Friday, May 26, 2006

Grad school advice -- Year Three

I guess I was doing a great job of working on a lot of projects during my second year in the lab because at my annual "big picture" chat at the beginning of my third year in the lab, my advisor's advice was: focus on one project.

This piece of advice didn't come as a big surprise to me because I was working a few different projects, and one of them was definitely working better than the others. In fact, it was working well enough that we were starting to think about how we would write it up for publication. Unfortunately, I was spending too much time with my side-projects and not enough time on that particular project, so I just wasn't getting the last few experiments done that I needed for publication.

My advisor's advice was timely. I needed to focus. So, I took the sideprojects and froze down the strains, put the reagents in the freezer, and put them out of my mind for about a year.

Focus is something that I've struggled with throughout all of grad school. I've really only found one method to keep myself on task: paper lists of specific things I need to do. The latest system I've been using consists of a simple sheet of 8.5x11" paper that is taped up next to my monitor. At the top is the name of my project and beneath the title is a list of all the experiments I need to do to finish (or at least make progress on) this project. At the end of the week, I review the list and make up a new one for the new week. I file the old lists away for reference--just in case I need to remember when I did a certain thing and I can't find it in my regular lab notebook.

Focus makes a lot of sense for the 3rd year. By now, you should have an idea of what is working, and you need to bang away at it to make some significant progress. You might be approaching your first publication if things are going well. If progress is slow, then you need to at least get enough done to impress your committee and advisor when you update them on your work.

The fact of the matter is that science is pretty hard, and it simply takes a lot of work to make progress. My lab is organized so that just about everyone works on their own projects, and there is very little collaboration within the lab (beyond helping with very simple, little things, or giving advice). So, it's up to you to get it done, and it won't get done without putting in the hours with a focus on a specific project.

So, my investment analogy from my previous post breaks down with the advice in this post because I don't ever think you should put all your money into one basket, but when it comes to grad school you have to learn to focus on your project and let the peripheral things go. Otherwise, after 5 years you'll be 20% done with 5 projects instead being completely done with one or two of them.

Grad school advice -- Year Two

So, after my first year in the lab, I met with my advisor for my annual chat about "the big picture." I consider most of our meetings as being about the trees rather than the forest, but once a year I try to get my advisor to think about the forest, and part of that forest is how I'm doing as a grad studet and what I could do to be more effective.

So, I reminded my advisor what he said last year. Then I asked him what I should work on this year. His response: multi-task. He told me that I shouldn't be working on just one project right now, but that I needed to get something burning on each burner plate.

At the time, I was a little bit disappointed and I thought that this was his way of saying that I wasn't working hard enough, and that I needed to work more in general.

In retrospect, I realize that he wasn't worried about how much I was working, but rather how much I was working on one thing. Early in grad school, you have to branch out a bit and see what works for you. You surely learn quickly that not everything is going to pan out, so you need a plan B, C, and D.

It's a lot like investing. The number one rule of investing is to diversify. That way, if you get a lemon or two, you're not completely out of luck. Also, by diversifying, one of your picks might be the next Microsoft, Ebay, or Google. That lucky pick might just get you a yacht and an early retirement.

Likewise, you might strike gold with one of your early research projects and land a good paper or two early in grad school. If so, then you earn yourself a little freedom for the last couple of years of grad school because you've already done enough to probably earn a degree, but you just need to put in the time expected by your advisor, committee, and/or department.

So, diversify, diversify, diversify early in grad school. You'll naturally find yourself gravitating to whichever project is the most interesting to you (and probably the one that is working the best). Once you've found that project, you're probably ending your second year, and you're ready for next year's advice (see next post).

Friday, May 19, 2006

Grad School Advice -- Year One

When I finally joined my lab, I asked my advisor what I thought was the best question in the world: what do you expect of me as a grad student?

He gave me a puzzled look, stroked his beard a few times, stared at the floor, smiled, and then said, "Think about science when you're not in the lab."

