The older students around me were working 60+ hours per week solely on research. In that meeting, I decided I would do anything to pass the final qualifying exams at the end of January to “prove myself,” even if it meant stepping away from research.
He warned me against taking on extracurriculars that could prevent me from spending more time in the lab. Research really started in the second year, he emphasized.
When January of my first year rolled around, my advisor expressed concern that I hadn’t passed all the exams. While I happily received the coveted B+ in my quantum class, by the end of my first semester, I still had three written qualifying exams ahead of me. The four exam topics are quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, statistical mechanics, and electricity and magnetism. If a student does not pass all the exams in this period, they go before a committee that typically forces them to “master out” of the PhD program (i.e. Eventually, I stopped working in lab against the wishes of my group, and I prayed that passing the exams would be enough to keep me in the program.Įvery physics graduate student at MIT must pass four written qualifying exams (or the equivalent class with a B+ or higher) to stay in the program after the first year and a half. I knew I was expected to complete fifty hours of lab training per week, but that would leave no time to study. I needed to prepare for the physics department’s written qualifying exams, but attaining passing scores didn’t seem possible with full-time research. This continued every day for three weeks. I got less and less sleep, and nothing I did calmed my anxiety. Exhausted and demoralized, I thought of how I was letting my parents down. The pounding remained in my stomach, throat, and head throughout the day. and left for the library with my heart pounding. 26, 2019Įach morning during the first January of graduate school, I woke up at 7 a.m.
Opinion guest column How MIT makes work-life balance impossible As a graduate student, I’ve often had to sacrifice my health for my work By Alyssa Rudelis Sep.
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