Surviving Your Stupid Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School by Adam Ruben

Surviving Your Stupid Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School Reviews

• 
  Alan Chen

  I was laughing almost literally from cover to cover. Considering that I rarely laugh or even smile, that is a monumental achievement. The author, a former PhD student, knows his stuff, knows what you're going through, and knows how to use that knowledge to make gallows humor instead of inducing (more) depression. The chuckles start from the beginning, with a 140 page book being led off by a Foreword, a Preface, a Prologue, AND an introduction.
  
  First of all, I want to make it clear that this book, while marketed for grad students, can easily be applied to any form of post-graduate education. I am a Master's student to be, not a PhD student, and all of the jokes were eminently funny. Simply put, most of the experiences are universal to all students at college age or over, from tactics on selecting the best recommendation letter ("you know a professor well and s/he likes you, but do you know 3?"), what students look like ("coffee mug, practically a body part"), talks (person reads the entire slide word for word, rendering the slide useless), conferences (sleeping in a hotel room, or a packing crate if your department is tightfisted), LolGrads, high school reunions and the type of people you'll meet there, and a comparison of grad school and various other schools (business, medical, culinary, obedience, etc).
  
  While at least 70% of the humor is universally relatable to any post-grad student (or to an undergrad in a particularly competitive program and/or who has worked on a research project/in a lab), a big portion will only apply directly to grad students (duh!). While med students may find it hard to relate to the chunks on quals, an incisive med student will be able to draw the connection between quals (a massive exam at the end of the 2nd year of a PhD program) and Step I (a massive exam at the end of the 2nd year of medical school). The section on undergrad stereotypes and their perceived whining for extra credit (and half a point!) will be instantly recognizable to any student who watched these tactics in action or, shamefully, used them in the past. Padding a dissertation may be irrelevant for someone in an MBA program, but it will stoke memories of the tricks used to pad and stretch undergrad essays (14 point font, double line spacing). And everyone can relate to the difficulties in finishing a degree, even if they don't have to jump through a conga line of thesis advisors to do it.
  
  The author is a member of Gen Y/the Millennials, and it shows with the amount of pop culture references that he salts his book with. This is a book where Neil Patrick Harris is trotted out as an example of how easy a medical program is (Doogie Howser, MD - late 1980s), compared to a PhD program (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - late 2000s). A sharp-eyed reader will be able to catch these references, and more importantly, see how well he has incorporated them so that they don't feel forced.
  
  But the best thing about the book is that the author never preaches. He didn't write a humor book so that people could learn a few lessons, like sugarcoating some bitter medicine. He wrote a humor so that the people in these programs could let off some steam and feel like at least someone else in the Universe knew their pain. The author only gets serious in the last 8 pages or so, and it's pretty good advice. Even this little lesson is written in a way so that the text reads like a person wrote it and not a professional author looking to game some book sales. Maybe that's the book's true strength: empathy.
  
  Easily 5/5 stars, "Wait, that clock can't be right." This book will help me survive my own endeavor, and I probably would have found it useful if I'd read it during undergrad (when I did research in a lab filled with students going through the full PhD treatment). For more humor like this, I recommend "PHDComics.com" and the Dent print cartoons from the NIH. There aren't many people who understand what higher-er education is like. We are fortunate that some of the few who do, decided to make humor out of that knowledge.
  
• 
  Aisha

  يستاهل خمسة نجوم بس عشان العنوان ههههههه
  
  The Title alone is worth the five starts lol
• 
  Atila Iamarino

  Ri bastante sozinho, como não ria lendo um livro há tempos. Rápido de ler, e muito bem humorado. Tem ótimas sacadas sobre a pós-graduação, que descrevem muito bem o que se encontra, na linha PhD Comics. Poucas e valiosas dicas realmente relevantes para quem está na pós, mas perfeito para saber o que o aguarda.
• 
  Khalid

  Hi there fellow graduate students. This review is for you.
  
  This book is a sarcastic take on grad school life written by a former PhD student. So as you can imagine there’s really nothing to review here, but I gotta say this was a fun read and if you’re one of those who willingly decided to spend whatever’s left of their twenties stranded in a lab working +10 hours on a topic that only you and two other people care about then this book is for you as it will surely justify your “Your Stupid Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School” or at least, it will make you feel less miserable about it and also you will get a chuckle out of it as a bonus!
• 
  Nutkin

  I received this book from another friend who escaped her own grad school hell and knew I could use a pick-me-up; was she ever right!
  
  The author takes you through different points, from thinking about going to grad school, dealing with undergrads and finally trying to get out of grad school. I think he could've put more into the writing one's thesis or dissertation section since most of us have to spend so much time on it, but overall, this book was hilarious and allowed me to really laugh at all the bang-on comments and tips. Some points actually caused me to laugh out loud. It's a relatively quick and easy read, which is nice. While most of it is comedic, it does end with a short bit of serious advice. It was a great way to finish it up.
  