This wasn't at all what I expected. I was expecting him to say something more along the lines of, "Work 60 hours a week. Come in on the weekends. Don't take holidays. Read at least one article a day. Always be mentoring at least 2 undergrads at a time."

In a way, my advisor's response should have told me a lot about him and how he runs his lab. He's not an accountant. He's not my mom. He isn't a taskmaster. Instead, he's a man who loves science and loves to think about science. To him, there isn't a better thing for a grad student to do than think about science, and he thought that by getting me to think about science even when not in the lab I would be that much more successful.

So, that was the pearl of wisdom I held on to for the first year of grad school (and really ever since then). Each subsequent year, I would ask him for advice for that particular year (after reminding him what he told me last year so that he'd know I valued his advice enough to remember it).

So, for the next few posts, I'll relate the advice given to me during these annual chats about how to be a successful grad student.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Joining the lab--the big talk

After your lab rotations, you have to decide on a lab to join. Carefully weigh the following in your decision:
  • Lab environment
  • People
  • Equipment
  • Advisor's style of advising
  • Science
  • Room for growth
I think the reason's for considering these topics are self-evident, but remember to consider them all, and don't just get hung up on one of them.

Once you've picked your lab, you need to meet with your advisor to let him/her know that you've made your choice. I would recommend that you first go to the PI whose lab you want to join and talk things out (discussed below) before going to the other PIs and telling them that you don't what to join their lab. The reasoning for this is simple: if something goes bad during this talk then you can still go to your second choice and join his/her lab.

There is one exception to this approach (but it's quite risky): if you are having a very hard time deciding between two labs then you could meet with each of those PIs and tell them that you're on the fence, and give them a chance to convince you that you should join their lab. Depending on their situation (big lab/small lab; lots of money/little money) they might offer some compelling reasons, or they might tell you to just pick the other lab. One thing to remember is that PIs talk to each other, and they've usually known each other for a long time. Their loyalty is to each other (generally) rather than to a first year grad student, so be very careful not to get in the middle of something that could get very ugly.

When you have "the big talk" you might want to consider discussing the following:
  • Funding (current and future). Make sure that the lab has enough money to pay for you and your science over the next 5 years (yes, it will probably take that long).
  • Stipend. In my department, there is a certain amount of flexibility in what students are paid. I don't know if this is common, but if you have room for negotiation, then you should talk it over. Try to at least get your advisor to bump up your stipend a little each year so you can keep up with inflation. If you don't have any luck then don't worry about it. No one ever got rich in grad school, so don't get too hung up on the stipend.
  • Projects. What will you be doing? Can you come up with your own project or do you have to do one that has already been designed? How many projects? Will you also be teaching? Will you be responsible for any underlings (undergrads) in the lab?
  • Other lab responsibilities. Depending on the size of the lab, you might get stuck washing dishes, ordering supplies, or whatever. Better to find this out earlier than later.
  • People. Ask your advisor when more senior people in the lab are leaving (graduating) and if he/she has any plans to grow or shrink the lab over the next few years.
  • Tenure. You probably already know if the PI is tenured, but not a bad idea to double-check.
  • Lab space/equipment. Where will you work? Which computer will you use (will the lab get you one)? There may be other issues surrounding accessibility to special pieces of equipment.
  • Expectations. This is the big one. Ask you (potentially future) advisor what his/her expectations are of a successful grad student. I think it's good to be vague like this at first to see what they come up with. If you're wondering about their expectation in certain things then you can follow up with those specific questions. For instance, if you love to travel, you could specifically ask about how much time off you can have each year. If you have a family (or a demanding hobby), you could ask about how many hours your PI expects of you each week. You could even discuss working a flexible schedule.
If everything has gone well, then it's time to commit to the lab. Let your advisor know when you plan on starting and let them know that you're excited about starting. It might be a good idea to plan another meeting to go into greater detail about your project(s).

