Your introspection must include a brutal self-assessment. Having earned good college grades in math, science and engineering may be enough to help you earn an O.R. doctorate and then achieve a modicum of success as an academic or practitioner, but becoming truly exceptional in this extraordinary profession requires a lot more. Although the optimal mix is purely idiosyncratic, it has a common thread: the capability of lucid, independent thinking. And among a multitude of traits that can give you significant advantage, you usually find curiosity and love of learning (to help you become well-rounded), imagination (to see the real world in models and vice versa), humility and mental flexibility (to spare yourself of the growth-inhibiting habits of rigid thinking and treating your human opinions as universal truths), work ethic (to get things done) and finally persistence and an indomitable spirit (to carry you through adversity).

It also helps to be rational. If you have options, consider the opportunity cost. Going for a Ph.D. takes a long time, time you do not get back, with or — quite possibly — without the degree. The length of your commitment will extend well beyond school: a Ph.D. in O.R., earned or not, sets you up for a lifetime of analytical work unless you are charismatic, multi-talented or willing to make a substantial investment in getting non-analytical skills.

Once you decide you want it, and for the right reasons, enroll in the best program you can. The better the program, the higher the intensity, and the more you are likely to get out of the experience, not just in technical skills or marketability of the degree, but most importantly in a formative sense, in its power to transform you as a human being.

Finding the right academic advisor cannot be emphasized enough. Your success depends a lot on this relationship, which can be seen as a marriage: A great one can last a lifetime; a failed one may haunt you well beyond your student years. Resist the temptation to make a hasty choice that may seem right at the moment. Instead, find your match by a thorough process of discovery, examining every piece of information you can get. Don't forget that you will also be scrutinized — by potential advisors in courses you take, in your graduate assistant duties and in other activities and interactions with people.

Doctoral research is sailing into uncharted waters, therefore unpredictable events, setbacks and reversals will almost certainly occur. The experience, however, more than compensates for the volatility by rewarding the explorer with the excitement and satisfaction of discovery. If you need to change course, be bold and decisive. If you have made a mistake, admit it to yourself, correct it as soon as possible and move on. Your time in grad school may be the most intense of your life, with alternating periods of brightness and darkness. During the latter you need strong support, a set of values to fall back on and sources of inspiration to draw from. Good examples include Winston Churchill's wartime speeches, such as parts of his Harrow School address. Who you become during the pursuit of the doctoral degree is what matters at completion.



Manos Hatzakis, now with Merrill Lynch Global Equities, earned his Ph.D. in operations research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. He holds the designations of Chartered Financial Analyst and Financial Risk Manager, and currently serves as chair of the Financial Services Section of INFORMS.

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