A FAREWELL MESSAGE
Now that I’ve defended and officially submitted my finalized my thesis, I think it’s time for this blog to draw to a close as well.
I GOT A JOB!
For my own set of personal reasons, I will not continue to update this blog. I'm sorry. Not to worry, I will leave everything here for others to enjoy. I just won’t be posting anymore.
I want to thank all of you for listening. It was immensely therapeutic for me to rant and rave to you all about my day-to-day life as a chemistry grad student. I initially started this blog as a undergrad, but continued it into my graduate career.
And now for some unsolicited advice. If you’re a prospective grad student, there are many factors to consider when choosing a research group. I wish I had known some of these before I started.
1) Make sure you are compatible with the PI and the students in the group. You have to live with these people for about five years. Can you handle it? Will they drive you insane or into a deep depression? Listen to the advice of older grad students. If everyone is telling you that a certain professor is crazy, unpredictably angry, sexist, or racist, it might be true. See for yourself if this person’s research interests you, but be cautious. I have seen it happen over and over. A student loves a professor’s research, but that professor is difficult, for one reason or another. The student thinks they can handle it, but end up having to switch groups halfway through grad school, or worse, end up dropping out
2) Find out how long it takes a typical student the group to graduate. If everyone takes 7 years, don’t go into it thinking, “I can be the exception!” Chances are, that won’t happen.
3) Find out how often the group publishes. This is EXTREMELY important if you want to go into academia. It’s difficult to get a good post-doc if you have no first-author publications by the time you graduate. Some professors do not prioritize publishing. They are heavily involved in teaching, or administration, or are just chronic procrastinators. If you are certain an industry career is for you, a seldom-publishing group may be okay.
4) How often are students in the group on TA vs RA? Teaching is a time-suck. I know I was less productive when I had to teach. If you’re having to teach every semester because funding is scarce, it will take you longer to graduate.
5) Find out how much time the PI has for their students/how often the PI is around. Some professors will not have time to meet with their students frequently. I knew some students who saw their PI once a month, if that. For some, this is a great situation. For others, it is infinitely frustrating.
6) Think about your own personality and work-ethic. Do you need to be micromanaged in order to get things done? Can you work independently? Some PIs are very hands-off and have no expectations about when you come and go as long as you get your work done. Others expect you to arrive at 8:00am sharp and stay until 6:00pm. Some students do not thrive in the first scenario. My PI was very hands-off, but I don’t need someone to watch me in order for me to be productive. On the other hand, I have a friend who admits he is very lazy, and for that reason, he chose one of the most micromanaging professors.
.....7) The academic two-body problem is real. I wish I had some advice there, but I really don’t. Just have to hope that luck is on your side.
Anyway. Thanks again for being here with me. Good bye!