5 ms·

You all are kind of scaring me a bit... I just finished my Bachelor's and am starting my Master's this month. I have no formal research experience, but I plann

You all are kind of scaring me a bit... I just finished my Bachelor's and am starting my Master's this month. I have no formal research experience, but I planned to dive in during my Master's. For anyone who has done/is doing there PhD, if there is any advice you all could give me in order to get the most out of this next year before I apply for PhD programs, that would be great.

godelski 8y ago
Apply straight to a PhD program. Don't pay for a graduate degree.
- bradhoffman 8y ago
  My graduate degree is already paid for.
- glitchc 8y ago
  I disagree. A Masters with thesis is more directed, a good way to learn how to do research, and not hinged on a novel contribution for a successful defense. My PhD went much faster and smoother because I had learnt the ropes and decided it was something worth doing. I think part of the problem is people jumping straight into PhD without any research experience. I watched quite a few students struggle when taking this road. I do agree that it's a problem if grad school costs money, but a large stipend is only really available in STEM or medicine.
  - godelski 8y ago
    In my experience PhD candidates always get paid, and Masters don't. They do sometimes, but you aren't priority and guaranteed. I do always suggest getting the Masters on the way though. 5 years is a long time, and if you decide it isn't for you, well you come out with something (and it was paid).
andreyk 8y ago
I did the same route as you (Master's first, then starting on my PhD right now). It's a great route! In general, the best route is to try and join an ongoing project where you can be guided/mentored by a Post doc or senior PhD. This is easiest is larger labs, though in a smaller lab the professor might interact with you more (unlikely you will meet with prof much in larger lab). For your application two things matter: recommendation letters and publications. Joining a project on which you can have mentorship and showing yourself to be resourceful and productive is the best way to attain both. If you find a lack of guidance or a bad fit in whichever lab you first end up in, don't hesitate to try and change things up. In general, also always feel free to ask for advice and guidance; PhDs and post docs have been in your shoes and are more than willing to help out, you can always just ask someone out for coffee to talk about research and ask for advice.
- bradhoffman 8y ago
  What if the research options available are not something you're too interested in? I had a professor tell me I could work with him, but he said I had to work on what he has decided. That doesn't seem very attractive to me.
  - andreyk 8y ago
    That is one of the subtler points of the PhD - you can't just do what you want, and certainly not at first. The ideal is to find a professor who has a project that aligns with your own interests. If your hope is to find a professor who will back a wholly new project you thought up, that's kinda hard to do during a Master's.
  - wsy 8y ago
    Think of your PhD not as as finding solutions for a specific problem you have in mind, think of it as working in a specific area of research. Like with a startup, you usually have to pivot your research because things don't work out as imagined, and other directions turn out to be more fruitful. With that perspective, it doesn't matter much on what specific problem you start your research. Instead, find out which research groups are doing amazing work in the area you would like to work. And apply there. To identify these groups, read a lot of papers in your favorite research area.
doctorsher 8y ago
What type of masters degree is it? Course-based or thesis-based? If you are interested in continuing on to a PhD, a thesis-based masters would give you a much better insight. Even better if you try to publish while you are getting your degree. If it is a course-based masters, it will take you a lot of extra work outside of classes to get a taste of research. Do you already know your area of interest? This would be tremendously helpful for trying to pick an advisor.
- bradhoffman 8y ago
  I choose to take the thesis route, but I still have 27 hours of coursework to complete as well. My goal was to have 2-3 publications over the next year, but I am not sure how feasible it is. I am in the middle of determining a route for my research right now. Leaning towards AI, but also enjoy Operating Systems, Networking, and Security.
  - doctorsher 8y ago
    Wow, 27 hours of coursework and a thesis! Are you sure you can complete this in one year? That seems like a very heavy schedule. I guess it depends how your department accounts for course credit hours. My department was 30 hours of coursework for the course-based masters, 18 for the thesis-based masters -- 3 credit hours per course. It sounds like a very important role of your coursework will be to get a more refined idea of what research you'd like to perform. I'd recommend taking classes in each of your areas of interest. The more advanced classes might give you a better idea of research in that area. These are probably the classes the PhD students will be taking. I think a goal of 2-3 publications in one year is pretty lofty, but it depends how motivated you are and how much work you have to put into each of those publications. I think one solid publication (long paper, good conference/journal) will already give you a substantial edge in PhD admissions. This is a good goal; if you can do more, all the better! But I would hate for you to feel like you didn't meet your goal, and not be satisfied with one publication. Honestly, even if you go through the trouble of submitting a paper and it gets rejected, that is still an incredibly valuable learning experience. Feel free to email / google hangouts me at adam.r.drescher (at) gmail (dot) com if you have more detailed questions, want my perspective during your graduate school experience, etc. I'm happy to help.
mikeklaas 8y ago
I think doing a master's is a great way to find out if you are cut out for/want to do research. I did a master's, was very happy I did, and very happily didn't pursue a PhD afterward.

