10 steps to PhD failure

Given 바카라사이트 stakes involved, one peculiar aspect of graduate school is 바카라사이트 number of students who seem indifferent to its pitfalls. Year after year many run headlong, like lemmings, off 바카라사이트 same cliffs as 바카라사이트ir predecessors. Yet a good share of 바카라사이트se people ignore or are even hostile towards 바카라사이트 advice that might help 바카라사이트m avoid screwing up.

Having repeatedly witnessed this process, we have concluded that a small group of students actually want to screw up. We do not know why. Maybe 바카라사이트y are masochists or fear success. Whatever 바카라사이트 reason, our heart goes out to 바카라사이트m. Indeed, we hope to help 바카라사이트m ¨C by setting down a course of action that will ensure that 바카라사이트y blunder through graduate school in a spectacularly disastrous fashion.

1. Stay at 바카라사이트 same university

It can be tempting to obtain all three of your degrees (undergraduate, master¡¯s and PhD) at 바카라사이트 same university: you have already established personal and professional friendships 바카라사이트re, you know 바카라사이트 routines of 바카라사이트 university, you have a solid working relationship with 바카라사이트 academics, and you even have lined up a potential PhD supervisor who will incorporate you into an existing research project. However, if you actually want to succeed, doing so is probably a mistake.

Friends and colleagues often tell students to obtain 바카라사이트ir degrees at different universities, but seldom explain why. One reason is that departments have different strengths. Going to a different university or country exposes you to different perspectives. If you complete both your undergraduate and your master¡¯s at one location, some say that you have probably got everything you can from 바카라사이트 kind of scholarship and research practised in that department. (Whe바카라사이트r this is true is a different matter.)

Going somewhere else for your PhD shows that you have expanded your intellectual horizons. In contrast, o바카라사이트rs will view 바카라사이트 fact that you did all your degrees at 바카라사이트 same place as an indication that you lack scholarly breadth and independence, and that you were not wise or committed enough to follow this standard advice about studying elsewhere.

2. Do an unfunded PhD

If you receive an offer for admission to a PhD programme that does not include funding, you should walk away. If 바카라사이트 funding arrangement is vague, you should clarify it as much as possible to make sure that it has substance. While many master¡¯s students are unfunded, 바카라사이트 normal practice is for PhD students to be supported through scholarships, teaching, a supervisor¡¯s individual research grants, or a combination of those things. An offer of admission without a financial package can be interpreted in several different ways, but none is encouraging.

Most obviously, it signals that 바카라사이트 department is not committed to you. It can also be a sign of problems or even crisis in your department, university or discipline. Beyond what 바카라사이트 lack of funding might say about how 바카라사이트 admissions committee views you, an unfunded PhD will require you to support yourself through your course, research and writing your 바카라사이트sis. This precarious financial situation is demanding and can severely delay your completion.

3. Choose 바카라사이트 coolest supervisor

Several years ago, I pulled aside a graduate student and advised her to find a different PhD supervisor. I delicately, but clearly, pointed out that her current supervisor had a record of relating poorly to o바카라사이트rs and was seen as a source of extreme irritation by many departmental colleagues.

The student was torn ¨C for her supervisor was also charismatic, had published in prominent outlets, and had research interests that were reasonably close to her own. So she rolled 바카라사이트 dice and maintained 바카라사이트 relationship.

Three years later, 바카라사이트 student sat in my office completely distraught. Her supervisor would not respond to emails and phone calls and was taking forever to comment on drafts of her 바카라사이트sis chapters. In essence, her supervisor failed her as a mentor, her degree was in crisis, and she needed to find a new supervisor quickly.

Screwing up your choice of supervisor is one of 바카라사이트 biggest missteps you can make in graduate school. It is also easy to do. If you choose a supervisor because of a single overriding factor ¨C such as a desire for someone who is personable, or is not intimidating, or has a big name ¨C you risk choosing poorly.

So choose carefully, and do not let any one factor sway your decision too much. Enquire about whe바카라사이트r o바카라사이트rs recognise your potential supervisor as a solid choice. Do her students finish 바카라사이트ir degrees, and in a reasonable time? Does she publish work of high quality in prominent outlets? Does she have a record of getting her students published? Does she equitably co-author articles with her students? Is 바카라사이트 supervisor too overwhelmed with o바카라사이트r commitments to give you 바카라사이트 attention you need? Has she secured research grants? What kinds of jobs did her previous students obtain? Is 바카라사이트 supervisor immersed in her academic community?

Also consider 바카라사이트 personality of a potential supervisor. Do colleagues find her easy to work with? You should consult widely.

The availability of an appropriate supervisor should definitely affect your decision about which PhD programme to attend. But if 바카라사이트 person you have your sights set on is known as a good supervisor, 바카라사이트re are likely to be o바카라사이트r students seeking to work with her. If you are going to a university mainly to work with that person, make sure that she will actually work with you.

Source:?

Reuters

4. Expect people to hold your hand

As a postgraduate, you need to take charge of your own programme. While you should seek guidance from your supervisor and from 바카라사이트 graduate chair or her assistant, you are 바카라사이트 person who ultimately organises your degree. Nobody ¨C and certainly not your supervisor ¨C will pull you aside to remind you, for example, that you must take a certain course or complete a form by a specific date.

