Advice to Incoming PhD Students

Pete Boettke offers some excellent advice to the incoming class of students in GMU's PhD program in economics:

Take your core classes seriously. Read everything on the syllabus and study harder than you ever have before. To me the core classes are Micro and Macro, especially Micro. Math Econ and Econometrics are techique courses and as such are necessary, but not sufficient courses in your education. You need to master the material, but you don't have to "live" the material to be a good economist. But you cannot be a good economist unless you live and breathe microeconomics. In fact, I often tell students studying for core exams to remember that microeconomics is one true theory with many applications, while macroeconoics is no true theory with a variety of opinions.

I would recommend that to any student hoping to be a good economist -- read and absorb everything you can from Armen Alchian. The Snowden and Vane book Modern Macroeconmics is probably the best survey, so read it. Just wrap your head around the competing theories, and keep in mind that while there may be macroeconoimc problems, there are only microeconomic solutions.

The last thing, start writing don't wait. I published the very first paper I wrote in graduate school --- which I wrote a first draft of the summer of 1984. Writing is research, don't fall into the trap of believing you need to read and read and read before putting ideas down on paper. Instead learn to read and write at the same time and constantly revise your work based on what you are learning.

What should the class of 2008-2009 read this summer?

1. Alchian
2. Alpha Chiang on math econ
3. Kennedy on econometrics
4. Cowen on Discover Your Inner Economist (the best Wicksteedian work since Wicksteed)
5. Harford The Undercover Economist and the Logic of Life
6. Caldwell's Hayek's Challenge

To this list, I would also add the Snowden and Vane Modern Macroeconomics book Professor Boettke mentioned as 100% required reading for GMU students. If (like me), you are coming into the PhD program without any economic background whatsoever, I'd also strongly recommend Greg Mankiw's Principles of Economics and Macroeconomics textbooks as essential reading.

Graduate education is NOT undergraduate education on steriods --- if it is presented as such, run the other way if you want to be a serious researcher in the field. Embrace the challenge of learning how to think creatively and write clearly.

And finally, find the brightest and those who love economics among your fellow students and become close friends, and pursue the graduate education and research journey together. You will learn as much, if not more, from your fellow students as compared to your professors. Choose wisely.

A few other tips I'd give, learning from a few of my own mistakes and successes along the way:

• Focus. Clear your schedule of everything other than reading everything on your syllabus, like Professor Boettke mentioned. I made the mistake of getting a part-time job my first year, which restricted how much time I had to study. Particularly with my deficient economics background (and having been out of school for much longer than most of my peers), I would have benefited tremendously from extra time with my head in the books. I would have also benefited from making much more time to write.
  
• Don't let confusion stop you from reading. Work through the articles and text and let it prompt you with questions. If you're like me, you may find this process a bit frustrating, but go through it anyway. Follow-up on the questions that come up and use them to fill in holes in your knowledge and direct your questions and reading.
• Write. I made the mistake of not writing much my first year because I felt like I didn't know enough to contribute anything. Write anyway. Professor Wagner once said "thinking without writing is merely daydreaming." I completely agree. As you write, it will help crystallize what you do and don't know. This will lead you down new paths of thinking and research and is the quickest way I know of to prepare yourself to contribute.
  
• Get to know your professors. Take advantage of access to your professors and make sure your profs know who you are. Don't be shy about going to see them with any questions you might have. The profs here at GMU are incredibly accessible. Be active in class and actively participate in the learning. If you are easily distracted, don't take a laptop to class and write out your notes and/or buy a Neo instead. Take classes from the professors who inspire you and whose work you enjoy.
  
• Have fun. Graduate school can be incredibly rewarding and a ton of fun. Enjoy the process. Particularly at GMU, you'll have a ton of opportunities to attend a seminars and workshops on a wide variety of issues and have the chance to meet some of the most interesting people you've probably ever met in your life. GMU is a great place to get a graduate education in economics. It's no accident my blog is still the #1 Google hit for "I love GMU".

To all the incoming PhD students at GMU, good luck to all of you. I look forward to seeing you here this fall.

P.S. -- Dan D'Amico has a list of books he wishes he would have read before starting GMU's PhD program. Elsewhere, Josh Wright strongly agrees with Dr. Boettke's advice.