HowtoBeaSuccessfulPhDStudent(inComputerScience(inNLP/ML))MarkDredze(JohnsHopkinsUniversity)HannaM.Wallach(MicrosoftResearch)Version1.1,July5,2019(fixedbrokenlinks)Version1.0,March20,2012

Beingagraduatestudentcanbeextremelyrewardingandalotoffun,butit’salsohardwork.Likeanythinginlife,therearewaystosucceedandwaystofail.Hopefully,youwillfindagoodsupportnetworkthatcanhelpyoulearnwhatittakestobeagoodgraduatestudent.However,noteveryoneisabletofindsuchanetwork,andit’simportanttolearntheselessonsearly.Thisguidewaswrittenbasedonourexperiencesasgraduatestudentsandourexperiencesadvisinggraduatestudents,specifically,PhDstudentsinNLPandmachinelearning;however,wehopemanyofthepointsareapplicabletoawideraudience.Wherepossible,wehaveindicatedwhenadviceisfield-specific.Beyondthat,theadviceislistedinnoparticularorder.Nodoubttherewillbepointswithwhichyoudisagree.That’stotallyfine--therearecertainlypointsaboutwhichevenwehaddifferingviews;however,beforeyoudecidetoignorethesepoints,it’swellworthtakingthetimetounderstandwhyweincludedthem.BecomingaPhDStudentWhyGetaPhD?Thisquestionisdealtwithextensivelyinotherdocuments,sowewillnotdiscussitindetailhere;however,wewanttoemphasizetheimportanceofaskingthisquestion.GettingaPhDwillchangeyourcareerpathdramatically.NotonlydoesgettingaPhDmeanyouwillspendyearsinschool(withbothpersonalandfinancialimplications),itwillalsochangethetypeofcareeryoupursue.WhilewearebothhappywegotPhDs,itisn’ttherightdecisionforeveryone.Beforeapplyingtograduateschool,youshouldthinkhardaboutwhetherthisistherightpathforyou.Somespecificpointstoconsiderareasfollows:

1. Youhavetoreallywantit.GettingaPhDtakesalongtimeandagreatdealofdedicationandhardwork.Unlessyoureallywantit,youwillnotfinishthePhD.

2. It’smorethanokaytodosomethingelsefirst.Manystudentsgostraightfromtheirundergraduatedegreetograduateschool.That’scertainlyfine--infact,that’swhatwedid.However,someofthebestPhDstudentsleftacademiaforabitbeforestartinggraduateschool.Doingsomethingelsegivesyouabreakfromtheacademicworldand

canhelpyougainperspective.StudentswhodecidethattheywantaPhDenoughtoreturntoacademiaareoftenextremelymotivatedanddoverywell.

ApplyingtoGraduateSchoolInordertobeaPhDstudent,youhavetogetintograduateschool.Therearemanygoodresourcesdevotedtothissubject,suchashttps://conquer.cra.org/students.Guidanceonhowtoprepareanapplicationiscoveredhere:https://www.clsp.jhu.edu/apply-for-phd/phd-admissions-faq/.Wewanttoemphasizetheimportanceofapplyingforexternalfellowships,suchasNSF’sGraduateResearchFellowshipsandNDSEGFellowships.Havingsuchafellowshipcanmakeahugedifferencetoyourgraduateschoolexperience.Sinceyoucanusuallyapplymorethanonce,youhavenothingtolosebyapplyingforfellowshipswhileyouarealreadyapplyingforgraduateschool.Wealsohavesomegeneraladviceonapplyingandpickingaschool:

3. Thinkbeyondtheschool.Ofcourseyouwanttogotothebestschoolpossible.Butyoualsoneedtobehappy.Ifyouaren’thappy,youwon’tbesuccessful.Ifyoufindyourselfwithnosociallifeandnofriends,youwon’tbehappy.

4. Surroundyourselfwithsmartpeople.Youradvisorisimportant,butyouwillalsospendhugeamountsoftimewithotherstudents.Beingaroundsmartpeoplemakesyousmarter.Ifyouarethesmartestpersonintheroom,it’stimetofindanotherroom.

