{"id":424,"date":"2009-10-11T16:50:27","date_gmt":"2009-10-11T20:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathgradblog.williams.edu\/?p=424"},"modified":"2009-10-11T16:50:27","modified_gmt":"2009-10-11T20:50:27","slug":"mentoring-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/2009\/10\/11\/mentoring-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Daniel Erman<\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve just begun mentoring a pair of first year graduate students as part of Berkeley’s mentoring program (recently revamped by the student group Unbounded Representation<\/a>). \u00a0Thus, I’ve been recently wondering about the following question: \u00a0What is the most important piece of advice for a first year graduate student in mathematics?<\/p>\n

I offer my opinion below the fold. \u00a0In addition, Adam Boocher, who is a 2nd year graduate student (I’m in my 5th year) will offer his opinion in a companion post on this blog. \u00a0We’re also curious to hear from anyone else with an opinion on this question (especially those of you that diagree with us!) <\/p>\n

I think that the most important piece of advice for a first-year grad student is this: it’s all about research<\/strong>. \u00a0This is a sharp departure from undergraduate mathematics, which is focused on coursework. \u00a0Once you understand that research is the priority, this has implications for how you spend your time during your first year. \u00a0Here are the main implications that I can think of:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Selecting an advisor is your most important task. \u00a0Try to get to know every professor that you might be interested in working with. \u00a0This means attending research seminars and tagging along for lunch\/dinner\/beers afterwards. If your department has teas, you should attend these. \u00a0These activities take up time, but they are more important than spending time on homework.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Attend seminars. \u00a0I already mentioned this above, but this is also important for getting a sense of the research landscape. \u00a0Attending seminars is a painful experience for your first few years of graduate school, but it is nevertheless important. \u00a0Professor Ravi Vakil at Stanford has a fabulous webpage of advice, including advice on why\/how to attend seminars. \u00a0Read his explanation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Don’t waste time! \u00a0When you apply for jobs, you’ll be judged largely based on the research that you’ve done. \u00a0Thus, the earlier you start doing research, the more papers you’ll have completed. \u00a0Once you’ve settled on an advisor, try to pass your qualifying exams and begin doing research as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Get to know other graduate students, including those older than you. \u00a0This can be extremely valuable when you start doing research, since you’ll have friends with expertise in other areas. \u00a0My research has benefitted tremendously from conversations with my fellow graduate students, and I have even had the good fortune to collaborate with a couple of them.<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve just begun mentoring a pair of first year graduate students as part of Berkeley’s mentoring program (recently revamped by the student group Unbounded Representation). Thus, I’ve been recently wondering about the following question: What is the most important piece of advice for a first year graduate student in mathematics?<\/p>\n

I offer my opinion below the fold. In addition, Adam Boocher, who is a 2nd year graduate student (I’m in my 5th year) will offer his opinion in a companion post on this blog. We’re also curious to hear from anyone else with an opinion on this question (especially those of you that diagree with us!)<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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