  I would recommend this book to any undergrad, graduate student or former graduate student. It would be amazing if supervisors gave this book out during orientation!
• 
  Sonora

  when i was 22 years old, this book near-singlehandedly convinced me to give up pursuit of a PhD in anthropology. all i can say is: thank GOD i don't have to live out the consequences of the stupid stupid aspiration of my romantic 22-year-old self to go to grad school.
  
  DON'T COMMIT TO GRAD SCHOOL (ESP IN THE HUMANITIES/SOCIAL SCIENCES) WITHOUT READING THIS BOOK COVER-TO-COVER KIDS!!! even if it doesn't convince you otherwise, it is still valuable to know the worst of what you can expect in the next 10 years.
• 
  Keenan

  Pithy, over-the-top, and weirdly imaginative, this is a cute little book that really only makes sense for those that have already entered postgraduate study, for whom it is often too late to change course. Some genuinely helpful advice about screwing with undergraduates, a scary look into the fact that some graduate programs force you into debt (!), and a few funny remarks about the ridiculousness of campus life after 22. Good for a quick read!
• 
  Sarah

  Some of it was not really my type of humor, maybe. A few things made me chuckle (rants about seminars and undergrads), but otherwise it seemed a little over the top. Or maybe I'm in a good program. Or maybe I just don't hate everything quite that much yet. I have no idea.
• 
  Sarah Myers

  Read to be sure I was sure.
• 
  Chandan Sinha

  In childhood, you start reading because you enjoy these little fun stories that tickle your imagination, later in adolescence, you read either because you have to or you are drawn to these sagas that transport you to an alternate world, and in adulthood if you still continue to read novels, it is either because you want to expand your knowledge or you have that childhood's wonder still intact or, here's the fun one, you are looking for answers to the problems of your life in someone else's, be that someone real or imaginary. And while my motivation to read ticks all those boxes, it is especially the last one that makes me feel so grateful about all the amazing books out there.
  
  So when I, being in grad school now, felt utterly lost in the conundrum of important choices and battling the unproductive days, this book landed on my list just when I needed it the most. Although it has been in my TBR for a while now, I started reading this now, thinking maybe, just maybe, I will find my answers here, even though it looked like one of those just-for-fun books on the outset. And for almost 99% of this book, it is exactly that - an extremely accurate yet humourous take on everything that transpires in grad school (regardless of your stream). 'But don't judge a book by its cover', they say.
  
  You read, you laugh, you get sad because it's all so true but then you laugh anyway. You feel a little sad that this book will end sometime soon but you are enjoying it so much. You also realize that you haven't gotten anything useful out of this book and you will probably forget anything you read after it's finished. 'Well, it was fun while it lasted.'
  
  But then you find yourself at the end of the book, literally at the last paragraph, and you see the golden sentence you have been desperately searching for - 'take control'. Take control of the situation, take control of your destiny, take control of things that happen to you and make the most of the opportunity and resources you have been given. That's why you are here.
  
  That's all I needed to hear. Thank you, Mr. Ruben, thank you for this advice and for all the laughs. This book is an absolute treasure.
• 
  Osama Qandeel

  Its very sad to read this while in grad school 😂
• 
  Zach

  Pretty funny, pretty short
• 
  Sylvia

  I read this while I should have been doing my (never-ending) work for grad school. I'm so far behind now.
  
  Whoops.
  
  In the wise words of Gob Bluth,
  
  "I've made a huge mistake".
• 
  Devon Bowser

  "It's possible that many graduate programs want you to get depressed, say "F**k it," and take charge of your own destiny. They may consider this part of your necessary struggle. Well, so be it. Wait no longer. Take charge now."
  
  While most of the book spends its time poking fun of graduate students and harping on all the stereotypes (which don't get me wrong were very funny and probably true in some cases), the epilogue was a 2-page long reminder of all the advice that should be given to college grads prior to starting graduate school. I found the quote above to be the best summary of all that advice and it was a reminder that ultimately I control my destiny.
• 
  Sara Walker

  بعضی از جمک‌هاش خیلی بامزه بودن. و خب بله، زندگی آکادمیک همینه. تازه این توصیف‌های زندگی مرفه بود.
  و تنها توصیه‌ی جدی و واقعی و مفیدش یک چیزه: کنترل رو به دست بگیر.
  من این رو از تجربه‌ی قبلی می‌دونم:
  موفقیت آکادمیک رو باید «علی‌رغم» آکادمی به دست بیاری، نه با همراهی اون.
  یعنی هر چه که دشواری علمی و پژوهشی داری رو باید رد کنی، دشواری‌های بوروکراتیک و سیاست داخلی و بینافردی و کلی ظرايف دیگه هم هست. نمی‌تونی که بدون دیسیپلین باشی از اساس. حالا دیگه جنبه‌های دیگر زندگی‌ت هم هست، از کار و پول بگیر تا روابط شخصی و خانوادگی.
  و بعد همه‌ی این‌ها توی ایران امروز. چه شود!
• 
  Elizabeth Gillingham