YouandYourAdvisorYourrelationshipwithyouradvisoristhesinglemostimportantrelationshipyouwillhaveingraduateschool.Agoodrelationshipwithyouradvisoriscriticaltoyoursuccess.Makesureyoupicktherightadvisorforyou.Youwillspendhundredsofhourswithyouradvisor,soitisabsolutelycriticalthatyouradvisorissomeoneyoulikeandwithwhomyouwillworkwell.Justbecauseyoulikesomeone’sresearchdoesn’tmeanyou’llworkwelltogether.Differentadvisorshavedifferentadvisingstyles.Askthemhowtheyruntheirresearchgroup.Talktotheirexistingstudentstofindoutabouttheiradvisingstyleandwhattheyexpectoftheirstudents.

5. Listentoyouradvisor.Theywon'talwaysberight,buttheyhavebeendoingresearchfor(insomecasesmuch)longerthanyouhave.(And,ifitwasn’tclear,youradvisorisyourboss--youworkforthem.Whenyouradvisortellsyoutodosomething,doit.)

6. Pingyouradvisor.Ifyouradviserhasn’trepliedtoanimportantemail,remindthemthatyouarewaitingfortheirreply.(Butfirstmakesurethatyouremailwasclear.Seehereforadvice:http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-email/)Youradvisoris(probably)abusypersonandmaynothaveseenyouremailorrealizeditsimportance.

7. Feedback.Makesureyouobtainfeedbackfromyouradvisor.Thisshouldhappenat

leastonceayear,probablyintheformofadepartmentalstudentreview.However,feedbackishelpfulanditdoesn’thurttoaskforitmoreoften,e.g.,onceasemester.

MeetingswithYourAdvisorThisisyourprimaryopportunitytogetfeedback,direction,advice,etc.Makethemostofit.

8. Meetregularly.Regularmeetingswithyouradvisorensurethatyouarebeingproductiveandenableyouradvisortogiveyoufeedback.Youshouldmeetwithyouradvisorregularly(e.g.,weekly)--ESPECIALLYifyoudon'twantto.

9. Makeanagenda.Makeanagendaforeverymeetingwithyouradvisor.Outlineeachofthetopicsthatyou'dliketocoverduringthemeetingandtheirrelativeimportance.Ifyoudon’tknowwhatyouwanttotalkabout,youradvisor’sunlikelytoknoweither.

10. Bringresults.Trytobringresults(e.g.,graphs,tables,figures)toeverymeeting.

11. Startwithasummary.Starteachmeetingbysummarizingthepreviousmeeting.Remindthemwhatyouagreedonasnextsteps,summarizewhatyou'vedone(andhaven’tdone)sincethen,andgooveryouragenda.Youradvisorhasmanyresearchprojects.Unlikeyou,theydidn’tspendthepreviousweekworkingonyourresearchprojectonly,andwillthereforeneedtocontextswitch.Summarizingyourpreviousmeetingwillenablethemtoswitchfasterandmakesureyou’rebothonthesamepage.

ManagingYourDay-to-DayWorkLife/BeingProductiveGraduateschoolisdifferentfromyourothereducationalexperiencesandanyjobyou’vehad.Successmeansbeingproductive,creative,andindependent.Thisdoesn’tcomenaturallytoeveryone,sofigureoutquicklyhowyoucanbestsucceed.Remembertoothatasuccessfulpersoncanfail.Alot.Butyouaren'tjudgedbyyourfailures,youarejudgedbyyoursuccesses.Youdon'thavetobethesmartestpersonintheroom,butyouhavetoworkveryhard.

12. Researchis#1.Noteveryoneisgoodatresearch:somepeopleexcelintheclassroom,whileothersexcelatindependentresearch.However,aPhDisaresearchdegree--thepurposeofgraduateschoolisresearch,nottakingclasses.Althoughtakingclassesispartofgraduateschool,whenitcomestosuccess,it’sallaboutresearch.Dowellenoughinyourclassesbutfocusonpublishinghighqualityresearchpapers.

13. Talktootherstudents.Talktootherstudentsregularly,bothwithinandoutsideyourlab.Thisisagoodwaytolearnwhetheryourexpectationsofyourselfandgraduate

schoolarerealistic,aswellastolearnaboutimplementationdetails,interestingproblemsandsolutions,waysofthinkingandproblem-solving,and"tricksofthetrade".

14. Everyoneworksdifferently.Figureouthowyouliketoworkandwhatmakesyoumostproductive.(Doyouworkbestintheearlymorningsorlateevening?Doyoulikeworkingwithothersordoyouprefertoworkbyyourself?Doyouworkbestwhenyouhavemultipleprojectsorjustone?)It’sagoodideatodiscussthesepreferenceswithyouradvisorsotheyunderstandyoubetterandcanworkwithyouaseffectivelyaspossible.

