“Read This Paper!”: What Does That Really Mean?

It’s not unusual for an advisor to occasionally tell you to read certain papers because she thinks the papers are relevant to your career or research. The suggestion (or commandment) to read the paper, if interpreted by most laypeople would probably translate to “read the words in this paper.” And this, unfortunately, is how many freshmen PhD students interpret the suggestion from their advisor. Poor souls...

When an advisor admonishes you to “read this paper,” she’s really saying “understand this paper and anything this paper relies on.” So what does that mean? That means you should also be reading any papers that the paper references. It means, if you don’t really get a concept, try to implement it in some small cheap way. Until you’ve become mature in your chosen field, you’ll rarely know and have understood all the references cited by the paper you’re reading and thus be able to avoid this “extra legwork.” And even when you have matured, you may come across a paper that uses linear algebra or statistical techniques you haven’t seen before. Can you guess what you’ll have to do? More legwork? Bingo!

You might be saying to yourself at this point: That sounds laborious. Newsflash: IT IS. Nobody promised you that your PhD program would be a walk in the park. And if someone did, shame on him for lying, and shame on you for believing him.

Trials and Tribulations: Keep Going

After spending whatever you consider to be "a lot of time" in a PhD program, it's easy to lose heart.  It's easy to doubt yourself and the path you're choosing. It's easy to take the attractive offer from Big Company X and to say "what the hell."  It's easy to conjure up all the obstacles you're facing and will have to face.  All of us that go through challenging PhD programs have those dark moments.  And to succeed, you must see yourself through those times.     

Let me share with you one of the MANY things that kept me going in those so called "dark moments."  One thing I used to say from time to time that helped put things into perspective was the following: 

The pain of the PhD program is temporary, but the pride (and everything else) that comes with having a PhD is forever. 

Get through a program that lasts 4 - 6+ years of your life, and get to be called "Dr." for the rest of your life.  Not too bad of a trade eh?   

Accept Criticism to Be a Better Scientist

Criticism is a part of the PhD process (read the fine print).

Should You Get a PhD?

More students than you think actually aren’t 100% certain that they want to get a PhD. There are some people that desire positions that have a PhD as a prerequisite (e.g., being a tenure-track professor). If what you want to be requires a PhD, then it’s probably in a student’s best interest to be certain she wants the PhD.

So for the rest of us out there who don’t need a PhD for some job we desire, the question is "should we get PhDs?”

I believe you should obtain a PhD if you believe its attainment will add substantial value to your life. 

When some people see the word value, they sometimes immediately think of money, but value is obviously more than that. Take me for example. The number one reason I decided to complete my PhD was that, because I knew I wouldn’t enter into academia, my life had a greater probability of being “interesting”--I couldn’t predict how my life would be altered--I just knew it would be altered, and it would be positive.  Now, I'm not going to lie, I also figured monetarily, if I played my cards I could come out on top financially as well--but this thought wasn't the primary motivation.  Quitting the PhD program after my Master’s to enter the workforce just seemed too boring and predictable a life.

The perceived greater potential of a “interesting life” was enough to drive me to finish my PhD. The trick is to find out if such a drive--that is, something valuable that’s derived from obtaining a PhD--exists for you in your life. Good luck!

Life Lessons Learned From Running

I can honestly assert that my most meaningful achievement has nothing to do with computers or computer science. Nevertheless, it has taught me many practical life lessons and analogies that I apply to my field of study and has shaped my goal achievement. Specifically, I trained for and completed a half marathon last year. Due to the fact that I was never an active runner, this entire experience was very new and difficult, however the process taught me many important principles. 

Firstly, I learned that comparing my performance to the performance of others was completely unnecessary. To explain, I am an extremely slow runner and was frequently discouraged when I encountered much older runners that ran much faster than me. I found that oftentimes, we are preoccupied by the achievements of others and tend to compare our own performance to the performance of others. In reality, my own performance has no bearing on anyone else’s performance and vice versa. Generally speaking, I learned that the achievement of others does not negate my hard work and progress.

Secondly, I learned that preparation is the most important component of the journey. In other words, preparation is what equips an individual to win the race. In terms of training, proper preparation ensures that a runner will successfully cross the finish line on the day of the race. In pursuing a PhD, adequate preparation ensures that when your knowledge is challenged, and you must defend your ideas, there is a firm background on which to base your knowledge.

Finally, I learned the importance of discipline. To be successful, hard work must become a habit, regardless of your individual preferences. For example, during training, I ran at 6am on most mornings. Initially, I experienced extreme difficulty waking up at such an early hour. As I continued running, waking up early became a habit and as a result, easier. The same principle applies for achieving my goal of a PhD. Originally, when I began research, working long hours consistently was extremely difficult. Once, I put aside my own preferences and made this schedule a habit, it became a norm in my life.

The Value of Research Reading Groups

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, doing a Ph.D. by yourself sucks. As a PhD student, much is demanded from you: coursework, teaching, research, publications, and becoming expert at something being among the things demanded from you. There’s so much going on in your field. How could you really read all of it in a reasonable amount of time?

News flash: You can’t.

So what is a Ph.D. student to do? Join a reading group related to your research area. In a reading group, at each meeting of the group, a different member takes the responsibility of reading a “important” paper in the area, and presents it to the rest of the group. This strategy spreads out the work required to stay on top of your field.

But what if there are no groups in your research area? Start one. Are you the only student in your department interested in your field? If so, that isn’t very healthy. In this case, you’ll want to at least occasionally attend another research group’s meetings. A great many ideas have been had by taking ideas from one area, and applying to another area.

Stand Up For Yourself

This sounds really cliché, but I think too few students stand up for themselves.  Students almost believe that they have to take nonsense from an advisor, because the advisor is paying her or controls when she graduates. If you’ve been disrespected by a professor, then you need to make it clear that you don’t take that kind of crap.  

You’re BOTH ADULTS.  

Your advisor shouldn’t treat you like his child. If your advisor can’t stand someone standing up for herself, then you might have the wrong advisor. If your advisor is looking for a child, then tell him to find a spouse and go create or adopt one.  It’s true that PhD students are often low on the totem pole, but it doesn’t make you a child either. I know for some, this advice may be hard to swallow, and I understand. 

I have two responses depending on circumstances.  Perspective one says that you’re afraid of future interactions being awkward with your advisor or you don’t know how he will react.  Look. There’s never a reason for your advisor to disrespect you when you’ve obeyed the Golden Rule and never disrespected him.  You have a right to correct your advisor in such a situation.  You have nothing to feel awkward about, because YOU were in the RIGHT.  You can be tactful in how you correct your advisor, but correct him you must, or be prepared to experience more disrespect throughout your PhD career.  And if you really had to choose, would rather you feel terrible the next X years, or potentially have to your advisor feel awkward for the next X years.  On the upside, he may want to graduate you faster!  Perspective two, you have a plan for redemption in the future.  If you’re being strategic about when you decide to stand up to your advisor, or in how you will stand up to him, know your strategy and implement it unfailingly.  Godspeed.