Top 10 Things I did Right/Wrong

in Graduate School

Greg Morrisett

Goal, Caveats & BackgroundYou should think and plan now how to get

the most out of grad school.• Where do you want to be when you

finish?• Take specifics with a large grain of salt• Personal history:

– Small, liberal arts undergrad school [’89]– Carnegie Mellon for grad work (PL) [’95]– Cornell faculty [‘96-’03]– Harvard faculty [‘04-now]

Things I did wrong: #10

Spent the first year isolated from my fellow students.– Lived alone– Worked alone– Went out of town a lot– They had fun, I was miserable.

Make the effort to get to know them.

Wrong #9

Assumed I wasn’t good enough.– U. of Richmond is no CS powerhouse– Fellow students from IIT, Princeton,

Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, etc. Yikes!– Felt like a fraud.

• (Still feel like a fraud.)• (So does everyone else.)

– By the end of quals, field was more level.

Everyone admitted can do well!

Wrong #8

Was scared to ask advisor for stuff like books, travel money, equipment, etc.– You’re expensive (~$50K)

• If I can prevent RSI, I’ll spend a lot of money.

– Equipment is not.– Money is renewable, time is not.– You need the proper equipment to get the

job done.

It never hurts to ask.

Wrong #7

Lots of classes, little homework.– (CMU had no course requirements)– Better to do few classes well.– You’ve got to get your hands dirty to

really learn something. (Re-prove that theorem, hack that algorithm, measure that performance, etc.)

Learning by osmosis doesn’t work.

Wrong #6

Was hyper-critical of visitors and talks.– It’s easy & fun to be critical.

• Until you’re the one under the glass.

– It’s easy to be cynical.• Cynics aren’t good researchers. Try to

keep an open and receptive mind.

– Before forming an opinion, ask how you would (realistically) have done and presented the research.

Wrong #5

Never took courses outside of CS– I’ll be doing CS for the rest of my life– I can learn CS topics on my own– I need help with stuff I don’t do well– I either won’t or can’t make the time now– I wish I had taken:

• Writing, French, Chinese [communication]• Chem, Bio, Psychology, Finance [applications]• Even if it had taken another year…

The 12(10) requirement is a lower bound!

Wrong #4

Never took a teaching seminar– It’s half my job for God’s sake!– But there’s no requirement you actually

learn how to teach (much less teach well.)– There are real skills to be learned here

• Time management (stack of 15-min appts.)• Assignments, homeworks, exams, etc.• Psychology

First year I at Cornell, I spent 90% of my time on teaching.

Wrong #3

Never figured out how funding works.– It’s half my job for God’s sake!– You shouldn’t care how funding works

now. Before you graduate, you might want to learn more about how it works.

– Writing a proposal is very different from writing a research paper.

Ask your advisor if you can read or even participate in proposals.

Wrong #2

Didn’t keep a research journal.– I saw lots of cool talks.– I went to lots of cool conferences.– I read lots of cool papers, pages, etc.– I hacked on lots of cool things.– I had great ideas.– I don’t remember many of them.

Consider keeping a journal.

Wrong #1

Didn’t buy Microsoft stock when I entered graduate school. :-)

Things I Did Right: #10

Worked closely with other graduate students.– Learned more from them than profs.

• (they have more time – only 1 job)

– Proof-read their work & vice versa• (good for them, good for you)

– Only way to do big things (e.g., compiler)

Right #9

Summer Internships.– I went to Bell Labs & DEC CRL– $$$– Contacts– Breadth– Research ideas– See how a lab works

Do this in your first couple of years, if possible.

Right #8

Went to conferences & workshops.– Most of the real action occurs here.– You meet everyone here, and they meet

you – it’s a smaller community than you think.

– You keep up with the area.– You get a copy of the proceedings.– It’s easier to read a paper after a talk.– Organizations have $ for students to travel– Ask your advisor for $ -- never hurts.

Right #7

Got to know lots of faculty.– Worked with different people in

different areas (PL, compilers, OS, etc.)– Invited these people to practice talks.– Hiring is an old boys network – people

ask me “Who’s good that’s coming out of Harvard”? If I don’t know you, I can’t recommend you.

– Now they’re my colleagues – an invaluable resource.

Right #6Volunteered.

– Moderated comp.lang.ml• Annoying, but the name recognition helped

– Worked on open source projects• Great experience, satisfying

– Reviewed papers• Learned a lot about writing, had people to call

upon

– Cleaned the lounge• We had a volunteer requirement at CMU

– You have to do something to get noticed – why not do something worthwhile?

Right #5

Lots of practice talks, lots of red ink.– Had a great advisor: read everything

• Marked it up – made me really, really mad• Eventually developed a thick skin• Learned how to write better

– Talks at CMU were brutal• Every last point was debated• You quickly learned how to defend yourself and

control the environment• Stage presence: Seeing yourself on video helps a

lot• Learn to anticipate and think like your audience

Right #4Bought & read “Bugs in Writing”

(Lynn Dupre)– Tailored to CS technical writing– I learned so much – writing became faster,

less red ink, etc.– “Elements of Style” also great– Technical writing class might help too.

CS people are rarely good at communicating. But it’s just as important as any technical skills you’re going to pick up here.

Right #3

Hacked on lots of stuff.– What will you do for your thesis?– Do you really think it’ll come to you

from just reading about ideas or sitting in classes?

– My thesis came after about 7-8 serious projects (multi-processor, hardware stuff, GC, semantics, etc.)

Right #2

Didn’t leave before I finished.– I’ve known dozens of folks who accepted

a job, expecting to finish the last few chapters of their thesis on the job.

– Bad idea – I’ve only known 1 or 2 people that actually did this.

– It’s much easier to finish up beforehand. This gives you time to settle in to a new environment.

– And ideally, take a break.

Right #1

I had fun!– Threw and went to many parties– Weekly dinner co-op (no geek talk)– Skiing, amusement park trips– Softball– TGIF’s (= AI seminar at Cornell)– Got out of town when I felt down

This Seminar• Time Management• Choosing a Career Path• Job Search• Presentations• Working in the Lab• Writing & Reviewing Papers• Grants and Writing Proposals• Science Discussion• Mentoring & Management• [your topic here…]