Journal Club!

Most people know that grad school involves taking classes, doing research, and sometimes teaching.  But there are many other venues for grad students to communicate with other people about science.  In addition to attending weekly seminars and occasional conferences, the folks in behavior and physiology in my program have a weekly journal club for supplemental intellectual stimulation.  Contrary to how "journal club" might sound, we do not meet in a treehouse to write about our feelings.  (Ba-dum-ching!)  Instead, professors and students meet once a week to discuss a scientific paper that is of general interest to the members of the group.  Everybody involved in the journal club takes a turn choosing and presenting a paper, and the paper is sent to the group about a week in advance.  The presenter's job is to provide background information, offer a synposis of the key results, and stimulate discussion among group members.  Since our journal club meets on Friday mornings, our presenter is also in charge of bringing a tasty breakfast treat.  (Bagels are a perennial favorite, though homemade baked goods are often well-received.)  Participating in journal club is a great way to expand the scope of your knowledge and to learn how to critically evaluate research articles.  In the past year, our journal club has covered topics ranging from road-crossing behavior in pedestrians to the genetics of bee personality to the evolution of male ornamentation.  Plus journal club is a great way to interact with people in your research area who you may not otherwise see on a regular basis.  And who knows, it just might lead to a great new idea or collaboration...

Efficiency

After intelligence, curiosity and self-motivation (the obvious things), efficiency is the most important trait a grad student can possess.  For many grad students, this is a tough one to learn.  After all, graduate school tends to attract the perfectionist types -- the people who worked hard in high school and college and yet actually still want more formal education.  But for PhD students, there often isn't enough time to do everything perfectly and still have a life (or at least time to sleep occasionally).  At some point extra effort becomes subject to the Law of Diminishing Returns.

Source: relationship-economy.com.  Note that I Google-Image-Searched instead of making my own graph...

The trick is to learn how much effort is required to successfully complete any given task.  For example, getting a 90% on that Endocrinology exam will take much less effort than studying all night to get a 100% (and will have exactly the same effect on your career).  Thoughtfully skimming the journal club paper before the discussion is often just as good as reading it carefully and thoroughly (unless you're presenting!).  TAing for a class you've taught before will take less outside prep time than taking on a new assignment.  Although these examples of efficiency might sound suspiciously like cutting corners, the end result is that you have more time and energy to devote to your own research, which is the ultimate goal of any good grad student.  When you learn how to fulfill your obligations efficiently, you will have more time for the important things.  And this is a skill that will serve you well long after you get those extra letters tacked onto your name.

Why Perpetual Science Camp?

I started a PhD program last fall because I was looking for a challenge.  Have you ever had the feeling that you just needed to do something?  Going back to grad school wasn't necessary or even entirely rational, but I decided to apply to PhD programs just to see if I could get in.  And by the time my top choice sent me an acceptance email, my decision was made.

Even though I initially found grad school overstimulating and exhausting, I knew from the first day that I would love it.  I  am fortunate to be attending a program where the people are as supportive and friendly as they are brilliant.  I couldn't quite put my finger on what is so satisfying about the experience until the professor I was teaching for shared an interesting science fact she had learned from a colleague earlier that day.  She commented that her job is like science camp, an endless playground of experimentation and new ideas to be discovered and shared.  I spent three summers at science camp as a teenager, so I knew exactly what she meant.  While my peers rode horses and stayed in cabins, I was living in a dorm and learning how to use a pipette.  Each summer I spent an entire week immersed in a university lab learning things that we'd never cover in my high school.  Now that I am a graduate student, I get to do this every day.  I have quickly discovered that when you get paid to learn cool things and run your own experiments, it's like perpetual science camp.  And thus a blog was born.