I made many mistakes in my graduate career. Here are a few tips for early stage and prospective graduate students:
- There are five tools of the trade: logic, ethics (broadly philosophy), statistics, writing, and programming (R, Python). Spend time learning the tools of the trade.
- Everything takes time. Spend time wisely.
- Sub-clause: Don’t waste time on projects with no real future.
- The most important decision you will make in graduate school is who to work with. Choose productive, technically competent people.
Given time is a scarce and extremely valuable resource, deploy other resources to help you get more from your time. Some such resources include,
- A good laptop, a backup drive, and a printer
- Quiet, comfortable office space
- You can’t read what you don’t have. Buy the books you want to read.