Hi all! I’ll be starting a PhD in mathematics (applied math) soon, and I’m hoping to hear from those who’ve been through the journey—what are the things I should be mindful of, focus on, or start working on early?
My long-term goal is to stay in academia and make meaningful contributions to research. I want to work smart—not just hard—and set myself up for a sustainable and impactful academic career.
Some specific things I’m curious about:
– Skills (technical or soft) that truly paid off in the long run
– How to choose good problems (and avoid rabbit holes)
– Ways to build a research profile or reputation early on
– Collaborations—when to seek them, and how to make them meaningful
– Any mindset shifts or lessons you wish you’d internalized earlier
I’d be grateful for any advice—especially if it helped you navigate the inevitable ups and downs of the PhD journey. Thanks so much!
Comments
Decide early if the PhD is right for you. Dropping out after 1 year can make sense while dropping out after 4 years is just dumb.
Make good friends in your department. Go out for dinner. Be excited about collaborations.
Start thinking about careers after you graduate. Where did other graduates of each lab end up? Do you want to go into industry in engineering or a startup? Why kind of coding should you learn?
Try to get a little done every day with regards to research and your thesis.
The most effective skill to have is networking. Talk to people inside your department and inside your field at other universities. Go to conferences. Be interested in what they work on. Try to learn from everyone around you. At the beginning, try to mostly talk to other grad students, maybe a year or two above. Make some meaningful friendships but try to be on good terms with most people.
Your first problem will probably be given to you by your advisor. Work on that problem. Figuring out what a good problem is is individual and something you do during your PhD.
Don’t focus too much on this. Do a good job and the reputation will follow. One piece of advice is that you don’t say no to opportunities, unless you have a very good reason to. If you’re invited to go somewhere, go. If there’s a seminar in your area of interest, show up. If you have funding to attend a conference, do it! Don’t let yourself get exploited, but learn to identify opportunities and take them.
Just talk to people about math. Collaborations will follow. Once you have a collaborator, be gracious and kind – things never go as smoothly as you want them to go. I’ve learned something important from all but one of my collaborators.
Have grace with yourself. Not every day will be amazingly productive, and that’s ok. As long as you do something small to progress your projects every workday, you’ll be fine.