A graduate student in the sciences and engineering has to attend conferences, write journal articles, navigate collaborations, negotiate for lab equipment, mediate between squabbling lab mates, indulge eccentric professors, teach undergraduates, and secure funding every semester. Undergrad teaches you none of these skills, and no one warns you before you start grad school that you need them.

"Good Grad " is a practical-and politically incorrect-guide for current and future grad students trying to unravel the mysteries of the master's degree and Ph.D. For most of your time in grad...