March 22, 2012

6 days and counting!

That's right, folks -- I'm finally finishing my graduate program! I've been planning, pushing, and pleading for this day for almost 6 years. I'm ready to be taken seriously, to be respected as a scientist, to have a voice in the discussion. And though I realize that may not happen everywhere I go, the power hungry will be a little tempered in their critiques.

Because I'll have the same PhD that they do.

!!!

Now if only I could get a job ....

March 02, 2012

Favorite quotes

As I limp toward the finish line of graduate school, I find solace in quotes others have written about this experience. I can relate to Gradhacker's explanation of how professors infantilize graduate students, denying our maturity and relevant previous experience so they can treat us like inept children. I can also relate to the mantra of smile and nod -- it seems to placate otherwise insecure individuals. [Though, truth be told, you have to eat your own pride in the process.] So in that vein, here are a few quotes that have cheered me up:

"The defense is the committee's last act of humiliation before they choke the graduate student at commencement with the hood."

"So long and thanks for the Ph.D.!" [Ronald Azuma's blog]

"Graduate school is like a stage 3 cancer diagnosis. You have to endure years of painful therapies (like prelims) before you graduate and go into remission. But the process of surviving changes you and leaves permanent scars." [A friend's perspective]

"I have met many a moron that had a Ph.D."

"And while it is important to be willing to learn, there is a difference between humility and humiliation." [Gradhacker blog]
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Ronald Azuma's blog
http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html

Gradhacker blog
http://www.gradhacker.org/2011/11/28/empowering/