Hello! This blog is a bit more of a heart to heart with myself, but I hope by sharing this it might help at least a couple prospective or first year PhD students like myself.
Take notes
Take notes all the time on everything, even when learning things like a new lab machine. You never know when you will need to reference something! Lab equipment is the one I forget about the most to write down because once you get use to using it everyday you don’t think twice about all the buttons you need to press, but what if you take a month hiatus or switch to another project for a while? You’ve forgotten everything!
Ask for help
Yes, do it. I know it seems scary, and you think you will be judged for looking dumb or asking stupid questions, but no one is going to think less of you for asking questions. You are just trying to learn, which is the whole point of graduate school!
Take breaks
Even if you love science and can’t think of anything else, not taking breaks and doing other things (such as hobbies or weekend plans) will eventually lead to burnout.
Science isn’t defined by your successes
Many more experiments (and projects) will fail than succeed. That’s just the reality of science. But don’t beat yourself up, because a failed experiment tells you information just like a successful experiment!
Find your community
Be it in lab, classmates, or non-work related at all, it’s important to have a support group to get you through the inevitable tough times of graduate school.
It’s okay not to know everything
Many people going into a graduate program think they must know everything before starting, but that is not the point at all. Going into a graduate program, you just have to have the excitement to learn! No one expects a first year to know everything about your topic so don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself.
Learn how to take care of your mental health
Anxiety and depression are, unfortunately, so common among graduate students because of the mountain of things we are supposed to accomplish at any one time. While we can’t control the inevitability of tasks in graduate school, we can control how WE handle it. Whether it be meditating in the morning or having a set lunch time each day with friends, take time for what makes you feel better.
Pick the mentor/advisor that is right for you
The biggest thing I hear many of my fellow graduate students saying looking back on their first year is that they wish they had focused less on the project they would get in lab and more on how they interacted with their advisor. Having a mentor that understands you, how to motivate you and make you into a better scientist, leads to a successful graduate school experience regardless of the project. Different people mesh with different mentors, but take your time to find the mentor that you click with!
Find a junior mentor
Another piece of advice many students mention is having an older graduate student so you can ask for advice and opinions from someone who has already been through the process you are going through.
Don’t compare yourself to others
This is by far the hardest, but you will thank yourself if you learn how to separate your progress from other graduate students in your program. You all work at different paces, have different projects with different pitfalls. Only you can decide if you are doing the right amount of work.
