\n <\/p>\n
4. love your field<\/h3>\n
you\u2019ll be spending at least the next year (and possibly the next six years) studying your intended field. to get the most out of your time in graduate school, learn to love your subject area, if you don\u2019t already. find friends in your department who are just as willing to chat about plato or astophysics or civil engineering as you are.
\n <\/p>\n
5. find your niche early<\/h3>\n
so you\u2019re interested in political science \u2013 that\u2019s a broad, broad field. in graduate school, you\u2019ll be required to find a \u201cniche\u201d specialty area. gain exposure to as many topics as possible in your first year of grad school and identify a research or teaching specialty early on.
\n <\/p>\n
6. get published<\/h3>\n
jobs in academia are difficult to come by these days. make yourself stand out in the job market by publishing and publishing often. you\u2019ll get bonus points if you\u2019re listed as first author.
\n <\/p>\n
7. find balance<\/h3>\n
you don\u2019t have to be superhuman to be a successful graduate student. learn to make time for yourself. take study breaks. go for walks. read books for fun.
\n <\/p>\n
8. join professional organizations<\/h3>\n
joining a professional organization that relates to your field of interest can help you build a network. these connections can help support you as a student and also as a future graduate. with a membership, you\u2019ll be able to meet people outside of your school\u2019s circle and have the opportunity to attend professional academic conferences.
\n <\/p>\n
\n
about the author:<\/h2>\n
learn how to be successful as a graduate student and make the most of your time spent in grad school.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":3897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[508],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"catherine](\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/blog\/files\/2016\/02\/2016-02-02-1.png\")
catherine supports magoosh\u2019s future grad school students by unlocking tricks of the test prep and application trade. catherine spends her free time checking out local farmer\u2019s markets, reading food and lifestyle blogs, and watching bravo. she is forever in search of the best mexican and italian food in any given city.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nphoto attributions:
\n1 – photo at top courtesy of flickr user mark m<\/a> under creative commons license 2.0<\/a>.
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"