I hope you enjoyed your holiday. I would like to say hello to the graduate students who attended my workshop at the National Black Graduate Student Conference and the University of Central Florida. I look forward to meeting the students at the University of Oregon and Bowling Green State University later on this week.
10 Mistakes Graduate Students Should Avoid:
Mistake #2: Leaving Before You Finish Your Degree
Let’s face it: mistakes are a part of life. We all make them. The good news is that we can learn from our mistakes. The better news is that we can learn just as much – if not more! – from the mistakes of others.
Many graduate students begin applying for jobs at the latter-stage of becoming Ph.D. candidates; most students secure a continuing tenure-track job in the first or second year of the application process. While securing a job while you are ABD, (All done But Dissertation) is essential, your start date might determine whether or not you eventually finish your degree.
When students achieve the benchmark of ABD many are tempted to leave the university’s fold and finish their document while pursuing a job or other interests in “the outside world.” Accepting an invitation to teach a large, upper-division course at a nearby research university might sound impressive if not exciting. The lure for more teaching experience and the generous pay scale may motivate you to leave your academic department too early. Those who do run the risk of not finishing the Ph.D. at all. Leaving the comfort and support of an academic department inevitably diminishes your enthusiasm to work on the thesis/dissertation. In addition, the outside world brings with it many competing events that too often take priority over writing.
While you are still on campus take advantage of the variety of ways to identify or create teaching opportunities to gain practical hands-on experience prior to graduation. You can volunteer to give guest lectures based on your particular interest or specialty. Look for opportunities to fill in during the scheduled or unscheduled absence of a professor in your department. Don’t overlook opportunities to team teach a course with a faculty member, a postdoc or another graduate student. Teaching out-side the regular academic schedule might be more advantageous; consider teaching a course during the summer months, interim semesters or an accelerated semester to broaden your teaching portfolio before you graduate.
When I received my first job offer as an assistant professor, my new employer was adamant that I finish my dissertation before starting my new job. I was told, “Take another semester if you have to, but finish your dissertation.” My employer had learned from experience that it is very difficult to find time to work on your thesis/dissertation once you begin a new job.
Even if you have been a teaching assistant while pursuing a Ph.D., understand that there is a whole world of difference between being a teacher in a classroom to becoming an active, contributing member of the academic community. Serving as a new professor can be both overwhelming and extraordinarily stressful. As an assistant professor, your time will be stretched thin learning how to do your new job. Along with teaching you will be meeting with potential students and new faculty, leading discussions with first-year students, giving guest lectures, reviewing journal articles in your academic field, reviewing curriculum changes, organizing conference papers, writing articles for publication, sitting on thesis committees outside your department, mentoring student groups, and serving on several short-term campus or departmental committees. Heap on top of that the stress of a new location, new responsibilities, new co-workers and the need to make new friends, and your capacity to take on any more is most likely tapped out. Think you can try to squeeze into this mix enough time (and energy!) to work on your thesis/dissertation? Think again.
Closely guarding your priorities is an essential strategy for successfully completing your degree with in a specified time period. Remember that if you have one academic year to complete your dissertation, you are actually only looking at 9 months. And that is if you are writing full-time. If you take into account your professional responsibilities along with setbacks due to illness, holidays, family/personal problems, and problems with computing equipment, think before you leave your university without your degree in hand!
Delaying your graduation date may not be the end of the world but taking a job before you finish your degree might be. If your goal is to get the degree and move on to a career in the academy consider taking another year or semester to finish writing your thesis or dissertation.
With effective time-management tools like TA-DA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished you can leave with both the degree and the job in hand.
Email
Question of the Month:
Q:
Dear Dr Carter,
I have another quick question: I am doing a thesis on prenatal care and am on literature review. I have more than 50 articles to read and as I pick articles they all seem to irrelevant to my hypothesis and I get depressed and give up. I read your suggestions to make table. Do I do it as I am reading the articles. I think I have writers block. I get so bored. Please suggest. Waiting to hear from you,
Suchitra
A:
Suchitra,
Your question is a common one. The answer is how to manage your time around the responsibilities you already have. The solution is to say to yourself that you can do it and not feel like it is impossible.
You are not a victim. You don't have to wait to become motivated, excited, or even interested. There are still things you can do until those emotions happen. The task as I said before is to do something no matter how small every day. See my newsletter on what you can do to get it done. If you have time to write me you have time to work on your thesis/dissertation.
Dr. Carter
TA-DA!™ Graduates —
Congratulations
on Your Success
I completed my proposal defense and now I am in the
process of organizing my chapters and writing schedule
and the analysis. I am using restricted data for my
analysis so when I can't run my analyses at home, I
try to write every day a page at least and thus far it
worked for me. Will see how it goes. My goal is to
finish this fall in October.
-Gabriele P.
I finished writing my thesis last week and I am
waiting for my advisor to send me the corrections. . .
I am also looking for a job related to Environmental Science.
