Seven Things Learned in Graduate School (original) (raw)

Work hard, publish, fill the CV, be exceptional, and prepare for the next stage of your career. These are goals to strive for in the often uncertain and isolating marathon that is graduate school. In comparison, undergrad education, with its final exams, is a communal sprint with a clear finish line, distinct knowledge of where you rank, and shared celebration times. Graduate school is a time to dig deep into a field of study, as well as to discover what success looks like for you! The literature on graduate student success (e.g.,, to name a few) highlights the paradoxes, differing paradigms, and multi-directional pulls of graduate school. Each path to success is shaped by the context, goals, and opportunities, so decide why you want to be here (and post it on your wall for the hard days), identify what you need to succeed (and ask about opportunities), and see what is possible (and what plans require revision). Graduate studies are a time to learn about your discipline and about be...