November 2008 Archives

There are many online resources themed around grad school humor. But if you look closely, they are not really about fun in grad school, but rather about how a grad student is a source of amusement to others. And here is one of the major reasons why it is so -

In a nutshell, the definition of humor is different and very scholarly for grad students as compared to the rest of the population. In the first year of grad school, the jokes are pretty much funny to around 40 fellow grad students who are taking/ have taken the same courses. By the third year, the count decreases to 5 students who are working in the same research lab. And by the end of the fifth year, only the student is capable of getting some of his/her 'deep' jokes. Of course, I am still in my first year, but the above hypothesis seems to be true at least to the sample population I have observed so far.

I guess this phenomenon is mainly a result of the fact that once in grad school, each one of us starts relating everything to his/her research, even the things that are not even remotely connected. It may come from a belief that one's research is the answer to most, if not all, problems. So a math student starts computing probability of a surprize quiz given the TA's last paper was rejected (and of course the number of topics covered since the last quiz). A social-psychology student starts seeking examples of collaboration and social loafing among his/her peers for some group assignment. I guess this is what makes serious research fun for grad students. So the morale of the blog is, grad school can be as funny as one can make it. One just has to look in the right places!

Graduate school must be the most unique experience of academic life. At least it is the first time I am stepping out of the protective shell and chasing problems without an idea of where they will lead me. No more finding answers in the textbooks or even online, no more comparing course notes with friends - because what I as a PhD student have to do, is seek answers to yet unsolved problems. Probably I will be the only one in my department, my university studying that problem, working alone for the duration of four or more years untiI I make a significant contribution to the field.

I ask myself - Is this scary? Can I get through these years? What should I do when I am feeling low? Is there a mantra for success?

Well, I guess perhaps the most important thing to always remember is that every Ph.D student is just about in the same situation. Me and my friends totally agree on this point - so we now have a pact. No matter what happens, we all will get together every friday evening and leave worries of the week behind. We cannot work more than 8 hours a day so we have to make sure that we finish all tasks with peak efficiency without spilling over the alloted time. If we have to finish some writing assignments, we will coordinate the timings so that we sit together and get those assignments cracking. This way we can easily prevent each other from loafing around or wasting time on checking e-mails. We will also share our progress, be it in terms of research or paper publication or thesis writing.

I am sure these small things will make a big difference in sailing through the PhD years. It is not only about getting work done efficiently, but it is also about creating a support group, a group of  friends one can depend on and I truly believe that, that is the mantra for flourishing in graduate school.