Lee Mundy
(PhD. Astronomy,
1984; Neal Evans II, Supervisor)
Professor and Chair of Astronomy Department
University of Maryland
(lgm@astro.umd.edu)
Advice: Plan for your success. Have a 5 and 10 year plan for where you would like to be and make decisions that enable that plan. This might relate to your choice of research area: is it a growth area? is my professional development well timed with developments in the field so that my skills and knowledge will be in demand? This might relate to choices between gaining teaching experience, or lab experience, or developing computational skills: what is the cost benefit analysis for your 10 year goal?
Do what you enjoy and are good at. Success in graduate school and in academics requires hard work. You must be self-motivated. If you don't like what you are doing, if you are playing to your weaknesses rather than your strengths, you are unlikely to keep yourself on track for success.