Nobody Ever Says “I Wanna Be A Junkie When I Grow Up!”

by Ryan Leib

Initially, I debated on whether or not to invent some kind of ‘killer’ hook paragraph for this article. Telling you the real story behind the article, as I have obviously chosen to do here, would be (I hope) deeply enthralling, however my ‘geek would be showing,’ as they say. Then I remembered that I’m a graduate student, and, most likely, so are you. Crisis averted.

When the call came for articles late last year, I asked the generally open minded people at The Berkeley Graduate if they would, in the name of research, subsidize a monthly subscription to World of Warcraft (ostensibly so I could ‘learn more’ about a stimulating simulated environment that, if my RSS feed is to be believed, not only serves as a model of free market consumerism but also is capable of swallowing professional careers whole). A deeply interesting topic, I believed, considering that most of us are looking to have one of those careers soon. I submitted my usual proposal documents [Editor’s Note: In the form of post it notes], a few recommendations from friends [Editor’s Note: A picture of an “identical twin brother” doesn’t count], and so forth, hoping that my dreams of taming wild Azeroth would soon come true. Alas, that was not in the available software package from Anthony Hall; and for what it’s worth, I thought “But I can be a wizard when I grow up!” was a thoroughly compelling argument in favor of that arrangement. [Editor’s Note: Ryan was offered a saving throw on the decision, it’s not the management’s fault he didn’t have a suitable icosahedron hand—we thought he was an Eagle Scout: whatever happened to being prepared?]

This left me with a fair amount of time for soul searching (as I couldn’t farm Molten Core) and in my lonely thoughts came a small stirring voice, asking, ‘why didn’t I get my dream job?’ I promised myself then and there that if I’m ever going to make this virtual dream a virtual reality (which I think is a phrase I so enjoy typing that this entire paragraph was devised just to contain it), I need to get one of two things: a second job to cover the exorbitant increase to my meager cost of living, or a better pitch the next time The Berkeley Graduate asks for articles. Luckily, those musings led like night into day to an excellent subject for this semester’s article: The UC Career Center.

Now I know what you’re thinking, dear reader (actually, I’m just postulating; telepathy is reserved for humanities students), you have one of the following impressions regarding the Career Center:

i.) Isn’t that for the undergrads or people on the way out (not me!)
ii.) I guess it could be useful, but isn’t it a long walk? and/or
iii.) What is this Career Center of which you speak?

And frankly, between the typical unawareness of the outside world we suffer here as denizens of the ivory tower and their lack of a good viral marketing campaign, I can’t really blame you. So, I hope you don’t mind terribly that I’ve decided to unwrap this delicious little morsel for you (because if I ever do get WoW, I’m surely going to need a job to keep paying those subscription fees) and feed you the information you need most as you’re looking to graduate.

So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Like most campus organizations, a quick glance at their materials reveals that many of their student fee supported services do indeed focus on undergraduates. No surprises there, as getting all those wee ones out the door and on the market is certainly within their vast purview and keeps Sproul plaza considerably less crowded in the summers. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t offer a wide variety of services for those of us with our own peculiar set of needs. With the diligence of the special type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that graduate students acquire around the time of their qualifying exams at my disposal, and the help of my mighty internet sleuthing abilities, I have been able to coax vital intelligence for you, the graduate student, from the Career Center’s materials and have distilled the choice bits for you into 2000 words or less. What a bargain!

The first thing that you should realize is that your career has already started. I know, wild isn’t it? I remember when I stumbled away from commencement ceremonies a few years back, that fake blank diploma in my hand and I said to myself, “huh, I guess in six to eight weeks when they finalize my grades I’ll be a chemist.” Maybe you had a similar realization; in any case, remember, anything you do now will only serve to benefit your future development.

The career center offers a lot of services to help you right now. In particular, there is a whole division over there that is devoted to the aspiring GSI-of-the-year types to ease the agony of those teaching positions in which most of us find ourselves obligatory participants. I’m afraid I’m not going to say more on this subject. At some time in the not so distant past, I wrote a fine piece about pedagogy for the Berkeley Graduate, so if developing yourself into a better instructor is your goal in reading this article, stop now. Please direct yourself post haste to our back issues department; I’m certain they will be able to find it for you.

