[Each week at ProfHacker, George Williams hosts "Open Thread Wednesday." We recently decided to devote each open thread to a specific issue or question. The Commenting and Community Guidelines still apply. And remember that you can always suggest topics or ask us questions via email: ProfHackerCHE@gmail.com. —Ed.]
This week, I’m passing along a question from someone else, a question that’s very familiar to me based on what my experience of grad school felt like at times: “How does one navigate ‘grad student limbo’? What are the best ways to get by when you’re treated like a student (bumbling and inept) but expected to behave as a full fledged faculty member?”
Do you have any advice in response to this question? Please share in the comments!
[Creative Commons-licensed flickr photo by phonogalerie.com]
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8 Responses to Open Thread: Tips For Navigating Grad Student Limbo?
katypearce - October 6, 2010 at 11:38 am
I’m not sure what grad student limbo means.
george_h_williams - October 6, 2010 at 11:44 am
To quote from above: grad student limbo is “when you’re treated like a student (bumbling and inept) but expected to behave as a full fledged faculty member?”
katypearce - October 6, 2010 at 1:55 pm
At departmental functions? Generally?What does “behave” as a faculty member mean? Publish like one? Not wear flip flops while teaching?
george_h_williams - October 6, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Some advice, generally, for commenters: If a discussion question doesn’t resonate with you, maybe it’s best to wait for others to contribute to the discussion before you jump in. Thanks.
katypearce - October 6, 2010 at 2:25 pm
The question DOES resonate with me, but my answer should be framed to best address the original question asker’s needs. This is a huge topic! I could write pages on it. More clarification please!
neferkatie - October 6, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I can’t speak to the original questioner’s intent, but as a graduate student I can sympathyze! I’d love to have tips on surviving and balancing the different responsibilities a graduate student has: coursework, preparing for exams, writing, research, teaching, etc!
matt_l - October 7, 2010 at 11:01 am
I would say that there are a couple of ways to navigate the paradox of being both a student and a proto-facutly member. First, be a good anthropologist of your own department. Understand that you are a participant observer in the tribe. You live with them, you eat their food, and you are required to observe or at least respect their taboos. But in private, in your own mind, you can also be critical, in the sense that you do not have to do any of this permanently. Watch how faculty and staff address one another. You don’t have to become like them to succeed, just understand the rules. Second, when you are inside the seminar room, don’t be afraid to talk and take intellectual risks. Be willing to make mistakes and be corrected. You will only spend a couple years doing this, but it establishes your intellectual reputation.Third, outside the seminar room, listen a lot and try to think before you speak. I personally stuck my foot in my mouth a lot when I was a grad student. I should have listened more carefully. People will eventually tell you everything you need to know, if you are a patient listener. Finally, remember that grad student limbo is temporary. You are a sojurner among this particular tribe. After you finish the fieldwork, write the dissertation, and things go well on the job market, you will go off and join your own departmenbt at another school. So when things go badly, or you stick your foot in your mouth, just remember: This too shall pass.
billiehara - October 8, 2010 at 6:23 pm
@Matt_l, that’s advice a new tenure-track faculty member could use. :-)