Grad School Life: Surviving and Thriving Beyond Coursework and Research

Grad school isn’t easy. It’s even less easy when you’re also managing a second job, a family, or depression―or when you are a first-generation student, or if you come from an underrepresented group or a lower socioeconomic-status background. Grad students are overworked, overstressed, and over it.

Most grad school advice books focus on the professional side: finding funding, managing research and teaching, and applying for academic jobs. But students today face a difficult job market. Only a handful will obtain coveted tenure-track professorships, so they need alternative career prep. Plus, grad school is only one part of your life. And with an average age of 33 years, today’s students are juggling far more than school.

That’s where this book comes in. It will help you keep up a personal life, make the most of your time, and prepare for your career―whether in academia or beyond. This pragmatic book explains how to persevere through the grad school long haul, covering challenges both on and off campus. It shares candid, specific advice on personal finances, mental health, setting your own learning and career goals, maintaining friendships and relationships, and more.

Peppy, sensible, and smart, Grad School Life points out the pitfalls of academia and helps you build the life you want. With fresh insights, concrete suggestions and exercises, and helpful lists of resources, this book gives grad students a new roadmap for not only surviving but thriving―both in school and in the real world.

Jacqueline M. Kory-Westlund is a writer, artist, and independent scholar with the Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship. She received her PhD from the MIT Media Lab in 2019. As a student, she published many academic articles, earned top fellowships, got married and had kids, and even kept up with a couple hobbies. Kory-Westlund has worked for NASA developing autonomous vehicles and laser space robots, designed graphics for software startups, and currently consults for small businesses and think tanks on education, design, and technology.