Random Observations from Grad School Life

In the spirit of random lists, I started thinking about some of the things I've noticed during the past six years. (Some of these are repeats from another earlier list posted elsewhere, so, um, yeah. I don't know why I'm pointing out this caveat, but oh well.) Please chime in with any to add!

1.    TA'ing sucks more time and energy than a black hole, with the exception of actually teaching, which is a black hole and there's no escaping (at least until grades are submitted).

2.    Sometimes there's a real reason why some people end up in academia, and it's not always a good one.

3.    Research institutions are very, very different from teaching institutions.

4.    Not all advisers are created equal. See #2. Some rock. Some should never emerge from their offices.

5.    Tuition costs should factor in blood, sweat, tears, and the number of times I have sworn at inanimate objects and myself.

6.    It is possible to live on ramen consistently. It will result in scurvy. Multi-vitamins help.

7.    Having children in grad school requires super-powers, namely the ability to go without sleep for weeks at a time. I do not have this power, and really, I don't want it. I like to sleep, and if I'm going to get a super-power of any kind, it damn well better be flying.

8.    On-campus housing will smell bad. Always. No amount of industrial-strength febreeze will get rid of it.

9.    An apartment with a washer, dryer, and dishwasher can make life worth living.

10. Mindless fun is occasionally the only way that I can remember that there is a life beyond grad school.

11. Seeing your name on your first journal article almost makes up for the hell it was formatting, learning how to submit it, and writing the dang thing to start with. Almost.

12. Picturing people naked in order to feel more comfortable speaking in front of them is a terrible idea. Honestly, who came up with this??

13. Grading tests/papers/assignments is fun for about the first two minutes, the first time you do it. Then the power-trip fades when you realize how dumb the majority of people in college are.

14. Sometimes running away does help.

15. Going to grad school close to family can be good. And bad.

16. I officially worship Pepsi. Other caffeinated beverages are also welcome.

17. Freshmen will always be clueless. The charm of this trait wears off fast, so enjoy it while it lasts.

18. Those few students who listen, understand, and are enthusiastic about my classes make all the difference in the world.

19. Holding office hours on a Friday will ensure that you never have to see anyone.

20. Bribes work, especially when disguised as something else.

21. The amount of highlighting I do in an article is inversely related to how interesting the article is.

22. Sometimes I actually wish I could get sick, just to have an excuse not to work. (*knock on wood*)

23. Poverty sucks.

24. Waking up one morning and realizing my twenties are ostensibly over, and having a really hard time remembering the majority of the last decade, is really depressing.

25. Getting “hooded” when graduating just sounds wrong.

Linkage

I've stumbled across a few things to share this week, so in lieu of a more formal post this Mother's Day evening, here are some neat things you might want to check into:

PLoS Blogs talks about women in science blogging. It runs through some awesome blogs that I've really enjoyed looking through. It's a long article, but worth the read, and clicking through to the other blogs. I've found some great stuff :)

My absolute favorite blog (Female Science Professor) talked this week about the difference in language when referring to men and women and presenting their work (and especially how they are portrayed by males in a public setting). Very interesting read, and made me kinda pissed off, actually. Enjoy :)

And my favorite thing this week:

LOVE IT!

Okay, anyone else find something interesting to share this week? (I feel like I'm in elementary school saying that, but I would love to see if anyone has anything!)

So What Are You Going To Do With That? Teach?

I have seriously lost count of the times I've been asked this question, and every time it makes me want to tell the asker to go find a cliff. Because, actually, yes, I do intend on teaching. I love being in the classroom, and I try to be a good professor. But that's not the only reason I study what I do, and it's certainly not the only reason why I'm in grad school. Still, whenever I explain my research to people, nine times out of ten I'll be asked what the heck I plan on doing with my diploma. And the added little barb that I'll "only" ever be able to teach about it kind of stings. (Does anyone have a good response to this? I'd love to hear some great comebacks for this question--I know I'm not the only one who has gotten it!)

But this question brings up two rather annoying points about the general view of grad school--something that I didn't really realize before I got into higher education and wish I'd thought about some. One is that most people view research rather poorly. Kind of a 'duh' comment, but not something I like to think about when I look at my own research. When it doesn't have a direct correlation with some awesome outcome that is obviously going to "make the world a better place" (often with the undercurrent of making someone a lot of money) people don't view it as important. Not that my research is science for science's sake, but most people don't understand that, or even want to understand that.

Second, and more importantly, is that people view teaching as a last-resort option or career. Anyone who would *want* to get up in front of 400 students and discuss evolution, Shakespeare, or the Krebs Cycle must be nuts. Um, hello? Why is this? I honestly don't understand. Teaching is so vital to our society and way of life that the fact that it is undervalued and viewed pessimistically really ticks me off. Wanting to teach may not make me a whole lot of money, but it certainly is an awesome career choice. (Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.)

Anyhow, thinking about this lovely little barb, and how I've tried to deflect it all these years, has made me start thinking about the other things people say and do to belittle grad school. Please, please chime in with more if you've got them!

