Re: What differentiates a dedicated PhD student?
[#permalink]
02 Apr 2008, 12:43
Excellent tips. Here are some other ones.
- Grades don't matter, true enough, but make a good impression on your faculty. This is a tough one, because they, unlike managers/peers in industry, get more at your "true" self, how nice and smart you are, rather than, for example, how "savvy" you are and how well you can play the politics. Just be confident but modest, assertive but not showy. Piece of cake, eh? Reason is that when you go on the job market, they will back you if they think you are good.
- The networking point is also a nice one. I don't see this as an MBA, show me your business card and handmade suit and lets trade frat stories type of networking. It's really about connecting personally and intellectually with people who will benefit your (and you their) academic career (e.g. by co-authoring). For many people going into a Ph.D., this will be a very new experience because they may never have had an opportunity to collaborate that closely with such a diverse set of people. I've had the good fortune to be able to do this, and I think it has been very helpful. I'd encourage people facing this to be proactive in reaching out, e.g., if you have a choice between an all (pick your country) study group vs. a diverse one, think seriously about choosing the latter even if it is initially more uncomfortable.