#graduate life
I think that, for me, part of the appeal of data analytics / data science is the aspect of seeking structure in chaos. My executive functioning skills have been especially suffering during work-from-home times, but my graduate studies are helping me build the skills to take the chaos and disorder and translate it into an organized format that can then be analyzed, optimized, and used to better-understand the big picture.
Since I’m still floating around in survive-then-thrive mode, I don’t yet have the time to put together any helpful tips for others to consider; however, doing so is ultimately my major goal for this blog. Some topics I’ve already been learning and hope to address soon via new content are:
- Identifying reliable research via 6 key characteristics
- Building a strong hypothesis for a research study
- Designing effective research methods
- Understanding key concepts in beginner database management and design
Skills I haven’t learned yet but eventually want to share:
- Programming in R
- Programming in SQL
- …and likely SO much more
Taking a nap, the grad student becomes more productive.
Making remarkable progress on his research, the grad student wonders what disastrous mistake will eventually blow up in his face.
Having nothing new to show his advisor, the grad student takes evasive action.
Noticing another gray hair on his head, the grad student increasingly stops caring.
Being impressed by scraps of text that he wrote and hated months ago, the grad student questions whether desperation is lowering his standards.
Kicking off spring break, the grad student watches videos of places he wishes he could visit.
Breathing a sigh of relief about the state of democracy, the grad student gains the mental bandwidth to fully contemplate the state of his dissertation.
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Dropping by his office for the first time in months to pick up some materials, the grad student is startled to realize that he misses this place.
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Exercising for the first time in months, the grad student crumples into a mushy pile of agony.
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Receiving yet another email with precipitous changes in his institution’s COVID-19 policy, the grad student yearns for any sense of stability.
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Videoconferencing from his apartment with his advisor, the grad student feels like the victim of a home invasion.
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Grabbing a pack of toilet paper, the grad student clings to an utterly irrational source of comfort in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty.
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Exiting his office for the last time this decade, the grad student does not (have any desire to) look back.
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Ordering an irresponsible number of items via online shopping, the grad student temporarily distracts himself from his feelings of emptiness.
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Carving out an entire day to do uninterrupted work, the grad student promptly loses all motivation and watches movies instead.
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Making a cultural reference that his undergrads do not understand, the grad student abruptly feels his own age.
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