I’m curious how mechanical + electrical engineering PhD students should think about choosing a lab. Specifically, my goal is to maximize long-term scientific impact, but I’m not committed to a single problem. That said, there are several big problems I care about (e.g., energy storage, desalination, etc.) and would like to tackle throughout my career.
For this reason, I’m unsure whether it is better to join:
A problem-focused lab whose primary focus is to work directly on one of those problems (e.g., an electrochemical battery research or desalination lab).
A technology-focused lab (e.g., meta materials, novel membranes) whose technology possibly could be impactful for the problems I am interested in (but chance is low). However, in general, the technology is versatile and could be applied to many problems in the future.
A technology-focused lab also working on a versatile technology, but not obviously relevant to the problems I care most about.
When choosing a PhD advisor, should students already have a few “big questions” in mind and let those largely drive their decision (i.e., favor a problem-focused lab)? Or are there good reasons to choose labs 2) or 3) as well (and if so, why)?
Also, for comparison, how does the answer differ in industry? Is the usual advice for junior engineers to expand their skillset as much as possible early on, or to specialize around a particular problem?
Would greatly appreciate any insights.