- Kam
Have you had a chance to check out the new book, “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life: Volume 3:? It is a compilation of 101 articles with practical, solid advice on how you can take action and improve your life. I am extremely excited to be a part of this, and am equally excited to be a contributing author along with Ken Blanchard, Les Brown, Mark
This book is the third volume in the “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life” Series. Volumes 1& 2 include secrets from Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield, Dr. Richard Carlson and many other people living a successful life. If you haven't seen Volumes 1 & 2, check them out. Right now the publisher is offering, a special discount plus great bonus gifts If you purchase the three volume set together.
To get more information or buy a copy, just go to: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=1815028.
What TA-DA!™ Users
Have to Say...
If
you're still wondering whether or not TA-DA! Thesis and Dissertation
Accomplished™ can help
you — don’t take our word for it. Take a few
moments to read what some of our customers have
told us. See
how TA-DA!™ helped them...
Ph.D.
Doctoral Students…
• I am just beginning my doctoral coursework but I wanted to get a jump on this thesis stuff so I purchased your product just about the same time I enrolled in my classes! Darlene G
• Hello Dr. Carter,
I met with you a few months ago. I had an impossible deadline to
meet: to complete my dissertation proposal in 6 weeks time. I just
wanted you to know that I successfully defended the proposal on
October 3rd!!
Thanks for your help and encouragement!
All the best, Harriette W.
• TA-DA provided me with some useful ideas for how to use short amounts of time that would normally be unproductive completing small tasks that move the dissertation forward. Donnell B.
• How
it (TADA) Helped: In many ways but I will mainly highlight
two areas for now. 1. The TADA Calender. The main problem
I faced before was how to get down and do my work.
But with the TADA Calender, I have made a
committment and I everyday I have the motivation
to fulfill this commitment. 2. The 12 Minutes
Tasks. I was never even aware of some of
those requirements. Now I feel more confident
since each day I know exactly what is expected of
me and I can make an exact plan of how to
accomplish them. Dear colleagues
in Thesis/Dissertation writing. Anybody wanting to have
a peace of mind and confidence in whatever she/he does
during the whole Thesis/Dissertation writing, you have
no choice but to buy the TADA CD. I won't explain
what wonders it will do to you, but buy it and
experience it." Connie,
U.K.
• The
commitment to a deadline and to working 12 minutes a
day actually reduces stress. I can always do 12 minutes--even
if I'm tired, sick, uninspired or grumpy. Facing a deadline
makes it feel like I will actually get done! "I
have to do my 12 minutes" we say in our house
these days. I've been progressing steadily on my
dissertation by committing to 12 minutes, and my
husband has covered huge amounts of material for
an upcoming professional exam. My friend has
committed to completing the annulment papers she
has procrastinated on for 10 years, and my
father-in-law has started studying Spanish 12
minutes a day. Thanks!
Christine, Seattle,
WA
• It helped me to set goals for my chapters
and give me some practical strategies for
finishing. Also I believe it's good to list your
finish date. It gives you something to strive for
rather than letting the thesis become
nebulous. Martha; Albany, CA
• TA-DA explains the dissertation process
and lifts the curtain to a process that seems
impossible to accomplish. It provides strategy
for selecting the committee and provides
timelines that enable accomplishment of the
dissertation within a specific time
frame.
Randall; USMC Jacksonville,
NC
• The program helped me to understand the
dissertation concept much better. I am a visual
individual; the tutorial was a great
help.
Deborah; U.S. Army
Master’s
Thesis Students …
• It
has helped with the fact that my graduate school does not
have a formal format for the proposal. The Journal has helped
a lot.
Talia; Naranjito, Puerto
Rico
• This is a great tool for those who will be
starting either their Master's Degree or
Dissertation. I highly recommend it.
Teresa; Naguabo, Puerto
Rico
• Requesting that I set a goal date for
finishing, kept me focused and it was the first
step in accomplishing the task. Also, I kept
remembering the words; a good thesis is a done
thesis.
Gladys; NY, NY
• It guided me to a fair start.
Gracias!
Jess; San Francisco,
CA
 If
you haven't ordered your TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished™ CD
yet, don’t wait until you are finished with your coursework
to start thinking about getting it. Don't wait until you're wondering
how to begin or how to stay on track to finishing. Take
another look at TADA! right now.
Sincerely,
Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D.
email: drcarter@tadafinallyfinished.com
www.tadafinallyfinished.com
About the Author: As a single mother, professor
Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D., completed three masters' degrees and a
PhD. Her motto is a Good Thesis/Dissertation is a Done Thesis/Dissertation.
She is the creator of a new innovative interactive resource tool
on CD—TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished. To learn
more and sign up for her FREE tips and teleclasses, contact us
at info@tadafinallyfinished.com.
Privacy is our policy. TADA™ Finishline does not
give out or sell our subscribers' names or e-mail addresses.
|
Volume
3, Issue 4 
