Home for the holidays
Our eighth and ninth book winners are Justine Brennan and Mariana Sosa, both prospective PhD students! Be sure to enter the book giveaway for your chance to win a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School! More details below (at the end of the post). A special thank you to Gia Macias for sponsoring an additional 14 copies! Now, onto the good stuff!
For many students who read this newsletter, November and December mark an intense holiday season, usually involving some sort of travel. Holiday gatherings (whatever they may look like this year as we continue living in a pandemic) bring lots of opportunity for discussion and questions about what people are up to and how they’re doing. There are many ways these conversations can go depending on what you want to and feel you can share about your PhD experience and what others are willing to hear and discuss. So, today I’m sharing a few scattered thoughts on how to handle questions like, “What do you actually do?” and, “When are you finally going to be done?”
Science communication. Inevitably, you’ll be asked to describe exactly what you’re doing in school, especially for such a long time! Here, you have an opportunity to practice communicating your science to a range of different audiences—from children to older adults. Unless the person (people) with whom you are speaking is (are) knowledgable about your area of interest, avoid using jargon and aim to connect your research topic(s) to broader “real world” issues. For example, I study how children think about money. When someone new to me asks me to describe what I do, I share that I’m a behavioral scientist interested in understanding how children and adults think about the world and, more specifically, money because money is something that we have to learn to grapple with no matter what. Knowing how to talk about your science will take time and is a part of the PhD (and beyond) learning process. Being open to communicating your science broadly is a good first step.
Manage your expectations. At the same time, not everyone is going to be interested in learning about what you do. It can be hard to be so excited about something and learn that those around you don’t (or won’t) share in that excitement. Although the PhD is a unique experience (in my biased opinion), it’s not one that interests everyone. If you find yourself feeling isolated or disappointed because you have no one to talk to, just send me an email (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com) and I will be sure to follow up, celebrating you and your work. I may even include a picture of my dog, Henry!
Stay humble. It is easy to adopt an elitist mentality when pursing a PhD. The “Ivory Tower” can be one helluva drug. But, do not confuse your status as a PhD student with being better than folks not pursuing a PhD.
The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching. - John Wooden (former UCLA men’s basketball coach)
In the spirit of John Wooden’s words shared above, appreciate different ways of knowing in both public and private. Care to see the world from different perspectives and remain intellectually (and otherwise) humble. If you find yourself slipping into an elitist mindset, check yourself. Recall that this is also important to do during conferences. Don’t play the “name tag game.”
Be patient. Many of you may be the first in your families to pursue a PhD (or even college). The notion that you can be paid for remaining in school an additional 4-7+ years can be quite astounding to some (it was to me!). At the same time, after a couple of years, some friends and family may wonder when you’re going to be done. The fact that graduation dates can be a moving target can be hard for some folks to understand. If it would be helpful, develop a “stock” response. For example, “My plan is to graduate in the spring of 2023.” In my experience, this is usually more helpful (in the long run) than saying, “I have 1-2 years left.” However, you have to be comfortable with how you talk about your own experiences.
And, for those of you with me on the job market, you will almost assuredly be asked how that is going. If it’s going well, great! Share that (if you’re comfortable doing so) and be open to others celebrating your wins! However, if it’s not going well, you may wish to answer more evasively if not comfortable sharing your difficulties. If that’s the case, you can say something like, “I have lots of applications out and am hoping for a positive response.” Similar language can be used to discuss internship opportunities, fellowships, etc.
Rest and (re)connect. It can be hard to know when to step away from work (or whether you should). I highly recommend taking time over holiday and winter breaks to disconnect from school stuff and reconnect with friends and family. If you’d like to impose some structure on your break, I recommend doing some time blocking (you can read more about time blocking here). In short, specify when you’re going to work and when you’re not going to work. Although I can’t say I practice what I preach, I do support completely disconnecting over holiday and winter breaks, especially for newer PhD students who are wrapping up intense first terms. To make the most of these breaks, generate a list of things you’d like to do, books you’d like to read, people you’d like to see, etc.
Some homework. Let’s keep it simple this week. Practice talking about your science with a friend—someone who is less familiar with what you do. See what sorts of questions they have and whether they can describe what you’ve shared with them accurately (this will be a good test of whether you’ve communicated clearly).
SCHOLAR PROFILE #13: JAMES T. CARTER
The purpose of these profiles is to highlight and connect you to scholars at different career stages doing interesting and important research and service work.
This week, we get to learn about James T. Carter, who is PhD candidate in Management at Columbia Business School.
