Three Qualities for Success in Ph D

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3 qualities of successful Ph.D. students: Perseverance, tenacity and cogency  [article index] index] [email [email me] me] [@mattmight [@mattmight]] [+mattmight [+mattmight]] [rss [rss]] Every fall, a fresh crop of Ph.D. students arrives. Since !m actively loo"ing for Ph.D. students,  get the same #uestion a do$en times every year% &'o( long does it ta"e t a"e to get a Ph.D.)& *his is!t the right #uestion. &Ph.D. school ta"es as long as you (ant it to,&  tell them. *here!s no speed limit on ho( fast you can ump through all the hoops.   -etter #uestion to as" is, &hat ma"es a Ph.D. student successful)& 'aving (atched Ph.D. students succeed and fail at four universities,  infer that success in graduate school hinges on three #ualities% perseverance, tenacity and cogency. f you!re in Ph.D. school or you!re thin"ing a-out it, read on.

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 What doesn't matter matter *here!s a ruinous misconception that a Ph.D. must -e smart. *his can!t -e true.   smart person (ould "no( -etter than to get a Ph.D. &Smart& #ualities li"e -rilliance and #uic"/thin"ing are irrelevant in Ph.D. school. Students that have made it through so far on -rilliance and #uic"/thin"ing alone (ash out of Ph.D. programs (ith nagging predicta-ility. 0et there -e no dou-t% -rilliance and #uic"/thin"ing are  valua-le in other pursuits. 1ut, they!re neither sufficient nor necessary in science. 2ertainly, -eing smart helps. 1ut, it (on!t get the o- done. 3oreover, as anyone going through Ph.D. school can tell you% lots of stupid people ma"e it across the finish line and leave, Ph.D. in hand.  s my advisor used advisor used to tell me, &henever  felt depressed in grad school//(hen  (orried  (asn!t going to finish my Ph.D.// loo"ed at the people dum-er than me finishing theirs, and  (ould thin" to myself, if that idiot can get a Ph.D., dammit, so can I.& I.& 4Since -ecoming a professor,  finding myself repeating a corollary of this o-servation, -ut  replace &getting a Ph.D.& (ith &o-taining grant funding.&5

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Perseverance *o escape (ith a Ph.D., you must meaningfully extend the -oundary of human "no(ledge. 3ore exactly, you must convince a panel of experts guarding the -oundary that you have done so.  6ou can ta"e classes and read papers to figure out (here the -oundary lies. *hat!s easy. 1ut, (hen it comes time to actually extend that -oundary, you have to get into your -un"er and prepare for the onslaught of failure. f ailure.   lot of Ph.D. students get depressed (hen they reach the -oundary,  -ecause there!s no longer a test to cram for or a procedure to follo(. follo(. *his is the point 47/8 years in5 (here attrition pea"s. 9inding a pro-lem to solve is rarely a pro-lem itself. Every field is  -rimming (ith open pro-lems. f finding a pro-lem pro-lem is hard, you!re in the (rong field. *he real hard part, of course, is solving an open pro-lem. fter all, if someone could tell you ho( to solve it, it (ouldn!t  -e open. *o survive this period, you have to -e (illing to fail from the moment  you (a"e to the moment your head hits the pillo(. 6ou must -e (illing to fail for days on end, for months on end and may-e even for years on end. *he s"ill you accrete during this trauma t rauma is the a-ility to imagine plausi-le solutions, and to estimate the li"elihood that an approach (ill  (or". f you persevere to the end of this phase, your mind (ill intuit solutions to pro-lems in (ays that it didn!t and couldn!t -efore. 6ou (on!t "no( ho( your mind does this. 4 don!t "no( ho( mine does it.5 t ust (ill.  s you ac#uire this s"ill, you!ll -e launching fledgling fledgling papers at peer revie(ers, chec"ing to see if others thin" t hin" (hat you!re doing #ualifies as research yet. Since acceptance rates at good venues range -et(een :; and 7<;, most or all of your papers (ill -e reected. 6ou ust have to hope that you!ll eventually figure out ho( to get your (or" pu-lished. f  you stic" (ith it long enough and (or" at it hard enough, you (ill.

