The 10 SHOCKING Secrets to Graduate School Success Experts WANT You to Know!

Prof. Clark EvansUniversity of Wisconsin-

Milwaukeeevans36@uwm.edu

A bit about myself…

• First attended the AMS Student Conference in 2004, just the third-ever such event!

• It’s great to see the conference’s success, and I’m honored to have been invited to speak.

• This talk is a mixture of what I learned the hard way, what my students have taught me, and what others have shared with me.

Without further ado…

He was an on-camera meteorologist in a former life, after all…

(Image from jamieumbc.com)

Have Learning as Your Goal• It can be tempting to have top grades, or

even perfection, as your primary goal.

• What may work best to ace that test does not produce the greatest long-term benefit!

• Science, research, and life are all about applying what you know to the unknown.

Learn How to Learn

(Images from Google Images, audio from qwizx.com)

Use Failure as a Path to Success

We are defined as scientists not by our failures – of which there are, and will be, many – but by how we

respond to failure. Don’t be afraid to fail!

(Image from Google Images)

Don’t Be Afraid of Questions• Our tendency is to want concrete

answers.

• But, sometimes, our studies provide more questions than they do answers.

• Or, worse yet, they provide the dreaded “null” result. These have value, however!

Treat Graduate School Like a Job

Graduate school is your occupation. It does not define you as a person. Let go of the tendency to have your

studies occupy your every waking thought.

(Image from Google Images)

Know Before You Go

• There is no how-to guide to navigating graduate school in the atmospheric sciences.

• Anything you can do to ease your transition into graduate studies will help you succeed.

• Opportunities to consider: undergraduate research, tutoring, attending conferences…

Get With the Program…ming

Whether you are a researcher, forecaster, or theoretician, data analysis and/or numerical modeling

underpin your work. Proficiency in one or more programming languages helps foster discovery.

Let Others Help You

(Image from Google Images)

We each don’t have all of the answers – to our research, to our homework, to life itself – individually. Let others

help you solve your challenges, and in turn be willing to help others in a similar fashion.

Get the Most Out of Yourself

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Take ownership of your work. Learn how to say no. Manage time and tasks

well. Above all, be fair to yourself.

(Image from Google Images)

Advisor-Student Relationship

Find an advisor with whom you would work well. Know what you want and need from your advisor and clearly

communicate this to them.

Valuable Resources

Make it Stick Navigating Graduate

School and Beyond

(free!)

The Art of Being a

Scientist

A Big “Thank You!”My students

My advisor and mentors

David RyglickiAaron Paget

Jimmy CorreiaJohn Knox

Paul RoebberDavid Masciale

Russ SchumacherCourtney BaberMelissa GriffinMarty BaxterPaul Ruscher

Jim WallerJames McCormick