Question: What advice would you give to a first year PhD student (social science)? Advice from current grad students, please?!

Answer: 1. Be an active participant in the community that is your department.  Go to talks and social events.  Get to know the faculty outside your narrow area of interest as well - you never know when those people are going to be able to help you.\n2. One part of department culture you should avoid at all costs is the gossip.  Academic disciplines are all about networking and reputations, so if possible, you want people to like and trust you.\n3. You WILL be overwhelmed and generally stressed out all the time.  Just don't let other people know it.  You are likely to have at least minor meltdowns from time to time - just be sure to do it at home, away from your colleagues.  Anytime you're in the department or with colleagues, do your best to act calm and confident and refrain from complaining too much.  Bitching about work was cool as an undergrad; now you need to act like a professional.\n4. Most people I know didn't go into graduate school with a dissertation topic, so if you don't have one, don't panic.  Read as much as you can, talk over ideas with your adviser, and use your term papers to test-drive ideas you're interested in.  Ultimately, you have to pick a project that really captivates you because you've got to make yourself give at least a few years of your life over to it.\n\nMostly, being successful in graduate school is something you have to learn by experience.  Listen to the older graduate students, and don't let the overwhelming feelings cloud your better judgment.  Good luck!
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