📚 New Researcher Handbook

A practical handbook for new PhD students and early-career researchers, sharing lessons learned to help you avoid common pitfalls and navigate your research journey smoothly. Written by a 4th-year PhD student at Harvard SEAS.

🎯 What's Inside

This guide shares practical insights to help you avoid detours and accelerate your research progress:

• Research Fundamentals - Core principles, methodology, and best practices
• Productivity Systems - Daily habits, time management, and strategic planning
• Publication Strategy - Conference targeting, paper writing, and submission timelines
• Professional Development - Networking, career planning, and essential resources
• Tools & Resources - Curated software recommendations and research tools

🚀 Quick Start

📖 Download the Handbook

Choose the version that suits your preference:

• 📘 With Icons Version (Enhanced Visual Design): new-researcher-handbook.pdf
  Features icons and visual enhancements for better readability

• 📄 Plain Version (Classic Format): new-researcher-handbook-plain.pdf
  Traditional academic format without icons

🔧 Compile from Source

git clone https://github.com/AaronLuo00/phd-survival-guide.git
cd phd-survival-guide

# Compile with icons version
pdflatex new-researcher-handbook.tex

# Compile plain version
pdflatex new-researcher-handbook-plain.tex

📝 Other Useful Guide:

1. A Survival Guide to a PhD by Andrej Karpathy: https://karpathy.github.io/2016/09/07/phd/
2. 当 CEO 重读 PhD：论智慧与勇气 By Yuanming Hu: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/1893638374646079902
3. 翁家翌：OpenAI，GPT，强化学习，Infra，后训练，天授，tuixue，开源，CMU，清华: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1darmBcE4A/

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether you want to:

• Add new sections or update existing content
• Fix errors or improve formatting
• Share tools and resources
• Translate to other languages

Feel free to open issues or pull requests!

📧 Contact

• Author: Xiaolong Luo (Aaron)
• Homepage: https://aaronluo00.github.io/Aaron_Homepage/
• Email: xiaolongluo@g.harvard.edu

⭐ Star History

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<div align="center"> <h2>🌟 Helping new PhD students and researchers avoid common pitfalls</h2> <p>This guide shares practical lessons from a fellow PhD student,<br> helping you navigate your research journey smoothly and focus on what truly matters.</p> <p><strong>If this guide helps you save time and avoid detours in your research, please consider giving us a ⭐ on GitHub!</strong></p> </div>