware of. During my first semester, I would frequently only hear about important events going on campus or deadlines for participation applications or even just practical stuff like who to tell when the grad lab printer is malfunctioning at the very last minute and then quickly stumble through applying/attending/contacting the pertinent person. I cannot stress how important it is to read the emails you get from the grad secretary and immediately add important events/deadlines to your calendar and build up a rapport with students who run events or are more senior than you and more "in the know" about the department. Now when I have questions, I know who to ask, and if I want to be kept up to date, I know where to go. Now there are some students in my cohort who are starting to come to me when they have questions or want to know what's up, and it's a gratifying feeling. Never be afraid to approach older students in your program to hear their perspective or get some advice.

[i.am.me]

I CANNOT live on a graduate student stipend in my 30s...which seemed luxurious in my 20s. 

 

There are a lot of opportunities for free food that I've been missing out on quite a bit. 

[Cheshire_Cat]

I CANNOT live on a graduate student stipend in my 30s...which seemed luxurious in my 20s. 

 

There are a lot of opportunities for free food that I've been missing out on quite a bit. 

I know!  I'll be making less than 3 grand less than my first accounting job, which seemed fine to me at the time, but 20 grand less than I am making right now, so I don't know how I'll make it!

[Sigaba]

The extent to which so many professors are disinterested in teaching, mentoring, and training graduate students.

The extent to which professors will allow you to learn the hard way (e.g. by screwing up).

The extent to which professors who are in your corner will go to bat for you.

How easily it is to check out the maximum allowable number of books from the library.

The extent to which fellow graduate students are disinterested in teaching, mentoring, and training undergraduates.

[LittleDarlings]

Just how much time I am giving up.  I haven't seen my close friends in forever, and I just spend time studying and reading stuff and doing papers.  I suck at time management and I try to just balance going on dates, and writing papers and doing homework.  This semester has been really bad for me I haven't read anything lol I just kind of go with it. Other than that I wasn't surprised by much.  I think I went into grad school with a undergrad mentality, I thought it would be a ton of parties and mingling with people and having fun.... It's not.  People literally just want to do a bunch of work and be boring, everyone is married or in relationships... Basically grad school kind of sucks, don't do it if you don't absolutely have to! It sucks to watch all your friends do fun things with their lives like travel, go to Marti Gras, move to new states, have babies, get married, buy new cars, and just do FUN stuff and you are writing a paper about something that you will likely never use again.  I love grad school, I love what I am doing but I wish my life was more fun than it is. 

[juiceboxrampage]

Just how much time I am giving up. I haven't seen my close friends in forever, and I just spend time studying and reading stuff and doing papers. I suck at time management and I try to just balance going on dates, and writing papers and doing homework. This semester has been really bad for me I haven't read anything lol I just kind of go with it. Other than that I wasn't surprised by much. I think I went into grad school with a undergrad mentality, I thought it would be a ton of parties and mingling with people and having fun.... It's not. People literally just want to do a bunch of work and be boring, everyone is married or in relationships... Basically grad school kind of sucks, don't do it if you don't absolutely have to! It sucks to watch all your friends do fun things with their lives like travel, go to Marti Gras, move to new states, have babies, get married, buy new cars, and just do FUN stuff and you are writing a paper about something that you will likely never use again. I love grad school, I love what I am doing but I wish my life was more fun than it is.

This is why I'm excited for grad school. I love reading, writing, grading, and studying. For me, school is fun, while going to parties is extremely boring. You have only reaffirmed my commitment to go to grad school!

[LittleDarlings]

This is why I'm excited for grad school. I love reading, writing, grading, and studying. For me, school is fun, while going to parties is extremely boring. You have only reaffirmed my commitment to go to grad school!

Well that is really awesome, good luck I'm sure you will love it.  

I really do enjoy school and it does give me something to do and purpose but I really miss partying, probably because I didn't do much of it in undergrad 

[reinhard]

How lazy I have become, that is what surprised me the most.

[rainbowpink]

This is why I'm excited for grad school. I love reading, writing, grading, and studying. For me, school is fun, while going to parties is extremely boring. You have only reaffirmed my commitment to go to grad school!

I'm in my MA program now, but there are also PhD students in my program. People tell me I'm really diligent. To be honest, I don't feel like I'm super disciplined or anything. I wake up thinking about my school work and read about stuff for class or whatever that's relevant for my field in bed minutes before going to sleep because I'm just obsessed with what I study. Sometimes I end up losing sleep over some exciting research idea I have late at night.

 

Last semester I had a really intense schedule because I was taking a lot of classes, teaching my own course, and applying to PhD programs. It was really weird how it should have been extremely stressful, but for the most part it was really fun for me.

 

I do like socializing with people, but I find that I tend to like socializing with other people in my field or similar fields more than just other random people (on a regular basis, that is) because we end up having fun, nerdy conversations about stuff we're studying. I don't care for stuff like sports, what the latest movies are, personal dramas, etc.