Now, let’s learn about James’s academic journey.
What are your research interests?
Broadly, I study diversity and discrimination in organizations, paying particular attention to how individuals and people think and talk about diversity efforts and what consequences these strategies have for barriers and pathways to equity and inclusion.
With whom are you working for your PhD?
I'm at Columbia Business School where I do research with a number of scholars, but chiefly Drs. Mabel Abraham, Modupe Akinola, Adam Galinsky, and Katherine Phillips before she passed away in 2020.
Why did you choose your PhD institution and advisor(s)?
This was actually a tough decision. People always assume that getting into Columbia made the decision for me, but that wasn't actually the case. I was deciding between Emory and Columbia at the end and I think what it really came down to was where I felt I could grow the most (for me it was called a "stretch experience") and where I thought I could really benefit from the interdisciplinary experience the Columbia department offered. Luckily for business school departments, we have leeway to work with whomever we want as opposed to single and individual advisors. This was part of why I preferred to apply almost exclusively to management/OB programs as opposed to social psychology programs, though I did apply to two social or I/O programs.
Please share more about your academic journey.
I was very fortunate to have met people early on (my freshman year of college) who were able to connect me with people who could help me address some of the questions that were bumping around in my head. I had the opportunity to go to a boarding high school on a full scholarship and became fascinated with race, inequality, and diversity. When I got to college, Rice University in Houston, Texas, I was very fortunate to be connected with my future undergraduate thesis advisor, Dr. Mikki Hebl, who let me join the lab as a freshman to learn what it meant to do research--asking research questions, developing surveys, setting up lab studies, data analytics, and even writing up manuscripts. After four years in this lab and various summer experiences (e.g., SURE at UT Austin, HRC Summer Research Internship), I applied to graduate school programs (11 programs, 3 acceptances) in my senior year and started at Columbia in the fall of 2017 after graduation.
How did you navigate the PhD application process?
I had a VERY detailed spreadsheet passed down from older lab mates who used it for their application processes. In it, I tracked deadlines, submission materials, whether letters had been sent out and requested, whether programs required the Psych GRE, etc. I also had a PhD application buddy who was instrumental in keeping me sane. We were at different undergraduate institutions, but touched base often and were really helpful to one another when we had interviews, application materials, etc.
What is one bit of advice you'd like to give new (first-year) PhD students?
For first-year students, I would suggest taking time for yourself (whether that's weekends or mornings or whatever) because it is very easy to work nonstop and unfortunately that isn't sustainable. My second piece of advice would be to read widely and not just work in your department or space. So much of my research has been informed by research from sociology and economics/strategy and I wouldn't have known that if I didn't seek some of it out in coursework and reading lists.
Is there anything else about you or your journey that you’d like to share?
I'm a first-generation college student, so this journey was all very new to me and my family. It was so important that I found support within and outside of my program because PhD programs (especially small programs) can be incredibly isolating and I felt that particularly early on. Find things outside of the PhD that give you joy, too! Not just research! :)
Many thanks to James for sharing more about his academic journey!
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
In this section, I highlight resources you may find helpful as you navigate the PhD application process as well as the PhD itself. This week, I’m sharing a link to a podcast episode featuring me!
If you’d like to see a specific resource appear here, please share the relevant information via this survey. And remember, I maintain a running list of resources here.
Questioning Behaviour: This podcast, hosted by Merle van den Akker and Sarah Bowen, was shared as a resource in an earlier post. However, I’m re-sharing now because the episode including my interview was recently released. During the interview, I discuss my academic journey and how I am managing the uncertainty of the academic job market.
How to reach me: You are always welcome to email me (letstalkgradschool@gmail.com) or find me on Twitter @tweetsbymidge.
Let’s give away some books: Readers located in the United States and Canada are eligible to enter the book giveaway to receive a copy of A Field Guide to Grad School by Dr. Jessica Calarco. To do so, complete this survey and note that you only have to complete it once to be entered in all subsequent giveaways! I do hope to expand the reach of the giveaway; however, at the moment, the shipping costs are too great to scale. If you’d like to talk about ways your institution could secure an electronic (or hard) copy, please let me know (sign up for a 1-on-1 meeting below!).
1-on-1 sessions: Interested in some additional mentorship? Sign up for 1-on-1 sessions to discuss your questions regarding the social science PhD application process and/or completing a social science PhD more generally! Sign-ups will happen via Calendly and you can check periodically for updated openings. Sign up here!
NOTE: I will offer three more meeting sessions through 2021 (November 15, November 29, December 13).
Until next time!
Margaret