15. Keeptoaregularschedule.Thiswillhelpyoumakeprogressevenwhenyou'refeelingunmotivated.It'sgenerallyagoodideatoworkinthelabatleast20hoursaweek.Youwillbenefitfromhavingafocusedworkenvironment,beingaroundcolleagues,andbeingaccessibleifyouradvisorneedstofindyou.Ifyoufeelyoucan’tworkinthelab,trytofigureoutwhy,anddosomethingaboutit(e.g.,talktoyouradvisor).

16. Prioritize.Youwillfindthatyouhavemanyopportunities,andnotenoughtimetopursueallofthem.Trytofigureoutyourpriorities(e.g.,research,classes,service,sociallife,etc.)andmakesureyouarespendingyourtimeaccordingly.It’sagoodideatodoatimeauditifyoufeelthingsaren’tmatchingup.Learntodistinguishtheimmediatefromimportant--don’tfocusonimmediatedeadlines(e.g.,homework)totheexclusionordetrimentoflonger-term,moreimportantdeadlines(e.g.,conferences).Havingasmallnumberofhighqualitypapersisbetterthanmanylowqualitypapers.

17.Makeyourown“nextactions".Ifyou'resittingaroundwaitingforyouradvisortotellyouwhattodonext,somethingiswrong.Findsomethingtodo,e.g.,readpapers.

18. Keepalog.Keepadailylogofeverythingyoudoandeverythingyouthink.It'sagoodideatomakesureyourlogissearchable(e.g.,plaintextoruseanotetakingprogram).

19. Gettingthingsdone.Read(andpreferablyimplement)DavidAllen’s"GettingThingsDone".Itdoesn’tworkforeveryone,buttheideasareverygoodandworthconsidering.

20. Asociallife.Youneedtobehappytobeproductiveandmanageyourworklifeeffectively.Beinghappyusuallyinvolveshavingasociallife.Takethetimetoensureyouarehappyandhealthy,oryouwon’tbeasproductiveoreffectiveinyourworklife.

21. It’sokaytogetstuck.RememberthatEVERYONEgetsstuck/demoralized/etc.No,really.Evensuper-famous,successful,seemingly-perfectresearchersgetstuck/demoralized/etc.Whatmakesthemsuccessful,however,isthattheyfigureouthowtomovepasttheselowpointstothenextgreatidea.

22. Learnfromyourmistakes.Failingisfine(andarguablyanimportantkeytosuccess).Failingwillalsohappenoften.Thequestioniswhatyoudoafterfailing.Takenotes.

Understandwhyyoufailedandthinkaboutwhatyou’ddodifferentlynexttime.Manyawesomeresearchideascameaboutbecausesomeonefailedandthenasked“why?”

ResearchYouareaPhDstudentandaPhDisaresearchdegree.Thatmeansthatyourgoalistolearnhowtodohighqualityresearch.APhDislikeanapprenticeship--youlearnbywatchingothersanddoingyourself.Forsome,doingresearchcomesnaturally.Formost,it’snotsomethingthatjusthappens;ittakeshardworkandcarefulplanning.Thereisalottolearnabouthowtodogoodresearch,themajorpointsofwhichwewilloutlinehere.Ingeneral,looktothosearoundyou,particularlyyouradvisor,formodelsofproductiveandsuccessfulresearchers.ReadingPapersYoucan’texpecttojumpinandcontributetoanactivefieldwithoutknowingwhatotherpeoplehavealreadydoneandaredoing,whatthemainchallengesare,andhowpeopletendtothinkabouttheseproblems.Allofthisinformationcomesfromreadingpapers.

23. Read,read,read!Readmultiplepapersaweek--askyouradvisor(orothergraduatestudents)forsuggestionsifyou'reunsureofwhattoread.Youhavealottolearn(especiallyinthefirstfewyears)andyou’llprimarilydothislearningbyreading.

24. Takenotes.Makenotesabouteverypaperyouread.Makenotesatmultiplelevelsofgranularity(e.g.,onesentencesummaryoftheentirepaperallthewaydowntosentence-levelnotes).Findanotetakingsystemthatmakessenseforyou.

