such as “be persistent” and “make some progress every day,” but an
advantage of the memoir format is that I can be concrete and detailed
when telling my own story.
Timeliness – I wrote The Ph. D. Grind immediately after finish-
I already have selective
hindsight, and I’ve been
out for only three years.
I’m so glad that I wrote
this book right when I
graduated. There’s no
way I can recapture those
raw feelings ever again.
I already have selective
hindsight, and I’ve been
out for only three years.
I’m so glad that I wrote
this book right when I
graduated. There’s no
way I can recapture those
raw feelings ever again.
ing my Ph.D. , which is the ideal time for s uch a memoir. In contrast,
current Ph.D. students cannot reflect on the entirety of thei r experi-
ences like I can, and senior researchers who attempt to reflect back on
their Ph.D. years might su↵er fr om sel ec t ive hindsight.
Tone – Although it’s impossible to be unbiased, I try to maintain a
balanced tone throughout The Ph.D. Grind. In contrast, many peopl e
who write Ph.D.-related articles, bo ok s, or c om ic s ar e ei th er :
• successful professors or research scientists who pontificate stately
advice, adopting the tone of “grad school is tough, but it’s a
delectable intellectual journey that you s hou ld enjoy and make
the m ost of . . . because I sure did! ”
• or bitter Ph.D. graduates/drop ou t s who have been traumatized
by their experiences, adopting a melodramatic, disillusioned,
self-loathing tone of “ahhh my world was a living hell, what did
I do with my l i fe?! ? ”
Stately advice can motivate some stude nts, and bitter whining
might help distressed students to commiserate, but a general audi-
ence will probably not be r ece pt i ve to either extreme.
Finally, before I begin my story, I want to emphasize that there is a
I cannot emphasize this
point enough. I enjoyed
a ton of privilege during
my Ph.D., most notably
because I was almost
fully-funded by fellow-
ships and attended a
top-tier school. My ex-
perience would have
differed greatly if that
was not the case.
I cannot emphasize this
point enough. I enjoyed
a ton of privilege during
my Ph.D., most notably
because I was almost
fully-funded by fellow-
ships and attended a
top-tier school. My ex-
perience would have
differed greatly if that
was not the case.
great deal of diversity in Ph.D. student experiences depending on one’s
school, department, field of study, and funding sit u ation . I feel very
fortunate t hat I have been granted so much freedom an d autonomy
throughout my Ph.D. years; I know students who have experienced
far more rest ri c ti on s. My story is only a sin gl e data point, so what
I present might not generalize. However, I will try my best to avoid
being overly speci fic . Happy reading!
Philip Guo, June 2012
So much has changed
in the past three years.
I’ve held four jobs since
writing this book: soft-
ware engineer at Google,
visiting researcher at edX,
postdoc at MIT, and now
assistant professor at the
University of Rochester.
So much has changed
in the past three years.
I’ve held four jobs since
writing this book: soft-
ware engineer at Google,
visiting researcher at edX,
postdoc at MIT, and now
assistant professor at the
University of Rochester.
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