8 Things They Don’t Tell You About Grad School

My grad school experience so far has been nothing short of amazing – that’s not to say there hasn’t been ups and downs but my MINDSET is what has pulled me through. I believe that focusing on the positives and speaking words of affirmation despite the rejections and nay-sayers has made grad school all the more enjoyable.

Prior to grad school there are several things I wish I could have known. This is something I feel that we often say a lot, but in reality I have to ask myself – would I have taken heed or believed the source if someone had told me these things in the past?

• If you don’t follow I’ll give you a little thought exercise – think of where you are now. Regardless of whether you are where you hoped to be at this stage of your life, ask yourself – if someone had told me all the downsides and surprises I would experience at this stage, would I have chosen a different path?

As you mull over your current situation, here are eight things I would have liked to know before starting grad school.

1. Writing is a major skill that you have to be open to learn.

You don’t have to be the best writer, but you have to be willing to improve through practice (and there are ALOT of practice opportunities). A friend of mine who already graduated with her MSc. estimated that about 50% of her time was spent writing and rewriting grants, papers and proposals. Not to turn anyone off grad school but it is entirely doable even if you are not a skilled writer (aforementioned friend DOES NOT have two heads).

2. Grad school will feel like a full-time job.

I don’t know about you, but I still have PTSD from my Social 30 diploma – as in bare dreams where I wake up panicking thinking that I slept in and missed the entire exam. Research is a lot of work, you are literally SEARCHING for something tangible to package into a thesis. Thus expect to have dreams about experiments failing (true story from a friend) or at minimum be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to your project. There will be many evenings and weekends spent running experiments, making Western blot gels and reading literature reviews. If you think you left it all behind after undergrad, think again!

*meme curtesy of Jenny at the CFD

3. Your first 6-8 months will feel like you’ve accomplished nothing – but that’s completely normal.

Much of this time is spent adjusting to your lab environment, taking classes, and learning specific content and techniques you didn’t learn in undergrad. It can be very easy to compare yourself to other students at this time which can affect your self-esteem and make you feel inadequate – something like imposter syndrome. The fix? Use your learner status to your advantage – learn as much as you can now, ask the “stupid questions” now, embarrass yourself at that presentation/conference now, so that 14 months down the line they cannot talk to you anyhow as you’ll be a seasoned pro – okay maybe not pro, but you’ll be in better shape than you were when you first started out.

4. You are ALWAYS applying for some sort of grant/award.

For many grad programs you are required to apply to as many funding opportunities as possible so it is generally good practice to know where to look and when the deadlines are. These are not only great for your CV, but in fact you are more likely to receive grants and awards in the future if reviewers see you have been awarded some in the past.

5. You SHOULD always be applying for some sort of grant/award.

I remember in undergrad I was always advised to apply to scholarship opportunities as no one was taking advantage of them. In grad school there are many such opportunities being missed due to time-constraints, students being overloaded with other work, and the disproportionate amount of work required for an award of little monetary value. At the end of the day, it is entirely for your benefit as a student. You may get to travel more, add more resources to your research, or even receive a small sum to support your shopping habit bank account. Let’s not forget it looks great on your CV! #doitfortheCV

6. You will never be “less busy”.

As graduate students there is always a jam-packed to-do list. From supervisory committee meetings, preparing the presentation for said supervisory meeting, running your club meeting, reading the paper for weekly journal club, passaging long overdue cells, sitting through your own lab meeting, starting that new grant application, mentoring your undergrad students… y’all I didn’t even mention lunch!

Needless to say, there are little idle periods and putting something off until you are “less busy” is simply not practical. Best practice is to schedule some time to at least start the task or look over the requirements of the protocol/grant application so that you are well prepared.

7. Building your connections and networks is critical.

You’ll notice #6 did not make mention of social aspects of grad school. However you are constantly networking and getting to know people during grad school including students, researchers who could be potential references, mentors or future supervisors, industry sales people who could be your future employers or coworkers, doctors who could be potential mentors and many more.

A great way to meet such people is through getting involved on committees (which will also get you leadership experience #doitfortheCV), attending conferences both local and international (see #5), going to seminars/workshops etc.

One of my favourite networks happens to be the international community of protease researchers. I find it hilarious that the same individuals always gather at the same conferences all over the world to pick up where we left our conversations from our last gathering despite not seeing each other in months.

8. Your worth does not come from your grades, grants or your CV.

In all reality, grad school can get very competitive. There can be a lot of pressure to perform, deliver results, get grants and graduate. It is important to strike a balance (I’m serious, don’t laugh) between academic life and personal life. You worth DOES NOT come from your academic life -but after several failed experiments, terrible scores and feedback from grant reviewers and weeks of no results, it can start to weigh on you.

The fix? Take care of yourself. Find hobbies that you like to do, take time off, reward yourself for the small victories, because there will be more rejections, failed experiments and tests gone wrong – why dwell on the sucky stuff now? There are so many ways to prioritize your well-being in grad school but I’ll save that for a later post.

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If you’ve stuck with me this far, you’re a champ! I hope you learned a lot and had as much fun reading as I had creating this post. Thank you to my special grad school pals (Athena, Chidera, Mady, Kara, JohnMary, and Yolanda) for their input, encouragement and friendship.

Let me know your thoughts below, are you currently working or a student? What do you wish you had known before embarking on your current path?

I’ll catch you in the next post.

ANTHONIAxo