The Chronicle of Higher Education posted a useful advise column this week about what graduate student should be doing over the summer to get ready for the job market. It is geared more toward the hard sciences, but still has some good advise for social sciences.
The short version is this:
- Look for and write grants - even if you have full funding
- Find and study potential journals for your own publications
- Practice talking about your work – start a study group, look for conferences (and apply)
- Prepare for teaching – look for opportunities both in your department and outside (museums, volunteer, internship)
- Reflect and record what you have already accomplished (preparing for your CV)
I have heard over and over from nearly
finished doctoral students that they wished they had done these
things earlier – especially the publication part. The advice that
I keep hearing from new faculty is to craft every major class paper
into a publishable article with a targeted journal. Leaving grad
school with a track record of publications is a huge benefit.
However, summer is also a time to
re-charge, as the school year is often overbooked with TA work,
classes, personal research and other jobs. Gradhacker has some advice on how to recharge during the summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment