Feeling lost?

[boneh3ad]

So is anyone else feeling lost and nearly useless compared to the more experienced grad students after a semester or two of their program? I sure as hell am.

[Lauren the Librarian]

So is anyone else feeling lost and nearly useless compared to the more experienced grad students after a semester or two of their program? I sure as hell am.

I'm not despairing quite yet, but I have real concerns about my ability to do this. I'm very confident in most of my abilities, but I have some deficiencies that are definitely going to make this a real rough road.

I met with one of my professors yesterday to tell him my situation and get some advice. Althought he's the 'omg pompous ass' type in class, he's super supportive outside of class. I told him I will give it my all, but I might need to have my hand held at some points. He was incredibly sympathetic and told me, "You belong here." It will be difficult to get me up to standard and he won't go easy on me. So to take the pressure off, I've decided not to care about grades even though this is a master's program that I hope will get me into a PhD program. I'm not going to worry that most everyone else understands words such as teleological and historicism, and can do calculations dealing with vectors and patented algorithms. I'm keeping up with my assignments and keeping wikipedia nearby to explain what everyone else already knows.

It's a whole new way of being and thinking. It's definitely not undergrad.

[UnlikelyGrad]

So is anyone else feeling lost and nearly useless compared to the more experienced grad students after a semester or two of their program? I sure as hell am.

Not really. I think I'm doing pretty well...mostly. The exception is my mineralogy class. (I'm a chemist trying to metamorphose into a geochemist.) I am taking this class with a bunch of sophomores so I should be doing better. Actually the lecture material is very easy--I understand it far better than my classmates thanks to my knowledge of chemistry--but I really stink in lab, which is half of the grade for the course. It's pretty depressing! How can I be having more trouble in a sophomore-level class than my grad classes?!

[boneh3ad]

Eh, it isn't really the classes I am worried about. I am doing perhaps slightly above average in class. It is the stuff outside of class for me. I realize it differs for engineering and most other majors, but I feel pretty useless around my lab and in trying to help out my labmates.

[piccgeek]

So is anyone else feeling lost and nearly useless compared to the more experienced grad students after a semester or two of their program? I sure as hell am.

YES.

Not for class reasons. My papers are still top notch, and my grades are sparkling. It's...everything else. Hence, as you might notice from my sig, I am applying for a not-so-academic program in the hopes of leaving my current situation. My profs (the ones who are in the know about my current app) are stumped...the department loves me, my work is good, I'm enthusiastic in class, I read everything they assign and more, I get everything done. I find it hard to explain to them that I'm sill not happy. "Lost" is definitely how I feel. You are not alone.

[Matilda_Tone]

A YES from me as well. Never fear, you are not alone.

I think I’m doing fine, technically, but I don’t often feel like I am. The course in my area of speciality went well, but the others don’t stimulate me in the way I hoped they would, and it makes me question my decision to pursue this discipline a bit (if I say I love history, than shouldn’t I love studying almost any aspect of it? Apparently not...)

My grad department takes a different approach to the subject than my undergrad department, and that is still something I struggle with. I have spoken to Professors about my concerns, and have been told I am not lagging behind, but I feel like the people who did their undergrads here have the right pre-requites while I am left wishing that I had the knowledge of philosophy/political science that seems to be necessary in some of my classes.

I also don’t feel ready/qualified to publish or present at conferences- both terrify me at the moment, and I know I need to get across this self-confidence hurdle.

Oh well, here’s to hoping for the best and not doing as badly as we fear!