Now, it's time to go and let the other professors know of your decision. It's a little bit like breaking up with a girlfriend, but shouldn't be too bad. You want to stay on good terms with these people, so be polite and think before you speak. You might need a letter of recommendation from them or need them on your committee down the line.

Monday, May 15, 2006

In the beginning...

...there were rotations.

Like most grad programs in the life sciences, my program requires rotations through different labs during the first year. We have (or at least we had) some control over the length and number of rotations, which greatly favors the student. If the lab is great, you stay a long time. If the lab stinks, you cut out of there as quickly as you can.

I ended up doing two rotations, but for a while I thought I'd only do one. My first rotation was with the lab I ended up picking, and the project was going well enough that I didn't see any reason to rotate anywhere else. Afterall, if your rotation project goes well then the rest of grad school will go right, right? Not necessarily (I expect future posts will cover this in greater detail).

After some pressure from the director of graduate studies, I did a second rotation. While I did it as a formality, I felt at the time that it validated my desire to join the first lab. My advisor during the second rotation was a micro-manager. Every day he'd stop by my desk and want to see exactly what I had/hadn't accomplished that day. I got sick of the nagging, so I knew that lab wasn't for me.

As of this writing, I feel like I did it all wrong. At the time, I thought it was about the science, but now I realize that this is not the point of the rotation at all. So, here are my tips for the rotation process that first year grad students go through:
  1. Do as many rotations as you can. I realize that most departments won't allow for this, but if you have any control, then you'll only benefit from the increased exposure of multiple labs.
  2. During your rotation--during the time you are physically at your bench/desk--stay focused on the science. Read papers that are relevant. Ask questions. Try to think of experiments beyond the ones the PI has already come up. Even if they're dumb experiments, it will show the PI that you're trying and that you're a thinker.
  3. During the rest of your rotation--anytime your hands are not on pipettes, plates, flasks, etc.--focus on everything else. Take note of work the ethic, expectations, and overall culture of the lab. In the end, these things will be much more important than the little bit of science you get done during your rotation.
  4. Listen carefully. You'll learn infinitely more by listening than by speaking. Listen to what your labmates say to each other. Listen to the instructions they give you. Listen carefully in lab meetings.
  5. Use one-on-one time with other labmates to get their opinion of the lab. Drop by on weekends and evenings and see who you can find burning the midnight oil. Ask them if they're happy. If they look away, then you already have your answer. Think of some questions ahead of time, but try to not come across as an interogator.
  6. Look for themes. If everyone in the lab complains about a certain thing then you really have to ask yourself if that would bother you too. PIs aren't likely to change, so you have find one that is a fairly good fit for you (rather than thinking that you can change them over time). It doesn't work in marriages, and it certainly doesn't work with grad school advisors.
  7. Portray a positive, hopeful attitude about staying with the lab. Even if you know in your heart of hearts that you absolutely will or will not stay in the lab, just make it seem like you're definitely considering it, but not yet decided. If you signal that you're not going to stay, then you might find yourself getting the cold shoulder from the PI for the remainder of your rotation. If you offer too much hope (or make the colossal blunder of actually promising that you'll join the lab) and then later change your mind then you're likely to upset the PI. You don't want to burn any bridges, especially with someone who might end up on your dissertation committee.
  8. End your rotation by letting the PI know when you hope to tell them your decision. It's appropriate to ask about lab funding (don't join a bankrupt lab!), but don't get into the nitty-gritty until later.
  9. Once you've decided which lab you'll join, it's worth visiting with each of your rotation PIs to tell them of your decision. Let them know why you've made your choice without dissing on them or their lab. Emphasize how certain aspects of your choice were the best fit for you. Let them know that you enjoyed your rotation, and that you look forward to interacting with them over the next few years (just not on a daily basis).
These tips come from my own rotation experience and having watched a number of rotation students come through my lab. Some have excelled and some have crashed and burned. Keep your head on your shoulders, stay positive, work hard, listen, play it straight, and you should be in good shape.