So, things I've been told about choosing grad school:
-So, couldn't find a real job, could ya?
-What, you wanna be Einstein? (Okay, not asked of me, but someone else I know...)
-Why would you want to do that?
-You must really like to torture yourself.
-Do you like being poor?

Anyone got some good ones to add to the list??

Accepting an Offer?

It's about that time of year for those of you who might have obtained offers to attend a graduate program. I'm curious--anyone out there get an offer to start a program in the fall? Maybe even multiple offers? It's about that time of year when most schools are requiring everyone to accept or decline and I'd love to hear if you're happily embarking on the whole graduate school fun-house!

(And I swear I will have some good posts coming up. It's just that this:
 
is coming up very soon for me, and I've been a tad bit busy: It would be a whole lot more exciting if #1: my dissertation was complete and signed off, and #2, I had a job or at least some kind of plans for what the heck I'm going to do once I'm done...)

Also, anyone up for a guest post? Something you have been dying to discuss about grad school life or otherwise? Just let me know!

Student Groups

(Ack--sorry, Spring Break got the better of me and I haven't managed to get back to posting. Sorry! I swear, I'll be better about this. I hope.)

I am totally going to steal this post's topic from a friend of mine, because it rocks! (Thanks--you know who you are :) Anyhow, within my department this past year I've witnessed a phenomenon among the undergraduate students. They have organized! (In some way, this instills fear into my professorial heart, but I know it's a good thing.) A thriving student group has sprung up among the students, offering a great new resource for the undergraduates to do some things that I think are incredible and would otherwise never have happened within my department. So, my main piece of advice for today: if your department has a student organization, join it! If you don't, start one! It will help you so much in your graduate school goals.

Why do I think this is such a good thing? Because it offers a place to talk about where you're headed. The fellow undergraduate students in your department may be friends (or not) but they all share in your experience. Those that are planning on attending graduate school offer a valuable resource in several ways: someone to talk to, someone who may have more information, and someone who can help. Alone, a lot of undergraduates (myself included) find themselves attempting to tackle getting into graduate school based on the information I'd gleaned through the years (and of course, blogs like this one :). In some ways, this is just not enough. Other students can provide you with more information--even if it's just that a certain part of the country has the worst winters imaginable and your beach-loving self may want to think twice before attending there. Or maybe some much more valuable information: they've met the person you're thinking of applying to work with and they're going to retire sometime soon and aren't taking any new students.

The other benefits are that these student groups can allow for attending functions and events that otherwise might be too pricey or too terrifying to attend alone. There was a major conference in a nearby city a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was great to see this whole student group get tickets and attend. Even when there was a large group of them who showed up to my talk and laughed at my corny jokes.... I hope they learned a lot from the meetings (if only that they never, ever run on time). It's a great opportunity to see how "real life" research works, and hopefully they obtained a better understanding of whether or not that's something they really want to do.

I didn't have a student group in my undergraduate institution, and after seeing how well this one is working, I really wish I had. It's offered some great resources for the students. If you don't have a group--don't despair! Starting one really isn't that hard. Ask around and see if any of your fellow students within your major are interested. I would be surprised if you couldn't find a few people who would be. Most schools will ask you to have a faculty or staff director (asking around for who is interested--and asking nicely and wisely--should make this step pretty easy). There's usually some small paperwork to file to start a student group, and viola! You're ready to go. Then the fun starts: plan a few interesting activities. Maybe a field trip. Have some fun and get a chance to talk to one another. You'll be surprised what you might learn!

Grading Papers? Play some Bingo :)

Thanks to everyone for chiming in on squares to add. This was one of those random, quick things that I've wanted to do for some time, because it cracks me up. I can think of several ways to play the game (maybe a little competition between several TA's from the same class?), but I'll leave that up to you. Hope you have fun!!

So, over the last couple of days there has been a HUGE influx of people to see this, which is awesome, but if you're going to use it, please cite back here! Thanks!

The Myth of Spring Break

I remember a time when there was such a mythical thing as some time off in the spring. A break. A vacation, even. Such a thing has ceased to exist for me, and may it rest in peace. Someday I may try to revive it, but for the moment, it's long gone. See, this "time off" between quarters has become a mad dash to attempt to finish research before the next slew of conferences, get the rest of my life back in some semblance of order after neglecting it all quarter, and otherwise attempting to regain my sanity. If I can sneak in a day off, all the better. But most of this past week of "break" has been spent at work. And I'm not alone in this. I have had the good company of quite a few grad students roaming the halls, looking slightly less stressed than normal (not me, I have been pulling my hair out), but at work all the same.

So, for today's belated post (I have had this awesome thing I wanted to do all week, but hopefully I'll get to it on Sunday), I want to ask: are you working during spring break this year? Or are you getting away? (No, getting away to a conference doesn't count either. That's still work.) Are you happy about it? Or are you catching parts of the endless spring break coverage on TV and wishing you were somewhere with a bikini and a beer? (Or, at least sitting somewhere quietly, not working.)

I do like hearing from people, so pipe up in the comments!