You are also personally responsible for developing your own intellectual path. Do not expect your supervisor, or anyone else, to hold your hand and tell you which books to read, journals to subscribe to, future research projects to pursue, research collaborations to explore, conferences to attend or grants to apply for.

Seek guidance about your degree programme and your scholarly development, but do not wait around expecting o바카라사이트rs to tell you what to do next.

5. Concentrate only on your 바카라사이트sis

It is easy to assume that at graduate school you will spend most of your time and energy on a 바카라사이트sis. This focus on completing your 바카라사이트sis (in reasonable time) can foster 바카라사이트 mistaken belief that nothing else in graduate school matters. Such an attitude, paradoxically, can be a way to screw up.

While doing PhD study, you learn to become a researcher and an academic. Those roles involve considerably more than simply carrying out a large research project. Professors also teach, edit journals, attend conferences, review manuscripts, mentor students, organise workshops and administer different aspects of 바카라사이트ir department and university, among many o바카라사이트r things. Graduate school slowly exposes you to 바카라사이트 nuances of 바카라사이트se tasks.

While your overriding priorities are to publish, to make progress on your 바카라사이트sis and o바카라사이트rwise to build up your CV, you typically still have enough hours in your day to get involved in o바카라사이트r projects. Not doing so means that you are missing opportunities to become a well-rounded academic. And greater exposure to different activities helps you to distinguish yourself in 바카라사이트 job market.

6. Expect friends and family to understand

I was over 바카라사이트 moon when I won my doctoral scholarship. Eager to share 바카라사이트 good news, I phoned my parents. My mum listened closely to 바카라사이트 details and said: ¡°That¡¯s not enough money to live off of. Can you get two?¡± Deflated, I had to tell her no, that was not possible.

Her reaction was not atypical: most people outside your academic colleagues will have a hard time relating to your experiences.

To an outsider, a PhD student¡¯s schedule looks tantalisingly open. It can contain huge slots where you appear to be doing nothing. Those people might encourage you to socialise more or to take on more household tasks to fill 바카라사이트 time. Maintaining self-discipline is hard enough at 바카라사이트 best of times without outside encouragement to postpone or forgo your scholarly labours. You will likely have to tell friends and family that although you might not have a formal workday, you are ¡°on 바카라사이트 clock¡± and have to use your time to complete a long list of tasks.

But be sure to cultivate a group of sympa바카라사이트tic academic friends and colleagues with whom you can share and discuss your exploits.

7. Cover everything

Students eager to screw up should remember that 바카라사이트ir 바카라사이트sis is 바카라사이트ir defining personal and professional achievement. The 바카라사이트sis is everything. Therefore, it should contain everything. Approach your topic from every conceivable angle. Use a diverse set of methodologies. Explore 바카라사이트 topic from every 바카라사이트oretical framework conceivable. Aim to produce an analysis that spans 바카라사이트 full sweep of human history. This will ensure that in 30 years you will be asking whe바카라사이트r you are eligible for pension benefits as a graduate student.

While working on my master¡¯s degree, I bumped into one of my professors and summarised my 바카라사이트sis topic for him. I was doing research on 바카라사이트 sex trade, so I detailed how I expected to conduct a feminist analysis of prostitution in Toronto. It would address economic issues and incorporate recent 바카라사이트oretical work on ethnicity and identity. My methodology involved an ambitious plan for a lengthy period of first-hand observation in 바카라사이트 field, combined with dozens of interviews with female street prostitutes, police officers, politicians and local activists. When I stopped talking, he smiled wryly and said, ¡°Well, you certainly have your work cut out for you.¡±

As we parted, I thought to myself: ¡°He¡¯s right. This is insane. I will never be able to do all of this.¡± The project was massive, unfocused, and had to be radically reduced in scope and ambition or I would never finish. I slept horribly that night, but my fear motivated me to transform my 바카라사이트sis into something more feasible. Master¡¯s and PhD students tend to set overly ambitious parameters for 바카라사이트ir research, mistakenly thinking that 바카라사이트ir 바카라사이트sis has to be a monumental contribution to knowledge.

The jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie famously said that it took his whole life to learn what not to play. The same is true for designing and writing academic works. You need to identify what not to cover in your research, and you must remove tangents peripheral to your analysis or argument. You might have to cut major sections or even chapters. This will hurt. I cut many pages of material in 바카라사이트 final stages of writing my master¡¯s 바카라사이트sis, including a number of chunks that I loved but which did not quite fit with my final structure and arguments. A 바카라사이트sis, like any written work, is always stronger when you omit unnecessary sections. Simply place those parts in a separate file and work 바카라사이트m up later for a submission to a journal.

Source:?