godelski 8y ago

Apply straight to a PhD program. Don't pay for a graduate degree.

bradhoffman 8y ago
My graduate degree is already paid for.
glitchc 8y ago
I disagree. A Masters with thesis is more directed, a good way to learn how to do research, and not hinged on a novel contribution for a successful defense. My PhD went much faster and smoother because I had learnt the ropes and decided it was something worth doing. I think part of the problem is people jumping straight into PhD without any research experience. I watched quite a few students struggle when taking this road. I do agree that it's a problem if grad school costs money, but a large stipend is only really available in STEM or medicine.
- godelski 8y ago
  In my experience PhD candidates always get paid, and Masters don't. They do sometimes, but you aren't priority and guaranteed. I do always suggest getting the Masters on the way though. 5 years is a long time, and if you decide it isn't for you, well you come out with something (and it was paid).

andreyk 8y ago

I did the same route as you (Master's first, then starting on my PhD right now). It's a great route! In general, the best route is to try and join an ongoing project where you can be guided/mentored by a Post doc or senior PhD. This is easiest is larger labs, though in a smaller lab the professor might interact with you more (unlikely you will meet with prof much in larger lab). For your application two things matter: recommendation letters and publications. Joining a project on which you can have mentorship and showing yourself to be resourceful and productive is the best way to attain both. If you find a lack of guidance or a bad fit in whichever lab you first end up in, don't hesitate to try and change things up. In general, also always feel free to ask for advice and guidance; PhDs and post docs have been in your shoes and are more than willing to help out, you can always just ask someone out for coffee to talk about research and ask for advice.

bradhoffman 8y ago
What if the research options available are not something you're too interested in? I had a professor tell me I could work with him, but he said I had to work on what he has decided. That doesn't seem very attractive to me.
- andreyk 8y ago
  That is one of the subtler points of the PhD - you can't just do what you want, and certainly not at first. The ideal is to find a professor who has a project that aligns with your own interests. If your hope is to find a professor who will back a wholly new project you thought up, that's kinda hard to do during a Master's.
- wsy 8y ago
  Think of your PhD not as as finding solutions for a specific problem you have in mind, think of it as working in a specific area of research. Like with a startup, you usually have to pivot your research because things don't work out as imagined, and other directions turn out to be more fruitful. With that perspective, it doesn't matter much on what specific problem you start your research. Instead, find out which research groups are doing amazing work in the area you would like to work. And apply there. To identify these groups, read a lot of papers in your favorite research area.

doctorsher 8y ago

What type of masters degree is it? Course-based or thesis-based? If you are interested in continuing on to a PhD, a thesis-based masters would give you a much better insight. Even better if you try to publish while you are getting your degree. If it is a course-based masters, it will take you a lot of extra work outside of classes to get a taste of research. Do you already know your area of interest? This would be tremendously helpful for trying to pick an advisor.

bradhoffman 8y ago
I choose to take the thesis route, but I still have 27 hours of coursework to complete as well. My goal was to have 2-3 publications over the next year, but I am not sure how feasible it is. I am in the middle of determining a route for my research right now. Leaning towards AI, but also enjoy Operating Systems, Networking, and Security.
- doctorsher 8y ago
  Wow, 27 hours of coursework and a thesis! Are you sure you can complete this in one year? That seems like a very heavy schedule. I guess it depends how your department accounts for course credit hours. My department was 30 hours of coursework for the course-based masters, 18 for the thesis-based masters -- 3 credit hours per course. It sounds like a very important role of your coursework will be to get a more refined idea of what research you'd like to perform. I'd recommend taking classes in each of your areas of interest. The more advanced classes might give you a better idea of research in that area. These are probably the classes the PhD students will be taking. I think a goal of 2-3 publications in one year is pretty lofty, but it depends how motivated you are and how much work you have to put into each of those publications. I think one solid publication (long paper, good conference/journal) will already give you a substantial edge in PhD admissions. This is a good goal; if you can do more, all the better! But I would hate for you to feel like you didn't meet your goal, and not be satisfied with one publication. Honestly, even if you go through the trouble of submitting a paper and it gets rejected, that is still an incredibly valuable learning experience. Feel free to email / google hangouts me at adam.r.drescher (at) gmail (dot) com if you have more detailed questions, want my perspective during your graduate school experience, etc. I'm happy to help.

mikeklaas 8y ago

I think doing a master's is a great way to find out if you are cut out for/want to do research. I did a master's, was very happy I did, and very happily didn't pursue a PhD afterward.