How to Survive as a Graduate Student

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How to Survive as a Graduate Student
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How to Survive as a Graduate Student

• Francisco Pereira
• Chris Colohan
• Ted Wong
• Sean Slattery
• Alma Whitten
• Rob Deline
• Brian Noble
• Jay Sipelstein
• Jonathan Shewchuk
• Benjamin Pierce
• David Dill

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How to Survive as a Graduate Student

• Francisco Pereira ?
• Chris Colohan Google
• Ted Wong IBM
• Sean Slattery Credit Suisse First Boston
• Alma Whitten Google
• Rob Deline Microsoft
• Brian Noble University of Michigan
• Jay Sipelstein Susquehanna
• Jonathan Shewchuk University of Berkeley
• Benjamin Pierce University of Pennsylvania
• David Dill Stanford University

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Why are we here?

• Learn how to survive and thrive
• Hear from the "experts

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Outline

• Getting started
• The early years
• The middle years
• Black Friday
• Fortune cookies

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Format

• Question my authority!
• Focus on new students
• No names

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Getting started

• Getting here
• Attending the Immigration Course
• Picking your new advisor

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Getting here

• You have the ability to graduate

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Getting here

• You have the ability to graduate
• You are responsible for graduating

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Finding an advisor step 1

• Go to lots of IC talks!
• Learn about what you are interested in
• Find out what you may not yet know
• you are interested in!
• Find out who is leading what research
• Find out who is looking for students
• Go to the social events
• Get to know the other students
• Get to meet faculty in a relaxed setting

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Finding an advisor step 2

• Find out more about them
• Ask them for a meeting
• Talk to their students
• Talk to their ex-students
• Read some of their papers
• Maybe attend a project meeting

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Finding an advisor step 3

• Come to an agreement
• Tell them youd like to put them down as your 1st
  (2nd, 3rd) choice
• Verify that theyll ask for you too
• Fill out your handshake form accordingly

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Finding an advisor step 3

• Come to an agreement
• Tell them youd like to put them down as your 1st
  (2nd, 3rd) choice
• Verify that theyll ask for you too
• Fill out your handshake form accordingly
• Dont try to game the system
• Almost everyone gets their first choice
• Assignments are biased on your favour
• Be open to different possibilities

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Why is an advisor so important?

• Your advisor is your mentor
• Your advisor is your manager
• Your advisor is your advocate

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• Approachability
• Compatibility
• Durability
• History
• Research

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• Approachability
• Can you talk to them?
• Can you have discussions with them?
• Can you talk about personal matters if
• they affect you or the research?

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• Compatibility
• Do you have similar working styles?
• Hands-off, hands-on, hands-on-your-throat?
• What do they expect from their students at
  different stages?
• 40 or 60 hour work week?
• What counts as research?
• How do they react if expectations arent met?

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• Durability
• Will they be here for all of your stay?
• Do they often go on leaves of absence?
• Do they have a business on the side?
• Are they near their tenure case decision?
• Are they new faculty?
• Are they established or a rising start?

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• History
• Have they graduated other students?
• How long did that take?
• Are they successful now?
• Alive? Embittered? Divorced? Insane?
• Have they lost a lot of students through
  advisor changes or departures?

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What do you look for in an advisor?

• Research
• Are you interested in their research?
• How far along is it
• exploration
• implementation
• paper writing
• Research group structure
• large group working on one problem/system
• individuals working on unrelated problems
• Are there more faculty/students involved?

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Multiple advisors more of a good thing?

