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1、PhDs from the Facultys PerspectiveA common challenge for a lot of new PhD students is that they still have an “undergraduate mentality, “ where they believe that grades still matter (they do, but only marginally so), and that there will always be someone there to tell you what to do.Its natural that
2、 a lot of new PhD students think in this way. The primary form of evaluation for undergrads is grades, and new PhD students have had 4+ years optimizing their thinking and work processes for that system. Similarly, most undergrad courses are geared towards “demonstrate that you can build this“ rathe
3、r than trying to answer more important questions like “what should we build, and why?“As such, grades in graduate school dont really matter beyond the fact that you are above the minimum bars as set by your department. Instead, the main form of evaluation for PhD students is progress towards researc
4、h, which, for better or for worse, can be approximately boiled down to research publications.Now, having said that, you should do more than the bare minimum amount of work needed for your courses. The instructors for your course will be on committees reviewing your progress, and they will also be yo
5、ur future peers. Leaving a bad impression here wont help your case. Furthermore, you might miss a lot of wonderful opportunities for learning new things if you only do the bare minimum.Most PhD students grow out of this undergrad mentality in a semester or two. The best thing you can do is realize t
6、hat this frame of thinking exists, and to watch out for it if you feel it creeping over you.Own your researchFollowing up on the point above, if youre waiting around for someone to tell you what to do, youre doing it wrong. The most impressive story Ive ever heard about owning your research is from
7、Ron Azumas retrospective So Long, and Thanks for the PhD. Azuma tells the story of how one graduate student needed a piece of equipment for his research, but the shipment was delayed due to a strike. The graduate student flew out to where the hardware was, rented a truck, and drove it back, just to
8、get his work done.Note that, however, its very likely you actually *will* start out by having someone telling you what to do. The vast majority of new PhD students are very smart and energetic individuals. However, the main things that new PhD students lack are an understanding of the research proce
9、ss and experience with the research literature. As such, its usually easier to start out with a directing style of research with new students, with advisors telling you to read this paper, install this software, or build this app.Over time, however, as you become more familiar with research methods
10、and whats been done in the past, you need to take more initiative and ownership in your work. As you progress in your research career, you should still listen to your advisor, but take what they say only as advice. Ultimately, you have to own your research. You are the person who has to drive it for
11、ward, and you have to do what it takes to get it done.How do I know when a student is doing really well? Its when the best thing I can do for them is to just get out of their way.Be willing to push backThe second worst talk Ive ever seen in my life was actually by someone quite famous in their field
12、. I came away from the presentation feeling quite embarrassed, pretty much the same way you feel after watching Ricky Gervais doing another one of his cringe-worthy performances. The work this researcher presented made no sense whatsoever. There was no stated problem being solved, no rationale for w
13、hy he did it the way he did, no new and interesting insights, and no clear innovation. It was pretty clear that this person hadnt read any research paper or seen any related commercial products in the area in at least over a decade.I think there were two reasons why someone with such an accomplished
14、 career could make such a major misstep. First, this individual had a very strong personality and could easily dominate any conversation. Second, I think he inadvertently surrounded himself by people who were simply unwilling or unable to push back. In this particular case, without a strong counterw
15、eight, this researcher led his team into unfruitful directions that just made no sense, either from a research perspective or from a product perspective.I tell new students this story as a cautionary tale.I tell them this story because I want them to be able to stand up for themselves and make a str
16、ong case for what they are doing or what they want to do. Dont forget, if youre working full time on a project, youre spending far more time thinking about the issues than your advisor is. You have 40+ hours a week to think about the problem you are working on, while your advisor probably has 5-10 hours (on top of teaching, travel, committees, and interactions with other students this is why all faculty seem to exhibit varying degrees of brain damage).If something doesnt make
