Considering grad school?
If you’re thinking about grad school, especially in computer science, and you want someone to talk it through with, reach out. I was in your seat once: excited about research, and with no real idea what any of it would be like day to day.
I did my PhD in computer science at Oregon State, advised by Dr. Rakesh Bobba and Dr. Yeongjin Jang, working on systems security. It was the usual mix of real breakthroughs and long stretches where nothing worked. The thing I wish someone had said plainly: how much of it comes down to endurance and the people around you, and how little to raw technical talent.
A few things I actually believe, having finished:
- It’s a marathon. You can’t sprint a PhD, and the people who try tend to burn out. Sustainable beats heroic.
- Your first idea won’t be your best one. Most experiments fail and most papers get rejected. That isn’t you failing, it’s the shape of the work.
- Protect a life outside of it. The hobbies and people you keep are what carry you through the bad months.
- Ask for help earlier than feels comfortable. Advisors, peers, and, genuinely, mental health professionals.
Things worth reading
The list that helped me most, and that I still send people.
Starting out
- The illustrated guide to a Ph.D. by Matt Might, and the rest of his articles
- So You’re Starting a PhD? by Mike Rosulek
Doing the work
- You and Your Research by Richard Hamming
- De-Mystifying Good Research and Good Papers by Fei-Fei Li
- How to Referee a Paper by Alan Jay Smith
- How to Write Good Technical Documentation
Staying sane
- Life Lessons That My PhD Taught Me by Chhavi Yadav
- A Survival Guide to a PhD by Andrej Karpathy
- How to graduate your PhD when you have no hope
Getting unstuck
- How to Get New Ideas and How to Do Great Work by Paul Graham
- How to Not Get Stuck by Camille Fournier
Asking and communicating
- How to Ask Good Questions by Julia Evans
- Don’t ask to ask, just ask and the XY problem
For the bad days
Types of Scientific Paper, because sometimes you just need to laugh about it.
If any of this lands and you want to talk it through, my door is open.