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Working for an Older PI


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I am currently in the process of choosing between 3 excellent options for grad school. The one I felt was the best fit had a somewhat old professor who I wanted to work for, but a lot of the other prospective students seemed wary of him visit weekend because of his age. So my question is, how old is too old, and is age really a major concern I should have? While speaking with him it felt like an advantage, as I feel like I can learn a lot from him in both chemistry and life experience, and he is just a great guy. The other issue with this school is that he is the only one I truly would want to work for, however I have spoken with him multiple times and know I like him, his group members, and love the research, and also that he would take me as a student (which seem to be the concerns with not having other options). 

So I am trying to decide where I should go, and ultimately would like some help with this particular issue.

Thanks!

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If you were going to be the last student he accepted into his group I would maybe be concerned, only because I, personally,  would get lonely towards the end after everyone else graduated. More importantly, what about his funding? A lot of older professors I know aren't getting grants renewed  and the funding is drying up. Just my thoughts! 

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18 minutes ago, Hottotrot said:

If you were going to be the last student he accepted into his group I would maybe be concerned, only because I, personally,  would get lonely towards the end after everyone else graduated. More importantly, what about his funding? A lot of older professors I know aren't getting grants renewed  and the funding is drying up. Just my thoughts! 

That is a good point! I don't think I had considered that. I know he currently has funding, although I can't speak for 4-5 years from now. As far as I have heard (from his current students) he plans to take students for a couple more years now, but yes I agree it would get lonely to be the last.

Thanks for responding!

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In my bias opinion, when a PI is working on research topics aren't "hot", nor requires external funding to sustain productivity, then the PI is probably "old" -- not a good sign at all.

You will meet people during your grad school career anyway (under normal circumstances), so "possible loneliness" should be a very small factor in the big picture. Some labs may have difficulty to secure extra funding, but that shouldn't stop you from applying funding for your own (i.e. predoctoral fellowship(s)). Also, co-PI is a possible solution should funding truly becomes your concern, which, in my opinion, should actually be your PI / your program / admin's concern but not yours (assuming they all want you to stay, of course).

If you think that it is too risky to go to this school (as you said there are basically no other options/backups in this school), then you should reevaluate your current options and worst case scenarios. Do you want to TA throughout your PhD? Is it a deal breaker?

The truth is, "old" isn't a description of a PI's age but the productivity of a lab. I wanted to work for this particular PI for my postdoc, who is now in his mid-70s. None of the other things matter as long as his lab is still active, I will for sure apply to his lab for my postdoctoral training.

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7 hours ago, aberrant said:

In my bias opinion, when a PI is working on research topics aren't "hot", nor requires external funding to sustain productivity, then the PI is probably "old" -- not a good sign at all.

You will meet people during your grad school career anyway (under normal circumstances), so "possible loneliness" should be a very small factor in the big picture. Some labs may have difficulty to secure extra funding, but that shouldn't stop you from applying funding for your own (i.e. predoctoral fellowship(s)). Also, co-PI is a possible solution should funding truly becomes your concern, which, in my opinion, should actually be your PI / your program / admin's concern but not yours (assuming they all want you to stay, of course).

If you think that it is too risky to go to this school (as you said there are basically no other options/backups in this school), then you should reevaluate your current options and worst case scenarios. Do you want to TA throughout your PhD? Is it a deal breaker?

The truth is, "old" isn't a description of a PI's age but the productivity of a lab. I wanted to work for this particular PI for my postdoc, who is now in his mid-70s. None of the other things matter as long as his lab is still active, I will for sure apply to his lab for my postdoctoral training.

Thank you for the input! 

By old I was purely referring to his age. Although the lab does appear less active than maybe years past have been, they are still fairly active and publishing. As far as I know, his lab currently has funding. The main thing that scared me was that his students told me he only plans to take students for a few more years, and if that is the case I don't know if he will continue to be funded throughout my graduate career. And no, TAing my entire graduate career would not be ideal.

I think I have decided at this point that the lab would be a great fit for me, although I'm nervous to go somewhere with virtually no other options, so I will probably consider my other school options instead.

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