How Do You Guys Do It?!

[TMS@1987]

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Recently my school had a psychology career panel where a number of different professionals from various branches of psychology and psychology related fields came and talk about their careers and how they got their.

one of the things that really stuck out to me was the volume of work that one has to do while in grad school (particularly PhD programs). I came away thinking "good god how does one survive this kind of program!" and began to seriously doubt my abilities and my likelihood of succeeding in grad school. Although quite a few of my professors have told me I have the brains for a PhD program and that they would like to see me in one I still have my reservations. So, my question is, how did you guys handle to work load? It seems so enormous and crushing that I am become extremely intimidated by it. Do you guys have any tips or tricks that you used to help you through? Is it really the enormous amount of work I think it is?

Thanks for your time, I look forward to your responses.

 

[Ollie123]

The workload is what you make of it. You will be busy, there is no doubt, but at least here, I have some control over how much I take on and learning to say no was a valuable skill (though one I have yet to learn!).

Honestly, I don't know what to tell you. If someone told me the work was "crushing" I'd say they're in the wrong field. I work my butt off, but I love it. Its important to have a balance, but its MUCH easier to find that balance if you genuinely enjoy yourself when you're working.

 

[deleted176373]

I hate to say it, but you just sort of begin to adapt to the new normal. You can't get paid enough to work this hard (and believe me I get paid well), so the motivation to do this has to come from within. You either want it, or you don't, those who want it seem to succeed.

Mark

 

[deleted190534]

I hate to say it, but you just sort of begin to adapt to the new normal. You can't get paid enough to work this hard (and believe me I get paid well), so the motivation to do this has to come from within. You either want it, or you don't, those who want it seem to succeed.

Mark

Agreed. I believe Mark's post sums it up well.

 

[critter]

Recently my school had a psychology career panel where a number of different professionals from various branches of psychology and psychology related fields came and talk about their careers and how they got their.

one of the things that really stuck out to me was the volume of work that one has to do while in grad school (particularly PhD programs). I came away thinking "good god how does one survive this kind of program!" and began to seriously doubt my abilities and my likelihood of succeeding in grad school. Although quite a few of my professors have told me I have the brains for a PhD program and that they would like to see me in one I still have my reservations. So, my question is, how did you guys handle to work load? It seems so enormous and crushing that I am become extremely intimidated by it. Do you guys have any tips or tricks that you used to help you through? Is it really the enormous amount of work I think it is?

Thanks for your time, I look forward to your responses.

Realistically? Day by day and class by class. By staying on top of things and never letting your date book get behind your appts. Life gets parsed down to what's due this week and maybe next week.

It won't be forever you'll be this busy and I am always amazed when I come out on the other side of a quarter how much I've learned. I feel too busy to be absorbing but I do.

 

[Eruca]

I agree with pretty much all of the above. Also, some periods of time are much busier than others (e.g., masters, comps, internship apps, etc). During those times, you're probably working your arse off. Having that said, I've been impressed by how much autonomy and control over my schedule I get. There are due dates, but when and how you do the work is often up to you. And I also love the work, love the challenge, and almost always enjoy what I'm doing - particularly as I got into the more advanced years of the program. If you're into it, totally worth it!

You will learn ways to manage. We all do 🙂 AND I even have a spouse, a dog, and a very satisfying social life.

 

[wetcement]

I have heard from a few alums from my undergrad that they find the actual course work from their PhD programs (law, med, psych) less challenging than our undergrad course work. It's the balancing of the course load, teaching, labs, etc which presents the challenge. Has anyone else had that experience?

 

[psychmama]

I have heard from a few alums from my undergrad that they find the actual course work from their PhD programs (law, med, psych) less challenging than our undergrad course work. It's the balancing of the course load, teaching, labs, etc which presents the challenge. Has anyone else had that experience?

I wouldn't say that the coursework has been easy. However, I'd agree that the toughest part is balancing the many roles of grad school -- student, researcher, clinician, supervisee, etc.

 

[compassionate1]

I do not have an answer to the origional question but would really appreciate connecting with other parents on this forum who have "made it" / in the process of making it happen.

Could use some encouragement right now...

Thanks,

Compassionate1