  Two stars seems lame, but really, it was sort of funny, not super funny. One insight I believe I gleaned: it's possible that teaching undergrads could be worse than teaching high school. I will keep this in mind.
• 
  howl of minerva

  You'll laugh, you'll cry, it won't change anything because it's much, much too late.
• 
  Abigail Advincula

  Read this book while running a 6-hour column to purify a compound. I tipped the book below a 45 degree angle so that no one else thought I was the end of my rope or something. I was lucky my advisor didn't walk in. Professor Reynolds, if you ever come across this, please know that you are nothing like the apathetic caricatures depicted in this tome.
  
  This book is alternately uproariously funny and morbidly depressing. It also reminds me of how much I lucked out in general with grad school. Anyways, it's peppered with some laughably cheeky/bad advice.
  
  Some excellent examples:
  
  "Grad school would seem exactly like purgatory if it weren't so much like hell."
  
  "Don't go to grad school."
  
  "Beware of seminars whose titles are structures as "Something Interesting:Something Boring." For example: "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll:Hydroxymethylcarbonyl Isotere-Based Dipeptidomimetics Targeting Malarial Aspartic Protease Plasmepsin.""
  
  "Become a postdoctoral fellow, and you can do this sh*t in your thirties, too."
  
  And my personal favorite...
  
  "If your significant other complains that you're always off studying, lie and say you're having an affair."
• 
  Linh Nguyen

  If you like the bitter, self-deprecating kind of humour, this might make you chuckle. Even better if you've been through a bit of grad school. But pass a certain point, the humour was becoming stale to my taste. There's recognising the misery and finding solace in humour, but it would've been a much better book if the author manage to balance out the negativity and bitterness with some honest experience to give the grad students' life a more complete picture.
  
  Well obviously, the point of the book is over-the-top satire. But it is also too much whining and a dash of overly self-victimisation. The epilogue/afterwords was a nice positive cheer at the end, but it was too little, too late to save the rest of the book. It was like one single air horn at a very sad party.
• 
  Nataly Dybens

  Luckily funny for me though there were still a few pop culture/internet references that went over my head (and many intellectual ones as well). Simple to ready; it employs some of its own advice by including pictures and adding extra bits of "advice" along the way. It keeps you in good spirits while reading ironically about the suffering of grad students (majoritively). I will say after all it's somewhat sarcastic negativity, the books ends with a seemingly authentic and helpful epilogue that many probably won't appreciate until you get thru all the crap :P
• 
  Faith Cushing

  4.5 stars
  
  I ordered this book with a stack of other (more serious) books about grad school. I was not expecting to find one that would make me laugh out loud. This book is funny, even as someone who has not yet experienced the pain and anguish described as grad school. The exaggerated humor made me chuckle while also wondering what the he** I'm trying to get myself into. If you're not fond of language, heavy sarcasm, or if you're looking for a nice encouraging book about all the reasons to go get that next degree, this hilarious masterpiece is not the book for you.
• 
  Sebastian Lopez

  “Grad school would seem exactly like purgatory if it weren’t so much like hell.”
  
  “After all, the decision to attend grad school is made with the heart, not with the head. And your heart is a moron. Your heart says, “I love to learn!” while your head says, “Hey, wait a minute. I’m the one who has to do the learning!””
  
  “But you can’t fight an organ that could kill you at any moment, so listen to your heart. If it says, “Go to grad school,” you know what to do. (See a doctor. It’s supposed to say, “Ka-thump, ka-thump.” Seriously. If your heart speaks words, you’re fucked.)”
• 
  Natalie Charamut

  I was literally laughing the entire time reading this book. The satire is unfortunately so true that the only thing to do it laugh. I would not recommend reading if you don’t want to be discouraged about your stupid decision to go to grad school. If you are already in the thick of it, this is a good laugh.
• 
  B.

  Even now, more than a decade after it was first published, the content is still relevant - which is kinda sad when you think about it. That being said, I got this one because the title made me laugh. Much of this one is not applicable to distance ed. grad school, but it's still good for a bit of a chuckle.
• 
  Michelle

  Keeping the sobriety of a dead-end career fueled by passion (and coffee, well, more coffee really) in academia light-hearted, what's not to love? Don't worry, there is almost 0 preaching or any form of life-lesson overtly gouging your eyes as you recover from endless giggles.
• 
  Michael DeWhatley

  It was definitely a funny book, but I would have loved to have read the version of this book where the author talked more about his personal experiences in grad school. There’s a section about his honeymoon and the epilogue that display a sincerity with humor that I wish he’d have explored more.
• 
  Patrick

  Even though I constantly worried about whether the jokes were inappropriate, this book was excellent. If you don’t like any other parts of it (but surely you will) it’s still worth it for the call to action at the end. Good stuff