FIRST YEAR REFLECTIONS, by Jordana Navarro (University of Central Florida)
As August approaches, first-year doctoral students around the country will be getting ready for the most exciting and challenging years of their lives. While the first year of a Ph.D. can be the most exciting point in one’s career, it also contains many challenges. In writing this column, students entering various stages of their doctoral program will give their top three pieces of advice for success. Our hope is that this advice will help alleviate some anxiety as well as assist students in avoiding some of the stumbles we took in our first year .
1. Your Advisor is Key
Faculty advisors in a doctoral program are essential to success for several reasons. First, they understand what you’re going through because they have been there themselves. Therefore, seek them out early on if you are having difficulty meeting your responsibilities in or outside of class. They may be able to give you advice to improve your situation. Secondly, they can be an invaluable resource for novice researchers still finding their footing. Understand that faculty are not expecting first-year doctoral students to be experts in taking a research project from start to finish. Do not be afraid to ask your advisor to review your plan of study, to critique your methods, and to suggest improvements. Your faculty member won’t think less of you, and you’ll likely avoid serious issues when your research is underway.
Aside from guiding you through the doctoral program, advisors are professional mentors as well. Therefore, it is important to pair yourself with an advisor that can help you grow professionally and, preferably, shares similar research interests. Remember that advisors are also seasoned professionals and know a substantial amount of researchers in the field. This is vital when going on the job market as you want someone “in your corner” that can help network you to potential job placements. However, remember that the relationship is a mutual one. Advisors will demand a lot from you, they will expect you to give 100% in everything you do, and they can be your harshest critics. Rise to the occasion, and you will develop a professionally rewarding relationship.
2. Don’t Take it Personally
One of my professors once said that part of being a doctoral student was developing a thick skin in order to deal with inevitable challenges posed by students, faculty, and – especially – reviewers. Indeed, not everyone is going to agree with your perspective on a particular social problem. In fact, some of my peers have had students openly challenge them in class. It is of the utmost importance to maintain your professionalism despite the actions of other individuals. If the challenge is coming from a student, try to get at why that student feels the way he/she does. If the challenge is coming from a faculty member, try to see the value in what he/she is saying. Do their suggestions/opinions have merit? Could he/she be challenging you, because they believe in the work you’re doing? In my opinion, getting results back from blind reviews are the worst. Indeed, I still recall the sting of my first rejection letter. However, my advisor was helpful in redirecting my attention by encouraging me to really read and absorb the reviewer’s comments instead of immediately taking the suggestions as a personal attack. After I took a step back, I understood the reviewer’s perspective. My advisor and I revised our manuscript, submitted it to another journal, and the article was recently accepted without revisions. This is another reason why a great advisor is essential! Remember, no one is perfect – not even the most celebrated researcher in the discipline – so don’t take challenges as personal attacks, learn from them!
3. You Don’t Have to be the Best in Your Cohort!
Coming into a doctoral program can be very unsettling because you’re at the height of your educational career and working very closely with faculty members. Aside from working with faculty members, typically doctoral students are in small cohorts and may feel pressure to stand out among their peers. During the first few months of my doctoral program, I was constantly engaging in impression management. I was terrified I would not be able to stay with my cohort, and would be easily surpassed by my peers. To put it in context, I entered my doctoral program from a different (yet, similar) discipline. Therefore, I did not undergo the same Masters level preparation as the majority of my cohort. As a result, for most of my first semester, I agonized over assignments due to the fear I would fall short of my advisor’s expectations. However, after getting to know my cohort, we came to find out that we all shared that paranoia and nervousness. Due to this commonality, it drew us together and we have helped each other through the program. We share our frustrations and our triumphs. We helped each other through our qualifying exams by hosting weekly study sessions, and have remained relatively close despite taking different directions in our program. Find strength in your cohort and realize you don’t have to be at the top of the pack to still standout.