Assistant Professor as POI?

[newenglandshawn]

I'm sure this question has been raised a thousand times before on here, but I can't seem to track it down (or lack the patience to do so). But are "Assistant Professors" able to take PhD students?

[fuzzylogician]

Normally, yes. You can email the person and ask them if they are taking on new students. 

 

Assistant professors are untenured and normally on the tenure track. I'm sure you're aware of the general pros and cons of working with an assistant professor, but if not, you may want to look up some threads about this issue. 

[newenglandshawn]

Thanks!

 

And, no, I'm not real well-versed in the pros and cons. Care to share some?

[fuzzylogician]

Briefly (on my way out of the office): Assistant professors are recently hired professors who are on the tenure track but not yet tenured. 

 

Pros: They are often easier to relate to, because they are closer to you in age and mentality and still remember what it's like being a student. They are very motivated to do successful work and to publish quickly, because they tenure case will depend on it. As one of their first students, you have more influence on the direction their research will take because they have less established things going on and instead a lot of new projects that are getting started. 

 

Cons: They are less experienced, which sometimes leads to difficulties. If they are open-minded you just talk them out and it can be a learning experience for both of you, but generally it can be less smooth. They may be less well-known, so their recommendation may be less influential than a recommendation from a famous professor and they may have less connections. They may push you more than a tenured professor to work an publish because, again, that's crucial for them. Some of them may be too hands on or apprehensive about exploratory high-risk projects because they may not produce publications. 

 

This is all generalities and may not be true for a specific person, of course. You want to talk to current students of this professor to learn what their style is like. 

 

Edit: personally I work mainly with a new(er) professor (tenured during my time here) and also have an established professor as mentor, and it's worked out great in the sense of getting advice from both ends and having both advising styles available to me. I've learned a lot more from the newer professor and I've also benefitted from the experience of the more established professor. 

Edited October 2, 2013 by fuzzylogician

[cadences]

There's also the possibility that - for whatever reason - said assistant professor ends up not procuring tenure and leaves halfway through your doctoral studies, or worse, your dissertation. Touch wood, of course, but it is a possibility nonetheless...

[fuzzylogician]

There's also the possibility that - for whatever reason - said assistant professor ends up not procuring tenure and leaves halfway through your doctoral studies, or worse, your dissertation. Touch wood, of course, but it is a possibility nonetheless...

 

Oh yes, I was going to write about that and ran out of time. That's the big one, but it's a question you probably can answer for yourself with some certainty before you begin working with an untenured advisor. If they are very early in the process, they may not even be up for tenure or even if they are denied they'll still be there when you are working on your dissertation, so it shouldn't matter for you much. If they are further down the process, e.g. 3-4 years in, you should be able to judge their productivity and hence their chances of getting tenure - are they publishing? getting grant money (in relevant fields)? are they successfully advising students? If they are doing well, chances are they'll get tenure. If they have no students or no publications or you know of some major strife between them and the department, those are big red flags. They are also big red flags for tenured professors, btw.

 

In general, even if you intend to work with a tenured professor, it's a good idea to have at least one other person in the department who could potentially take over as an advisor, because, well, life happens. If nothing else, you'll need two other people beside your advisor to sit on your committee and it's good if their interests are somewhat related to yours or they have something to contribute beyond what your main advisor can contribute. That aside, it may also turn out that as much as you like a person's work, you may not get along with them and want to switch advisors, or they may leave the school or get sick or lose their funding, etc. So if you are totally dependent on one person, you're always in a weak position.