The French have an expression which describes the current grad. school
situation and advice that's been given (at least to us old-timers) that
goes "plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose" (apologies for the lack of
accents) which translates loosely into our English expression "the more
things change, the more they stay the same". Given that the same advice
seems to be repeated over and over I thought that I'd just post my very
short article on choosing a major professor published 14 years ago in 1998
now you can even have something to cite <g>.
*NOTES FROM THE BLACKBOARD (1998)*
(*Fisheries 23*:16-17)
By
Gary D. Grossman
The recent sustained growth of the United States economy has had a direct
impact on the field of fisheries, as more and more individuals have become
interested in both revenue-producing and recreational activities involving
fishes. Concomitant with this growth is an apparent proliferation of
educational opportunities in our field. Although there probably are more
jobs available in fisheries today than ever before, a surfeit of well
qualified graduates has made competition for these jobs particularly
intense. Consequently, it is not uncommon for highly trained fisheries
graduates to have difficulty in obtaining employment in the field. These
circumstances necessitate that future graduates be highly prepared, if they
hope to gain a job as a fisheries manager or researcher. In fact, most
professional positions in fisheries now require at least a Masters degree.
Given that graduate training is an essential credential for the prospective
fisheries biologist, I would like to share several pointers that I have
learned over the 16 years that I have been training graduate students. I
suspect that these suggestions will be of benefit to a wider audience than
just my students alone. Of necessity, I am going to speak in generalities
here, and I am well aware that not every strategy works every time, or for
every person. In addition, although I recognize that Fisheries has an
international readership, my comments probably will be most relevant to
residents of the United States, the region of my expertise. I will begin
with suggestions on how to choose a major professor or graduate program and
end with strategic hints for current graduate students interested in
improving their potential employability.
First, your choice of graduate program and major professor probably will
have a greater impact on future employment than any other educational
decision that you will make. Consequently, before deciding to join a
faculty member's research group, inquire about the placement rate of
graduates from her/his lab. Like most activities that engage a variety of
people, I suspect students will find that some faculty have high placement
rates, whereas other professors have no idea of the number of former
students currently working in the field. The same can be said for graduate
programs: some have very high placement rates of their students (this tends
to most true at the state biologist level), whereas others have a poor
record. Despite the importance of these factors, in my years of
interviewing prospective graduate students, rarely have I been asked about
the placement rates of either former students, or our graduate program. My
point is that students must recognize that both graduate programs and major
professors vary in quality, and if a choice is made without evaluating the
relative merits of a given major professor or program, then a substantial
handicap may be incurred.
Second, one of the best ways of evaluating professors or graduate programs
is by talking to former students. Although discussions with current
students can be helpful, of necessity these students may be less candid
than former students are. As with most discussions of important personnel
matters, it probably is just as important to register what is not said as
to note what is said. Finally, make an attempt to match your strengths and
weaknesses as a student to your major professor's style of supervision. If
you function best independently, do not choose a major professor who thinks
that graduate students are incapable of washing their hands by themselves.
Alternatively, if you require occasional prodding to complete tasks, then
working with a more interactive major professor may be best for you. Like
all bosses or mentors, major professors come in a wide variety of flavors
and sizes and you need to choose one who will best compliment your
abilities and needs as a graduate student.
Third, ask for a copy of your potential major professor's curriculum vita,
then examine it carefully. Determine whether or not this professor is
actively publishing, and if so, is she/he publishing in first rank
journals? Does the professor have publications that are independent of
their graduate students? Does she/he have a good record of grant support?
Do they regularly attend professional meetings and give invited papers and
seminars? Has the professor won teaching awards? Does she/he have strong
contacts at other universities, federal and state agencies? Although few
professors can meet all of these criteria, a strong major professor will
meet most of them.
Fourth, if getting a job is your sole reason for going to graduate school,
be sure to examine job postings and talk to perspective employers before
choosing a research topic. You will find that there are major discrepancies
in the employment opportunities of graduates in the various subdisciplines
of fisheries. Make sure you choose a graduate program that provides
training in a subdiscipline in which there is high job availability. For
example, graduates in quantitative population dynamics seem to have great
success gaining positions regardless of the market, whereas students who
undertake basic natural history studies of species with little economic
importance, frequently have great difficulty finding jobs. (I am not
commenting on the relative merits of these two research areas, just on the
employability of students who pursue them.) In addition, if time permits
try to gain proficiency in a secondary discipline (GIS training, population
modeling, etc.). You have to be well qualified to obtain a position in
fisheries, but having strengths in more than one area will greatly increase
your chances of employment.
Fifth, if you are a PhD student and you want an academic job, try to obtain
part-time teaching experience prior to graduation (e.g., small liberal arts
schools frequently hire part-time faculty). I am suggesting teaching your
own undergraduate lecture class, not being a teaching assistant. And make
sure that you have student evaluations for the class. Nothing impresses
search committees more than someone who is strong in both research and
teaching, and has the publications and teaching evaluations to prove it.
Teaching experience, especially diverse teaching experience, is
particularly important for positions at small four-year institutions, where
a biology department may consist of 3-7 faculty who cover all aspects of
the discipline.
Sixth, write your dissertation in chapters which can be submitted for
publication independently. (Make sure your committee agrees to this
beforehand.) Many students who are close to finishing their degrees are
eliminated from searches due to a lack of publications. Publishing prior to
graduation will reduce the probability of this occurring. In addition, it
shows that you are productive and can meet the standard expected of
researchers. Finally, it will greatly increase your chances of securing a
position before you finish, if you can say, "Well chapter one is out,
chapter two is in press, and I'm almost finished with the final chapter".
Seventh, network, network, network: go to meetings, present papers and
posters, ask your major professor to introduce you to senior scientists and
potential employers, or go up and politely introduce yourself. Polite is
the operative word here, because being pushy will definitely work against
you. All these activities will increase the probability that a potential
employer will be able to recall a face when she/he looks at your
application. This will yield a definite advantage over other applicants. In
addition, you will increase your chances of hearing about positions before
they are officially advertised (e.g. many positions are advertised by word
of mouth long before the copy appears in Science or Fisheries).
In closing, my list, though hardly exhaustive, is meant to provide students
with constructive advice on how to choose a graduate program, or if already
enrolled, how to increase your chances of obtaining a job in the field of
fisheries. It is clear that the students of today face great uncertainty
with respect to future employment, nonetheless the rewards of a career in
fisheries can be tremendously satisfying on both personal and professional
levels.
Acknowledgments This contribution benefitted from the comments of Cecil
Jennings and members of the Fish Ecology Internet Newsgroup. In addition,
Patton (1996, Fisheries 21:14) has provided many other valuable suggestions
on the general topic of how graduate students can improve their
qualifications.
