An Interview with Jorge Cham

Jorge Cham started drawing the comic Piled Higher and Deeper (PhDComics) in 1997, while still a grad student at Stanford University. A PhD in Mechanical Engineering and years later, the comic strip is ever so popular with a worldwide fan base.  His website is a huge hit, and his comics are also available in four book collections.

Recently, Jorge Cham took some time out to chat with me, and talk about the myths of graduate school, his experiences giving talks at different universities, and how someone (spoiler alert!) from Piled Higher and Deeper will graduate.

Khalil Cassimally: You're quite a celebrity among university geeks. How does this feel?
Jorge Cham: I think PHD comics is relatively famous, not me in particular. Nobody would recognize me if they saw me on campus.

K: You were invited to SciFoo 2009. How did you find it? Isn't it the dream payoff of all the grad school suffering?
J: SciFoo 2009 was a fantastic experience. At any given point, you could never tell if the person you were chatting with had a Nobel prize or was a Billionaire entrepeneur or was a popular blogger. Anyone would be lucky to participate in something like that.

K: What's the longest stretch you've seen a grad student not having a shower?
J: I just came back from Fairbanks, Alaska, where many grad students have to live in "dry" cabins (cabins without running water or plumbing) because that is all they can afford. They call grads there "The Great Unwashed".

K: Not having ramen noodles?
J: I still have ramen every couple of weeks or so.

K: You started Piled Higher and Deeper in grad school. What inspired you to start it all?
J: Procrastination, really. It was the last thing I should have been doing. Other than that, it felt like it was a story that had not been told. I was inspired by a book I read about Doonesbury.

K: Did you ever think that it would get so popular when you started and still be running in 2009, an amazing 12 years later?
J: 12 years, wow! I knew that it was a common experience, but didn't think it would become my full time job.

K: Who's your personal favourite character?
J: They all are.

K: With which of the characters do you associate yourself the most?
J: At first, it was the nameless guy, but then it became Slackenerny. That was a sign it was time to graduate.

K: Really, WHAT is the NAME of the unnamed character!?
J: I tell everyone the name will be revealed in the last PHD comic strip.

K: Any clues you're willing to share on the future happenings in the Piled Higher and Deeper world?
J: Someone will graduate. At some point.

K: Do you ever draw female PhD advisors? If not, why not?
J: I do sometimes, yes. At some point in the future there will be a female professor character (another spoiler!)

K: Ever get hate mails from professors?
J: Not really. I think most professors can relate to the grad years (it gets worse as a professor), and I also never write anything mean about professors (I don't think).

K: Piled Higher and Deeper is set in Stanford. Do you think that Stanford is representative of grad schools in general?
J: To some degree it's universal, to another degree it's a source of curiosity for a lot of people. Stanford has a certain mystique about it.

K: Do you think that Piled Higher and Deeper has affected the way undergrads see grad school? Do you think it's affected their views on pursuing a research career or getting a grad degree at all, for instance?
J: I get comments on both sides of the spectrum: people tell me the comic helped them decide not to go, and others tell me it helped decide they were ready. My point of view is that the truth can only help you.

K: Thanks to Piled Higher and Deeper, you have been giving talks at different universities. How would you describe the experience? Who's been the best audience so far?
J: Every audience is different, some more vocal than others (ahem, Texas). The experience has been amazing. I've traveled all over the world and have gotten to know a lot of great people. I really have to thank the readers who want to bring me to their schools and the staff and grad student representatives that make it happen.

K: Do you ever go on book tours with your books?
J: The speaking tour is sort of a continual book tour.

K: Being a cartoonist yourself, do you read any other comic strips?
J: I'll tell you what I don't read: XKCD. Just kidding! If only I had known, I could have just been drawing stick figures all this time.

K: Anything you want to say to undergrad students reading this?
J: Don't go to grad school for the wrong reasons, and enjoy it while you're there.

K: To postgrad students reading this?
J: Quit now, I mean, hang in there!

You can check out Jorge's comic and book collection here:  http://www.phdcomics.com/