To attain our categorical long-term interest in completing the requirements for the Ph.D we must pass specific milestones in timely fashion. The Survival Skills and Ethics program at the University of Pittsburgh provides excellent resources your instructor may wish to discuss with you, including:

-> Meeting progress to degree milestones

-> Writing research articles

-> Attending professional meetings

-> Evaluating research seminars

-> Grantpersonship

-> Keeping laboratory notebooks in the natural and physical sciences

-> Creating visual aids

-> Writing letters of recommendation

-> Speaking to multi-cultural audiences

Each of these steps requires that you document your every move. Record your thoughts about important conversations you hold with your supervisors and mentors; progress and problems in your research; and counsel you receive from superiors and give to subordinates. If in doubt as to whether to write something down, err on the side of caution.