Graduation: Tips
It is/has been official: I am now First Name Last Name, Ph. D.
It is divine. The whole walk-hood-diploma-thing hasn't been done yet, but it's swiftly approaching.
In the meantime, I've moved across the country. There have been other things that have been done too: car buying, skiing, goodbyes saying, friend gathering, but the most relevant thing to this post is my new job starting. It's been good. There will be much to say about it in the future, but for now, I'd like to reflect on graduation and the tips that I wish I'd known that would have been helpful along the way. So in part one of a two part series upon graduation and reflection.
Specific Tips for those in Grad School and Finishing:
1: Organization is a big deal. Figure out how to get organized. Come up with a system and stick to it.
2: Organizing References. Now that I've graduated, I find that what works for me is the article author last name, shortened paper ref (ie: TetLett) and then year. If I was really into long file names, maybe a keyword would also be helpful. Then after that: Folders. Group and regroup. Folder names such as Cu Complexes within Folders such as Ref for Nature Paper are much more helpful than Desktop from ACS (meaning all the files that were on my desktop prior to the ACS conference). Trust the organization perspective: by investing time now, you are saving time later. I don't want to hear it, but it's true.
3: Repeat organization for other important files such as Chem-Draws. I can't tell you the number I have that are named with meaningless names that I have to reopen every time.
4: Hard drives fail. Programs freeze and close unexpectedly. Save, back it up, and do it often.
5: Indexing, filing, organizing. Figure out how to make this work for you.
6: Keep a Notebook. Yes, with a capital N. Of speakers in seminars, take it to conferences, take notes for faculty candidates. Don't just write down what they say, but include your questions and other people's questions. Write down how you think they did in their talk and what you would have done differently. Be attentive, and learn. Sometimes learning is more than just the subject they are speaking about but also how and why.
7: For writing up and publishing, remember that the embargo act is not just for colonial times. Embargo your thesis, unless everything is published. Also, keep some alligator clips handy and accessible. It'll save you some embarrassing trips to all sorts of shops at the last minute.
8: Finally, when handing out hard copies for your committee to edit, the fullest sense of satisfaction will be achieved when you can personally hand it to the last person on your list. If you leave it in a mailbox, it's really not the same. Make sure the last person you drop it off to, gets a hand delivered copy.
There are probably more tips, but those are the ones that I knew I wanted to share.
Happy Graduation.
It is divine. The whole walk-hood-diploma-thing hasn't been done yet, but it's swiftly approaching.
In the meantime, I've moved across the country. There have been other things that have been done too: car buying, skiing, goodbyes saying, friend gathering, but the most relevant thing to this post is my new job starting. It's been good. There will be much to say about it in the future, but for now, I'd like to reflect on graduation and the tips that I wish I'd known that would have been helpful along the way. So in part one of a two part series upon graduation and reflection.
Specific Tips for those in Grad School and Finishing:
1: Organization is a big deal. Figure out how to get organized. Come up with a system and stick to it.
2: Organizing References. Now that I've graduated, I find that what works for me is the article author last name, shortened paper ref (ie: TetLett) and then year. If I was really into long file names, maybe a keyword would also be helpful. Then after that: Folders. Group and regroup. Folder names such as Cu Complexes within Folders such as Ref for Nature Paper are much more helpful than Desktop from ACS (meaning all the files that were on my desktop prior to the ACS conference). Trust the organization perspective: by investing time now, you are saving time later. I don't want to hear it, but it's true.
3: Repeat organization for other important files such as Chem-Draws. I can't tell you the number I have that are named with meaningless names that I have to reopen every time.
4: Hard drives fail. Programs freeze and close unexpectedly. Save, back it up, and do it often.
5: Indexing, filing, organizing. Figure out how to make this work for you.
6: Keep a Notebook. Yes, with a capital N. Of speakers in seminars, take it to conferences, take notes for faculty candidates. Don't just write down what they say, but include your questions and other people's questions. Write down how you think they did in their talk and what you would have done differently. Be attentive, and learn. Sometimes learning is more than just the subject they are speaking about but also how and why.
7: For writing up and publishing, remember that the embargo act is not just for colonial times. Embargo your thesis, unless everything is published. Also, keep some alligator clips handy and accessible. It'll save you some embarrassing trips to all sorts of shops at the last minute.
8: Finally, when handing out hard copies for your committee to edit, the fullest sense of satisfaction will be achieved when you can personally hand it to the last person on your list. If you leave it in a mailbox, it's really not the same. Make sure the last person you drop it off to, gets a hand delivered copy.
There are probably more tips, but those are the ones that I knew I wanted to share.
Happy Graduation.
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