What They Didn't Teach in Graduate School

A book you might find useful for working with your doctoral students or that might be helpful for new tenure-stream faculty is Paul Gray and David E. Drew, What They Didn’t Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career (Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2008). The authors consider research and publication, building on one’s dissertation, job hunting for academic positions, teaching and service considerations, the tenure process, academic ranks and salaries, the academic lifestyle, and quality of life issues. In a foreword by Laurie Richlin, she writes, “Although professors are deeply concerned about their subjects, their students’ learning, and their institutions’ culture, most receive no preparation to deal with the complex issues involved in being a faculty member” (p. xvii). I think most of us can attest to this reality. It is something I am trying to change with my teaching of LIS 3000, Introduction to Doctoral Studies, if only by introducing new doctoral students to guide such as this one.