What I Wish I Knew Then...

Before I started graduate school, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought I knew what being a Ph.D. student was all about, but I was wrong! Now, I know a little bit more but still not everything. For something that all graduate students can relate to, enjoy these funny (yet completely accurate) truths.

My favorite "truth" is this one:

My greatest fear is that eventually, my professors and the other graduate students will realize I have no idea what I am doing - I'm an IMPOSTOR! :) But, then again, if everyone feels this way, am I really doing anything wrong?

Anyway, there are several things I wish I knew before I started graduate school. In no particular order, other than this is how I thought them up...

Learn to toot your own horn...

There are lots of opportunities that come up in graduate school - for research, awards, monies, you name it. Almost always, these opportunities require a letter of recommendation, a CV, and a letter of interest from you. I have learned that many faculty advisors or professors who recommend you for stuff do one of two things: 1. ask you to draft the letter then they will revise it OR 2. will ask you to write up what you would like included which they will add (which is the same thing as number 1). Also for these opportunities, your faculty advisor or professor may not even know about them before you do. 

For both of these situations, you have to know to speak up and brag about yourself. First of all, if you see an opportunity and you want to try for it, you might have to ask for the letter of recommendation or suggest it to your faculty advisor. This can be really hard if you are modest, but do it! Most faculty advisors are not going to deny you the chance to apply for something - the worst that can happen is you don't get it. But, the more things you try for, the more things you can possibly get, and the easier the application process becomes. 

Now, the asking for help part may not be difficult, but what is really hard = writing a letter bragging about yourself. The first few times I did this, I felt so pompous. I am awesome because I'm wonderful and do at least 450283 things, all well... Of course, that is an exaggeration, but it is how I feel when I write these types of letters. The key is to be tasteful, tactful, and humble, but honest. I have found that adding specific numbers helps you be specific without seeming like bragging. For example, say "I presented at 7 conferences at the local, state, and national level last year. OR I wrote two articles. OR I received $458 in grant-funding for an independent research project. (Note: These do not necessarily apply to me, they are simply examples.) These are facts that can be double checked, show you are awesome, but are not bragging. 

For many graduate students, it can be difficult to talk about yourself and why you deserve things, but if you want opportunities, you have to learn to do it well. The best part, though, is that after you've written two or three letters like this, the process becomes much simpler and you have past documents to pull ideas from! 

Lots of meetings...

As a teacher, I felt like I was constantly in meetings for everything under the sun. Newsflash: This gets WORSE in graduate school. Now, I attend more meetings. With more people. And different people. I've gotten to where I have to list in the notes section of my Google Calendar what the meeting is for or I forget. That's the worst. 

The best advice for meetings is to, if at all possible, plan ahead what you want to accomplish. Have set goals for meetings you are leading to keep people on track. For meetings you are simply participating in, try to go into each meeting with an idea or two. This shows your contributions but also keeps things moving. Because we are expected to attend so many meetings for so many thing, it is important to maximize the time on task and minimize an superfluous tangents.

Do something by yourself, but not everything...

Graduate school is a constant balance between individuality and collaboration. You have to be the perfect Jack of all trades who can do it all. Basically, graduate students are like Swiss Army Knives - perfect comparison! It is important to work with faculty and other graduate students on projects. Not only do collaborations help lessen the work load, they give you twice as many activities on your vita. For example, if I am working on a writing study, I might get a few doctoral students to assist me. I'm in charge, but they offer manpower and brainpower. I then become an assistant on their two projects (which each of them are in charge of). Just like that, I'm part of three research projects, but am only in charge of one. 

However, you cannot do EVERYTHING in collaboration. You have to do something by yourself as well. Single-author papers and presentations are gold, unless everything is single. My suggestion and what I've heard from my mentors is to have one single-author presentation per year and try to get a single-author paper out before graduation. Then, if everything else you do is in collaboration, you are in good shape to approach the job market.

It's all a numbers game...

Opportunities come to those who seek them and the more opportunities you seek, the more you get. It's cyclical. I see so many graduate students who are frustrated because they aren't getting to do enough research or teach enough or getting enough funding. Well, I used to be that student too. Then I learned that if I wanted all of that, I had to go after it. Ask professors about research they are doing and opportunities, then jump on the chance to help. You may get turned down a few times, and you will certainly apply for many things you don't receive, but the more you apply and try out for opportunities, the more you will get. 

Just be careful not to accept TOO many things. That can get you into trouble as well. :) 

Those are the top 4 things I wish I had known before I started graduate school.

Now, you know them too!