Dissertation on internship

[JedMosley]

Hi!

I begin my internship in August and it does not look like I will be able to complete/defend my dissertation before I go (from East coast to West coast). I'm wondering if anyone who had to write their dissertation while on internship can shed some light on ways to ensure this gets done in a promptly manner, without the feeling of being crazy overwhelmed working 8-4:30 AND having to write a diss. My 5th year has been pretty sweet: I work about 30-35 hours weekly and about half of them I can tailor to my preference, so I know working a set shift M-F is going to be a slap in the face.

Would love any advice on getting it done during this upcoming hectic year- thanks!

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[WisNeuro]

If you're only working 30-35 hours a week now, which is super low for grad school, why not tack on an extra 10-15 hours until you go to internship to get as much done as possible?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

If you're only working 30-35 hours a week now, which is super low for grad school, why not tack on an extra 10-15 hours until you go to internship to get as much done as possible?

Agree with this, unless there's some rate-limiting factor other than time.

I wrote probably half of my dissertation, and conducted all of the analyses, while on internship. I don't know that I often felt overwhelmed, but there were times when I came close (e.g., pulling multiple all-nighters as the deadline to submit approached).

Basically, just use run-of-the-mill self-discipline and time management techniques. Set aside delineated periods of time a few nights each week to work, in addition to chunks of space on the weekend. Set deadlines for yourself and then tell your advisor/chair about those deadlines.

The more structured schedule of a M-F, 9-5 routine may actually help you be more consistently productive. Just recognize that best-case, your internship will "only" be 40 hours/week, so you'll want to plan and expect to work a good 10 (or more) additional hours per week on the dissertation.

 

[JedMosley]

If you're only working 30-35 hours a week now, which is super low for grad school, why not tack on an extra 10-15 hours until you go to internship to get as much done as possible?

It's a recruitment issue! I'm projecting to be finished recruiting in July.

 

[aebb]

I did most of my dissertation writing while on internship. Before I started internship, I thought I was going to be able to work on my diss in the evenings after work and get it done that way. I was wrong - I was too tired after every day of work (plus the 50-minute commute each way I had) to do anything in the evenings. So for me, the most important thing was realizing that I realistically needed to plan to work on my dissertation one weekend day per week, because I was not going to make progress on it during the week. It sucked to accept that, but it was what I needed to get it done.

 

[WisNeuro]

It's a recruitment issue! I'm projecting to be finished recruiting in July.

Ah, I suspected as such. In the meantime, you can get your intro and methods into an almost finished state. Additionally, you can set up your data cleaning and analysis syntax for your a priori analyses now. That way when the data is all collected, you can just press the run button in SPSS or whatever you use. There's a lot you can do to automate the process now, and I'd do it while I had an abundance of free time.

 

[eremitestar]

I did most of my dissertation writing while on internship. Before I started internship, I thought I was going to be able to work on my diss in the evenings after work and get it done that way. I was wrong - I was too tired after every day of work (plus the 50-minute commute each way I had) to do anything in the evenings. So for me, the most important thing was realizing that I realistically needed to plan to work on my dissertation one weekend day per week, because I was not going to make progress on it during the week. It sucked to accept that, but it was what I needed to get it done.

I did the same thing. I had my data gathered and cleaned before I left, but did all of my analysis and writing of the last couple chapters after I moved. It really wasn't bad. Another intern and I would go to coffee shops around town every Saturday and work for a few hours. I got it done, and got to try all the best brunches in the area! Toward the end I started working on it on weekdays, not because I had to, but because I was on a roll and just wanted it done!

 

[Ollie123]

Yeah, get as much done as you can. I had the same issue (rash of attrition in spring). Had everything in place for when my data arrived, but it still took outrageous amounts of time to get it done.

Hopefully you don't have several hundred hours of EEG to hand-clean for single trial analysis though Were it not for that - I'd have saved months of time!

 

[WisNeuro]

Hopefully you don't have several hundred hours of EEG to hand-clean for single trial analysis though Were it not for that - I'd have saved months of time!

You also made the mistake of incorporating EEG into your dissertation? Nice to meet a fellow masochist.

 

[Ollie123]

You also made the mistake of incorporating EEG into your dissertation? Nice to meet a fellow masochist.

Not just any EEG. A 3 session within-subjects design that included two 8-minute resting state EEGs, as well as 2 30-minute ERP tasks. On top of a host of moderators, self-report and behavioral indices.

The main feedback during my defense was "You should have done less." Which would have been more helpful at the proposal.

That said - results came out great so I should get a few mid-high impact papers out of it! I regret nothing...(today).

 

[WisNeuro]

I had a counter-balanced emotion regulation task, stuck to the ERP's. But, also did about a 2 hour neuropsych battery and structured clinical interview for each participant. Never again, At least not without an army of people to do all the grunt work for me.

 

[JedMosley]

I did most of my dissertation writing while on internship. Before I started internship, I thought I was going to be able to work on my diss in the evenings after work and get it done that way. I was wrong - I was too tired after every day of work (plus the 50-minute commute each way I had) to do anything in the evenings. So for me, the most important thing was realizing that I realistically needed to plan to work on my dissertation one weekend day per week, because I was not going to make progress on it during the week. It sucked to accept that, but it was what I needed to get it done.

Yeah, that's kind of what I expected, too!

 

[JedMosley]

I did the same thing. I had my data gathered and cleaned before I left, but did all of my analysis and writing of the last couple chapters after I moved. It really wasn't bad. Another intern and I would go to coffee shops around town every Saturday and work for a few hours. I got it done, and got to try all the best brunches in the area! Toward the end I started working on it on weekdays, not because I had to, but because I was on a roll and just wanted it done!

Awesome to hear! Thanks for the inspiration! MMM, brunch.

 

[EmotRegulation]

I too did my dissertation on internship, because I wasn't done with data collection when I left due to recruitment issues (smokers). I think my data was collected as of the end of the fall semester, but I didn't have much time to look at it until March because I applied for faculty positions and was lucky enough to get multiple interviews. I did enough of the data analysis to have a story to tell in my job talk, but not enough to defend. I worked on the dissertation nights, mostly, because my then-boyfriend-now-husband worked from 3pm-11pm so I couldn't hang out with him even if I'd wanted to. It worked pretty well, I worked on it sporadically, not every night but most nights, and it got done. I also had a life--spending time in the awesome region where I did internship, going to festivals, bars, etc. The end result was defending in June, well after graduation, but whatever. I finished before I started my faculty job, and that was what mattered.

 

[deleted760483]

I had to finish my dissertation on internship due to an issue with my original data collection procedure. It wasn't my favorite few months of life but it was doable and I also had a 2 year old at home. It's not so bad.