How do I choose a PhD lab?

 This weekend I’m flying to sunny Charleston, SC to visit the Medical University of South Carolina. I’m visiting nine potential PhD mentors with a great range of science, but as always, I’m planning to choose my PhD lab based on intangibles. 

So I’ve come up with three key intangibles, and ten tangible questions to figure out if the lab is a good intangible fit. 

Sidenote - In case you don’t want to keep reading, here are the three key intangibles: personal happiness, quality of education, job potential. 

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Intangible #1) Personal Happiness 

Question #1) How friendly is the boss? 

I’m not saying I have to be best buddies with my boss, I just like being liked. 

Question #2) How friendly are the other students/postdocs/techs? 

I have a theory that the number one factor in how much you like your job is how much you like your co-workers. 

Question #3) How long have the technicians been with the lab? 

If a tech has been with the lab for 5+ years, then you know the boss takes care of their own. 

Question #4) How many hours per week should I work? 

I like working hard, but I want it to be my choice to spend long days in the lab. I’m an adult, I expect to be treated like one. 

Intangible #2) Quality of Education 

Question #5) How long does the average student take to graduate? 

Question #6) Are there clear guidelines for graduation? 

Question #7) Have you mentored prior MD/PhD students? 

These three questions kind of get at the same thing, but it’s critical. MD/PhD programs are so long (average of 8 years) that I don’t want to waste any time. I want my goals to be clear, so I can accomplish them, and move on. 

Question #8) How often does the boss meet with students? 

I want clear guidance, but not someone looking over my shoulder. Ideally, I’d say I’d like to meet with my boss every other week to go over my data. My track record is good, leave me alone and let me do my thing. 

Intangible #3) Job Potential 

Question #9) Do you have lots of ideas for projects? 

I’ve been in labs that are like project deserts. If there are only a couple good projects, they’ll go straight to the senior members of the lab, and I’ll be left with the high-risk dead end projects. 

Question #10) How legit is the research? 

One of my many goals is to be a leader in science. I want to run a lab with thirty people and empower people to do great science. I want to write grants all day and help people become the best scientists they can. To reach this position, I’ll need a lot of scientific success – which means lots of top-of-the-line publications. 

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So anyways, those are the ten tangible questions. I’ve equipped myself with worksheets to grade each potential PhD mentor on these ten questions. They will each receive a grade out of 100. Eventually I’ll make my final decision based on impulse instead of this rational process, but at least this has entertained me. 

See you on the other side, 

from ken  

Feel free to comment! I would love to hear your thoughts.