Surviving Grad School as International Students | PhD Tips from Mom & Dad 

It is good to bring your parents to your channel. This video not only provides the valuable information to international students, but also reveals it's preciousness in recording your family.

Loved this episode ❤

I come from abroad ("third-world" country). I have three reasons for doing a Ph.D. in the US: 1) I am in a tremendous well of depression that has lasted for years. Unable to do anything, alone 99% of the time, in my apartment 99% of the time, doing nothing noteworthy 99% of the time. Life going nowhere. I felt the only way I could recover any sense of community at all was by "forcing" me to be part of a community. I feel the only community where I can be somewhat functional is an academic or artistic group. Thus, with a lot of internal effort, I applied to several Ph.D. programs. Amazingly I got in to several programs, including some schools within the top 10 rankings. Good stipends, specially for the Humanities. I feel there is a very good chance that, in Europe, I will just arrive there, be eaten alive by depression, and fail miserably. The "environment" is set for this, while in the US because of the classes, your job as a T.A., etcetera, I feel this is less likely to happen. I chose the US and not Europe because a Ph.D. in Europe you just do your research and there is a much more limited sense of community, specially in the Humanities. The only big dilemma I have about choosing the US over Europe is that in Europe, if you have a masters, you can be done with your Ph.D. in 2-3 years. I am no spring chicken, and this is still a major point of consideration. 2) In the US it is incredibly easy to get funded. You just apply. Any decent school will fully fund you. Unlike 99% of other countries, you just forget about separate applications for scholarships/fellowships. 3) In the US it is incredibly easy to get an academic position after you graduate. This is the "norm" for Ph.D. grads, specially for those graduating in a top 50 school. This is not the norm at all in other countries, including Europe, specially in the Humanities. All of this being said, I am still uncertain if I really wanna do the Ph.D., because of the reasons I enlisted above. I have also been out of academia for over 10 years, which is a big question mark inside of me.

I have been considering applying for a PhD in EE (specifically in RF design) for a while now, and while I was searching for advice online, I stumbled upon this video. As a first gen Asian American, I am really envious of others having parents that are able to provide academic advice! This video was really helpful. Thanks Janice :)

More parent videos please! They are so wise. Love the video and all of your videos. Thank you for sharing.

I enjoyed hearing your mom and dad’s experiences. Your parents look young and beautiful. It was inspiring to learn about their love of education and motivation for self improvement. Those ideals I hold dear too. I learned the importance of gravitating towards good people that can encourage you to grow. Hard work is the foundation of everything. The opportunities come from putting in the work. Can’t cherry pick what you spend your time on. Opportunities can come from any area of study. To enjoy what you are doing. This is a great story of valuing education and developing their love for each other. All of those lessons can be applied to any endeavor in life. Parental advice is so powerful. Thanks for the inspiration Janice.

I'm surprised at the low view counts on this channel. I think that future students will find the vids useful.

Mama pancake and dad pancake with janpancake 🤯🤯🤯🤯

I finished the video and wow, I really love your parents' insights and wisdom. Thank you so much for putting up the video. Some of the advices that I really from your parents are:- 1) Finding something that we are passionate about, pay is a good thing, but once it reaches a certain threshold, it shouldnt be that much of a factor 2) Work hard and do your best in what you are given (I made a lot of mistakes with this during my bachelor, I wish I did my best)

I'm almost halfway through the interview and it's really to hear perspectives from both of your parents :) Thanks a lot for bringing them

Thank you for taking the time to have your parents share their experiences! Thank you!

There's a lot of wisdom in this video.

You're mom's advice @27:11 was actually really helpful. It's special to hear how your parents talk about their career. Not all families value education, especially for women who decide to study, so I enjoyed hearing your mom's perspective.

I love this chat, especially the mom's advice @20:30. It is true if it lasts for 30 years. Time will only make it more valuable. Thanks you all❤

I've always wanted to know more about your parents! 😍🤩 I wish you'd asked about their research interests.

What an amazing family, extremely educated and highly insightful on life’s journey… You’re a great child to them and I hope you’ll be a greater mother to your future children!

Thank you!

How can we conclude a professor is a good person for our future supervisor just by email? (if we still in our home country and only can reach them by email or contact professor by email)

7:27 DAYUM! Jk #AMP 😂