Are You an Engineer in Graduate School? Take Note of These

So you’re finally in graduate school, after taking that bold decision of extending your education as an engineer. It is part of your professional advancement that you’ve enrolled for a master’s degree, but somehow there’s a level of uncertainty to whether what to do and how to get around. We’ve got you covered. Here are 7 pieces of advice for every engineering grad school freshman that will be of great help for your survival:

Always remind yourself why you’re there. Time will come that you will get lost in the way and just call it quits. You’ll rather find yourself outside grad school. But think about why you took the leap. Remember why you even started doing it. It pays to have it noted down so you will be reminded that you’re doing grad school for a reason.

Make friends. It’s a basic social construct that you should make friends so you could deal with things with a lot more ease. Doing so will also earn you someone to laugh and cry with as you go over all those grad school struggles. Plus, you need all the resources and connections you can get if you want to make it through. This is the last thing you can do in graduate school.

Prepare your study skills and time management. It will no longer be the same as it was during the undergraduate studies. Most of the time graduate schools only hold classes on the weekends of later during weekdays, so you are bound to sacrifice your social life, among other things. You will be forced to take the necessary adjustments. And you must be willing to do that. 

Always ask questions. It’s always better to admit ignorance than faking being knowledgeable all along, because the odds are that you might be wrong. Keep asking questions no matter how dumb it may sound, especially to your advisor and maybe other faculty members. It is for your own good that you do this than assume knowing everything. After all, they will understand since your higher-ups have been through the same.

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It’s fine to take a break, or maybe even quit. If somewhere along the way you feel like you needed to take a break for a semester or so, then go for it. It applies the same if you feel like you no longer want or need to do grad school anymore. There’s no shame in admitting it, especially that you are in control of your own engineering career path.