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Using the Holidays to Recharge and Get Ahead

We are now in the midst of the 2014 Holiday season and 2015 is only a month away, which means that many of us are busy with holiday errands, travel, and family events. While this is considered a hectic...

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Basic Negotiation Tactics for Grad Students

Graduate school is the final stage before entering professional employment; yet many graduates lack the negotiation skills necessary for the impending job search. As a result, many recent graduates...

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Using Project Management Approaches to Tame Your Dissertation

No one finishes a STEM dissertation by doing just 100% research all day every day; you have many other tasks including classes, writing manuscripts, attending journal clubs, teaching obligations,...

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The Perfect Workspace

What exactly is the perfect work space? For me, the answer is “many.” Since I’m not assigned to a cubicle for my PhD work I have some flexibility as to when and how I get my work done. It’s like that...

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Combating Shiny Object Syndrome

In graduate school it is extremely important to know when you are putting your time towards professional activities that are directly beneficial to your dissertation progress versus activities that are...

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Navigating the Academic Conference with Social Anxiety

Academic conferences can be one of the most enjoyable experiences that you can have during graduate school. A paid-for trip, usually somewhere at least semi-exotic, to allow you to talk about the kind...

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Goal-Setting vs. Goal-Achieving

This post was co-written by KD Shives and the excellent Emily Curtis Walters. Emily Curtis Walters is a PhD candidate in History at Northwestern University. You can find her on Twitter at @emilydcw or...

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Cancer Research

kdshives:My friend Andy is about to do something really incredible: hike all 3100 miles of the Continental Divide Trail to raise money for Cancer Research. Go check out his site and donate to the...

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Three Magic Phrases for Graduate Students

What if I told you there were three magic phrases that can help you get what you need in graduate school (and work in general?) These are all short, specific questions that can make your life easier if...

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Restarting a Stalled Project

It happens to every grad student in the sciences at some point: your project stops working and things don’t seem to come together. In some cases, projects don’t get enough momentum and early success to...

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Combating Cynicism in Graduate School

Almost every department has that person who has elevated cynicism to an art.  You know the one. That person who is always unhappy with and verbally tearing down her project, his program, her advisor,...

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A Teetotaler’s Guide to Networking in Grad School

For students,  graduate school presents many opportunities for professional networking and socialization. These events are usually held over beers at a conference or that one bar across the street from...

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The Importance of Asking for Help

One of the most important things that I’ve learned in graduate school is how to ask for help when I need it. Knowing when and how to ask for help can make navigating this unknown terrain much easier...

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Shutting Down Sexism in STEM

It seems like it is now impossible to go a week without hearing about sexism in STEM in the news. Last year provided too many examples, whether it was Nobel laureate Tim Hunt attempting to humorously...

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Zika Virus: What You Need to Know

Once relatively unknown, Zika virus is in the middle of an explosive epidemic in Brasil and other South American countries. While common symptoms are mild, pregnant women should be wary as contracting...

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5 Tested Tips to Battle Burnout with Better Self-Care

Every grad student knows that getting an advanced degree can be extremely challenging and that, unfortunately, taking care of yourself often falls off the list of priorities. The long hours in the lab,...

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When It Comes to Dissertations, Done Is Best

As an ABD student bent on finishing up this summer my personal mantra has become “The best dissertation is a done dissertation.” While this may rankle some graduate students, I think this is some of...

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Blogging to Establish Your Digital Identity

With so many people pursuing PhDs today it can be hard to differentiate yourself from other students in your discipline. If you want to stand out professionally and improve your writing skills, try...

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Ace Your Next Phone Interview

Ah, the phone interview! This is often the first step in the interview process for graduate students looking for careers inside academia or  alternative academic (alt-ac) careers. Getting your foot in...

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Wrap up your dissertation with a writing plan

Anyone pursuing a graduate degree has experienced the feeling that a project will go on forever. Thankfully, pursuing a graduate degree does have an end date but to get there you have to write...

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