Cons of Day-to-Day Life as a Grad Student
See also: Pros of Day-to-Day Life as a Grad Student
Just when you’re thinking “grad school can’t be all that bad…” well, day to day life as a grad student isn’t always great... it is hard. It is supposed to be hard. It is hard to weed out the folks who aren’t really committed. Lucky for you, if you are reading this then you are thinking things through ahead of time and doing your research! You will do a lot of learning, and although 2-7 years may seem like a long time, it is really not in the grand scheme of things. There is a LOT to be done in those years, and the bar is set very high. That being said, you can do it! Don’t think that you can’t. But, it is well worth it to know what to expect. You’ll be better off if you know what challenges lie ahead so you can mentally and emotionally prepare for them.
1. A lot of pressure
The pressure is on. The pressure is on to succeed. But what does success really mean? More publications? More time in the lab? Making more and better contacts? You will put pressure on yourself, your advisors will put pressure on you, as will your peers, your family, and your friends. I think one of the best ways to take the heat is to have a really good reason for why you are in grad school doing what you are doing. You’ll need to defend every action, and ensure you’re doing your absolute best to take the most efficient paths. You’ll be under pressure to apply for funding, and the pressure will be even greater when you fail the first few times. There will be late nights and a lot of cramming for exams, presentations, and meetings.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Although this isn’t the case for everyone, many people produce their best work when the pressure is on.
2. Highly competitive
While there is a built in support system within your fellow grad students, there is also an air of competition. This will vary based on different programs, and you should talk to other grad students in the program about this before committing to attend. Often you will be competing for the same funding sources. You’ll be competing for spots to present at conferences. You’ll compete for the attention of your professors. You’ll compete for internships and job prospects. Generally in my experience there is a sense of comradery, a kind of “we’re all in this together” mentality- but this is not the case everywhere.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Again, some people thrive in high-pressure highly competitive environments. This is up to your personal work style. Think about where you work best, and make sure you know what you are getting yourself into if you agree to join a specific program or lab.
3. A LOT of high level reading
Some might not consider this a con, but it can certainly be challenging. Reading textbooks and primary literature can be time consuming and strenuous. Reading and truly understanding scientific literature can often require you to read through a paper 3 or 4 times. Other times you’ll read a paper 5 or 6 times and still not really understand what the authors are getting at. And, eventually, once you struggle through enough papers in your field and start writing some of your own, you will begin to pick up on trends and it will become easier to understand. But this process is not easy, and can be extremely time consuming and frustrating.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Learning is a great privilege and opportunity. You are dedicating time to learn new things, and that is admirable! Some people love reading literature and if this is you, it will be a great strength as you move through your program.
4. Politically messy
No graduate program has the same political environment as another, even within a university. There is always a hoop to jump through to get what you want. Someone always has to sign off on something or another, and it is easy to forget to check all the boxes. There are political dynamics that are out of your control and above your head that can and will affect you. Arguments between professors or administrators that don’t necessarily involve you can have an impact on you and your research. Funding can get pulled, fieldwork can be derailed, professors can move to new schools… and you the grad student are just trying to do your research in peace and can get caught in the crossfire. Some programs are more politically stable than others. Again, it is important to do your research before committing to a program, and contact current grad students to ask these sorts of questions.
5. A Lot of Pressure
The pressure is on. The pressure is on to succeed. But what does success really mean? More publications? More time in the lab? Making more and better contacts? You will put pressure on yourself, your advisors will put pressure on you, as will your peers, your family, and your friends. I think one of the best ways to take the heat is to have a really good reason for why you are in grad school doing what you are doing. You’ll need to defend every action, and ensure you’re doing your absolute best to take the most efficient paths. You’ll be under pressure to apply for funding, and the pressure will be even greater when you fail the first few times. There will be late nights and a lot of cramming for exams, presentations, and meetings.
Reason this could be a pro for some: It’s not. Do your best to not get involved in political drama. But, it can also be an opportunity to build bridges and bring people together who may not otherwise work with each other well.
6. Weird Power Dynamics
On top of political drama that is out of your control and doesn’t necessarily involve you, there can be political drama that does directly involve you. Often times these power dynamics are between you and your advisor, committee members, post docs, or lab mates. Sometimes you might mess up and waste a bunch of money or time. Other times you can get blamed for things that were other people’s fault. Having a good working relationship with your coworkers and superiors is incredibly important, but for many graduate students this falls off somewhere along the line. It can be very difficult to regain people’s trust in academia. And, some people are just inherently difficult to work with. This is not helped in any way by the fact that, in graduate school, some people hold all the power over you. Your professor and committee will decide if you succeed or fail. Finding an advisor who genuinely cares about educating and guiding you is essential. Having a graduate advisor who thinks of their students as publication-generators and blames them harshly when things go wrongs can be wildly stressful. We have written a whole post about how to detect and avoid bad advisors to help you with this process.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Some graduate students are better at navigating these power dynamics than others. If you have a strong work ethic and solid set of interpersonal skills, you should hopefully have nothing to worry about, but I would advise that you carefully consider the kind of mentor your want to have and actively seek them out.
