Introduction
In this article, I’ll share my thoughts on what I’ve learned during my graduate career about lab and advisor fit. Then I’ll give you some tips on how to choose a PI or lab for your studies.
Starting a graduate program can be daunting. Conducting your own research to complete a dissertation, thesis, or capstone project can seem impossible, but you aren’t alone. Your principal investigator (PI) (advisor) and lab are a large component of your success. This is especially true if the lab you enter is collaborative in nature. Selecting the right fit for your lab and PI is one of the most important decisions in your graduate career.
Some programs require you to choose a specific advisor prior to applying to your program of choice. Other programs allow you to rotate through labs over the course of a year before selecting a lab. In both situations, it’s important to gauge your compatibility with the PI/advisor, students in your lab, and research questions.
You have agency in the process of applying and interviewing for a position. If a position is a poor fit, you can walk away and apply to other schools in the future. If you received one interview, it is likely many other schools are interested in having you as their student.
Research Interests and Research Fit
First, you should ask yourself where your research interests lie and how specific are these interests? Do you have a very particular research question that you want to answer during your graduate studies? Are you broadly interested in a general field with a focus in building your skillset during your PhD?
Personally, I had both specific and broad interests during my research career. Initially, in undergrad, I had a specific research question I wanted to address. This formed the basis of my undergraduate research project. Along the way, I learned I was actually interested in many other types of questions and science that I didn’t previously consider. This led me to switch fields.
Now, I want to build a broad skillset rather than answer a singular question. I know I want to apply my research to the conservation of native fishes. Though, I am open to what research techniques and species of interest I need to study to get there.
Generally, research topics is flexible and can be changed during your graduate work. Thus, making research interests and fit less of a challenge than finding an advisor or lab to join.
Principal Investigator/Advisor
Choosing a principal investigator/advisor is a more complicated issue than research fit. They directly guide your research, can serve as a mentor, and can directly affect your progress as a researcher. Below, I outlined a few important considerations to evaluate a potential PI.
What is your preferred advising style?
You may not know the answer to this question yet but that is ok. Reflect on previous experiences as a research technician or employee. Was your performance and experience better under direct management and hands-on interaction with your supervisor? Did you thrive under a hands-off supervisor who left you to figure things out on your own? Did you fall somewhere in between?
Advising styles fall on a spectrum. Often, at the more extreme ends of the spectrum you have advisors who expect to speak with you on a daily basis to check your work and progress or advisors who you never speak to, but they sign the necessary paperwork for you to progress in your degree. People with different personalities do better under different advising styles.
Once you figure out what your preferred advising style is, ask your potential PI/advisor what their style is. Will they be able to fulfill their role as your advisor or mentor?
What are your expectations of a potential PI/advisor?
Everyone’s expectations of their PI/advisor differs based on their lived experiences. Some students may expect to receive mentorship and career building guidance from their advisors. Other students may only want an advisor to sign off on registration documents and degree progress as they don’t need or want mentorship or career advice.
Generally, if you approach a potential advisor about this, they will give you an outline of what they feel they provide to their students during their time in the lab.
What is your potential advisor’s work-life balance?
Everyone’s definition of work-life balance is different. It is important to understand what your potential advisor/PI’s definition is so you can understand what their expectations are of you. I would be surprised if anyone would ever say that they have 0 work-life balance. You need to ask more specific questions than that to really know.
Do you want to take weekends off and work a straight 9-5 during your program? Are you alright working long days if you take the weekends or a month off during the summer? Does your advisor take vacation during holidays or are they constantly on the grind? Do they skip lunch because they are so engrossed in their work?
These questions can help you understand if your approaches to work-life balance are compatible with your potential PI/advisor’s.
What are your potential advisor’s career goals?
Often, interviewers and applications ask what your career goals are. It is as important to understand your advisor’s goals as your own to make sure they are compatible with yours.
If your advisor plans a large career move away from academia, will you be finished with the program or left in the lurch? Is your advisor keen on retiring soon and planning to reduce the amount of time they are dedicating towards mentoring students? Maybe your advisor is planning a sabbatical for the first year that you are in your program. Will they be able to provide you enough support to start out strong?
Understanding where your advisor wants to grow their career in the next few years is important to your growth, too.
How does your potential advisor feel about pursuing other interests during your research program?
During your graduate studies, you might hear someone say, “graduate students are here to do research.” That is a true statement, but graduate school offers many more opportunities to grow and develop.
Ask your potential advisor what their opinion is of participating in other activities outside of your research. Do they discourage that type of engagement unless it’s directly related to your research? Are they on board with you engaging other interests?
For example, I am passionate about the conservation of our local ecosystems, outreach, and education. I incorporate extracurriculars into my studies because it’s important for me to develop my passions. My advisor is supportive of me seeking trainings outside of my department to improve my pedagogical skills. He was also supportive of me starting an American Fisheries Society Student Subunit at UCI because there is no local chapter and I wanted to stay involved with the professional society.
These extracurriculars are important for me to develop into the type of scientist I strive to be.
Additionally, your research interests can (and probably will) evolve over time in your graduate studies. Will your advisor allow this to develop into a new part of your dissertation? Or will you be restricted to the first project you discussed?
How does your potential lab feel about your potential advisor?
Lastly, students in their lab will have a different perspective on your potential advisor. Though we strive to be our best, it’s often difficult to understand our own failings that others may observe. This is why you should reach out to others who have worked for your potential advisor.
Asking potential labmates about experiences with your potential advisor can validate what you’ve understood from conversations with them. Or they may reveal some red flags or underlying issues that you didn’t pick up on in your interview. Either way, reaching out to current and previous lab members is helpful as you evaluate your options.
Lab Environment
While a PI is likely the most important factor in your success in a graduate program, your potential labmates come in a close second.
Laboratory climate/culture
Labs vary as much as PIs do. Some labs have a hierarchical structure where senior lab members help mentor and teach junior lab members. In other labs, the PI may advise students who are independent of one another.
Asking about how students get along and treat each other will help you envision whether you can see yourself working productively in this lab for several years. Often, your labmates may become your best friends and biggest support system through your studies.
Mental Health
The general health of the lab builds on the climate and culture. Try to understand whether there is any competition among members of the lab or if students are collaborative in nature. Some students may struggle at an individual level with mental health issues. Try to make sure this is not a systemic issue caused by something pervasive in the way the lab works. Generally, happy students reflect a healthy lab environment and culture.
Equipment and Amenities
From a practical standpoint, it is impossible to conduct your research if your lab isn’t equipped with the right technology to process samples or take measurements. Collaborations with other labs or entities with necessary infrastructure in place to accommodate your work can solve this issue. Though, you need to be aware of this situation prior to starting the program.
Funding
Lastly, it is important to understand the funding situation of the lab you plan to join. Some labs fund their students’ tuition, fees, and research costs, meaning that you never need to TA. Other labs fund the research costs but not tuition and fees, meaning you need to TA or find a fellowship to pay the rest. There are also labs that may not pay tuition, fees, or research costs meaning that you need to TA and apply for grants to fund yourself.
Speak with your potential advisor and labmates to understand the financial situation of the lab.
Conclusion
There are many things to consider when making your decision about what lab to join and conduct research with. Asking these questions will hopefully ensure that you won’t fall into a lab that isn’t a good fit for you.
For more tips regarding graduate school, explore my blog further. You can also find me on Medium.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please leave them down below! Good luck with your studies!