25. Readdeeply.Whenreadinganimportantpaper,trytounderstandwhereeveryequationcomesfrom--inotherwords,derivethemyourself.Ifyougetstuck,don'tbeafraidtoasksomeoneelse(e.g.,anothergraduatestudentoryouradvisor)forhelp.

26. Breadthvs.depth.Noteverypaperneedsbereadindetailfromstarttofinish.Sometimesyouonlyneedahighlevelview.Whenreadingapaper,figureoutwhatyouneed(i.e.,whatyouhopetoachievebyreadingthispaper)andreaditaccordingly.

PickingaResearchTopicYou’lleventuallyneedtocomeupwithideasforyourownresearch.Thisisaprocessforwhichyouradvisorwillbeinvaluable.Wehavesomegeneraladviceonpickingaresearchtopic:

27. Knowtheliterature.Youneedtoknowwhat’sbeenpreviouslyinordertomakesureyourcontributionsareactuallynovelanduseful.Knowwhat'sbeendonebyotherssoyoudon'twasteyour(andyouradvisor's)timereplicatingwell-studiedideas.

28. Knowthecommunity.Papersarenotpublishedinavacuum,rathertheyarepartofanongoingdialoguewithinacommunity.Knowthatcommunity,i.e.,theparticipants,priorwork,terminology,etc.Youhavetoknowwhoyouaretalkingtoandhowtotalktothem.

29. Thinkbig.Youshouldn’tbetryingtosolveeasily-solvableproblems.Focusonsolvingbigproblems,evenifyouenduptakingsmallstepstowardsasolution.Therearemanyideasthatmakeforobviouspapersthatconstitutesimpleextensionsofpreviouswork.Whilethesepapersmaygetpublished,theydon’tusuallyamounttomuch.Trytofocusonbigproblemsratherthanmakingincrementalimprovementstopreviouswork.

30. Ittakestime.Goodresearchideasdon’thappenalongeveryday.Itmaytaketimeforyoutocomeupwithabigidea,andthat’sperfectlyfine.Ultimately,youwillbejudgedonwhatyoupublish,nothowlongittookyoutocomeupwiththeidea.

31. Don’tmakeupproblemsthatdon’texist.Comingupwithanewproblemisgreat,butmakesureit’srealproblem.Ifyoucan’tthinkofatleastthreeexamplesofyourproblem,thenitsprobablynotarealproblem.Putdifferently,don’tcomeupwithhammersandthengolookingfornails.Learnhowtodesign/createhammersforactualnails.

TheResearchProcess

32. FirstYear.Asafirstyear,findaseniorstudentwithaninterestingresearchprojectandoffertohelp.Thiscangiveyouthechancetoworkonagoodideaandlearnfromsomeonewhoisknowledgeableaboutthearea.Thiswillalsohelpyouworktowardsapublicationearlyoninyourcareerandlearnfirst-handhowtodogoodresearch.

33. Startwithwriting.Whenyouhaveanidea,startbywritingitdown.Workoutthedetailsonpaperfirstbeforeyouwriteanycode.Thiswillhelpexposeproblemsandfleshoutthedetails.Thisisespeciallyhelpfulwhenworkingonmathematics.Whenworkingonapaper,writeanoutlinebeforewritinganytextsoyouknowwhatyouaretryingtodo.

34. Learnwhentoquit.Youcanlearnfromfailure,butonlyifyoumoveon.Ifyoufindyourselfrepeatedlyloweringyourgoalsandexpectations,youaren’tmakingprogress.Learnwhentoquitandrelyonyouradvisor,whoprobablyknowsbetterthanyoudo.

35. Don’tbedeadlinefocused.Thereisalwaysanotherdeadlinearoundthecorner.Publishinterestingworkwhenit’sreadytobepublished.It’swonderfultousedeadlinesasmotivation,butyoushouldn’tpublishjustbecauseyoureceivedaCFP.

36. Don’tleavethewritingtotheend.Startwritingthepaperasearlyaspossibleandaimtogetresultswellbeforethedeadline.Writingwillhelpyouplanyourworkandthinkthroughyourhypothesesandarguments.Evenonceyouhaveadraftwithinitialresults,thereisplentyofworktobedoneinordertoturnthisdraftintoahighqualitypaper.You

won’tfinishthisworkifyouleavethewritingtothenightbeforethedeadline.

37. Askquestions.Don'tbeafraidtoaskquestionsand/oraskforhelp--you'lllearnfasterandbemoreproductivethanifyoutrytofigureabsolutelyeverythingoutforyourself.

