Resources for Success as a Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon
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Transcript of Resources for Success as a Graduate Student at Carnegie Mellon
Resources for Success as a Graduate Student at
Carnegie Mellon
Chad EllisChemistry DepartmentSeptember 18, 2009
Outline
I. What good is my advice?
II. Success—The 10 Year Plan
III. Resources
IV. Ex: Structure and Timing of my “career”
I. What good is my advice?
• 6th year in Chemistry…graduating this Spring
• Academic career goal
• Post-doc applications
• Writing papers, thesis
• TA for 8 semesters
• Generalizations of my experience…– How many 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th +??
II. Success
• Unique experience– Less than 1% of U.S. has a Ph.D.– Academic structure
• You make it what you want—set goals– Thrills and depressions– Support and destruction
• NOT for everyone—opportunity cost is BIG– Love the pursuit of truth– Mentoring– Determined Intellectual Exploration!
Why get a M.S. or Ph.D.?
II. Success—you define it
• Make a 10 Year Plan…
– Incorporate and anticipate changes
• Example: In 10 years, I want to…
• Don’t know??? Set goals to maintain options.
III. Resources
A. Your Structure and Timing– Your 10 Year Plan
B. Your Network
C. Carnegie Mellon
D. Your Determination and Resilience
Structure and Timing
• Work back from your 10 Year Plan
• Year 5 needs…(Ph.D. graduation) – Papers, teaching, research skills, funding,
conferences, leadership, thesis…– Work back from each requirement to Sept 18, 2009– What does my CV need to look like??
• Use models (and do better than they did)– Older grad students– Seek out a mentor…– Models become nodes in your network
Network
• In making your 10 Year Plan, develop good relations with…– Mentors, faculty, staff, administrators– Collaborators– Peers and friends– Friends of friends– and…
• Your advisor is probably the most important node in your network
Advisors
• Choose wisely…(you can switch)– R. Tannenbaum, W. Schmidt. How to Choose a Leadership Pattern,
Harvard Business Review, May-June 1973.
• Ask questions to the advisor, his students, students in other groups, alumni– Different answers could indicate trouble… – Would you work for this advisor again?
• How does he/she manage resources/money? Projects, Conflict, Authorship, Funding, Group dynamic, Communication?
• Work in a number of groups prior to selection.
AdvisorsProject Management
Very Specific / IntrusiveTotal Freedom / Oblivious
Per
son
alit
y Sup
port
ive
/ A
ltrui
stic
Des
truc
tive
/ P
aras
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TIME
University Resources
• Your 10 Year Plan, Network, and Advisor are taking shape…GREAT!
• Sort out the departmental requirements in Plan
• Do them in 0-3 years– Grad student handbook– Coursework, entry exams, comprehensive exams,
seminars, proposals, leadership roles, teaching…
• In 2-6 years…conferences, papers, thesis…
• What can the University or departments offer in terms of support toward your Ph.D.?
University Resources
• Financial
• Technical
• Logistical
• Professional Development
• Legal
• Organizational
• Emotional, Social, Health
Financial Resources
• Travel Funding– Graduate Programs Office– Departmental– Conference organizers
• Bigger grants– NSF, NIH– Private funders (Dreyfus, generous alumni…)
• GPO
• HUB—student billing questions
• 46% say important
Technical Resources
• Computing – Help Desk 268-HELP– Departmental directories, shared servers– Back-ups
• Software– Learn relevant software early!!– Endnote, Mathematica, Sigmaplot
Logistical Resources
• Library– Illiad, Cameo
• Stockroom– Shipping and receiving facilities
• Maintenance personnel
– Add these important folks to your network!!!
Professional Development
• Teaching– Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence– Teaching Club
• Graduate Programs Office– Lecture Series– http://grad.msu.edu/prep/ Michigan State: PREP
• Presentations, publications, and writing– G. Whitesides, Adv. Mater. 2004, 16, 15, 1375.
• Writing Consultant• Mentors• > 60% say important!
Legal Resources
• Allegheny County Bar Association– Legal Referral Service online: $30 for 30 minutes
• Neighborhood Legal Services Association
• Carnegie Mellon’s Office of the General Counsel
• Carnegie Mellon’s Tech Transfer Office—IP
Organizational / Interdisciplinary
• Graduate Student Assembly– your student government
• University Clubs– Sporting, Outdoors, Cultural, Project Oriented– Skiing– Solar Splash– Buggy– Entrepreneurial and investing
Social, Emotional, Health
• Great athletic facilities, events, and IM sports
• GSA events– Happy hours– Rafting trips– Sports– Wine tasting
• Carnegie Mellon Student Health and Counseling Services—Health Insurance
• Departmental events and resources
Resources…revisited
A. Your Structure and Timing– Your 10 Year Plan
B. Your Network
C. Carnegie Mellon
D. Your Determination and Resilience--decide to persevere, overcome all obstacles
IV. Halfway through my 10 Year Plan
• Goal: – Chemistry professor at a top liberal arts university
• What I’ve done
• Current state of affairs– Post Doc application process
Getting a Post Doc
• Identify post doc advisor one year before graduation• Send a perfect cover letter, CV, and research
summary (see Mentor) by email and hard copy• Use your network• Follow up if no response• Send letters of recommendation if asked
– Supportive faculty who know you and your work– Best case: one-two writers know post-doc advisor
• Phone interview, site visit, presentation, dinner• The offer…• papers, thesis, external post-doc funding…
Acknowledgements
• Nancy Klancher
• Suzie Laurich-McIntyre
• Questions??