Hello everyone.

Name is Alejandro "Alex" Diaz. Hail from San Diego California.

Currently I am working on my PhD in Biomedical Sciences at UCSD.

Any of my professors in here??? Hope not. Just kidding.

Anyways, I just wanted to say hi.

As far as my subject line goes, its true. I’m still not sure.

I’m curious if any of you struggled while in graduate school and what you did to overcome. Did any of you quit and have things work out in some other way? Let me/others know. Thanks.

Still Not Sure What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up

Hello everyone.

Name is Alejandro “Alex” Diaz. Hail from San Diego California.

Currently I am working on my PhD in Biomedical Sciences at UCSD.

Any of my professors in here??? Hope not. Just kidding.

Anyways, I just wanted to say hi.

As far as my subject line goes, its true. I’m still not sure.

I’m curious if any of you struggled while in graduate school and what you did to overcome. Did any of you quit and have things work out in some other way? Let me/others know. Thanks.

Hello Alexdiaz,
Welcome!
Bob

Alex, I still ask that question on a regular basis. Remember: When they tell you to shut up they mean stop talking, when they tell you to grow up they mean stop growing.

Don’t do it! Follow the path, see where it goes, be prepared to take interesting and unusual forks in the road when they present. Be ready for change…it is the only constant.

That’s how a 41year old high school drop out from Chicago, ended up posting on a CFI board during his morning coffee in Hong Kong.

Hey Alex and welcome. Biomedical sciences sounds fascinating, and UCSD is I am sure a great school and a lot of fun to be at.

That said, going through the Ph.D. process can be a real slog ... coursework is one thing, writing the dissertation is another. I made it through to the other side. I’m sure if you want to you can do the same.

That said, by all means choose your own path and do what makes YOU happy in the long term. Unless you have your heart set on a career in biomedical sciences, a Ph.D. is just three letters. They can be useful letters to have, but should be put in perspective.

Welcome to CFI, alex. This makes me think of something. how many people here are med students.

Re: Still Not Sure What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up

I’m sure this is common if not the rule.  Who knows what they want at age 21?

I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Finance so of course I’m a real estate broker!

Why?

It turns out I hated the engineering side of Chemical Engineering and had no special talents for the chemical side.  I probably was best suited for a law degree but no law school would have me after my mediocre grades in undergraduate school.  So I went for an MBA instead.

Of course, finance and economics were like a vacation after engineering so I aced that and graduated with honors. 

But I like writing and music best so I still have my own rock band - at age 55.

Make sense out of that.  I’m not complaining by the way.

Gerry Dantone

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Name is Alejandro “Alex” Diaz. Hail from San Diego California…

As far as my subject line goes, its true. I’m still not sure.

I’m curious if any of you struggled while in graduate school and what you did to overcome. Did any of you quit and have things work out in some other way? Let me/others know. Thanks.<<

thank you all for your kind and inspiring words.

yes, grad school has been a real slog for me too and i find that im not particularly motivated.

i saw a Anthony Robbins clip from the TED conferences on video.google and while i dont particularly enjoy his brand of ‘psychophysiophilosophy’ (just made that up) i found one of his comments really hit home.

he was talking about the idea of ‘resourcefulness’ (as opposed to those who blame a lack of resources on why things didnt work out which i find that i often do) as a trademark of successful people.

but my question is. wouldnt i be inclined to be more ‘resourceful’ if i actually was interested/motivated/inspired by my work?

[quote author=“alexdiaz”]i saw a Anthony Robbins clip from the TED conferences on video.google and while i dont particularly enjoy his brand of ‘psychophysiophilosophy’ (just made that up) i found one of his comments really hit home.

he was talking about the idea of ‘resourcefulness’ (as opposed to those who blame a lack of resources on why things didnt work out which i find that i often do) as a trademark of successful people.

but my question is. wouldnt i be inclined to be more ‘resourceful’ if i actually was interested/motivated/inspired by my work?

The quick answer, I think, is ‘yes’. Successful people, among other things, choose work to which they are suited. But unfortunately there is no real ‘program’ for finding the sort of self-contentment that gurus like Robbins peddle. In general, I think if you feel particularly lost in life, best to either:

(1) take a year off and travel, or otherwise give yourself plenty of time to think about where you’re going,

or

(2) find a good, qualified psychologist who will give you an hour a week of quality time to figure things out.

I suggest these rather than Robbins because there is really no one-size-fits-all answer to these problems.