If, on the other hand, you’re more interested in what happens after graduate school, then we’ve still got you covered. For, as is implicit with the title of their office, the other major goal of the Career Center is to serve as a single stop shop to ease your inevitable exit. Indeed, it is the peculiar plight of the graduate student to take on an indefinite term of service that is equal parts long hours, short pay and hard work with a dash of no long-term job certainty. As one of my coworkers was saying this morning, “we work and work but at the end of it, you’re out on your own”. Quite a dramatic departure from climbing the corporate ladder; the graduate student’s ladder ends in a diving board.

But the inevitable leap doesn’t have to be a rapid descent into the icy, shark-infested water of unemployment if you plan ahead now. If you learn nothing else from me today, know that the Career Center serves as the University’s lightning rod for all those academic and industry human resources departments looking for new brilliant hires such as yourself to fill out their ranks. While certainly your advisor and department can and may help you find that perfect job through recommendations and personal connections, when a company calls to look for newly graduated students to fill those vital positions, the Careers office is who picks up the phone. At specific times of year, the center sponsors and helps organize on campus career fairs for over 500 major firms that can give you those vital first looks at a potential employer, and a feel for the job market of which you are about to become a part. The center also orchestrates over 15,000 on-campus interviews every year; and there are only about 9,000 grad students, so we should all get at least one, right?

Many of us haven’t spent much time outside of the walls of the academy, and finding yourself in an industrial position interview can be a rude awaking. To help prepare you for these new experiences, the Career Center has a series of seminars, workshops and presentations to help prepare you for the market. Whether it’s mock interviews, writing your CV, putting together a good portfolio or even what socks to wear, there is a group activity specially designed for you, and having their input can be a great help.

Perhaps you already are ready for those interviews. And then, you have gone on that interview, but your potential employer would like another letter of recommendation. But your recommender of choice is on a beach in Fiji, drinking mai tais and doesn’t answer your calls (and just think, mai tais were invented here in Oakland! What a waste of a trip!). Well, if you start now, that never needs to be a problem. The Career Center can help through their Letter Service. By having your recommenders submit their letters through the Career Center, they will send out copies to any potential employer without your having to go back and ask yet again for that same letter. On top of that, the Center keeps the letters on file for a few years, in the case that the first foray into the working world isn’t right for you, and you need to make a change.

But maybe you know you don’t want that academic position, and the industrial jobs that you know about don’t sound like the right fit for you. If you find yourself in this position, a great place to start is with their vast resource library on alternative jobs for people with your skills. Through online inventories as well as career consultation and advisement, hopefully the right job is just a couple hours of searching away. And once you find it, you’re already where you need to be to start sending out your applications and getting that dream job.

‘But Ryan,’ you say, ‘I’m just beginning this graduate student gig. I have many years left in the salt mines. Why should I start now?’ Well, if the reasons I already pointed out above weren’t enough to convince you your career started yesterday, I’ll appeal to your wallet. During your last semester on campus, it’s likely in many departments that you will be placed on Filing Fee. For the uninitiated, let me quote the Grad Division site: “Filing Fee puts you on withdrawal status, which means you are not allowed to use University facilities, and student loans may become due.” Not only do you lose access to the gym at exceptionally low student membership rates, and the clocks start ticking on all of your loans, but all those free services of the Career Center are gone or come with a price-tag. So get your appointment right now, dear readers, before it’s too late.

If you need some specific advice, or don’t have a clue where to begin, perhaps a private consultation is for you. These can be set up directly through the website or call the number at the end of this article. They can help you with all parts of the career building process, from finding what you want to do to negotiating proper compensation for your immense battery of skills. If you choose to avail yourself of private consultations, I will gladly receive 10% finder’s fee for directing you to these services – just drop a check in The Berkeley Graduate’s box at Anthony Hall; I’m sure it will find its way to me.

A note to my loyal readers: For more detailed information about the services provided by the UC Career Center in planning your job search, please go to career.berkeley.edu or call 510-642-1716 to set up your appointment with the career office today.

Your Relationship With Mentees: Students Dealing With Students

by Ryan Leib

Life always has its chores. As a youth,you probably took out the garbage or mowed the lawn. In college,maybe you bussed tables or shelved books in the library. You didn’t really think grad school would be different,did you? If you’re like most of the graduate students on our campus,you find yourself teaching a course that you hardly paid attention to a few years ago during your own undergraduate career. Between obligations to your research project,your post-doctoral (or other degree) plans,and your social life,it’s often hard to find the time to prep for that freshman lab course,but your students will never know,right? The problem is that most of us (excluding the oh-so-lucky education students!) have little formal training on how best to pass on our wisdom to the next generation. In fact,you probably fall into one of these archetypal categories of GSI:

The Puppeteer
You don’t see teaching as educational so much as a quest for control. Sure,you have your favorite student or two who you can trust,but most of them need to be ‘managed’. You spend most your time turning your students against each other,setting up in- class competitions and publicly posting grades. Whenever possible,you avoid interacting with the students directly,and instead choose to send mass emails and hang handwritten signs next to the whiteboard.

