Posted by Emme_V2 on July 14, 2013, at 7:44:30
In reply to Re: hoplelessness, posted by alexandra_k on July 11, 2013, at 22:31:02
Hi. A few random thoughts from a sleep-deprived brain here.
This is a funny anecdote. When I first arrived for grad school, I saw that one of my advisor's other students had on his desk a framed draft of an abstract for a conference. The guy had written the abstract and my advisor had marked the thing up to the point where any white space on the page was filled with arrows and scribblings. I knew right then what to expect from my advisor in terms of being critical. I have to admit working for him was tough on my psyche. We all got through somehow.
I think one way to think of your dissertation is that it will buy you your union card so to speak. Of course you want it to be good. But it doesn't have to be your magnum opus. It is a well-done piece of scholarly activity that opens up the door to certain types of jobs where you can do the work you want to do to make a contribution to your field (or maybe even some other allied field you migrate to) over the course of your career. It's part of the path.
Finishing up grad school and thinking about next steps can be very anxiety provoking. Breathe and keep you eye on the prize (signed title page). Good luck.
poster:Emme_V2
thread:1046976
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20130309/msgs/1047153.html