From bbec763c15db8dd549244eac5e982a3e0bf90a2f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Alexandre Nicastro Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2017 11:36:14 -0300 Subject: [PATCH] typo fix: from "before before" to "before" --- _posts/2016-09-07-phd.markdown | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/_posts/2016-09-07-phd.markdown b/_posts/2016-09-07-phd.markdown index 865a4ebc4..5d337ed57 100644 --- a/_posts/2016-09-07-phd.markdown +++ b/_posts/2016-09-07-phd.markdown @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ First, should you want to get a PhD? I was in a fortunate position of knowing si **Expertise.** PhD is probably your only opportunity in life to really drill deep into a topic and become a recognized leading expert *in the world* at something. You're exploring the edge of our knowledge as a species, without the burden of lesser distractions or constraints. There's something beautiful about that and if you disagree, it could be a sign that PhD is not for you. -**The disclaimer**. I wanted to also add a few words on some of the potential downsides and failure modes. The PhD is a very specific kind of experience that deserves a large disclaimer. You will inevitably find yourself working very hard (especially before paper deadlines). You need to be okay with the suffering and have enough mental stamina and determination to deal with the pressure. At some points you will lose track of what day of the week it is and go on a diet of leftover food from the microkitchens. You'll sit exhausted and alone in the lab on a beautiful, sunny Saturday scrolling through Facebook pictures of your friends having fun on exotic trips, paid for by their 5-10x larger salaries. You will have to throw away 3 months of your work while somehow keeping your mental health intact. You'll struggle with the realization that months of your work were spent on a paper with a few citations while your friends do exciting startups with TechCrunch articles or push products to millions of people. You'll experience identity crises during which you'll question your life decisions and wonder what you're doing with some of the best years of your life. As a result, you should be quite certain that you can thrive in an unstructured environment in the pursuit research and discovery for science. If you're unsure you should lean slightly negative by default. Ideally you should consider getting a taste of research as an undergraduate on a summer research program before before you decide to commit. In fact, one of the primary reasons that research experience is so desirable during the PhD hiring process is not the research itself, but the fact that the student is more likely to know what they're getting themselves into. +**The disclaimer**. I wanted to also add a few words on some of the potential downsides and failure modes. The PhD is a very specific kind of experience that deserves a large disclaimer. You will inevitably find yourself working very hard (especially before paper deadlines). You need to be okay with the suffering and have enough mental stamina and determination to deal with the pressure. At some points you will lose track of what day of the week it is and go on a diet of leftover food from the microkitchens. You'll sit exhausted and alone in the lab on a beautiful, sunny Saturday scrolling through Facebook pictures of your friends having fun on exotic trips, paid for by their 5-10x larger salaries. You will have to throw away 3 months of your work while somehow keeping your mental health intact. You'll struggle with the realization that months of your work were spent on a paper with a few citations while your friends do exciting startups with TechCrunch articles or push products to millions of people. You'll experience identity crises during which you'll question your life decisions and wonder what you're doing with some of the best years of your life. As a result, you should be quite certain that you can thrive in an unstructured environment in the pursuit research and discovery for science. If you're unsure you should lean slightly negative by default. Ideally you should consider getting a taste of research as an undergraduate on a summer research program before you decide to commit. In fact, one of the primary reasons that research experience is so desirable during the PhD hiring process is not the research itself, but the fact that the student is more likely to know what they're getting themselves into. I should clarify explicitly that this post is not about convincing anyone to do a PhD, I've merely tried to enumerate some of the common considerations above. The majority of this post focuses on some tips/tricks for navigating the experience once if you decide to go for it (which we'll see shortly, below).