Finding Your Fit: a Recipe for a Meaningful Life Daniel Wong, PhD Associate Director, Educational Equity Programs

My background and “qualifications”

Two Questions

Two Questions Why go to grad school? (PhD) How to choose a grad school?

Finding your “Dream Job” Or, “A vision for a life well-lived” (adapted from Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You)

The wrong question: “what is your passion?”

What’s wrong with this question? It is very specific It is very narrow It is very inflexible People don’t tend to change their passions. It does happen from time to time, but the passions we have are often the passions that persist. The challenge then becomes a matching problem. What if your passion is teaching, and you can’t find a teaching job? What if your passion is performing surgery, but you can’t get into medical school? Disappointment often ensues, and I think that’s both unfair and avoidable.

A better question: “what do you value?” Finding a meaningful life

What do you value? Time affluence? Influence and recognition? Playing a meaningful role in family and community? Having an impact on the world of ideas? Freedom from financial concerns? Adventure? Fewer obligations, less mental clutter?

Protect your values, but be flexible in your strategy for meeting them

“You need to know where you generally want to go, but don’t get too obsessed about the route that can get you there.” - Cal Newport

So: why grad school? And, grad school is a career.

ca•reer NOUN. An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress -Oxford Dictionaries, OUP

What grad school offers: Time affluence Influence and recognition Playing a meaningful role in family and community Having an impact on the world of ideas Freedom from financial concerns Adventure Fewer obligations, less mental clutter

What grad school offers: time affluence During: Your hours are your own Your hours are flexible After: Your options are open Most career options enjoy this

What grad school offers: influence and recognition During: You work will be known (but perhaps not by many) Your work will have influence After: Careers in academia depend on it People listen to PhDs

What grad school offers: playing a meaningful role During: You work deals with important problems Your work should matter to someone After: You’ve been trained to address big issues Research skills useful in any arena

What grad school offers: impact on world of ideas During: This is all you do Required and encouraged After: Specific set of skills Uniquely positioned to answer such questions

What grad school offers: freedom from financial concerns During: Grad school is funded Access to resources Freedom = options

What grad school offers: freedom from financial concerns After: High median annual income Bachelor’s: ~$46K Master’s: ~$57K PhD: ~$70K http://www.pewresearch.org, 28 Feb 2014

What grad school offers: adventure During: Focused on contributing to the cutting edge No boundary between the classroom and the “real world” After: Equipped for a broad range of options Exposure to variety = better career “imagination”

What grad school doesn’t offer: fewer obligations, less mental clutter During: You will be busy and obligated You will want to be After: Great power = great responsibility You know you love it

How to Choose a Grad School Many think that going to the US News list and choosing from the top schools is the best approach. I argue that that’s precisely the wrong approach. First begin with a self-assessment of your values and goal, and then find the best fit for grad school.

How to Choose a Grad School: Know Yourself Know Your Goal Know Your Destination

Know Yourself Identify your learning and working style Understand your habits and preferences Recognize your needs and lifestyle Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses

Know Your Goal Identify your values and plan accordingly Explore career options of your chosen program Spend time investigating your desired profession(s)

Know Your Destination Prioritize people over programs Gather as much information as you can Visit the campus if possible Count the cost (of living) Explore the available resources

Why Illinois?

Why Illinois: Reasonable cost of living = options Vast available resources Accessible faculty Interdisciplinarity Support for grad students

Cost of living

Cost of living

Resources University Library: 13 millions volumes in 37 unit libraries + vast database access (2nd largest academic library in US) Top recipient of NSF funding among all universities ($170 million, in FY 2014), with total annual research funding exceeding $600 million Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Krannert Art Museum, and the Spurlock Museum

Interdisciplinarity Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Tech Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology Coordinated Science Laboratory Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory National Center for Supercomputing Applications Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities

The Graduate College Graduate Student Academic Services (GSAS) Graduate and Professional Admissions Educational Equity Programs Fellowship Office Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs Illinois Professional Science Master’s