I’ve tried to keep dating to a minimum while in school, mainly because I wanted to focus a bit more on the actual schoolwork, but I’ve also kept myself open to possibilities. At the same time, there was always the conflicting (and constantly contradicting) mindset that I can always start dating once I graduate and work in the real world (not to say that being a Research Assistant wasn’t the real world…)
After working for a week, I can totally verify that the scenario that mindset (ie. waiting to date while working) brings is absolutely difficult to maintain (IMO; while be green and fresh), and is probably borderline impossible (or at least needs a lot more effort).