38. Implement.Youunderstandbestwhenyouimplement(understanding=intuition+math+code).Ifyoucan,implementthingsmorethanonce(e.g.,usingtwodifferentmethods,orintwodifferentlanguages)andcheckyourimplementationsgiveidenticalresults.

39. Versioncontrol.Useversioncontrolforeverything(notes,code,papers,etc.).No,really.Itmaybetime-consumingtosetup,butitwillsaveyoutimeinthelongrun.

Getting(andPresenting)GoodResults

40. Knowyourdata.Knowyourdatareallywell.Makesureitexhibitsthepropertiesyouthinkitdoes.Performexploratorydataanalysis--plot/visualizeitinvariousdifferentways--sometimesyou'llfinditexhibitsinterestingpropertiesthatyouhadn'texpected.

41. Knowyoursoftware.Makesureyouunderstandwhatthesoftwarepackagesyou'reusingaredoing.Ifyou'republishingresultsobtainedusingsomeoneelse'ssoftware,youshouldknowforSUREthattheirsoftwaredoeswhatyouthinkitisdoing.There'san“easy”waytodothis:readthesourcecode.Ifthere’snosourcecode,bewary.

42. Goodbaselines.Beatingbaselinesisgood,butonlyiftheyareworthbeating.Additionally,yourideaisonlyusefulifitisanimprovementoverexistingorsimplerapproaches.Learnhowtocomeupwithconvincing,effective,andSIMPLEbaselines.Alwaysaskyourself,"What'sthesimplestexperimentIcoulddoto(in)validatemyhypothesis?”Talentedresearchershaveaknackforcomingupwithsimplebaselines.

43. Understandyourresults.It'snotsufficienttoknowthatyourmethodgets95%accuracyonyourdata.Youalsoneedtoknowexactlywhat'shappeningonthe5%ofdatapointsforwhichyourmethodDOESN'Twork.Lookatactualdatapointsthatyourmethodishandling(in)correctly,plot/visualizeyourresultsinvariousdifferentways,etc.Thisexercisewillbeusefulwhenpresentingyourworkandwhenimprovinguponit.

44.Makeyourresultsaccessible.Learnhowtopresentresultssuchthattheyareaccessible,useful,andconvincing.Atableisrarelythemostappropriatewaytopresentnumericalinformation--it’sagoodideatoreadatleastonebookabout(quantitative)informationvisualization.Yourresultsareonlyconvincingiftheyareunderstandable.

Publishing

45. Keeptrackofdeadlines.Don'trelyonyouradvisortodothisforyou--they'realready

keepingtrackofazillionotherdeadlines.Ifyouthinkyou'renotontracktomeetadeadline,DOtelltoyouradvisor--they'dratherknowsoonerthanlater.

46. Finishwritingearly.Finishyourpaper(atleast)aweekbeforethedeadline.Notonlywillthisgiveyoutimetopolishyourwriting,getfeedbackfromothers,andrunanyexperimentstheysuggest,butitmakesitmorelikelythatyou'llactuallygetanyusefulfeedbackfromyouradvisor,whoprobablyhasseveralotherpaperstoreadbeforethedeadline.It’snothelpfultogetgreatfeedbackfromacolleagueabouthowtoframeyourideaswhenyouonlyhaveafewhoursleftbeforethepaperisdue.

47. Learnhowtowritewell.Ifyoueverthoughtthatyoudidn’tneedtowritewellbecauseyouwereanengineerorscientist,youwere100%wrong.Asascientist,it'syourjobtocommunicateyourideastoothers.Itdoesn'tmatterhowamazingyourworkis,it’sunlikelytohaveanyimpactifnoonecanunderstandyourexplanations.Ifyoufindyourselfthinking“thereviewersdidn’tunderstandmypaper,”maybeyoudidn’texplainyourideasclearlyenough.Awell-writtenpapercanmakethedifferencebetweenarejectandanaccept,orbetweenagoodpaperandanaward-winningpaper.Ifyouwanttoimproveyourwriting,you’llneedtogetearlyfeedbackonyourdrafts(seeabove.)

48. Reproduceyourresults.Partofpublishingisattestingtotheaccuracyofyourpublishedresults.Thatmeansyoumustbeabletoreproducethem.Makesureyoukeepdetailednotesonhowyouobtainedtheresultsinyourpapersothatyoucanrepeattheexperiments.Attheminimum,thiswillbehelpfulforrunningadditionalexperimentsbasedonreviewerfeedback(orwhenyouneedtowriteyourthesis.)

