Resources for Success as a Graduate Student at

Carnegie Mellon

Chad EllisChemistry DepartmentSeptember 18, 2009

Outline

I. What good is my advice?

II. Success—The 10 Year Plan

III. Resources

IV. Ex: Structure and Timing of my “career”

I. What good is my advice?

• 6th year in Chemistry…graduating this Spring

• Academic career goal

• Post-doc applications

• Writing papers, thesis

• TA for 8 semesters

• Generalizations of my experience…– How many 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th +??

II. Success

• Unique experience– Less than 1% of U.S. has a Ph.D.– Academic structure

• You make it what you want—set goals– Thrills and depressions– Support and destruction

• NOT for everyone—opportunity cost is BIG– Love the pursuit of truth– Mentoring– Determined Intellectual Exploration!

Why get a M.S. or Ph.D.?

II. Success—you define it

• Make a 10 Year Plan…

– Incorporate and anticipate changes

• Example: In 10 years, I want to…

• Don’t know??? Set goals to maintain options.

III. Resources

A. Your Structure and Timing– Your 10 Year Plan

B. Your Network

C. Carnegie Mellon

D. Your Determination and Resilience

Structure and Timing

• Work back from your 10 Year Plan

• Year 5 needs…(Ph.D. graduation) – Papers, teaching, research skills, funding,

conferences, leadership, thesis…– Work back from each requirement to Sept 18, 2009– What does my CV need to look like??

• Use models (and do better than they did)– Older grad students– Seek out a mentor…– Models become nodes in your network

Network

• In making your 10 Year Plan, develop good relations with…– Mentors, faculty, staff, administrators– Collaborators– Peers and friends– Friends of friends– and…

• Your advisor is probably the most important node in your network

Advisors

• Choose wisely…(you can switch)– R. Tannenbaum, W. Schmidt. How to Choose a Leadership Pattern,

Harvard Business Review, May-June 1973.

• Ask questions to the advisor, his students, students in other groups, alumni– Different answers could indicate trouble… – Would you work for this advisor again?

• How does he/she manage resources/money? Projects, Conflict, Authorship, Funding, Group dynamic, Communication?

• Work in a number of groups prior to selection.

AdvisorsProject Management

Very Specific / IntrusiveTotal Freedom / Oblivious

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TIME

University Resources

• Your 10 Year Plan, Network, and Advisor are taking shape…GREAT!

• Sort out the departmental requirements in Plan

• Do them in 0-3 years– Grad student handbook– Coursework, entry exams, comprehensive exams,

seminars, proposals, leadership roles, teaching…

• In 2-6 years…conferences, papers, thesis…

• What can the University or departments offer in terms of support toward your Ph.D.?

University Resources

• Financial

• Technical

• Logistical

• Professional Development

• Legal

• Organizational

• Emotional, Social, Health

Financial Resources

• Travel Funding– Graduate Programs Office– Departmental– Conference organizers

• Bigger grants– NSF, NIH– Private funders (Dreyfus, generous alumni…)

• GPO

• HUB—student billing questions

• 46% say important

Technical Resources

• Computing – Help Desk 268-HELP– Departmental directories, shared servers– Back-ups

• Software– Learn relevant software early!!– Endnote, Mathematica, Sigmaplot

Logistical Resources

• Library– Illiad, Cameo

• Stockroom– Shipping and receiving facilities

• Maintenance personnel

– Add these important folks to your network!!!

Professional Development

• Teaching– Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence– Teaching Club

• Graduate Programs Office– Lecture Series– http://grad.msu.edu/prep/ Michigan State: PREP

• Presentations, publications, and writing– G. Whitesides, Adv. Mater. 2004, 16, 15, 1375.

• Writing Consultant• Mentors• > 60% say important!

Legal Resources

• Allegheny County Bar Association– Legal Referral Service online: $30 for 30 minutes

• Neighborhood Legal Services Association

• Carnegie Mellon’s Office of the General Counsel

• Carnegie Mellon’s Tech Transfer Office—IP

Organizational / Interdisciplinary

• Graduate Student Assembly– your student government

• University Clubs– Sporting, Outdoors, Cultural, Project Oriented– Skiing– Solar Splash– Buggy– Entrepreneurial and investing

Social, Emotional, Health

• Great athletic facilities, events, and IM sports

• GSA events– Happy hours– Rafting trips– Sports– Wine tasting

• Carnegie Mellon Student Health and Counseling Services—Health Insurance

• Departmental events and resources

Resources…revisited

A. Your Structure and Timing– Your 10 Year Plan

B. Your Network

C. Carnegie Mellon

D. Your Determination and Resilience--decide to persevere, overcome all obstacles

IV. Halfway through my 10 Year Plan

• Goal: – Chemistry professor at a top liberal arts university

• What I’ve done

• Current state of affairs– Post Doc application process

Getting a Post Doc

• Identify post doc advisor one year before graduation• Send a perfect cover letter, CV, and research

summary (see Mentor) by email and hard copy• Use your network• Follow up if no response• Send letters of recommendation if asked

– Supportive faculty who know you and your work– Best case: one-two writers know post-doc advisor

• Phone interview, site visit, presentation, dinner• The offer…• papers, thesis, external post-doc funding…

Acknowledgements

• Nancy Klancher

• Suzie Laurich-McIntyre

• Questions??