Shuwen Jethro Sun – Thoughts as a Panelist

Why this?

Up till now, I have joined several panels (Ph.D. open house, Ph.D. orientation, or for classes). I think some questions are getting asked so many times that I might as well just write them down (with some more detailed explanation). And sometimes I feel like people are not asking the right questions.

Some Common Questions (Aka FAQ)

What is doing a Ph.D. in grad school?

My first answer:

Doing a Ph.D. is about asking some right questions, getting some right answers, and executing those answers.

My second answer:

Doing a Ph.D. is

getting paid to work on research (if you make smart decision you can work on whatever things you are interested in)
working with the top-level people in the field (there is no more higher level than professors, seriously)
having the opportunity to do things that you will not be able to do otherwise (becoming a professor and/or doing research in industry).

What you want to ask before applying for a Ph.D. program?

Namely, what should you consider while making the decision about which school you should apply or not?

The short answer is:

You should apply to say at least 10 places.

The longer answer is:

You should apply broadly, as there are many factors unbeknownst to you (the professor doesn't have headcount/funding right now, the professor wants to do something else, or that the particular grad school is getting a lot of good applicants thus your application looks less impressive now). The best way to prepare for these things is to apply broadly and make sure that you have eventually a handful of options.
However, do note that you should only have one or two safe options, all the places you apply should be somewhere that you are excited to work for another 5~7 years.

What you want to ask/know during Ph.D. open house?

Note that the difference from the previous question is that you already have the offer and are making the call here.

For the Ph.D. students/faculty members:

You should ask questions and try to figure out what the grad school experience they think they are having. Because what they are experiencing is in expectation what you are going to have.

For your potential advisor and his/her Ph.D. students:

You should use the opptunity to know more about what they expect you to do in the future, what is the bar to graduate (yes you should ask).
You should explore this opptunity to understand what hisher Ph.D. students are experiencingaccomplishing.

What is the most important thing in doing a Ph.D.?