49. Reorganizeaftersubmission.Organizeanddocumentyourcode,results,etc.IMMEDIATELYafterapaperdeadline.Don’tkidyourself--ifyoudon'tdoitthen,it'snevergoingtohappen.Again,youwillbegratefulyoutookthetimetodothiswhenyoufindyouneedtorerunyourexperiments(e.g.,foryourthesis).

50. Releasecodeanddata.Releaseanycodeordatathatiscentraltoyourpublication.Thisensuresthatotherscanreproduceorbuildonyourideas.Furthermore,ifothersusethecode/data,theywillciteyou.Whatmorecouldyouwant?!

51. Qualityandnotquantity.Youwillbejudgedbasedonthequality,andnotthequantityofyourpublications.YouwillfindendlessCFPsforconferences,books,journals,etc.Mostofthesewon'tmattertoyourcareer.Nooneisimpressedbypublicationsinsomerandomjournal.Takethetimetogetahighqualitypaperintoaconferencethatmatters.

52. Publishorperishdoesn’tstartinyourfirstyear.Withincreasingpressuretopublish,somestudentsthinktheyneedapaperintheirfirstyear.Youdonot.Itisunlikelythatafterlessthanayearyouwillhaveanimportantandnovelideatocontributetothecommunity.Learnsomethingfirstsoyourfirstcontributionisworthwhile.

TalksWecannotoverestimatetheimportanceofgivinggoodtalks.Agoodtalkcanmakethedifferencebetweenpeoplereading/citingyourconferencepaperandpeopledismissingit.Furthermore,knowinghowtogiveagoodtalkwillhelpyougetagoodjobaftergraduateschool.AsaPhDstudent,youmustlearnhowtogivegoodtalks,sostartearly.

53. Practice.Thesinglebestwaytolearnhowtogivegoodtalksistopractice.Practiceinfrontofthemirror,infrontoffriends,colleagues,etc.Itisnotunusualtopracticeanimportanttalkseveraltimes.Also,findopportunitiestogivetalks.Ifyourschoolhasastudentseminar,volunteertospeak.Theseforumswillallowyoutoimproveyourpresentationskillswellbeforeyouhavetogiveconferenceandjobtalks.

54. Askforfeedback.Ifyougiveatalk(eitherapracticetalkorarealtalk)askyouraudienceforfeedbackonclarity,style,content,presentation,etc.

55. Spendtimeoncontent.WithPowerPoint,Keynote,etc.,it’seasytospendlotsoftimeonthelookandfeeloftheslides.However,thisisfarlessimportantthanhavingaclearoutlineandclearwaysofpresentingyourcontent.Spendyourtimeonwhatyouwanttosayandhowyouwanttosayitbeforeyouworkonfancyanimations.

56. Timing.Therightamountofmaterialintherightamountoftimeisthehallmarkofagoodtalk.Themomentaspeakersays“Idon’thavetimesoIamgoingtorushthroughthis,”halftheaudiencetunesout.Ifyoudon’thavetimetocoversomething,skipitentirely(orbetteryet,don’tputitinthetalkinthefirstplace).Itisbettertocoverasingletopicwellthanmanytopicspoorly.Timeyourselfwhenyoupracticeyourtalk.Usethesetimingstomakenoteswhichwillhelpyoudecideifyouaremovingtooslowlyorquicklyduringtheactualtalk.Doyoutalkfasterorslowerduringpracticeascomparedtotheactualpresentation?Figurethisoutsoyouknowhowtoadjustyourtimingsaccordingly.

PostersPosterpresentationscanbeanimportantpartofthepublicationprocess.Therearemanydifferentapproachestomakinggoodposters,sowe’lloutlineafewhighlevelpoints.

57. Startaconversation.Aposterissupposedtoassistyouinstartingandmaintainingaconversation.Yourpostershouldthereforeadvertiseyourworkandpersuadepeoplethattheywanttotalkwithyou.Itshouldalsocontaininformationthatwillhelpyoutalkaboutyourwork.Aposterisnotareplacementforyourpaper.It’sokaytoomitdetail.

58. Visuallyattractive.Peoplevisitpostersthatlookniceandaren’tjustamessofmath.

Youdon’tneedtobecomeanartist,butlearnhowtousegraphicsandcolors.

