Pro Tips for Grad Students in Statistics/Biostatistics (Part 2)

This is the second in my series on pro tips for graduate students in statistics/biostatistics. For more tips, see part 1. 

1. Meet with seminar speakers. When you go on the job market face recognition is priceless. I met Scott Zeger at UW when I was a student. When I came for an interview I already knew him (and Ingo, and Rafa, and ….). An even better idea…ask a question during the seminar.
2. Be a finisher. The key to getting a Ph.D. (other than passing your quals) is the ability to sit down and just power through and get it done. This means sometimes you will have to work late or on a weekend. The people who are the most successful in grad school are the people that just nd a way to get it done. If it was easy…anyone would do it.
3. Work on problems you genuinely enjoy thinking about/are
   passionate about. A lot of statistics (and science) is long periods of concentrated effort with no guarantee of success at the end. To be a really good statistician requires a lot of patience and effort. It is a lot easier to work hard on something you like or feel strongly about.