u/BagStranget

My advisor mentioned a conference coming up in the spring and said something like "you could go if you want" without any real guidance on whether I should or what I'd get out of it.

I don't have any results to present yet. I'm not sure I'd understand 80% of the talks. The registration and travel would be partially covered but not fully.

Is there value in going just to observe when you're this early in the program? Or is it mostly a waste of time and money until you have something to show? How did others decide when to attend their first conference?

Halfway through my first semester and I feel like everyone around me just... gets it. Lab meetings where people throw around terminology I've never heard. Seminars where I understand maybe 40% of what's being said. Classmates who already have publications from undergrad.

I know imposter syndrome is a thing and I know I'm "supposed" to feel this way. But knowing that doesn't make the feeling go away.

For people further along — does it get better? Did something specific change it for you, or did you just gradually stop noticing? I'm not looking for reassurance, I genuinely want to know what to expect.

So I just started my first semester in a mechanical engineering MS program and I'm completely lost on course selection. My advisor told me to "take what's relevant to your research" but I don't even fully know what my research is yet.

Do I just pick whatever sounds interesting? Do I try to fill gaps from undergrad? Is there some strategy I'm missing that everyone else already knows?

My department has like 60+ grad courses listed and zero guidance on how to narrow it down. Would really appreciate hearing how others handled this, especially in the first semester when everything feels overwhelming.

Undergrad felt structured - assignments, deadlines, clear expectations. grad school feels like the structure disappears and you’re just left alone with problems no one has a clear answer to.

Even when people are around, it still feels like you’re figuring things out in a separate mental space. I didn’t expect that kind of quiet isolation.

I thought it would just be about studying and research, but honestly the mental pressure is the hardest part. Some days it’s not even about the work, just staying motivated