A Survival Guide to a PhD (2016)

6 days ago

The guide provides a retrospective on the PhD experience, offering advice and insights.
It emphasizes the importance of understanding whether a PhD is the right path, considering factors like freedom, ownership, and personal growth.
The guide discusses the selection of a PhD program, highlighting the importance of strong reference letters and the choice of school and adviser.
It details the adviser-student relationship, advising students to understand their adviser's incentives and management style.
The guide offers advice on choosing research topics, developing a sense of 'taste' for problems, and the importance of ambition and expertise.
It covers the process of writing papers, including structuring them effectively and avoiding common pitfalls like incremental work.
The guide also touches on writing code, giving talks, and attending conferences, emphasizing the social and communicative aspects of academia.
It concludes with the importance of doing good work and communicating it properly, without trying to game the system.

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