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9or students that excelled as undergraduates, the sudden and constant  -arrage of reection and failure is arring. f you have an ego pro-lem, pro-lem, Ph.D. school (ill fix it. ith a vengeance. 4Some egos seem to recover after(ard.5 *his phase of the Ph.D. demands perseverance//in the face of uncertainty, in the face of reection and in the face of frustration.

Tenacity  *o get a tenure/trac" professorship after Ph.D. school, you need an additional #uality% tenacity. Since there are fe( tenure/trac" faculty positions availa-le, there is a fierce 4yet civil5 competition to get them. n computer science, a competitive faculty candidate candidat e (ill have a-out => pu-lications, and 8/< of those (ill -e at &selective& or &*ier =& venues 4crudely, less than 88; acceptance rate5.  Ph.D. -y itself (on!t even get  you a o- intervie( anymore. *here are fe( good reasons to get a Ph.D. &1ecause you (ant to -ecome a professor& might -e the only good one. ronically, there!s a good chance you (on!t reali$e that you (ant ( ant to -e a professor until the end of grad school. So, if you!re going to do Ph.D. school at all, do it right, for  your o(n sa"e. *o -ecome professor, you can!t have ust one discovery or solve ust one open pro-lem. 6ou have to solve several, and get each solution pu-lished. s you exit graduate school, an arc connecting your results should emerge, proving to faculties that your research has a profita-le path for(ard.  6ou (ill also need to actively, even aggressively, forge relationships relationships (ith scholars in your field. ?esearchers in your field need to "no( (ho you are and (hat you!re doing. *hey need to -e interested in (hat you!re doing too. one of that is going to happen -y itself. it self.

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Cogency  9inally, a good Ph.D. student must have the a-ility to clearly and forcefully articulate their ideas//in person and in (riting. Science is as much an act of persuasion as it is an act of discovery. Ance you!ve made a discovery, you have to persuade experts that you!ve made a legitimate, meaningful contri-ution. *his is harder to do than it seems. Simply sho(ing experts &the data& isn!t going to (or". 46es, in a perfect (orld, this (ould -e sufficient.5 nstead, you have to spoon/feed the experts. s you (rite, you have to consciously minimi$e the amount of time and cognitive pain it i t ta"es for them to reali$e you!ve made a discovery.  6ou may have to go &on tour& and give engaging presentations presentations to get people excited a-out your research. hen you give conference tal"s, you  (ant them eagerly a(aiting the next episode.  6ou (ill have to (rite compelling a-stracts and introductions that hoo" the reader and ma"e her feel li"e investing time in your (or".  6ou (ill have to learn ho( to -alance clarity and precision, so that your your ideas come across (ithout either am-iguity or stifling formality. f ormality. Benerally, grad students don!t arrive (ith the a-ility to communicate  (ell. *his is a s"ill that they forge in grad school. *he *he sooner ac#uired, the -etter. Cnfortunately, the only (ay to get -etter at (riting is to do a lot of it. =>,>>> hours is the magical num-er fol"s thro( around to -ecome an expert at something. 6ou!ll never even get close to =>,>>> hours of  (riting -y (riting papers.  ssuming negligi-le practice (riting for pu-lic consumption consumption -efore graduate school, if you ta"e six years to get through grad school, you can hit =>,>>> hours -y (riting a-out < hours a day. 4*o(ard the end of a Ph.D., it!s not uncommon to -rea" =7 hours of (riting in a day.5

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*hat!s (hy  recommend that ne( students start a -log. Even if no one else reads it, start one. 6ou don!t even have to (rite a-out your research. Practicing the act of (riting is all that matters.

Translations •

Portuguese. Portuguese.

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school . 'o( to get into grad school. academics. Productivity tips for academics. students . ?ecommended reading for grad students. advice.  cademic o- hunt advice.

[article indexBain index] ] [email [email me] [@mattmight me] [and @mattmight] [+mattmight]] [rss [rss]] !atest: !atest:   'A*A% strength muscle ] [+mattmight "e#t:    "e#t:  Ph.D. thesis proposal is a contract Prev:  *he 2?P0% n open source license for academia Prev: Rand:  1oost productivity% 2ripple your technology  Rand: matt.m

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