Picking advisers and tenureship

[comp12]

What thoughts do people have about picking an Assistant Professor as your PhD adviser. What advantages/disadvantages do you see in selecting a professor who is going up for tenure review? Perhaps s/he would be more inclined to advise you since s/he is being reviewed for service. Or the opposite, because the stress and time commitments of tenure review would distract from advising responsibilities that are in the best interest of the student? Also, there of course is always the chance the professor does not get promoted to Associate, leaving the student in the dark to find another adviser midway through the PhD. Thoughts?

[crazygirl2012]

There are pros and cons to both. The points you mentioned are really important ones. Because the pros and cons in this decision really balance each other, I didn't worry too much about whether or not my potential advisor had tenure. It was not a factor in my decision. The advisor I chose does not have tenure, and I'm actually pretty happy about that. My undergrad advisor is the same age as my PhD advisor (30). I'm happy that I can continue to work with someone young. Other students might prefer an older, more experienced advisor who already has tenure. I think that compatibility (in personality, research interests, expectations, etc.) is most important.

[Eigen]

I'd recommend searching- this has been brought up several times, and the past discussions will probably be quite enlightening to your situation.

My PI is an Assistant Prof, he's going up for tenure quite soon. I've found the process enjoyable, and he's very fired up about his projects, which I consider worthwhile to me and my career.

[comp12]

Thanks guys. I do wonder, if there are any posters here who have experienced an adviser, with whom they've really enjoyed working, leaving the university as a result of tenure review. I'd be curious how they found the transition of switching to another professor in the middle of their degree.

[Tall Chai Latte]

I'm in a PhD program, and my advisor was an assistant professor when I joined the lab. Initially I wasn't comfortable working with assistant professors because of uncertainty in their tenure status, but once I started working with my current advisor, I didn't find any problem with professors who have yet to acquire tenure. If you are the first couple students of a professor, there are pros and cons: pros may include that you are working with someone who's closer to your age (I'm assuming that you attend grad school straight out of undergrad), and bonding is easier. They are also knowledgable enough for you to learn a lot from them, and they are ambitious in establishing themselves in the scientific community, which will benefit the student(s) if things work out well. The cons include that since they are under pressure to produce and establish themselves, the stress will be transferred to people working for them. They are also learning how to be a good advisor/mentor, and how to define good scientific problems for post docs/grad students. It will be a learning experience for both of you, and you will grow together.

Basically, regardless professorial rank of the faculty you choose to work with, there will be pros and cons. In my case, I'm comfortable with my advisor and the rest of the lab, that's something I pay more attention to than the science or whether or not s/he is tenured. The tenure question did come up when I consider PhD advisors, and I've spoken to my program director about this, he basically said this is not something that grad students should worry about, and the program will take care of its students. At least at my department. If your PI is denied tenure and has to move elsewhere, as long as s/he move to another institute within United States, you can easily follow along if the advisor is willing to take you. Personality/working style match comes first, research interest mach comes second, and then professorial rank/tenure status/other things.

Just my 0.02.

[rising_star]

Okay, here's something to think about. Faculty move all the time, whether it's as a result of a tenure review or due to other factors. My advisor is a full professor and he's moving to a new university this fall. Fact of the matter is that one cannot foresee or predict these things in advance.

Which is all a way of saying that I wouldn't worry too much about a person's title unless the department or university has a track record of denying tenure to faculty. Only then would I care. But that isn't the norm in most departments, which means you have very little to worry about in that sense. Otherwise, focus on how well you will work with that person, both in terms of their research interests and expertise AND in terms of personality. It's far more important to have an advisor you work well with that's interested in your work than almost anything else.