Advice to Students

Let me start by saying that my own program would not rank very high on all the points made below, and my objective with this page is not to promote my own program. Moreover, this is an attempt to give prospective undergraduate and/or graduate students something to think about when choosing where to do research, what to think about when choosing supervisor, and at what university to do the research. The points below are not in any particular order of importance.
 
A graduate project should be structured, so that it matches your main interests, and what you think will be your career path (at this point in time, and that may very well change).​ Try to identify the types of research that you enjoy - modeling, laboratory analysis, field work, interaction with growers, regulatory aspects, GIS, behavioral assays, etc. Identify 5-10 of these types and rank them - that will give you and your prospective advisor a good idea about what type of project that fits your profile. Also, rank in order : Research, Teaching, Extension, Industry collaboration - as that will also help tailoring the project to your profile.
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​Compose your research project so that it has both "safe" and more "risky" components. You want to be absolutely sure, that you have enough data when you finish, but you should also be brave enough to include some experiments that would give you wonderful data.... if you succeed.
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Start writing on day 1. No matter what, you will have to go through many iterations of your thesis. Writing your literature review, outline your methods and getting descriptions of experiments, objectives etc on paper - is the best way to to ensure that you and your advisor agree on what is important, and how the project should progress.
 
I would strongly encourage you to, early in your project, to develop a "project model", which is a conceptual model of how the different phases or components of your project are linked together and in which sequence. This is almost like a business plan, in which you link project components with thesis chapters, objectives, lists on time plan, data sets, and publications.   
 
A major part of you being a post-graduate student is for you to acquire experience as a "project manager". With that I mean that you have to develop a time plan and coordinate communication with your supervisor(s) and collaborators. You have make sure that equipment and supplies are ordered, that insect cultures are ready, that plants for experimental research are being planted in advance. I am not saying that you should necessarily do all this work, but you - in communication with your supervisor(s) have to ensure that these important things are managed/taken care of. 
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I would strongly advise you to focus your writing effort on manuscripts rather than on a thick thesis - if the department or school allows it, focus on getting your data into 2-3 publications, and let the thesis be a brief literature review and description of your project.
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​Your future career will not only depend upon the quality of your research project, and many graduate students realize that all too late. It is extremely important to create a vast network of contacts while you are in grad school. Attend conferences and scientific meetings, visit other labs/research groups, meet industry representatives, get introduced to members of growers associations - so it is very important to choose a laboratory with active collaboration with: other departments, universities, companies, and associations. One day you may need a letter of recommendation or your job application is being evaluated by people you have already met...
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On a more personal level, remember that whoever is going to hire you later on will be looking for a certain "person" not an entomologist. In other words, they will be looking at other qualifications in addition to your academic skills. Speaking another languages, being active in a local community and showing leadership, being an experienced traveler, being a practical person and/or good at drawing or producing websites - these are all very important qualifications that can weigh very heavily in your favor and make you stand out.
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It is very important to remember that during your graduate program you will be acquiring certain skills (developing data bases, statistics, experimental design, GIS, run a GC, collect hyperspectral images, running behavioral assays, etc) - these are likely going to be important in your future career, and they can be applied widely across many disciplines. So, make sure you learn/acquire skill sets that prepare you for your "perfect job".
 

Good luck!