What to do Summer after 1st Year?

[InYourHead]

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It's hard to believe that I'm already beginning to think about Year 1 being over. It seems like just yesterday I was freaking out about interviews and preparing to move.

Anyways, now my focus has shifted to preparing for this summer. Fortunately, in my program nothing is required of me during the first summer. However, I plan to stay in town and at least try to be productive. I'd like to make a little headway on my dissertation and even take a class or two if possible. I'm also trying to get some sort of PSYC-related job, and that's where you come in.

What types of jobs should I try to look for this summer? What would I be qualified to do? Any suggestions would be helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PsychBrownBag]

Honestly, the summer after first year is the last opportunity in some programs to have an extended period of time during which you can really take part in a lot of things unrelated to your program without the pressures of a ton of work (other than your own research). That was the case for me, anyway, so I took the opportunity to visit family/friends, watch baseball, and work only on projects that were really exciting to me (yes, I'm a nerd).

The legitimacy of this approach probably depends on how you tend to work though. For me, it's work hard/play hard, so when demands are there, I work intensely and make sure I get done what needs to be done so that, when the demands aren't there, I can relax entirely. If that's not your style, this advise is probably not the best!

Either way, enjoy the time!

 

[twilson]

It's hard to believe that I'm already beginning to think about Year 1 being over. It seems like just yesterday I was freaking out about interviews and preparing to move.

Anyways, now my focus has shifted to preparing for this summer. Fortunately, in my program nothing is required of me during the first summer. However, I plan to stay in town and at least try to be productive. I'd like to make a little headway on my dissertation and even take a class or two if possible. I'm also trying to get some sort of PSYC-related job, and that's where you come in.

What types of jobs should I try to look for this summer? What would I be qualified to do? Any suggestions would be helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I guess it depends on your advisor/lab and where you are in your program. My secondary lab wants us to get some projects off the ground or written up this summer. For my advisor's lab I will be collecting data for my thesis and hopefully getting that done this summer. So I won't be doing a lot more than research, research, research 😀.

 

[Slarterbartfast]

I like this thread topic. I wonder what options I will have during the summer of my first year. I look forward to reading people's responses. 🙂

 

[aventurine]

Honestly, the summer after first year is the last opportunity in some programs to have an extended period of time during which you can really take part in a lot of things unrelated to your program without the pressures of a ton of work (other than your own research).

Exactly what I was going to say. You've got many years ahead of you (doctoral program, work) in which you'll have to keep your nose to the grindstone.

Enjoy a summer off while you still can!

 

[futureapppsy2]

My program requires us to take 2-3 classes every summer (3 if were on 12 month GAships). Even outside of that, though, I imagine a lot of advisors would implicitly expect you to stay focused on research for much of the summer, esp. if they are on tenure track or have grant funding--a short vacation but not a whole summer off or anything.

 

[aventurine]

I imagine a lot of advisors would implicitly expect you to stay focused on research for much of the summer, esp. if they are on tenure track or have grant funding--a short vacation but not a whole summer off or anything.

I would imagine this varies by program.

In some programs, profs spend most of the summer focused on their own professional responsibilities they don't have time to focus on during the year (e.g., writing, etc.) and not much is expected during the summer between the first and second year, other than taking a class or two. Also, in many programs, students haven't started carrying regular therapy clients yet, so it's the last time to have a good chunk of time off. At some programs, assistantships only last from September through May and it's not necessary to spend a lot of time on the MA thesis over the summer. I went to a good program and didn't feel it was expected I spend a lot of time on research over the summer after my first year, although I was expected to be prepared to dive into my thesis as soon as I returned.

 

[O Gurl]

I agree with the "enjoy yourself" camp. 🙂

That doesn't mean you have to do nothing school related, but perhaps not obligating yourself to classes/lab duties. You could still get a jump start on your thesis/dissertation literature review, IRB, or proposal. Perhaps devoting a set number of hours or days per week to your projects and then having a damned good time for the rest of your week?

 

[paramour]

I imagine a lot of this is program and even adviser specific (and even student specific). We have some students in our program whose advisers encourage them to work on research; other advisers expect them to do so; and still others have different expectations for different students in their lab. There were two first years under my adviser's lab. One of us was told to go to Mexico, read some books, enjoy herself, and if she had the time, think about what she might like to do for her thesis. I was expected to stick around and work on the adviser's research grant and my own research. Do not go home to visit the family. No fun. So on & so forth. I think that I sort of received the same message almost every year since, although I know plenty of others in the same program who receive messages along the continuum from "take a break and enjoy yourself with some research thrown in" to "research, research, class, research."

I agree with O Gurl. I wouldn't completely ignore research for the summer, but I'm not sure that I would obligate yourself to class/research responsibilities if you are not required to do so at this point in your program. Take some time to yourself. Delegate some time to your research as well so that you have some idea(s) of what you would like to do or where you can start, and so that you may have a jump start on it when the semester begins, but do not run yourself into the ground trying to figure everything out over the course of a few months. You will most likely burn out very quickly and may even start to loathe parts of your program entirely, which would be a disappointment after everything you've done to get there.

SO ENJOY!