My Advice To My Graduate Students

My advice to you lot has iv parts: Publish or perish, Work hard, Understand the philosophy of research, in addition to Manage your fourth dimension well. (A overnice complement to this post is my advice to my undergraduate students.)

PUBLISH OR PERISH

Be goal-oriented

Always know the criteria needed for the side past times side step, in addition to focus on addressing these criteria.

Your side past times side pace afterward PhD is, ideally, to larn a faculty job. And this requires you lot to take away keep both skillful lineament in addition to quantity of publications. Aim to take away keep 10 publications, one-half of them at acme conferences.

So issue or perish. 4.0 GPA is non your goal. Taking a lot of classes is non your goal.

Get your start newspaper out rattling fast

This volition give you lot the confidence to write other papers. This volition instruct you lot that enquiry is non an exotic thing that alone professors do. This volition shave off pair of years from your PhD. Your start newspaper does non demand to live on rattling good. Get it out fast.

Write well, write a lot, revise a lot

Writing clearly in addition to communicating your move inwards an accessible way to others is equally of import equally doing the work. I volition tell it: if solving the occupation takes 50% of your effort, the other 50% travail should live on on writing it clearly.

Writing is nature's way of letting you lot know how sloppy your thinking is. Writing enables you lot to analyze your work, brand feel of your work, encounter the big picture, in addition to notice several novel ideas along the way.

You tin live on a rattling skillful author past times refining/rewriting several times in addition to by next unproblematic rules.

Keep a enquiry notebook in addition to write a lot

Since writing is rattling important, you lot should move on a enquiry notebook/folder accessible to you lot at whatever time, in addition to banknote downwardly every idea/insight you lot get.

I cannot emphasize the importance of writing enough.

When you lot are working on a project, start writing equally early on equally possible. This volition aid steer the research/work you lot are doing. Write downwardly every failure, problem, in addition to solution idea. Use these fabric to write a enquiry banknote or technical study equally you lot become along. It should live on such that when the enquiry is done, the writing (first draft at least) is also done.

Revisit your enquiry ideas folder periodically to encounter if in that place is anything worth pursuing there. You volition live on pleasantly surprised, if you lot are doing it right.

WORK HARD

Be proactive, accept initiatives

Graduate schoolhouse is rattling unlike than undergraduate years. It is unstructured. There is no spoon-feeding. So you lot should live on proactive in addition to accept initiatives to larn your enquiry going. My task is to facilitate things in addition to deed equally an advisor (hence my championship equally "Advisor"). Your task is to larn things done in addition to drive the work. You are the locomotive of research.

Don't larn stuck, seek unlike things. Progress is to a greater extent than of import than perfection. I won't live on upset if you lot are making mistakes; genuinely making mistakes agency you lot are working, in addition to I volition live on happy.

I volition live on upset if you lot are stuck in addition to are non trying anything, only instead trying to come upwards up amongst excuses.

Make mistakes

Being a perfectionist does non payoff. Actually, perfection comes from iteration. You start amongst a stone oil draft (which is past times Definition imperfect), in addition to refine in addition to refine.

Trying to live on perfect in addition to larn it correct the start fourth dimension gets you lot stuck.

Rejection is purpose of the deal. It is zippo to worry most or live on ashamed about. If you lot larn rejected, you lot at to the lowest degree got skillful feedback. Revise your work, in addition to submit to the side past times side skillful conference.

Don't accept pride of how smart you lot are

Being smart does non matter, working difficult does. So don't accept pride of how smart you lot are. Don't larn your ego inwards the way, otherwise you lot won't live on able to query everything. Stay hungry, remain foolish.

Pedagogues enjoin us that it is incorrect to praise children equally beingness smart. This leads to them beingness rattling defensive, in addition to non attempting to solve difficult problems: because if they fail, they volition live on exposed equally beingness "not smart". The correct way to praise children is for how hardworking, persistent they are. These children so won't live on afraid to accept on difficult problems.

Nothing inwards this globe tin accept the house of persistence. Talent volition not; zippo is to a greater extent than mutual than unsuccessful people amongst talent. Genius volition not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education volition not; the globe is total of educated derelicts. Persistence in addition to conclusion lone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge

Being smart is a gift to you, the of import thing is what you lot brand of it. Be humble. Your duty is to move hard; the results volition follow.

Work persistently

Understand the travail versus payback graph. At the start, although you lot are putting a lot of effort, no commensurate visible output occurs. This is because you lot haven't accumulated plenty critical volume nevertheless to leverage upon. So initially it requires a lot of travail to larn a newspaper out, tell 12 months. But afterward you lot overstep an activation threshold, you lot start to larn accelerated returns. You take away keep built "critical mass" in addition to gained momentum. Now it requires less travail to larn a newspaper out, tell three months.

PhD is a marathon. Don't larn burned out inwards the start pair of miles. Manage your expectations, in addition to psychological stamina well. Form a reading/support grouping amongst your friends. Don't hesitate to seek advice in addition to counseling.

UNDERSTAND THE PHILOSOPHY OF RESEARCH

Find the "right" enquiry problem

Research is all most finding the correct problem. Once you lot notice the correct problem, solving it is easy.

Finding the correct occupation is an art. Initially, I volition render the problems to you. Later on you lot should live on able to notice the correct problems yourself. This volition live on possible through acquiring a "taste for problems" through reading a lot of skillful papers in addition to writing enquiry notes.

The correct occupation has 2 components: you lot in addition to the problem. Here are my heuristics for guiding myself to notice the correct problem.

work on what alone you lot tin do: leverage on your strengths (see the give-and-take on toolset below)
work on what you lot love: you lot take away keep to live on passionate most your work
work on use-inspired problems: this is a precondition to create useful work
work on the most of import problems inwards your domain: address the fundamental/inherent problems, non the accidental problems.

The correct occupation is non rattling difficult ---in which instance you lot would live on stuck for years. The correct occupation is at the boundary of your limits. You strain to solve the problem, only you lot know it is solvable.

A rattling overnice reference at this indicate is to read the "Your enquiry in addition to You" past times Richard Hamming.

Use your toolset to assault domain problems

I volition explicate this amongst an example. My toolset is distributed systems theory/algorithms, formal methods, in addition to fault-tolerance (self-stabilization) techniques. The toolset is of import for solving problems efficiently, in addition to inwards a way alone you lot tin do.

The domain on the other manus is of import for identifying useful problems to assault amongst your toolset. The domains I move on are sensor/actor networks, crowdsourced sensing/collaboration via smartphones, in addition to distributed/networked systems (data middle computing, these days).

MANAGE YOUR TIME WELL

Kill distraction

Good move requires intense focus. A modest distraction volition divert your focus, in addition to you lot may demand a long fourth dimension to recover dorsum to the same degree of concentration.

So kill your browser. Use it inwards batch-mode alone when you lot genuinely demand to. Don't take away keep your electronic mail opened upwards inwards your browser, that may Pb to checking electronic mail every 15-20 minutes killing your lineament time. Check electronic mail alone pair times a day.

Success = fourth dimension * focus. ~~Time~~ Focused fourth dimension is rattling precious. Go to the library move for an undistracted 2-3 hours if you lot desire to larn lineament move done. This is absolutely critical.