You start calling faculty members by their first names
It takes you more than 10 sec to explain to the average person what you're studying
After telling people what you're doing everyone tries to console you by saying "you must be smart" or "you'll probably make lots of money."
You're not going bald but your skull is enlarging and you hair can't keep up.
When you type a paper with a longer works cited page than the actual paper.
People at the Library know you by name
They start to lure you to class (and seminars) with the promise of free food
You like the summer time, weekends, and Christmas break because you don't have to fight for parking with all the undergrads.
They give you keys. (mostly so you can work longer hours and on week ends)
You use the terms school and work interchangeably
You have you're own computer and desk
They feel so bad, they start paying you
You've been practicing your juggling and you know the average starting pay of a circus performer
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
So why isn't Grad school all fun and games?
For those who may wonder why I haven't posted in a while, let me explain. Since November I've been working on my "qualifying exam" which has been the scourge of my existence. It's less than ten pages long, but keep in mind this is a scientific research proposal. My first page cites 20+ papers, and the paper as a whole right now has 36 sources. I don't know if anyone has ever read a scientific journal, but I've read 50 or so really, really dry boring papers and had to learn more in less time than I ever have in my life. It takes me about an hour to type a paragraph, I spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer thinking and looking up little tiny details in my 6 in tall stack of double sided printed journal articles. Hopefully this will all be over in 10 days, assuming I pass and they don't make me do any more revisions. Or I guess I could just fail get thrown out of grad school and do . . . well something, but my mind won't let me explore that possibility.
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