Do you feel that faculty and staff members of your department, or university as a whole, don’t treat graduate students as well as you should be treated? I am here to assure you that you play a vital role in your department and university, and Chancellor Linda Katehi of the University of California in Davis agrees with me.

A few reasons universities value you as their graduate students include

• Graduate Teaching Positions – In order to save up money, many choose to teach during their time as a graduate student. Feel free to read some of the tips we have about holding teaching positions as a graduate student.
• Job Opportunities – You might decide to leave your university after earning your PhD, but many students continue their teaching positions to fill an open position or to help the department grow.
• Research Positions – The amount of research and data analysis that you conduct throughout your time as a graduate student will not go to waste. Sometimes, faculty members work with graduate students on their research, so if you’re one of these lucky ones, then you will very possibly be working with your mentor(s) through your dissertation process and maybe even after graduation.