Readings

The readings for Tuesday, September 13 are:

Graduate School

• HOWTO: Get into grad school for science, engineering, math and computer science

• Choosing a PhD in Computer Science

• So, you want to go to grad school?

• The PhD Grind

  • Response: The PhD Grind, and Why Research Isn't Like Sex

• Graduate School Is a Means to a Job

• A Survival Guide to a PhD

Work-Life Balance

• Family:

  • Why Women Still Can't Have It All

    A followup: Why I Put My Wife's Career First

    A reaction: Can modern women "have it all"?

  • The Work-Family Imbalance

  • Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace

    A reaction: I Had a Baby and Cancer When I Worked at Amazon. This Is My Story

    A response: Full memo: Jeff Bezos responds to brutal NYT story, says it doesn't represent the Amazon he leads

    Another response: Amazon is piloting teams with a 30-hour workweek

  • Silicon Valley: Perks for Some Workers, Struggles for Parents

  • Silicon Valley's Best and Worst Jobs for New Moms (and Dads)

  • "Eat, sleep, code, repeat" is such bullshit

• Burnout:

  • Regretting the Golden Handcuffs
  • The Research Is Clear: Long Hours Backfire for People and for Companies
  • Marissa Mayer: Why Work Burnout Is About Resentment
  • Avoiding Burnout
  • The other side of paradise
  • Burnout and Recovery at a Tech Internship

Bonus

Maybe relevant. Maybe not.

• On Parenthood

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. As with most things in life, graduate school has its costs and benefits. Based on what you've read and experienced, what are some of those trade-offs? Have you seriously considered graduate school? What are the factors that you've considered and what are your motivations? How have you prepared for graduate school? What do you want to accomplish by going to graduate school?

   If you have any questions you wish to ask about graduate school, please list them at the end of your post.

2. From the readings and from your experience, can men and women have it all? That is, can parents have successful and fulfilling careers while also raising a family and meeting other non-work related goals? What can companies do to support their workers to find this balance and are they ethically obliged to do so? Is this balance important to you and if so, how do you hope to maintain it?

3. From the readings and from your experience, what are the causes of burnout? Have you ever experienced burnout? How did you overcome it or mitigate its effects? As you enter the workforce, how do you plan on preventing burnout or becoming overly stressed and burdened by work and responsibilities?

Feedback

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the course, please provide your feedback at the end of your response.