I agree with Steve - Aaron seems to have had a really bad experience. But that is far from universal.
Here is what I would say (note: I loved grad school, and am now an assistant professor): 1) Yes, be proactive! Faculty love to hear from bright students, and to me hearing that a student has independent ideas is very reassuring. My job as a mentor is to help students become independent scientists, but while you can teach skills, you can’t teach someone the “fire in the belly” that is needed to overcome all the obstacles that necessarily come up when pursuing research. 2) Be aware that opportunities to pursue an independent question might be limited. If, for example, you can get an NSF pre-doc award, and can find a mentor with similar research interests, that offers the best prospects. Next best is having a mentor with abundant/flexible grant funding, so that they can help support you without your being closely tied to a specific project - you can apply for other grad student funding once you arrive (this option is the one that worked for me). But you might end up in a situation where your advisor really needs you to work on a specific project they designed, either because they are just getting their research program started, have a very specific grant, or both. 3) Talk to lots of people (on this I completely agree with Aaron) - not just the prospective faculty member, but current and former grad students as well, and other grad students at the institution. This will give you a good idea of the advisor’s mentoring style. Not all mentoring styles work for all people. For instance, someone who is fairly hands-off but responsive to questions might be a perfect mentor for someone who has a good idea of what they want to do and how to do it, but a terrible mentor for someone who needs more guidance and support. 4) While you shouldn’t expect to be on a research assistantship all 5 years (most schools, even those with a lot of money, expect some TA-ing), the firmer the guarantee of support the better. Some schools (my current institution included) do not feel they are in a position to guarantee 5 years of support. In those cases it is best to ask straight out: “Has there ever been a student who has not been able to get the TA or GSR support they need?”. In our case - no, there has never been a problem. Still, when I was applying, the fact that one of my top choices offered guaranteed support and the other didn’t was one of the main deciding factors. Emily Moran UC Merced On May 27, 2015, at 5:50 PM, Stephen L. Young <[email protected]> wrote: > Wow! I couldn¹t think of any worse advise. If I had followed these > guidelines I would have not been anywhere near where I am today and would > have not met some of the most inspiring, motivating, creative, and smart > people, who have become some of my best friends and colleagues. > > Steve > > > > > > On 5/27/15, 6:56 PM, "Aaron T. Dossey" <[email protected]> wrote: > >> 1) I wouldn't go to grad school for science these days. Universities and >> faculty are far too exploitative and the career opportunities requiring >> a graduate degree are far too few (especially in academia and >> government). Best to get out there and get a job and experience with >> those years, or even start your own organization or company. >> You may be interested in the articles and "Notes" posted on this page: >> https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Postdoc-Union/275402225908673 >> >> 2) It is the responsibility (one of an ever waning list) of the faculty >> boss (referred to some as "mentor" or "adviser") to provide projects >> (well funded ones) for their students, then spend time TEACHING them the >> projects, techniques and science behind the projects. I would be >> suspicious of any lab that requires you to come up with your own >> project, especially if they require you to come with your own funding. >> >> 3) If you do have project ideas, best to pursue them on your own time >> and well separate from the lab and/or involvement of any university >> faculty member. Basically if you know what you want to do and more or >> less how to do it, you don't need grad school: you need >> resources/facilities to pursue it. So, find (sit down for this) >> COLLABORATORS (not bosses) and some sort of funding or access to lab and >> equipment you need. You can even try crowdfunding, or like I said, >> start a company or non-profit. >> >> 4) If you DO dive into graduate school for some reason: selecting a >> decent ethical faculty boss who actually cares about YOUR career (very >> rare) will be your most critical decision/task. the following are >> criteria and methods you should use: a) talk to as many people IN the >> lab and especially FORMER lab members as possible, b) ask the faculty >> boss how joining their lab will help your career, what you will BE >> TAUGHT, what projects are available and what FUNDING is driving those >> projects (and listen closely to the answers), c) ask if you would be >> allowed to pursue independent side projects without the faculty boss' >> involvement (ie: do a side project that's your idea with other students >> or other labs in your own side collaboration - this is critical to build >> toward an independent career in science, which is the main reason to go >> to grad school in science at all). This means publishing at least one >> paper without that faculty member and possibly even applying for a grant >> or two (toward the end of your term in the lab) without their name on >> it. If they say no, immediately find another lab. While many will tell >> you no one will do this and this is unusual and you shouldn't expect >> this freedom, that is nothing short of a lie. If you accept that lie, >> you will find out the hard way when you try to pursue your real career >> after grad school. d) Be SURE the lab or department will pay you a FULL >> stipend you can live on AND health insurance for at least 5 years while >> you complete your degree. e) be sure that no one in the labs you are >> considering has taken more than 5 years to finish their Ph.D. or 3 years >> for Masters. f) if you determine that a graduate degree is ABSOLUTELY >> REQUIRED for your career goals (think about this carefully) then do a >> Ph.D. rather than a masters. g) I do not recommend young professors >> without tenure, or working for older or higher ranking professors that >> also have adminstrative appointments on top of their professor job >> (things like also being the "director of the center for X" etc. I >> consider moonlighting and almost a guarantee that you'll never see them, >> which means you'll never learn anything or be taught anything by them >> which is the entire point of grad school). h) Also have a frank >> discussion about how authorship is handled in the lab AND if you are >> expected to write grants (don't do it if you won't be listed as a >> co-PI), and even about how patents will be handled... and get those >> things IN WRITING! >> >> 5) Do not be placated, pacified, bribed, distracted or fooled by >> anything else. a LITTLE higher salary, a boss that smiles a lot, >> showering you with compliments, students (especially early grad students >> or undergrads) who say things like "they are SO nice to me, they let me >> go to conferences" (something they should all offer by default, at least >> 1 conference per year for you to present at).. etc... can distract from >> the more important issue: how going to grad school will benefit your >> career and get you quickly into an independent science career within 2-3 >> years after graduating (max). >> >> Those are some good solid things that should take you a long way toward >> your next set of decisions which will be critical for your career >> success (or lack of it) for some years to come. What you decide to do >> at this stage of your career will have long lasting consequences. >> >> Let me know if you have further questions! >> ATD of ATB >> >> >> On 5/27/2015 2:21 PM, Emily Mydlowski wrote: >>> Hello all, >>> >>> I'm delving into the graduate school search (MS and PhD programs) quite >>> heavily and am seeking advice regarding approaching faculty with a >>> research >>> project. The system I'm interested in working on is that which has many >>> unanswered, interesting questions I would love to pursue. From a faculty >>> perspective, is proposing a project topic (too) bold of a move to a >>> potential advisor? >>> >>> Any advice would be much appreciated. >>> >>> All the best, >>> >>> Emily Mydlowski >>> Northern Michigan University >> >> >> ATD of ATB and ISI >> -- >> Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. >> Biochemistry and Molecular Biology >> Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs LLC >> World's Largest supplier of Cricket Powder / Cricket Flour ! >> Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Food Ingredient >> Innovation >> ABOUT: http://allthingsbugs.com/People >> LinkedIn: >> https://www.linkedin.com/pub/all-things-bugs-dr-aaron-t-dossey/53/775/104 >> FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs >> ISI: https://www.facebook.com/InvertebrateStudiesInstitute >> PHONE: 1-352-281-3643
