The first year in Ph.D. programs can be confusing.
When recruited to a Ph.D. program, you are told that you are elite - one of a chosen few admitted - and likely arrive on campus feeling pretty special.
The first semester can dissipate that special feeling pretty quickly.
If you wonder what you have gotten yourself into, you are pretty normal.
Second-semester students struggle for many reasons, ranging from low compensation & not great health benefits to competition from equally brilliant peers & inattentive faculty to missing home & family.
Some struggle because they find that what you want to study has been studied, or even worse, just isn't that interesting anymore.
Others struggle because the faculty member who attracted them left, so they wonder if they will ever find an advisor.
When explaining why they left our Ph.D. program, my cohort members cited these reasons.
One left for industry, saying his hour to work ratio didn't make sense. Another left, citing disappointment with the faculty. A third dropped because they decided to return home & get married. A fourth left because of faculty turnover, the place no longer fit their research interests.
After all the explanations, in the end, I was left with a cohort of one, just me, to navigate the remainder of the second semester & the program.
So what did I learn? That helped me survive the second semester?
With some faculty nudging, I built new friendships, learned new skills, and, along the way, ate a healthy portion of humble pie.
First, make friends. Because research requires working independently (aka sitting alone), it is easy to grow isolated. Make friends with students ahead of you in your program or with peers in adjacent programs. If you do, your second semester will be a lot better.
Second, recalibrate. General intelligence is not enough to succeed in a Ph.D. program. Switch gears. Rather than relying on just your wits, identify & develop work habits demonstrated by students who have navigated the first few years of the Ph.D. program.
Third, work smarter. Working hard does not mean working more. It means developing teamwork, leadership, & research skills necessary to contribute to a project. In the second semester, identify & develop the skills valued by your faculty & your discipline.
Fourth, explore. Take time in your second semester to explore questions, theories, & methods that pique your interest. The second semester is a good time to start thinking about a novel & new-to-you dissertation topic.
Fifth, find humility. In your first semester, you learned that you had a lot to learn. In your second semester, humble yourself & learn. Humility is essential to survival in a Ph.D. program.
Once you eat humble pie, you will find friendships more easily, peers more willing to share skills, & faculty more interested in collaboration.
Best of luck in the new semester! #mentoring#phdlife
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