In the fall, I'm entering graduate school for a Master's degree. I'm going to be studying amblypygid, or whip spider, navigation, combining the three fields of computational biology, behavioral ecology, and neurobiology. It's going to be new and a little intimidating. Since you guys have been with me and supporting me for years, I'd love to hear you guys' experiences with graduate school and any tips you might have, as well as your grad experiences and discussions in general.
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Graduate School
- Thread starter Secad MS
- Start date
Congrats on your undergraduate degree! It sounds like you're doing a thesis-based Master's? Do you have to take any courses? Plan to TA? Are you at a new university or the same one?
I'm about 1 year into my master's in materials engineering. There's been a bit of a learning curve for me in terms of being more independent, keeping up with reading papers, and balancing the workload. I've gotten better about doing presentations and taking criticism without getting pissed off, although it's definitely under the surface sometimes. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ
I also missed out on some opportunities because I wasn't in the loop-- I should have been more proactive about asking questions about how administrative stuff worked and to make sure I was in contact with the department. It can be hard because I'm shy and I don't want to bug people but a couple times I had to get on the phone to make sure weird financial stuff was fixed. @_@
I'm about 1 year into my master's in materials engineering. There's been a bit of a learning curve for me in terms of being more independent, keeping up with reading papers, and balancing the workload. I've gotten better about doing presentations and taking criticism without getting pissed off, although it's definitely under the surface sometimes. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ
I also missed out on some opportunities because I wasn't in the loop-- I should have been more proactive about asking questions about how administrative stuff worked and to make sure I was in contact with the department. It can be hard because I'm shy and I don't want to bug people but a couple times I had to get on the phone to make sure weird financial stuff was fixed. @_@
I am TAing, and going for the thesis route. This is science, after all. 
I'm doing it at the same university I got my undergraduate degree from, as due to my unfamiliarity with the graduate school application system, that's the only school I got into. I'll definitely be better prepared for my PhD. I seriously thought advisors chose students like "Hey, I want that awesome piece of paper!" instead of "I need y'all to come talk to me first." Thus, the advisors who wanted me heard about me from other professors, and that's difficult to do at a college across the nation, you know. As for keeping in the loop, I know that feeling. I tend to keep to myself in doing my work and such, but I've got to remember this level is a lot more collaborative and I need to keep up on the news.
I'm doing it at the same university I got my undergraduate degree from, as due to my unfamiliarity with the graduate school application system, that's the only school I got into. I'll definitely be better prepared for my PhD. I seriously thought advisors chose students like "Hey, I want that awesome piece of paper!" instead of "I need y'all to come talk to me first." Thus, the advisors who wanted me heard about me from other professors, and that's difficult to do at a college across the nation, you know. As for keeping in the loop, I know that feeling. I tend to keep to myself in doing my work and such, but I've got to remember this level is a lot more collaborative and I need to keep up on the news.Oh daaaaaarn, yeah, it can be unexpected how different things are from undergrad to grad school, or even between schools can be huge differences about timing and expectations. It sounds like things worked out well, will you be doing mostly work on the computer, or in the lab? Do you work in the field at all? Some of my friends in ecology spend so much time outdoors, I think I would get tired too easily.