After five months of grad school, I'm just over a quarter of the way through (assuming I can finish in two years, which is my goal) and I want to share some of my experience and a bit of advice to those just starting out (or considering it). Much of my advice is based on suggestions from my graduate advisor, books or articles on grad school, and experiences from other students. Here are some of the things that have really helped me so far.
Let's start with finding an advisor, school, and then eventually, applying.
This part was fairly easy for me. I completed my undergrad in 2015 and had no (or little) intention of returning to university. I worked on different bird research projects in northern Alberta, southern BC, and in Jamaica. I was working with MSc and PhD students on really cool research projects in these places and felt myself being drawn to a similar path and conducting my own research. I also had (have) career goals in mind and the more I looked forward to those, the more I realized a graduate degree would give me the skills, experience, connections, and those little letters after my name, that would make it easier to reach my goals.
I thought about what my research interests were (habitat restoration, birds, conservation, and bioacoustics) and started casually looking for opportunities. I stumbled upon the website for Dr. Dan Mennill's lab at the University of Windsor. Research in his lab has largely focused on bioacoustics and birds, which checks off half of the interests on my list. So I contacted Dan and after some back and forth, he invited me to come visit the lab. This is my first bit of advice to prospective grad students: if possible, meet your potential advisor in person, talk to other students, and tour the lab and university. Dan and I met and we discussed both my research interests and his. We realized that we had slightly different interests but by the end of the meeting, we had come up with ideas for a research project that combined our interests, and even happened to check off those two extras off my list (i.e. conservation and habitat restoration). So my second piece of advice: find a project that is interesting and exciting to you, something that you will still be excited about a year or two into it, a project that will allow your passion to grow and not fizzle out with time. Also, make sure it fits in line with your career goals. I am very grateful to have found a situation where my advisor and my own research needs are being met.
The actual application to the university was the easy part. Finding a lab, an advisor, and a project that interest you is the tricky part and I realize many people don't find it as easy as I did. I've been asked several times, "How many other labs did you look into?" or "What other universities were you considering?" the answer to both of those is "None." I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, and I found that in the Mennill Lab. Lucky for me, there was a place for me there.
So you've found your advisor, lab, and been accepted into grad school, now what?
I started as a student last September. At first I felt the "Imposter Syndrome" coming on... "I've somehow tricked everyone into thinking I'm good enough to be here." I also felt a bit lost. How do I get started? What do I do first? That's something about grad school that first stood out to me as being very different from undergrad: no one is holding your hand or telling you what to do. It's up to you to determine how to start and move forward (with help from your advisor and lab mates). My next piece of advice and one that I didn't figure out on my own: start by reading A LOT. Read anything you can find that relates to your research topic and become familiar with your specific field. Another really important piece of advice that I learned a few weeks into it: set up a reference manager AND a separate list summarizing your readings. I use Mendeley, which is free and super helpful. I also have an Excel file in which I write a brief summary of each paper I've read. Here's a good paper about developing good reading habitats that we read and discussed during one of our lab meetings.
In my first week, my advisor showed me how he organizes himself using a calendar app and organizing his time into blocks. My first thought was that it seemed unnecessary. But I took his advice and set up my calendar with all my responsibilities (courses, workshops, teaching assistant duties, lab meetings, etc.), as well as, time for reading, writing, and working with my data. I highly recommend this for other new grad students: set up a calendar (I use the Calendar for Mac) and fill out your entire week ahead with time set aside for reading, writing, and all other tasks.
Another suggestion from my advisor and something I do in my personal life as well: write out and regularly revisit your goals. For me this means my academic, research, career, and life goals. Having my monthly and semesterly goals written out helps guide me and keep me on track. Keeping my career and life goals in mind encourages me to get the most out of grad school and remember why I'm here. Take a moment and write out yours. Especially before applying to grad school.
My next piece of advice, and again, one that was given to me by my advisor and in articles or books I've read with advice for new grad students: start writing early and write often. This refers to both the thesis proposal and the actual thesis. Of course, this would be difficult for those students who start the semester with a position in a lab, an advisor, but no research project. Unfortunately, this does happen for some students. Or the situation where your project idea falls through. I have been lucky enough not to experience this (yet!). As soon as you have something you can write about, write it.
Something I did and I think it was really helpful for me and something I would recommend to others: seek out opportunities to speak about and share your research with others. At first, people would ask me what my research was about. I found that to be an overwhelming question. How do I summarize my research into a few sentences when I barely know myself what my research is about?! Now, when people ask me, I almost have a memorized speech that just comes out without me having to put much thought into it. People will ask you this and it's usually not when you'd expect it, for example, the last time I was asked to explain my research was in a walk-in clinic when I was getting checked for a concussion. Good thing I had that memorized speech ready. One of the things that helped me with this was preparing presentations to wide audiences. Over the winter break, I gave a 45 minute presentation on my study site and my research to a naturalist club. This forced me to put together slides, practice presenting, but most importantly, explain my research in a way that is both understandable and engaging to a wide audience. The talk was well-attended by people from ages 6 to 80+ years old! It was such a supportive environment and so well-received, that I returned to my lab and my research in January feeling much more confident about speaking publicly about my research.
My last piece of advice: make time for the things you enjoy and make time for yourself. Mental health is so important and not talked about often enough. Don't spend every waking hour working. Make time for family and friends, exercise, healthy eating, hobbies, and unwinding. There will always be a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it all. Make time for yourself. Work it into your calendar if you need to.
To finish, I want to acknowledge that everyone is different (as is each lab, program, advisor, university) and what works for me might not work for you. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, we can be productive in different ways or at different times of day, and we have different priorities in our lives. Figure out what these things mean for you so that you can excel in grad school. I am still figuring these things out myself but I'm hoping that what I've written here might help someone else as they make their way through applying for grad school and then, eventually, their first semester in it.
To summarize my list, plus add a few more: advice to new or prospective grad students from a new grad student:
- Before applying/accepting, meet your potential advisor in person, talk to their students, see their lab and the university
- Choose a project that really interests you, while keeping in mind how it will further your career
- Start your grad student career with LOTS of reading
- Organize your readings with a reference manager and a summary (in Excel for example)
- Set up a calendar and set aside time for reading, writing, and other tasks
- Write out your goals (academic, research, career, life) and regularly revisit them
- Start writing early and often
- Find opportunities to share your research and practice presenting
- Make time for yourself and the things you love
- Take advantage of things your university offers (e.g. free food, workshops, dental care, lectures, counselling...)
- Get to know other grad students outside your lab. They can be an important resource for support, socializing, and cat-sitting.
- Mentor undergrads if you can. Talk to them about your research. Get them involved if they show an interest. Also, find your own mentor!
- Keep a list (mental or written) of things you want to get out of grad school. Not just goals, but particular skills or experiences. When I started, my list included things like writing grant applications, presenting at conferences, and learning how to use R. This is the time to gain those skills.
Are you considering graduate school? Have you already gone through it yourself? Do you have questions or concerns, advice or suggestions? Comment below - I'm eager to hear other tips or thoughts from current or past grad students!