General advice about choosing a Research group for your PhD

So I’m pursuing a PhD. I’m working in a great research group with a good research output. Here’s some of my thoughts about choosing a group to apply to and work with. I’ll edit/update it as needed.

Be Practical and realistic

Just remember you’re competing with thousands of other PhD students and postdocs and Profs for a limited number of spots in respectable journals/conferences/book chapters. You are probably not going to do Nobel-worthy research. Your PhD impact will be a few papers, and some original contribution to the sea of human knowledge. But don’t fall for the underdog fantasy and expect to shake the world. So temper your expectations.

Look for a group that publishes regularly

Like all aspects in life, there is a metric that needs to be satisfied for getting your PhD. In STEM it’s typically at least 1 (one) published paper. To find opportunities after PhD, you still need to show your research capabilities. So you need that sorted by the time you’re out. Better search and join a group that publishes regularly and from their own lab (if experimental). A regularly publishing group has inbuilt dynamics that will create a push for papers. In my book, that’s a win-win. Can’t say anything for a new prof and new group though.

Talk to the students before you join

It will give you a good idea of life in the group. You need to know the working hours, the pressures, and typical processes in the group. Just make an informed choice in general.

Accountability

Check how frequently students have to present their progress to be evaluated by the group. My group does it weekly. It creates pressure to do things and work on projects. When things are smooth it won’t affect productivity, but when the going is tough it will still help understand what you’re doing wrong. Also in general other group members will give you some ideas you hadn’t considered before.

Another thing to consider is whether there is some kind of a logbook shared with the PI. We use Google Docs, works great. It lets the PI browse through your work and results and give inputs if needed. Also forces you to think about what you’re doing before you put it on the logbook. Can also save you in a tight spot when you’re looking for a specific thing in your work history.

Pros and Cons

• Large groups
  • Pros
    • Lots of experts and areas to work
    • Easy to collaborate internally
    • Can focus and switch on other projects if one doesn’t work out
  • Cons
    • Little attention from PI
    • Can get stuck with a not-too-great subgroup
    • Need lots of initiative to think and push projects to pursue
• Small groups
  • Pros
    • PI attention
    • Regular interaction and insights into your project
    • Pressure to perform
  • Cons
    • Not much room to switch
    • Have to focus on the specific direction that has been chosen