Tall Chai Latte

This is the thing I don't understand. I can see how the PI feels threatened if the mentee is a post doc, but it takes a student several years to become the PI's equal... How does the PI see his/her own students as competitors?

I agree with this. Young PIs are interested to try all kinds of things, even tangentially related to their strong suit because they want to expand their research. Being their students, you may be forced to do experiments that no one in the lab knows how to do, not even the PI. You might become jack of all trades, which has pros and cons. But pros could be bigger than cons, given science is becoming more and more interdisciplinary nowadays. You can make up the lack of specialization by doing a postdoc in a lab, with the technique forte you want to learn. To reply the authorship question, yes the students/postdocs did most of the work, but their finding means really big to the field. I guess that's why PI took the credit. Older profs will let students/post docs take first authorship if they did all the experiments and wrote the manuscript.

I'll chime in with what I wish I knew: 1. Protect your own interest/time. This goes into a lot of things, for example, making sure you get what you come for during your PhD is very important. You can never get those time back if it wasn't spent wisely. Others have their own interests in mind, so you should do the same for yourself. Say NO to unreasonable requests and workloads, and insist on creating new educational opportunities. 2. Grades are actually important in grad school. I always thought that grades don't matter as much as they were in undergrad. They actually do. I guess it has something to do with the tough funding scene and such, that you just have to be as perfect and smooth as you can. I was put on academic probation because of a class outside of my background, and the trouble associated with it wasn't pleasant to deal with. 3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. You don't want to lose your health. 4. Find something else that can excite you outside of science. There will be times when Science would seem the most boring thing ever, no matter how passionate you are about it. Find another thing that excites you! It's a good balance, and when Science gives you lemon, you can turn to the other thing for temporary relief. Training for long distance runs is my other thing, the sense of accomplishment always recharges me to face another round of scientific challenge. That's all I can think of right now..

OP, I really like your bucket list. I've skydived last summer, and I really really recommend you do it. You free fall for a bit and come down on parachute, the view underneath your feet is awesome! It's something I'd remember for the rest of my life. I've done a half marathon so far, although I didn't really lose any weight (but instead, I gained weight - muscle weight), the sense of accomplishment is addicting.

Oh wow. So much drama right there. I've experienced something similar but not to the same extend as you. My ex-roommate during my first year of grad school was a random pick, because I just wanted a place to live for the year. It didn't turn out well either, I often had to listen to her fighting with her boyfriend on the phone, it was loud that I could hear her in my room. I eventually moved away because I prefer living in a quiet environment. If the drama is really distracting you, you should move out. Why add extra stress when you are home, when school during day is already stressful enough?

My apartment has a standard kitchen, but no separate area for dinning. I usually just eat in front of my laptop while I watch movies, so my desk is also my dinning table lol. But having a kitchen is useful, it saves me money on eating out.

Another pro is that your POI is young and ambitious, which is a plus for you because you two will be lifting your career at the same time. On the other hand, a rather senior POI can be not as enthusiastic/eager about publishing their work, because he/she doesn't need it anymore. Getting along with younger POI is easier since you will be closer in age. Some of the cons you mentioned do happen elsewhere, but I am in no means implying anything about your POI. I've seen a young assistant professor in my department puts himself as first author on higher-impact publication, and names of his post-docs and students come after. Another thing to consider is new POIs are still learning how to develop ideas into executable projects, it could happen that you get stuck with a project that goes nowhere and force you to switch projects. This wouldn't feel good if you already devote significant amount of time in your work.

I will chime in. I am a grad student in the STEM field, more specifically, the biomedical science area. Pros: 1. The freedom I receive to explore unfamiliar scientific territory. I can try this and that, and if something works, it's very rewarding. 2. You know that something you are working on could have great impact human health. In a very good way. 3. Flexible schedule. I like to sleep in lol, though I doubt my PI likes that. You can always choose a time that's the most productive for you. Cons: 1. The money. Not enough to save, not enough to spend. 2. Work is basically unlimited. No boundary between you and science, and science never sleeps -- so neither do you. 3. The STEM field, especially the biomedical sciences, is too crowded. I majored in biochemistry in undergrad, and our department was pretty even in terms of both genders. Maybe boys were slightly more than girls. But overall I didn't notice any difference. In my grad program, there are more girls than boys, and there isn't really any discrimination either.

Dear Forum, I am considering leaving my PhD. I've written about my situation before (see ), so long story short, I am half way into my third year and already a PhD candidate, and just within the past month my projects started to take off, new funds coming in, new collaboration formed, etc. But I cannot pretend anymore: I am not learning anything new. I may be in a different field and learning a different set of general knowledge, but I am not learning any new techniques. My projects are designed to "fully utilize" my background and techniques I already know how to do, which are technologies PI wants to have in the lab (not her strength). As time goes on, it seems that there is no sign of switching me closer to what the lab is good at. In fact, the lab is so interdisciplinary that there isn't really a core technology we claim to be an expert in. There is someone working on cell lines, basic biochemistry, biophysics, mouse models... Majority of which is not the PI's expertise. I insisted on letting me go and get trainings for my projects, it took months for her to finally agree. There are some days when she is in a good mood, working with her is great, and other days, everything you do is just plain wrong -- you are just never fast and productive enough by her standards. I fully understand that my PI shoulders a lot of responsibility as the head of the lab. Being a female and a professor at the same time is a difficult task in itself, so I don't want to blame her for being pushy or less mentor-y. After all, I am responsible for my learning. But at the same time, I am just slaving away -- without gaining anything significant. I have two big and two small projects rotating around, each project is different enough if one of them works out, it could change the direction of my thesis (so I have no thesis committee at this point). I feel really behind compared to other students in my cohort. At this moment, I don't see myself going for a academic career. Does anyone have a good suggestion about how to leave, because I am now the only grad student in the lab? Is there another perspective I should think about before I spill the beans to higher-ups? Thanks guys. Any advice is appreciated.