59. Tellastory.Justasatalkshouldhaveaclearstoryline,soshouldyourposter.Youwilluseyourposterasaguidewhentalkingtovisitorsaboutaboutyourwork.Makesuresureithastherightcontentintherightorder(seebelow).

60. Practice.Justasit’simportanttopracticetalks,it’simportanttopracticepresentingyourposter.Practicingyourpresentationwillhelpyouworkoutwhetheryourpostercontainstherightcontent,attherightlevelofdetail,arrangedintherightorder.

ProfessionalDevelopmentProfessionaldevelopment,networking,and(ultimately)findingajobareimportant.

61. Dointernships.Industrial(andacademic)internshipsaregreatwaystolearnnewskills,meetnewpeople,workonnewproblems,andmakesomeextramoney.Therearedifferentschoolsofthoughtontiming,however.Oneapproachistodoaninternshipsearlyoningraduateschool,whenyoudon’tyethavearesearchtopicandhaven’tbuiltupmomentumonaspecificproblem.Anotherapproachistodoaninternshiplater,whenyouhaveaspecializedsetofskills/interestsandareclosertolookingforajob.Botharegoodapproachesanditdoesn’thurttodomorethanoneinternship.

62. Reviewpapers.Startreviewingpapersinyourresearcharea.Offertohelpyouradvisorwithpaperreviews--theywillalmostalwaystakeyouuponyouroffer.Askyouradvisorforfeedbackonyourreviewssoyoucanimproveyourreviewingskills.

63. Givetalks.Learningtogivegoodpresentationsisveryimportant(seeabove).Onebenefitofgivingtalksisthatdoingsoadvertisesyourworkandmakessurepeopleknowwhoyouare.Beingwell-knownwillpayoffwhenyouarelookingforajob.

ProgressingThroughGraduateSchoolAsyoulookaroundatotherstudents,you’llprobablywonderhowyouaredoing.Don’tjustspeculateandtrytocompareyourselftoothers--askyouradvisor.WhileCSPhDsusuallytake5-6years,plentyofpeopletakelonger.It’snotnecessarilybadtotake7years.Rememberthatyouwon’tbejudgedonhowlongyouspentinyourPhDprogram,butbywhatyouproduced.Roughlyspeaking,hereiswhattoexpectintermsofprogress.

64. Stage1:Takeclasses,findanadvisor,watchothersdoresearch,readpapers,completeaprojectwithresults(thoughnotnecessarilyapaper).Usually2-3years.

65. Stage2:Pickageneralareaofinterest,leadresearchonaprojectinthisarea,publisha

paper,makeacontributiontothisarea.Usually2-4years.

66. Stage3:Evaluateyourwork,comeupwithastory,writeathesis.Usually1year.Networking

67. Tutorials.Writetutorials/annotatedbibliographies/technicalnotes.Ifthey’regood,thiscanbeahighlyeffectivewaytomakesureyournameisknownwithinyourcommunity.Thinkofallthetutorialsyou’vereadbywell-knownacademics.

68. Bignames.Knowwhothe"bignames"areinyourareaandfollowtheirworkclosely.

69. Gotoconferences.Evenifyouaren’tpresentingapaper,trytogotoaconferenceeveryyear.(Rememberthatyouradvisormaynotalwayshavemoneytosendyou,however.)Ifyoufeeluncomfortableaboutnotpresentingapaper,rememberthatyoucantellpeople,"Oh,I'mnotpresentingapaperhereTHISyear."

70. Introduceyourself.Don’tbeshyaboutintroducingyourselftonewpeople(juniorandsenior)atconferences,evenifyoufindthishard.Ifyou’renotsurewhattosay,askthemtotellyouabouttheirwork.Ifithelps,askyouradvisortomakeintroductions.

71. Actprofessionally.Youractionsreflectnotonlyyourself,butalsoyourlabandyouradvisor.Additionally,it'spossiblethatyouwillcontinuetointeractwiththeresearchersinyourcommunityfordecadestocome--makingsureyouestablishareputationassomeonewhoactsprofessionallyisthereforeaninvestmentinyourfuture.

