#basically my PI sent me 3 papers to read during my vacation... instead of doing that... i read 3 webtoons... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

upennanthro · 8 years ago

Text

Advice for First Years

The first year of your graduate program will be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. As part of building our stronger departmental culture, we want to foster greater inter-cohort solidarity. One way to do that is to facilitate the passing on of accumulated experience and wisdom from students at every stage in the program to you, the incoming students. We sent out a short survey to the listserv, and this is what people had to say. We hope you find it helpful!

1) What's one thing you know now about graduate school that you wish you had known during the first year?

You don't have to read everything. But you should definitely attend colloquium every week unless you’re at a conference. Don’t sign up for a course Monday at noon. Come, pay attention, work on your listening and note-taking skills, and pay attention to the questions that professors ask during the Q&A and how the speakers answer them. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

It’s ok to not have a dissertation project right when you get here. IT’S OK. It’s also fine if you do have one and it changes. Just don’t be worried if it seems like everyone else has a topic and you’re not sure yet, because you’ll have time and proper guidance to help you figure it out. (3rd year, physical anthropology)

There's not as much hand holding as you think, and a project doesn't magically fall into your lap. Be thinking about what you'd like your dissertation project to look like on day one, and start trying to make this happen in your first year. The actual shape of the project, and perhaps the personnel involved, will change, but you have to be the one to take the reins on your dissertation and start trying to make things happen. Think of your PhD as your own "Choose your own adventure" novel. Its pace is totally dependent on how fast you move and how early you start thinking about it. (7th year, physical anthropology)

I've got more than one thing. I wish I had known that writing "think sheets" or "précis" or "reading responses" is a skill that comes with time (a semester or more) and practice; that I can learn a lot from scanning the bibliographies/references and acknowledgments of ethnographies and that the introduction chapters are the roadmap for the entire book; that even bad advice is good advice because it teaches you what your work isn't and what you don't want to be/do; that I should attend as many dissertation defenses in my field as I can; that I'm a terrible ethnographer when I'm not taking care of myself so whatever I do to stay sane (family/friend time, dates, resting, working out, movies, walks...) has to stay a priority; that I'll always feel like I haven't read enough, like I'm chasing the train instead of riding in it; that Annual Reviews of Anthropology and Oxford Bibliography of Anthropology are good starting points when i'm trying to gain familiarity with a subject within my discipline. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

Not to buy books but instead get them from borrow direct or interlibrary loan (2nd year, physical anthropology)

It can be a very solitary experience, so build relationships, writing groups, social time into your schedule and stick with it! Use any and all networking opportunities, and have people read your stuff even if they aren't in the same sub-field. Different perspectives can only help!! (4th year, archaeology)

It is important to develop skills. The department is overly theory-heavy, and unless you take it upon yourself to gain practical abilities you will be unprepared when it comes time to start dissertating. Take courses that will teach you how to use film/audio editing software, Adobe Illustrator, R, SPSS, GIS, mySQL, python, Excel, etc. Not only will these serve you well in your academic path, but these are also handy things to have in your toolkit if you decide to pursue an alt-ac career after you’re finished. (5th year, archaeology)

If you haven't been in graduate school before, you might be really overwhelmed by the amount of work you're asked to do -- especially readings in class. They are physically impossible to complete for every class, every week, and your mental and emotional health will likely suffer if you try to do all the readings, word-for-word. Grad school is an exercise in trying to find out what is important to know (for yourself and for the purposes of the professor) and strategizing to get as much of it as you can while also getting a basic grasp of the breadth of your readings. (2nd year, cultural anthropology)

2) What's one of the best decisions you've made that either eased your transition to grad school, made your life easier, or helped your career?

Papers, responses, and etc need to be good enough, but not perfect. Having priorities is important. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

To build in time on my schedule for exercise, sleep, healthful eating, breaks/vacations- and to hold myself accountable for actually doing these things. And then to remind myself that no one is allowed to make me feel bad for taking care of my mental and physical health. It's easy to overlook that hour you wanted to carve out of your day for yoga because you have a pressing deadline, or to fall into the trap of pulling all nighters to send out a grant in time. A disciplined work/life balance and an unapologetic approach to reasonable self-care, regardless of the tongue clucking your boss/PI/advisor may do (this includes trying really, really hard to not feel guilty when you take vacation time - yes, much of the rest of the U.S. gets two weeks, and yes, you should allow yourself this, too) were actually skills I had to develop but have really helped me maximize my productivity and enjoy the process of grad school. (7th year, physical anthropology)