7. Long hours
Ohhhhh yeah. While it isn’t the case for all graduate programs, in general there is an expectation that graduate students are going to work long hours. If you want a normal 9-5, grad school is certainly not for you. While it is possible to work 9-5 much of the time, there will be times where you will work much much more. I would say that I generally work 9-7 on most days. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do all of the things that are expected of you. You will probably have quarters/semesters where you are TAing, doing field work, taking classes, and somehow trying to write a paper all at once… and you will work long hours.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Well, you get a lot done! During your time in grad school you will learn a LOT and accomplish a LOT. If your competitors are working 9-5, and you are working 9-7:30… you are going to get more done!
8. Irregular hours
Not only will your hours be long, they will often be irregular. This can be difficult to schedule your life outside of work around, especially if you have a family. Sometimes you’ll have to run an experiment on an instrument that takes 3 hours to run, will only run sets of 4 samples at a time, and you need to run 150 samples… and in order to prevent time-delays from biasing your results, you work for 37 hours straight taking 3 hours naps in between runs. If you’re lucky this won’t ever be you. More than likely, this will be you for some small period of time and you’ll only have to do it once or twice. If you are unlucky… this could be your life for years. Or, maybe you’ll have to spend 4 months out of every year at some remote field site to gather the data that you then analyze for the rest of the year. This can make it difficult to have a “normal life.” Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into, that’s all I am saying.
Reason this could be a pro for some: This goes along with “flexible hours” where- you usually won’t have set hours and if you want to do something different with your time, then that is okay. You will make your own schedule… but sometimes you will be at the mercy of your study system. Or maybe you love the remote field work that you have to do for months at a time and find it thrilling!
9. Public Speaking
This is some people’s worst nightmare… *public speaking* *gasp*. Well, it is a reality for graduate students and academics everywhere. Public speaking is just a part of academia. If you can’t stand public speaking, academia might not be right for you. But, luckily- if you do want to go to graduate school, you will get lots of practice. Many programs have mandatory seminar or scientific writing style courses where you will get to practice speaking to academics. You’ll probably have to present at a whole host of different conferences, some of them will be small and others will be large. Again, learning to speak publicly about your science is a part of the grad school process, but if this terrifies you- it is certainly something to consider
Reason this could be a pro for some: As we discussed above, graduate school could be a great opportunity to turn that fear of public speaking into confidence. And, if you are already a confident public speaker then you will likely excel at this aspect of grad school! So kudos to you.
10. Imposter Syndrome
We have a whole article dedicated to imposter syndrome, so I will try to keep this short, plus we have already spoken about it above. But, imposter syndrome is a reality for most graduate students. Imposter syndrome is the constant feeling that you aren’t good enough, aren’t smart enough, don’t work hard enough, or don’t deserve to be in graduate school. This is hard to deal with, especially when you are surrounded by smart people and under a lot of pressure. It is something that most graduate students face at one point or another, and it is not a good feeling. But. Everyone who is there was admitted for a reason, and therefore deserves to be there just as much as anyone else. Again, we go into this in much more detail in this article.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Again, some people thrive under competition and pressure. Some people take it as a challenge to rise to the occasion. Now that you know it is a possibility, you can learn to expect it and how to deal with it if it starts affecting you.
11. Failure is normal
While this could be a general statement about life… ‘failure is normal,’ in graduate school it feels a whole lot more normal. Having to restart months or even years worth of work is considered “part of the process.” Your research could simply fail to produce anything worthwhile. Your funding could fall through. You could fail to find funding in the first place. Your lab work could mess up time and time again for no apparent reason even if you are doing absolutely everything correctly. Everything will take 10x as long as you expect it to, to the point that you start becoming a less efficient worker. Failure is normal. You should know this going in so that it doesn’t stress you out when it happens. It doesn’t mean you should try any less hard, if anything it means you should try harder and be extra careful.
Reason this could be a pro for some: Failure will teach you to be so organized and product-driven about your work that the work you do produce will be streamlined, efficient, and impactful. It will teach you patience, determination, and follow-through.
In conclusion, as with most things on this site, everything is extremely variable. Some students are constantly stressed and on-edge for years while they are in graduate school, while others live pretty wholistic, happy, and laid back lives. Most people are somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, and a lot will depend on the culture of your program, lab, and advisor. Everyone is a little different and it is very important that you find out what the expectations are of your potential program or advisor before deciding. However, these are just some general pros and cons that we can discuss, but it is important to use these as a guideline and not as any kind of absolute truth. Use these articles to guide the kinds of questions you ask and things you look for in your potential graduate program. However, the point of these articles is to see if grad school is the right option for you! The way you structure your life and the way you search for potential graduate school programs are very unique to your needs and priorities!
