How often do you interact with your advisor?

[iowaguy]

Trying to decide between a couple of different programs/POI's.  I'm a (slightly) older PhD candidate, very self-motivated, accustomed to working for a board that I meet with monthly (otherwise I'm the boss on a day-to-day basis).  I'm looking for an advisor that's not a micromanager; one that can give me the autonomy to pursue the research I'm most interested in and let me set my own daily schedule so as to maximize my productivity/lifestyle.

 

Anyway, a POI at one of my top choices has the reputation of giving students "lots of freedom", yet a couple of his previous grad students that I talked with complained that they didn't get enough face time with him & that sometimes his feedback is slow on papers/research due to other commitments (he is an older "famous" prof in his field and travels a lot for conferences, consulting, boards/commissions, etc).  He has a talented lab manager, a talented statistician, and a talented field researcher under him; these are folks I would likely be working with on a daily/weekly basis.

 

How often do you think a PhD student should ideally meet with their advisor?  How "hands-off" is too infrequent of interaction?  Thanks in advance for any advice!!!

 

[ak48]

When I was an undergrad at a lab of about 7 students (1 postdoc, 5 PhD, and me), the prof would hold weekly group meetings (in addition to being available throughout the week). Small lab, generally available professor. I think I enjoyed that group dynamic a lot.

 

As I'm considering the few PhD acceptances I got, I've met one lab of +20 students. Apparently the prof's involvement has been very "feast or famine" throughout the PhD cycle. He'll focus attention at key points, but otherwise leave students alone. His students seemed largely satisfied, but I don't think I'd like it at all.

[fuzzylogician]

It varies and depends on what I'm doing and what my needs are. Right now I meet with my advisor about twice a week; we have several things going at the same time - a workshop we're co-teaching, a paper we're writing together and a few experiments in different design/running stages. I also have my dissertation project that I sometimes need feedback on. When there's less going on, once a week or every other week has worked too, and I ask any questions I have via email. I have friends who prefer less frequent meetings with their advisors (e.g. only when they've hit a wall or have made significant progress) and they are happy that way, so it's all about what works best for you. The key for me is to know that my advisor is available and responsive when I need his help, and that we have a good working relationship and clear ways to communicate with each other.

[Dal PhDer]

I think it depends (like others have said) what point you're at in your degree. Right now, while I'm doing my comps, I meet maybe once a month. I'll admit that my PI tends to be more away than there, but I have high hopes that this will change when I dive into my data collection phase. 

 

I think it also depends on what you want. If I wanted to meet more, I'm sure I could- so you will most likely have that flexibility!

[biotechie]

Like the others said, it really does depend on your needs and expectations as a student.

 

I see or at least hear from my Masters PIs daily. I have a feeling this is partially due to me starting in this lab as an undergrad. While I like being in constant contact, it can be a little frustrating when you have to troubleshoot a little and get the data out a day or so later than they expected. I couldn't have asked for better advisors. These guys are amazing. However, for PhD, I would probably want to see them a little less if I stayed so that I may be more independent. 

 

I am hoping that at my new program for PhD that I will end up with a PI that will be pretty hands on in the lab, but not quite as much as these guys. I would like someone who will be involved in my training and will work with me and mentor me rather than constantly over me. That's one of the things I love about science: the collaborative nature. If they're really hands on in the beginning and more hands off later, I'm okay with that because I should be able to pick up on their expectations during training. I don't think I would be happy with a PI that I was in contact with less than once per week.

[Tall Chai Latte]

As others have said, it depends both on your and the prospective PI's personalities. In my lab, my PI has weekly one-on-one meetings with everyone in the lab, where you will definitely get to discuss science and getting feedback. She's usually there when you need contact, and she doesn't come hunt you down unless you owe her figures/data/written stuff. This is what I like about her -- I'm not under constant watch. I can decide how I want to plan my week, and still have enough trust from her. As opposed to the postdocs, they are under more pressure and my PI comes to them for progress much more often. 

[icthere]

I went through something similar this time last year. I was choosing mainly between two offers, one from a rather young professor with a strong reputation of being overly hands-on, and the other from an older, really famous, hands-off professor. I remember listing all the pros and cons of each after talking with each profs students and chose the second offer, but I have found out about another downside that this kind of advisors could potentially have which I didn't notice back then (not generalizing, just think about this too). And that is, because he doesn't get involved very much in my project, he really can't give me the feedback I expect and his comments are often too shallow. I'm sure that given his history, he could potentially be much more helpful to my research, but I guess good ideas just need more mental involvement with the subject to come up! 

 

Now don't get me wrong, I would definitely choose him once again if I go back. I really enjoy the independence in research and the lack of constant pressure to deliver results. It allows me to try out ideas that don't look that promising in the beginning without fearing that I won't have enough good results for next week's meeting, which I think is what research is really about. I think I have the least frequent interaction with my advisor. We have no regular meetings and close to zero research related email interaction. I can ask for a meeting if I want to, but he wouldn't come after me even after two months (maybe more, but this is as far as I have gone!).