The Graduate School Experience

Eleni Stroulia

Ramya Raghavendra

Andrea Danyluk

Eleni’s StoryEducation B.Eng. - University of Patras (Greece) 1989

M.Sc., Ph.D. - College of Computing, Georgia Inst. Of Technology 1992, 1994

Why grad school? Liked (and was good at) studying

Wanted to leave Greece

Jobs

(post PhD)

Research Associate with FAW, Ulm

Post Doc with CS Univ. of Alberta

Faculty with CS Univ. of Alberta

What I liked

What I didn’t like

Ramya’s StoryEducation B.E., CS, India, 2004

Why grad school? Wanted to work independently in challenging roles, work on new problems

Jobs

(post PhD)

What I liked

What I didn’t like

Andrea’s StoryEducation B.A., Math/CS, Vassar College, 1984

M.S., CS, Columbia University, 1986

Ph.D., CS, Columbia University, 1992

Why grad school? Wanted independence, creativity;

Ability to set my own work agenda

Jobs

(post PhD)

NYNEX Science & Technology, 1990-04

Williams College, 1994-present

What I liked

What I didn’t like

Grad School Basics

• MS– 8 -12 courses (mix of grad and undergrad)– Exam/project/thesis

• PhD– 8-12 courses– Candidacy exam (oral or written)– Proposal and/or Defense

So Much More…

• Depth vs. breadth

• Professors (and grad students) are cool! • Soft skills

– Working on open ended projects and teams– Writing and speaking– Critiquing

• Fun classes: golf, foreign language, wine tasting, sailing!

What does it take?

• Courses– Good news: Fewer assignments than

undergrad– Read research papers– Work on a quarter/semester long project

• Research– Start with senior grad students/post docs– Ideas: brainstorm with advisor, lab mates,

papers, conferences

A typical day in the life…• Classes

– Taking courses in the beginning– Teaching as a TA

• Research Work– Read papers– Meet with advisor, colleagues– Implement, evaluate, write

• Talks/Seminars• Service

– Review papers– (Help) Write proposals

• Have fun!

Grad School Time Allocation

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1st Yr 2nd Yr Later Final Yr

Hurdle (Qual, Prop,Dissert)TA

Research/RA

Coursework

But wait….How do I earn a living?• As a Ph.D. student

– Tuition waivers – Fellowship– Research Assistant (RA)– Teaching Assistant (TA)– Additional teaching opportunities– Summer research opportunities

• As a Masters student– Job pays for the degree– Possible RA or TA positions

Why Grad School? (Pros)• Want more than a coding/entry level job

• Work gets less interesting over time– Learn more skills, diversify

• Is research for me?

• Full of ideas and want freedom to work

• Innovator: Want to do a startup

• Professor: Teaching and Research

Cons and Fixes• Grad school not my thing

– Try MS, branch off (management, law?)

• Don’t get along with advisor– Change is always an option

• I could be working– In hard times, skills are valued

• It’s too hard!– Study groups, support groups– Psychological help on most campuses– Hard work and commitment can get you there

And after grad school?…

• Industry– Startups– Product groups: dev, QA, manager– Collaborate with Research– Consultation, entertainment, biotech, law…

• Research Labs

• Teaching (non tenure)

• Tenure track faculty

Opinions from the trenches

• Why did you do it?

• How was it?

• What happened in the end?

• What would you tell someone else?

Why did you do it?

• I wanted to teach

• I was tired of doing the same thing everyday... I felt like my brain was shrinking

• I wanted to work on something challenging with smart people

• I did not want to stay in Greece and get a “REAL” job

How was it?

• Conferences (especially international) are fun

• I got to meet people• I learned a lot• I had the best supervisor• I saw the world

• Finding a thesis topic is a challenge

• Putting words to paper is tough

• Everyone else is smarter than me

• I could not make my supervisor happy

• My personal life suffered• I felt lost in a tunnel

The good The not so good

What happened in the end?

• Money is not that good

• I want to help people with my knowledge

• I have the best job in the world, even though it is nothing like I thought it would be– Challenging– Flexible

What advice would you give?

• You have to practice independence– You are responsible for your progress and

career

• If you can go with your guts and don't fear failure because you can always start again, then do it

• Maybe grad school is or is not for you, I don't know... but you will regret if you don't give it a chance.

Eleni’s StoryEducation B.Eng. - University of Patras (Greece) 1989

M.Sc., Ph.D. - College of Computing, Georgia Inst. Of Technology 1992, 1994

Why grad school? Liked (and was good at) studying

Wanted to leave Greece

Jobs

(post PhD)

Research Associate with FAW, Ulm

Post Doc with CS Univ. of Alberta

Faculty with CS Univ. of Alberta

What I liked Independence; choosing the questionsThe competition: it is invigorating (and stressful)People; fellow students, mentorsTraveling Atlanta

What I didn’t like Insecurity (research quality, funding)

Ramya’s StoryEducation B.E., CS, India, 2004

Why grad school? Wanted to work independently in challenging roles, work on new problems

Jobs

(post PhD)

(Expecting to graduate this academic year)

What I liked Making research contributions, advising students,

Traveling and meeting people

What I didn’t like Focus on publishing a lot

Andrea’s StoryEducation B.A., Math/CS, Vassar College, 1984

M.S., CS, Columbia University, 1986

Ph.D., CS, Columbia University, 1992

Why grad school? Wanted independence, creativity;

Ability to set my own work agenda

Jobs

(post PhD)

NYNEX Science & Technology, 1990-04

Williams College, 1994-present

What I liked Immersing myself in a project.

Conferences: meeting new people/learning about new ideas.

NYC!

What I didn’t like The feeling that there wasn’t a clear end point.

Questions? Discussion?Where in the world is the University of Alberta?

Eleni’s family

Working with students

CS Dept Hike

GHC 07UCSB women in CS