I'm the wrong person to talk to about this because I somehow made my grad school transition as difficult as possible and had a rough time. That being said, it's all good now so even if your start is rocky, you'll be fine. Hmm, actually, do your best to make friends with people who are ahead of you in the program. It makes a world of difference. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

I took a lot of walks? I’m not from the area so it was nice to take time and go exploring on my own or with a friend to different parts of the city. It allowed me to spend time away from school work and house work and it was relaxing. Favorite spots include the Woodlands Cemetery, the dog park at Schuylkill River Park, Reading Terminal Market, The Waterworks, and of course wandering around in Old City. (3rd year, physical anthropology)

Getting a gym pass. Applying for the NSF GRFP. (2nd year, physical anthropology)

Take one night a week off, and every Saturday (or at the very least every other!!). You need time to process and recharge, it is just as important as the work, and might even make you more productive and give you better perspective if you step away from it for a bit! (4th year, archaeology)

Treat your academic work like a job. Figure out what hours work for you and set a schedule that will help you stick to them. It can be hard during the first year to set a rhythm, but graduate work has a tendency to expand to fill all the time you allot to it. So budget a specific amount of time for work each week and don’t go over your limit unless absolutely necessary. (5th year, archaeology)

Allowing myself to buy in to the fact that I belong here. We all feel like imposters to varying degrees, and even though you're warned about this, its very difficult to get to a point that you can really feel ok with that feeling and put yourself at some ease and comfort. In my opinion, fighting imposter syndrome is legitimate emotional work that is really important for your health. (2nd year, cultural anthropology)

3) What's one thing that you would like to share about your experience with the program that you think might be helpful for first years?

Take all four core courses if you can, but not necessarily all four comps. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

Make a network of peers and teachers that transects disciplines from day one, and keep building it. There are lots of people working in your topic of interest (or a related one) in other subdisciplines within anthropology and in different fields, such as the humanities, sciences, etc. These people can be committee members, advisors, and future contacts for field work opportunities and jobs. Example: My masters involved medical anthro and public health personnel, and my PhD committee is an anthropologist, a parasitologist, a population geneticist, and a microbiologist. From this, I've developed a broad range of mentors to give me advice and chaperone interdisciplinary projects through research pipelines, and I've been able to get on training grants outside of anthropology, to get tipped off about cool conferences and meetings, and to take teaching opportunities in other countries. ABN- Always Be Networkin'. (7th year, physical anthropology)

We don't get much formal training in methods, so before your first summer of fieldwork, talk to others about methods and track down some methods handbooks/textbooks to scan over (for example, “Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes” by Emerson/Fretz/Shaw). Other people keep you afloat in this program so I suggest you prioritize making friends and staying connected. (3rd year, cultural anthropology)

Your mental health is more important than finishing all of those readings. It’s easier as an undergrad to finish every assignment and read every paper so it seems like it will be easy to do it your first year too. And you might throughout the first semester, but when you get to the second semester you kind of realize what is important to finish and what can be skimmed and what can be skipped. That sounds terrible but save yourself the panic attacks and stress illness because you don’t get a medal for finishing every reading. (3rd year, physical anthropology)

The museum is a really wonderful place, wander around it once in a while. When things get overwhelming wander the halls among the artifacts and remember why you are here in the first place! (4th year, archaeology)

Don’t take coursework too seriously. Perform well in courses taught by your advisor and potential committee members and focus on learning in language and skills-based courses. Your GPA will not be taken into consideration by hiring committees so just keep it high enough to stay in good standing with SAS. (5th year, archaeology)

We are in a very self-oriented industry and often-times there aren't great systems, or even communities, of support in the different stages of the program. However, nearly everyone is willing to support each other to the best of their abilities. It just may take some degree of reaching out to people in your cohort and those that you know in the program. Don't feel intimidated if they suggest you talk to older students or recent PhDs that you don't even know. We all have been in similar places with similar struggles, and generally everyone wants to be there for people in a way they maybe wished someone had for them. (2nd year, cultural anthropology)

"Graduate school is about learning about the impossibility of one person doing everything all the time and what you need to know to make it work" (Nikhil Anand, assistant professor, cultural anthropology)

#process

2 notes · View notes