Unprepared for grad school?
When Leah*, a fifth-year graduate student in the Chemistry Department, decided to go to graduate school, she expected it would be a more intense version of her experience majoring in chemistry at a small liberal arts college.
But after only a few semesters at Yale, she realized graduate school was not what she had anticipated.
“I expected it to be broad,” she said. “Not that I wanted to take art history, but [I thought] that the classes would throw out great philosophical problems and talk about how the ... chemist tackles these problems of chemistry as a whole. And that...
It seems to me that those who are surprised by the graduate school experience have no one to blame for it but themselves.
Most graduate programs in the US include detailed online description of the requirements, coursework, etc, etc. Not to mention, all the information you can get from the professors and older colleagues if you are already majoring in the field, etc...I honestly don't know how you can be unaware of the fact that graduate school will pose new challenges for you.
The question is whether the students who are surprised were mislead or was it just that they haven't done enough research about the nature of the graduate program.
According to the students "many facets of the science graduate school experience cannot be replicated at the undergraduate level." So? I guess that's why it's called "graduate school".
As far as "Leah's" dissatisfaction is concerned, well, she says it all herslef: "She has learned that science is not the field for her." Precisely. If you are deeply unhappy in a field, that usually means that it wasn't the field for you in the first place. Good luck with whatever else you want to pursue!
The biggest difference between undergraduate research and graduate level research is control.
As an undergraduate, you can control your future by working hard in your classes and spending the appropriate amount of time in the lab. You will graduate as long as you do the tasks requested, regardless of the ultimate outcome of your research project.
As a graduate student, you have far less control of your future. You are ultimately judged by whether you successfully complete your project. Sadly, even the best ideas can fail after years of hard work. Moreover, factors such as funding, completing labs and equipment availability also play a critical role in whether a research project comes to fruition. Ultimately, hard work and intelligence alone are not enough, and for many people this can be difficult to accept.
On a personal note, I did manage to complete my PhD at Yale. I am now no longer involved in science or research in any way. My only regret is not leaving science sooner.
What a dumb article -- of course grad school is going to be different and more challenging than undergrad! Earning a PhD is not supposed to be easy, and it's not something that should be entered into lightly. People who are passionate about their research WANT to put the time and effort into it -- if you're not sure if that's for you, then don't go straight to grad school from undergrad. And if you were too naive to see it coming, then at least stop whining and learn to appreciate the amazing opportunities you have here that you never had as an undergrad...
I can't believe that someone would expect not to specialize in a particular field in graduate school... At some point in all careers you have to specialize....
You even notice this when you visit chemistry department websites... Under research interests for professors it doesn't say "yes" or "omgScienceLOL!"... it says something very specific like "solid state nmr of proteins" or something. Graduate school clearly was not for "Leah", it is just unfortunate that it took her/him 5 years to realize it. Ironically, she should have done "research" into graduate school in the first place.
Grad school lab hours can be a breeze compared with what some postdocs have to live with.
I agree with this article. Many undergraduates have protected, happy lab experiences and go into graduate school unaware of the complexities of the politics and the big role that luck plays. For me, I had a nightmare research experience as an undergraduate at Yale, which convinced me not to go straight into graduate school, but to try something else for a few years, and enter graduate school later when I am more prepared to face the sharks. Thanks for the great article!
"And that was a big lie.”
That you told yourself. Grad school is professional training--primarily for a profession where long-term job security is hard to come by. Few, if any, are well-advised to go directly from college to grad school. The experience bears even less relation to college than high school does to college. Go do something in the world for 2-4 years first. You'll be much better suited to the challenges you'll face in a PhD program.