A masters in Pharmacology could be useful, and Pharmacology kids have a better time getting a job in industry. To BCELL23: how to get a position at Pfizer? I'd like to know, thanks.

OP, you are not alone. And it's great to know that I'm not alone as well. My department is friendly and professional, but I don't really feel connected to anyone, faculty and students alike. Most of the time, it's usually like "ok hi, how are you doing? let's get this done" and end of conversation. Things got a little better when I started training for my half marathon. That shifted my attention away from not making any real friends, and on top of it, there is health benefit too. And now I have one more thing I can talk about during small talks with other students.

I'm speaking from my experience, just my 0.02 here. When I was deciding on a lab to join, I considered people over science. However, the funding scene at the time was tough, so I had to change my research interests (basically brainstorming and be open about other tangentially related works) multiple times until I rotated with a PI whose interests aligns somewhat with mine and is well funded. The lab becomes my current lab home. One PI suggested I "follow the energy landscape" of funding, because what you do for your thesis isn't necessarily what you will do for your post doc (assuming you stay in academia). I'd say this lab is still a good choice if the PI and the rest of the lab work well with you. As for the funding question, it depends on what stage is the pre-tenure faculty at. A 5th year assistant professor without a major funding source spells trouble, but for your PI, it's still too early to tell.

Pathology 3.5 for my experience since day 1 till the present. I think my 1st year would probably be a 1. Lots of unwritten rules and speed bumps, and I almost could not find a lab home. Starting my second year the rating has gone up to a 3.75-4, much of it came from being finally settled down somewhere. My supervisor is reasonable, and the rest of the department is collegial. My projects have their typical ups and downs, so averaging everything I would give a 3.5-3.75.

My 2012 was not bad. I passed my prelim, went skydiving, and completed my first half-marathon. Compared to years before (2010-2011), 2012 treated me nicely. I can't say if I like Gangnam style that much.. Well, it's a good catchy tune to listen to when you are sitting in the traffic.

I don't think being the only grad student should be something that keeps you from rotating with this guy. Speaking from my own experience (I'm currently the only grad student in lab and will likely continue to be so), I feel lonelier than students in other labs, where there may be more than one students in the same year or different years. So I had to go next door and make some grad student friends. The upside is that you'll become the baby in lab, and your fellow postdocs will be your valuable resource for a lot of things.

Chai_Latte, what a coincidence! Are you also a chai latte lover? This program raises many red flags. I googled around and nobody seems to ever talk about this program, so I guess you are right...

I'm not sure where should this post belong to, so I apologize if this is in the wrong sub forum. Recently I've begun researching into potential alternative career choices, as to brainstorming ways to transition myself out of academia at some point (I'm about 2 months into my third year at a top-20 PhD program, already done with courses and advanced to candidacy), and I came across this masters program from Hopkins on Biotechnology. The program also offers concentration in Biodefense, Bioinformatics, Regulatory affairs and a few others. What appeals to me about this program is the freedom to finish the degree entirely online, and the name of the school. The downside of it is the entire program costs ~33K, and I can't seem to find the job placement outcome associated with this degree. Has anyone heard of this program or is currently enrolled in it? I heard that virtually all applicants are accepted, on top of being able to take it from anywhere in the country. It's a little too good to be true...

Mostly graduate students: Duke Dartmouth Johns Hopkins Michigan Mostly post-docs: OHSU NIH Yale Harvard Scripps

Hi there, I was having a bit of a motivation issue as well. My lab is small and my PI is nice, but the techniques required to do my project are totally different from what the rest of the lab does, so I often have to figure stuff out on my own. Persistence in getting time with people who can help you is essential, eventually someone will give you some information if you keep on trying, or an eureka moment will appear! I've had both happened before. You can do it!

Why not?

"See currently biochemistry is taught with not just a non-quantitative attitude but an actively anti-quantitative attitude. Biochemists right now literally scoff at math. But its a grad class, so it has to be hard *somehow*. If the math is not hard, guess where they're going to make it hard?" I majored in biochemistry in undergrad, so I might be able to offer my perspective. Depending on which division of school your biochemistry department belongs to, things could come off as non-math or lots-of-math. For example, at my undergrad, our biochemistry department is coupled to the chemistry department (as Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry), our courses are more chemistry-oriented where students are exposed to math, physics, physical chemistry etc. There are some schools put their biochemistry department under medical school division (like the biochemistry program at my current school), it becomes more biology heavy. My PI is affiliated with the Biochemistry department, and from my perspective the overall sense of the lab is very biology-oriented, but she calls herself a biochemist. Like Eigen pointed out, a lot of biochemistry is very quantitative. For example, enzymologist use a great deal of differential equations to study enzyme kinetics. In some other stuff people do within biochemistry field, like structure biology, is more physics-based, so you'd see professors with physics background working there.

Well, just do your best. You are only a second year grad student, so you can't possibly know everything... But not like, saying "I don't know" to everything. I was nervous as hell when I did mine. Couldn't sleep at all the night before, and it wasn't a good idea...

Lol, I like this! It actually made me feel better.

I'm a grad student from a middle class family. We are not particularly wealthy, but we are getting by okay. I wouldn't necessarily think that a lot of grad students are from privileged backgrounds, but they sure have an easier time financially. Given nowadays it takes a long while before a grad student can become financially independent, having privileged background could be in favor (echoing wildviolet's opinion here).