FindingaJobFindingajobisacomplexprocessandbeyondthescopeofthisdocument.Therearemanygoodguidesonthistopic.We’llleaveyouwithtwothingstokeepinmind,however:

72. Youarenotalone.Donotexpecttofindajoballbyyourself.Partofyouradvisor’sjobistohelpyoufindemployment.Starttalkingwithyouradviserearlyaboutyourcareergoalsandyourjobsearch.Workwithyouradvisortodevelopaplan.Youcanalsorelyonyourothercontacts,suchasyourcommitteemembersandyourinternshiphosts.

73. Successmeansmanythings.Manystudentsthinkthatanacademicresearchjobisthetruemeasureofsuccess:ifyoudon’tbecomeaprofessor,youhaven’tsucceeded.Thisistotalnonsense.Noreally.YouaregettingaPhDbecauseofthetrainingitprovides.Academicresearchisoneareathatbenefitsfromorrequiresthistraining,buttherearemanymanyothers:teaching,industrialresearch,governmentresearch,sciencepolicy,financialinvestment,entrepreneurship,etc.DuringyourPhD,trytoworkoutwhatyoulovetodo.Then,afteryourPhD,findajobthatwillletyoudothat.For

some,thisisteachingandacademicresearch,butitisridiculoustothinkthatistherightcareerforeveryonewithaPhD.Weknowmanybrilliantpeoplewhochooseanon-academiccareerpathbecauseit’swhattheywantedtodoanditmakesthemhappy.Ultimately,youneedtodowhatwillmakeyouhappy.

ThingstoLearnMasteringthefollowingtechnicaltoolswillhelpyoueffectivelyconductsuccessfulresearch:

1. Bashconfiguration(e.g.,.bashrc,environmentvariables,aliases)2. PATH,CLASSPATH,PYTHONPATH3. Unixbasics(e.g.,cd,ls,mv,rm,rmdir,man,history,ctrl+r,4. ctrl+a,ctrl+e,ctrl+←andctrl+→,killringvs.clipboard)--see

http://freeengineer.org/learnUNIXin10minutes.htmlforastartingpoint5. Basicbashscripting(e.g.,sort,uniq,cut,tr,wc,xargs,find,grep,awk,sed)6. ctrl+c,psauxandgrep,kill-9,ctrl+zandbg,fg,top7. diff8. Howtoinstallsoftwarelocally9. Emacsorvi10. EclipseorIntellij11. Screen(andwhyyouneedit)12. Make13. BasicRplottingcommands14. Gridengine(e.g.,qsub,qstat,qlogin)15. Versioncontrol(e.g.,git)16. Howtouseadebugger(e.g.,jdb)

OtherResourcesAfewexcellentarticlesonrelatedtopics:

1. LawrenceSaul’sadvicefornewgraduatestudents:http://www.cs.ucsd.edu/~saul/start_research.pdf

2. 3qualitiesofsuccessfulPhDstudents:http://matt.might.net/articles/successful-phd-students/

3. 10reasonsPhDstudentsfail:http://matt.might.net/articles/ways-to-fail-a-phd/4. HOWTO:Sendandreplytoemail:http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-email/.Seeother

articlesfromhttp://matt.might.net/articles/5. AdvicefromJasonEisner:http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~jason/advice/--includinghowtoread

apaper(http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~jason/advice/how-to-read-a-paper.html),howtofindresearchproblems(http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~jason/advice/how-to-find-research-problems.html),andwhyyou

shouldwritethepaperfirst(http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~jason/advice/write-the-paper-first.html)

6. Adviceforseniorgradstudents:http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~mariedj/papers/advice-summary.html

7. Howtowritewell:http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Writers-Research-Dissertations-Seventh/dp/0226823377/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316904475&sr=1-1

8. Howtobeagoodgraduatestudent:http://www.cs.indiana.edu/how.2b/how.2b.html9. Howtobeagoodgraduatestudent:

http://www.deirdremccloskey.com/docs/pdf/Article_315.pdf10. TheNationalPhysicalScienceConsortiumGraduateFellowStudentHandbook(Someis

administrativestuffapplicableonlyforNPSCfellows,butalotofgeneraladvicetoo)http://www.npsc.org/resources/GradStudentHbk.pdf

11. CRA-Wgraduatestudentinformationguide(shouldyougo,howtoapply,whatgradschoolislike):https://cra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/grad-guide.pdf

12. Adviceonoutlinesandpaper-writingfromGeorgeWhitesides(highesth-indexofanylivingchemist):http://www.ee.ucr.edu/~rlake/Whitesides_writing_res_paper.pdf