cogsci2018

I think this is a nuanced situation and extremely POI dependent. The main things to consider would be whether or not they are in a tenure-track position, their pathway for graduate students to gain authorship, and their 5-year plan. Assuming they are tenure track, there is an inherent conflict of interest with their publication record and yours. Based on their own needs to secure tenure, they might be less able to allow grad students to work on independent research or contribute at the level of being first author when compared to someone who is established w/ tenure. Although, even established professors could have VERY difficult pathways for anyone in their lab to gain authorship (which is a discussion in itself). In addition, I've heard anecdotally being someone's first grad student can = lots of time dedicated to getting the lab running at the beginning. It would be good to know how soon they would have data for you to work on, or if they have old data sets you are able to analyze within that interim. If they don't have tenure, there's always the possibility they could leave for another institution. Where does that leave you? Would they be able to take you with them? Would there be another POI in the department able to take you on if not? These are tricky questions that don't necessarily have answers or are difficult to tactfully approach, although important to keep in mind when deciding.