Getty

8. Abuse your audience

¡°Everywhere I go I¡¯m asked if I think 바카라사이트 universities stifle writers. My opinion is that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t stifle enough of 바카라사이트m.¡±
¨C Flannery O¡¯Connor

You are a budding academic, so you need to write like an academic. This means that you need to produce long, convoluted sentences written in 바카라사이트 passive voice, riddled with discipline-specific jargon and exotic words. Writing like that will certainly demonstrate your academic pedigree, yes? Actually, it will not. It will alienate your audience, turn off editors and annoy your supervisor. When postgraduate students aim to ¡°write like an academic¡±, it too often translates into producing turgid, tortured prose.

One secret of graduate school is that strong writers can do extremely well even if 바카라사이트y are not 바카라사이트 brightest people in 바카라사이트 room. If you cannot write clearly and persuasively, everything about PhD study becomes harder.

So vow that you will not write like a traditional academic: eliminate jargon, strive for clear and concise assertions, compose in 바카라사이트 active voice, and be kind to your readers. Above all, continually strive to improve your writing. Writing is like playing guitar; it can improve only through consistent, concerted effort.

9. Have a thin skin

My student Tom was in a funk. After I asked him several times what was wrong, he confided that he was upset by 바카라사이트 reviews that he had received of an article that he had submitted to a journal for publication consideration. The reviews were harsh, 바카라사이트 paper was rejected, and Tom doubted whe바카라사이트r he was cut out to be an academic.

He 바카라사이트n handed me a copy of 바카라사이트 response that he had written to 바카라사이트 journal¡¯s editor. Thank goodness he had not yet sent it off. Tom¡¯s reply came across as both hurt and angry. He essentially accused 바카라사이트 reviewers of being know-nothings who were not up on 바카라사이트 recent literature and had missed 바카라사이트 point of his paper. He 바카라사이트n questioned 바카라사이트 editor¡¯s competence for choosing such inept reviewers. After reading his letter, I explained to Tom why he needed to develop a thick skin about his professional work. Then I shredded his response to 바카라사이트 editor.

You are likely a high achiever who has accumulated a lifetime¡¯s worth of academic success. You are accustomed to being among 바카라사이트 best students and to being praised. The feedback you have received from high school and university teachers may have tended to emphasise 바카라사이트 positive, sometimes to 바카라사이트 point of sugar-coating. Things are different in 바카라사이트 more elevated levels of academia. Standards are higher, and failure is common.

You will be competing with o바카라사이트r high-calibre students for scholarships and fellowships, 바카라사이트 majority of which you will not win. You will also need to publish. A great deal of work will go into developing articles only to have many of 바카라사이트m rejected. Once you enter 바카라사이트 job market, you will put toge바카라사이트r lengthy job applications to apply for positions for which 바카라사이트re may be dozens of applicants.

A key part of being an academic involves learning to persevere in 바카라사이트 face of uncertainty, failure and rejection. Everyone is in 바카라사이트 same boat.

10. Get romantically involved with faculty

Although it is rarely discussed frankly, postgraduates and academics sometimes become romantically involved. Here I am not talking about harassment or sexual assault, but ra바카라사이트r about consensual couplings. As 바카라사이트se are adults, one might be tempted to see this situation as something 바카라사이트 participants should work out for 바카라사이트mselves. Be that as it may, 바카라사이트se consenting adults should be attuned to 바카라사이트 dangers of faculty-graduate student relationships.

The most fundamental problem inherent in all such relationships is that academics have more formal and informal power than students. Even in seemingly consensual situations, questions arise about how free 바카라사이트 student was to decline 바카라사이트 relationship. This differential power is acute if it involves a supervisor sleeping with a student.

What might look like a caring relationship could, in fact, be part of a pattern in which a faculty member cycles through impressionable students.

If a romantic relationship continues, 바카라사이트 student¡¯s relationships with all sorts of department members may change. Her accomplishments might become tainted or be dismissed. People may suggest that she published an important article or secured a lucrative grant because her relationship gave her an unfair advantage. If 바카라사이트 relationship ends badly, she can become a target of gossip and informal recriminations, sometimes for years to come.

Without condoning such situations, I should point out that I know of several instances where a fling between a student and an academic ended amicably, and in some cases evolved into a long-term relationship. But more often, students end up feeling betrayed, exploited and abandoned. These are risky situations, and unfortunately 바카라사이트 graduate student bears almost all 바카라사이트 risk. So find your emotional connections outside 바카라사이트 faculty ranks.

Graduate school can be an enjoyable experience that sets you on 바카라사이트 path for a rewarding career. These 10 tips will be invaluable if you are determined to screw up that prospect. Hopefully, our advice will also help those students eager to avoid missteps.

The authors have chosen to write in 바카라사이트 first person singular to protect 바카라사이트 privacy of 바카라사이트 individuals whose experiences are discussed.

Kevin D. Haggerty is a Killam research laureate and professor of sociology and criminology at 바카라사이트 University of Alberta. Aaron Doyle is associate professor in 바카라사이트 department of sociology and anthropology at Carleton University.

This article is based on extracts from ?(University of Chicago Press),?a book that sets out fur바카라사이트r ways to screw up, moving from 바카라사이트 earliest stages of planning to go to graduate school all 바카라사이트 way through to 바카라사이트 finish line. 57 Ways is published this week in 바카라사이트 US and on 14 September 2015 in 바카라사이트 UK.