On Maximizing the Productivity of Your Graduate Students

Or, how may hours should graduate students work?

Well, depends...

• However Many You Like
• As Many As They Can
• As Many As Are Needed
• All Of Them

The answer may sometimes lie in the above range, sometimes may be somewhat less, and occasionally even more.

We've all been there, and all suffer from survivor bias, confirmation bias and not a little survivor's guilt.

The occasion of course, is The Letter very helpfully sent to all the astronomy graduate students at a distinguished research university by a well intentioned distinguished faculty member.

It is causing quite the buzz in astro social media, including the increasingly useful "Astronomers" group on fb.

Kelly at Astro Better started it

A number of colleagues have opined:

Julianne at CV has a good take

John John provides a good perspective

The Telescope peers at it from the across the pond

Ethan takes a calm overview

I am not going to chime in at this point - I am currently the Head of Graduate Studies at one of the larger astronomy departments, and will be spending some time next week discussing such things with our first year grads at our "freshman graduate student" seminar.

Then I may be able to say something productive...