Having graduated last year from a research group in which all students had to choose their own questions, I disagree with Aaron's point to an extent that is difficult to express in civil terms. However, I will attempt to do so for the sake of any students reading this.
Aaron writes that grad students shouldn't work on their own questions because, "If you already have a certain skillset and can come up with your own research projects and successfully execute them, you do NOT need to be a student (at least in that lab)". But having a project idea and having the skills to execute it are two entirely different things. (Also, I simply could not have asked some of the questions I ended up writing substantial portions of my dissertation on with only my undergraduate background.) You are in grad school to learn the knowledge and skills to formulate and answer this and future questions, to be educated rather than trained. Aaron routinely and quite justifiably rails against students and postdocs being used as technicians. Well, the only way to not be a technician is to find your own questions! Work on your advisor's questions enough to earn your keep if you're on an assistantship and to learn and participate in collaborations within your lab. The rest of the time, focus on your own questions -- and make sure, when contacting prospective advisors, that they will allow and support this. Is it possible that your advisor will take credit for your ideas? Yes, although they probably won't. But if you wait, you may well get scooped by someone else! I will go further. A master's degree earned entirely by working on someone else's questions is fine, but a Ph.D. is not. A Ph.D. is supposed to signify the ability to do original research and the only way to prove this ability is to do a project of your own. I think the Ph.D. degree should simply not be awarded to someone who hasn't done this. No matter how many papers such a student has their name on, they're still working at an MS level. The current trend, driven by funding, of grad students working entirely on their advisors' questions is a profoundly destructive one and must be checked. Jane Shevtsov On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 6:25 PM, Aaron T. Dossey <bugoc...@gmail.com> wrote: > If you do for some reason (which I cannot currently imagine) to go to > graduate school, here is some advice that will help you get the most out of > it without putting the future of your career at risk: 1) pick a very > HANDS-ON professor who spends a lot of time with his or her students and > postdocs (eg: they spend lots of time in the lab) in a successful lab with > a great reputation (lots of publications, with students and postdocs who > have left it and have successful careers currently who can attribute it to > having worked in that lab) and 2) insist that you ONLY will work on work > that is from the professor's own ideas - from their grants and based on > their ideas. Do not fall into the trap of working for a professor who > expects you to come up with your own projects. You are there to learn from > them primarily, and also to do parts of their research. If you already > have a certain skillset and can come up with your own research projects and > successfully execute them, you do NOT need to be a student (at least in > that lab). Pick a lab and a professor who have a lot to offer you in the > form of TRAINING, connections and projects likely to be very fruitful. > > IF and when you have your own ideas you want to pursue, keep a log book of > those and save those for when you graduate and are on your own/independent. > Otherwise, it can get ugly. Many professors will, to put it bluntly, > steal credit and reward for your ideas and independent work. Might as well > avoid that pitfall and keep everyone happy (and keep you learning) by doing > whatever work originates from the professor - besides, it's their job to > drive the research and come up with the ideas. > > Basically, pick a prof and lab who seems to have YOUR CAREER INTERESTS at > heart and act like it. > > -- > Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology > Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs > Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation > http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ > http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs > 1-352-281-3643 > -- ------------- Jane Shevtsov, Ph.D. Mathematical Biology Curriculum Writer, UCLA co-founder, www.worldbeyondborders.org “Those who say it cannot be done should not interfere with those who are doing it.” --attributed to Robert Heinlein, George Bernard Shaw and others