• Pros
• Span research areas, skills, or styles
• Combine strengths of each advisor
• Parents v2.0
• Cons
• Must manage several relationships
• Must balance demands of each
• Must ensure they meet every so often

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Changing advisors

• When to do it
• If your research interests diverge
• If your "styles" truly don't match
• No problem, happens often

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Changing advisors

• When to do it
• If your research interests diverge
• If your "styles" truly don't match
• No problem, happens often
• What to look out for
• Changing frequently
• Changing right before Black Friday
• Changing more than twice

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Outline

• Getting started
• The early years
• The middle years
• Black Friday
• Fortune cookies

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The early years

• Building up your advisor relationship
• Taking classes
• Fulfilling requirements
• Doing research
• Avoiding common distractions
• Fear, uncertainty and doubt

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Building up your advisor relationship

• Meet regularly with them
• Communicate openly with them
• Manage them
• Accommodate their needs

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When advisors go bad
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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to

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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to
• (S)He doesnt spend time with me anymore

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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to
• (S)He doesnt spend time with me anymore
• (S)He falls asleep when were together

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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to
• (S)He doesnt spend time with me anymore
• (S)He falls asleep when were together
• (S)He never compliments me anymore

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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to
• (S)He doesnt spend time with me anymore
• (S)He falls asleep when were together
• (S)He never compliments me anymore
• (S)He never tells me whats wrong

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When advisors go bad

• (S)He doesnt look at me the way he used to
• (S)He doesnt spend time with me anymore
• (S)He falls asleep when were together
• (S)He never compliments me anymore
• (S)He never tells me whats wrong
• (S)He never answers my calls/emails

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Taking classes

• The old way (previous century)
• Concentrate on research
• Pass your classes (B-), get an A in your area
• The apocryphal new way (this century)
• Do well in your classes (A) and your research

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Taking classes

• May seem very hard or very easy
• Theory folks hate systems classes
• Systems folks hate theory classes
• Its not unusual to fail one,nor is it a big deal
• Always take more time than they should
• Dont forget your research!

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Doing research

• Acquiring tools and concepts
• Learning how to survey an area
• Identifying a problem
• Solving it
• Dealing with yourself throughout
• Listen to/read Manuel Blums advice
• More later

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Fulfilling requirements

• Teaching
• Teach a basic and an advanced class
• Keep close watch on the clock (1/2-time)
• Writing and speaking
• Practice these skills early and often
• Get lots of feedback before trying to pass

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Avoiding common distractions

• Zephyr is not research!
• but it can help you with many practical things
• (http//zarchive.srv.cs.cmu.edu and also live
  with xemacs)
• Dont mix work and play
• Try to work hard at least one hour a day
• Make that hour the first hour
• If you cant work, go do something else!

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Avoiding common distractions

• Zephyr is not research!
• but it can help you with many practical things
• (http//zarchive.srv.cs.cmu.edu and also live
  with xemacs)
• Dont mix work and play
• Try to work hard at least one hour a day
• Make that hour the first hour
• If you cant work, go do something else!
• Community service is not a "distraction"!

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Avoiding common distractions

• Community service
• Traditionally students run many services
• Helps you meet many more people
• Gives a warm fuzzy feeling
• Faculty know who you arehttp//www.grad.cs.cmu
  .edu

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Avoiding common distractions

• What can I do?
• Coke Machine (servicecoke_at_cs)
• Espresso Machine (serviceespresso_at_cs)
• Software Collections (help_at_cs)
• DEC/5,The Guide To Living in Pittsburgh
  (decfive_at_cs)
• Student Seminar Series (sss_at_cs)
• Tea (freecsd-tea_at_cs)
• IC/open house
• Admissions Committee

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Outline

• Getting started
• The early years
• The middle years
• Black Friday
• Fortune cookies

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Research Hows Your Ego?

• Undergraduate work
• given a task, complete it well, get cookie
• Graduate work
• Find a problem you want to solve
• Get grudging support for working on it
• Have to justify why your work is worthwhile
• Do it because you want to

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Staying Sane

• Dont get isolated
• spend time with people
• talk to people about your work
• Remember
• theres life after CMU
• theres life outside CMU
• you do this because you want to

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Staying Sane Maladies
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Staying Sane Maladies

• Impostor syndrome
• You think youve been successfully faking being
  good enough to be here, but one day youll fail
  and everyone will scorn you
• Is very, very, very common
• Best cure
• Talk to other students, admit feeling that way