The Doorstop
Instructing your students is an addendum to an afterthought. You are so busy with other things
that you find yourself looking over the day’s material for the first time with an Expo marker in your hand. You hit the high points,but most of the class period feels wasted as you turn pages and say “Um” with alarming frequency. You know only a couple of their faces and none of their names – but “hey you” seems to work thus far.

The Milquetoast
Your students don’t need to learn, or work, or frankly even show up.No one quite remembers
the last time they studied for your class. You have office hours from 9-5,and bring the coffee
and doughnuts. Assignments are more of a motivational exercise,and tests should be less about
grades and more about feeling comfortable. Sure,your students don’t respect you,but they
invite you to parties on the weekends.

The Over-Analyzer
You live to teach. You read every book, review every article,attend every seminar – all in the interest of your students’ education. Unfortunately, that means you’re on the outs with your girl,
your PI is still waiting for that presentation outline,and you own class work is in the toilet. When you teach, you spend more time polling the class for ways to improve or change things up
than covering the real material.

Hopefully none of these describes you perfectly. However, not unlike those ridiculous horoscopes you read in the checkout line, there’s probably a nugget of truth in some of them (and as an added benefit/horror, they probably serve as an interesting window into my psyche,which is something I typically would like to keep closed with shades drawn). Regardless of how your personal style seems to be working out thus far, here are some handy ways to keep ahead of the curve, or at least one chapter ahead of that smart kid who sits up front.

People learn differently. No, it’s true. Since you’re a graduate student, it may not be obvious why those basic concepts that came easily for you are not getting through to your freshman. The important thing to remember is that what comes easily for some can be a real bear for others. Try mixing things up a bit,and always have a couple extra angles to approach hard subjects. This is especially helpful during those office hour sessions you should be holding (and plugging during class) to help your students stay on top of things.

It’s a part time job. As much as you’d like to slack off (or learn all there is to know about your subject), most GSIs are being paid for a 20 hour work week. Those 20 hours includes attending class sessions, grading papers and reports,holding office hours and studying up on how to be a better GSI. Spending too much less or too much more,and both you and your beloved students will suffer for it. Sure, sometimes there are light (or heavy) weeks, but the hope is that you’re still advancing towards your academic goals while helping your students meet theirs.

Have a plan. A few minutes of prep can make any interaction with your students go that much more smoothly. Know what general issues have been discussed during the last few class periods,and what likely stumbling blocks are in the new material. Make sure you can work through any assigned homework before you assign it. As far as prepping for lectures,the author has found that using notecards to plan your chalkboard layout (in scale format,no less!) does wonders.

Get feedback. If you’re not sure how you rate as a GSI, try asking. Find some students whose opinions you trust,and ask them what kinds of things you could do to improve. Alternatively,ask some of your fellow grad students to sit in on your lecture and see if they can pass along any pointers. If neither of these are a good option, you can always videotape yourself giving a lecture,and then see what you think. It’s always easier to see a problem from an objective (or approximately objective) point of view.

Students are students - not friends (nor enemies) Face it, you will like some students better than others. Maybe you’ll have common interests,or maybe they’re more charming than their compatriots. Alternatively, you might have a student who never has a good question and you feel like every minute you spend on them is wasted. Whatever the issue, you have an ethical obligation to be fair to your students. This doesn’t mean doing their work for them (that’s unethical too!) but try to be available and equitable. Maybe, after the class is over, you’ll find time to befriend some of your students,but while the grades are being assigned, aim to keep things on an instructor-student basis.

You’re not alone Almost ten thousand graduate students currently attend Cal, and many of them have teaching questions (and problems) like you do. Luckily, in addition to departmental training assistance, the GSI Teaching and Resource Center provides funding, seminars, and a whole library on the subject of being a better instructor. For details on new resources and upcoming events, see their website at gsi.berkeley.edu. Oh,and the last 15 minutes you spent reading this totally count towards this week’s 20 hours.