转载翻译自：http://www.pgbovine.net/early-stage-PhD-advice.htm
# 每周读一遍激励自己 #
1.对PHD阶段所要面临的挑战做足心理准备。
Ph.D.-level research will be much more difficult than undergraduate research both in terms of the technical aspects and also the emotional stresses.
2.不要轻易怀疑自己的智商，认可、鼓励、鞭策自己
Everyone starts a Ph.D. program with an incredible amount of potential. But most students never come close to approaching their full potential for creative research achievements. And the reason is never because they're not smart or technically capable enough; everyone who gets admitted is smart enough. Rather, non-cognitive factors such as a lack of emotional resilience, grit, perseverance, and self discipline are the main contributors to failure at the Ph.D. level.
3.学会管理好两种情绪：不确定性和孤独感
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uncertainty – You have no idea whether the hard work you are putting into your project even matters.
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isolation – Nobody around you understands or empathizes with what you are doing, since they either lack technical context or are too busy with their own creative struggles
4.学会站在导师的角度考虑问题
你要知道，导师也是一个有着自己真实需要、真实情感以及存在不可避免的偏差的人。
- Does your advisor have tenure?
If not, then their top priority is earning tenure so that they can keep their job. If you work with an untenured advisor, then your work will directly contribute to their tenure case. Thus, untenured advisors are usually more hands-on and provide more structure for their Ph.D. students' careers. Also, untenured advisors are easier to read, since their main professional goal is to build a compelling research portfolio for their tenure case.
If your advisor already has tenure, then they might have varying motivations. Do they want to build up a larger and more ambitious research program? Are they trying to break into a new line of research? Are they now more focused on professional service, advocacy, or teaching? Tenured advisors tend to be a bit more hands-off since their careers aren't as dependent on their Ph.D. students' performance. But of course, there are many tenured advisors who are still just as hungry for success as they were in their younger, untenured years. It's ultimately up to you to gauge their motivations and priorities.
- 如何让导师愿意帮助你？
Even for the most level-headed and kind-hearted professor, it's hard not to play favorites.
One way is by demonstrating that you have impeccable work ethic and great potential for future success, so that they feel like their time is being well spent.
Another way is to discover what truly excites them and adapt your interests to theirs.
5. 保持耐心，学会应对 peer pressure，学会寻求 peer support
6.让自己承担一定的责任
业界和学术界的主要差异即：在业界，你总是有工作团队、有具体的工作任务，你清楚的知道每天的工作目标，而在学术界，你总是work alone，没有具体到每天的任务量，没有细分到每天都需要承担的压力。Thus, it's much easier to slip through the cracks in academia because you are often not on anybody's critical path.
学会将自己的成功与他人利益“挂钩”，设立“共同”的目标，让自己对他人承担一定的责任来敦促自己。
One hack is to find ways to make yourself accountable to other people. Thereby simulating this desirable aspect of industry jobs. If you can tie your success directly to someone else's, then they will be more likely to keep you on track and making consistent progress toward your mutual goals.