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Staying Sane Maladies

• Spiraling perfectionism
• You think your work is too trivial for anyone to
  care about and you spend a lot of energy
  improving it or
• trying to avoid presenting it
• Best cure
• Read papers, go to talks, go to conferences,
  recalibrate
• Derive satisfaction from what you do,
• not from comparison with others

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Staying Sane Maladies

• Trouble and panic
• Failed exam or course
• Research stalls or doesnt pan out
• Fight with advisor
• Best Cure
• Remember it happens to everyone sometime
• Help is available
• Older colleagues
• Student ombudsperson
• Frank Pfenning/Sharon Burks

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Staying Sane Maladies

• Depression
• Loss of energy and interest
• Unhappiness
• Change in sleeping or appetite
• Fuzzy thinking
• Best Cure
• CMU counseling center
• Many grad students encounter this

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Beating pre-proposal FUD

• "I'm not cut out for research."
• It takes time to transition to self-direction
• It takes time to find thesis topic
• It is hard to figure out how to do research, let
  alone do it
• "I want to leave."
• It is OK to leave (and you get a MS)
• Leaving is NOT failure!
• Staying out of stubbornness often leads to failure

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Sort-of-current Survival Rates
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Black Friday
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Black Friday

• Don't panic!
• Ensure that you have an advocate
• Talk to your advocate before BF
• What have you (not) done
• What do you expect to do (be reasonable)

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Black Friday how it works

• You fill out a form for your advisor
• You go to the Black Friday TG! Meanwhile

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Black Friday how it works

• You fill out a form for your advisor
• You go to the Black Friday TG! Meanwhile
• The faculty meet and discuss each student
• Key questions
• are you progressing
• do the faculty believe you will finish eventually?

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Black Friday how it works

• You fill out a form for your advisor
• You go to the Black Friday TG! Meanwhile
• The faculty meet and discuss each student
• Key questions
• are you progressing
• do the faculty believe you will finish
  eventually?
• Your advisor writes a letter giving you feedback
  and setting goals for next semester
• Frank signs the letter

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Black Friday why?

• Black Friday is a good thing
• Gives you official feedback
• From more than just your advisor!
• Gives your advisor official feedback
• Helps them (learn how to) advise

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Black Friday the letter

• "We are pleased. Next semester
• Keep up the good work!
• Making satisfactory progress
• Try to reach suggested goals
• Alternatively, reach equivalent goals
• "To remain in good standing, you must"
• Reach required goals
• No, really reach required goals

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Black Friday more why

• Lack of communication
• Advisor might not be able to express
  disappointment
• Certain advisors may be less patient.
• Language issues.
• Lack of funds
• In our socialist funding system we are
• the means of production, not just the People
• Lack of direction
• Once classes and TAing are over, fewer excuses

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Useful information
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Wrap up
Things we wish we had believed a few years ago.
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Fortune cookies
Never surprise or be surprised by your advisor.
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Fortune cookies
Once an advisor, always an advisor.
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Fortune cookies
Talk with other students and faculty to get an
outside perspective on your research
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Fortune cookies
There is more than one partner in a
marriage. Being concerned with only one of them
is a BIG problem.
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Fortune cookies
You probably cannot write or speak as well as you
can hack. Practice early and often.
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Fortune cookies
Hacking is not research.
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Fortune cookies
If you want to work, work. If you want to play,
play.
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Fortune cookies
Work at least an hour a day. Make that hour the
first hour.
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Fortune cookies
Keep outside interests and activities.
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Fortune cookies
Be honest to yourselfabout your abilities and
limits.
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Fortune cookies
Your thesis has less to dowith your career than
you think. What you can say about your thesis
has more to do with your career than you think.
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Final fortune cookie
Have fun!
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Saga of Student X Part 1
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Saga of Student X Part 2
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Saga of Student X Part 3
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Saga of Student X Part 4
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Saga of Student X Part 5
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Saga of Student X Part 5
Now
Now faculty at a famous university!
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Historical Survival Rates