Confused about research group

[nano2014]

Hello All,

      I am a new PhD student in my first semester and I am having a hard time deciding which group to join. I am seeking some insight or second opinion.

  My background

     I am an international student studying in the US and obtained my bachelors degree in a liberal arts school. My concentration was a major in chemistry with a minor in math. Back in school I only had very limited research opportunities. In fact the ones I had, I created myself out of classes that I found interesting (aka independent research). The research I enjoyed most was medical applications of nanotechnology. This was the reason why I applied to graduate school, I was interested in learning more about it. While in undergrad, I had many research interests but could not explore them because many funded undergrad research had citizenship requirement (which is completely understandable). I also reached out to professors in my area at research universities but the only ones that got back to me were in fields I had little passion for, although I worked in their labs anyway. 

 

Now I am in graduate school. I was hoping to explore more research through rotations but the rotation policy changed and now students do one rotation instead of the two which was advertised earlier on. I have found so many research that are very interesting to me. That is why I applied to this particular school in the first place (to explore my passion before I settle with a group).

 As the fall semester draws to an end, I am expected to declare the professor I am interested in working with (for rotation in the spring semester). And this is where my dilemma lies.

 

   The groups that work with nanotechnology with medical applications do not have the funding to support a new student, so I had to look elsewhere. I have now identified three groups who work in areas I am interested in but different aspects of it.

 

  Group one: This group synthesizes nanoparticles for energy applications. The primary aim of the research at this point is to synthesize particles that are effective in splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. 

  Pros: 

  1. This research seems promising towards making cleaner energy.

  2. I am interested in novel nanoparticle synthesis.

Con:

  1. This professor is new so I am a tad bit unsure about the future of this project and whether it will hold.

   2. Depending on who you ask, the future of hydrogen as a source of energy seem quite unpredictable.

   3.This research in not medically focused

Group Two:  This research is about the microenvironment of cancerous tumors

 Pros:

  1. This research is medically related (specifically cancer research) which I am very much interested in. (At least the few papers that I have read from this lab were very interesting)

   Con:

   1. This is basically tissue engineering related with no nanoparticle/medical devise focused.

    2. I'll like to some some physical science/engineering focus (ie building stuff)

Group Three:

    Nmr of novel semiconductor materials. With the possibility of doing some research in semi-conductors.

   Pros:

   1.After attending a few seminars organized by my program I have gotten some interest in semiconductors and I'll love to explore it.

    2. This professor is very well established. Her group works with teams across the country.

    3. She has quite a bit of funding

    4. Has multiple projects in her lab (physics and chemistry) which will be a great asset to building a diverse set of skills

   Cons:

   1. Completely out of line with what I wanted to do in the beginning. 

    2. Not sure whether I'll like it. Have no experience here.

 

I need a second opinion. This decision has been keeping me up at night and my thinking process is all jumbled up and can't really make an informed decision.

   My thinking process is along the lines of:

   1. I am going to spend 5 years here so I need to enjoy my project. I know there'll be frustrating times but I am a very motivated person.

    2. I'll like to attend conferences to network ( bioengineering professor is not too keen on conferences because he thinks people "steal" ideas)

    3. Will these set of skills be employable? Although I am interested in the "clean energy" research I am skeptical about it  due to the unstable market and differing opinions about hydrogen as a source of clean energy.

     PS:

  All these three professors are extremely nice and helpful and their grad students are happy with them. So from that point, I don't think the personality of the PI is an issue. The NMR group is fairly large (quite a friendly group) the other two have an average of one student.

 

Please let me know your thoughts. Any advice will be helpful in clearing up my thinking process. Thank you! 

   

   

 

[fuzzylogician]

I don't think that this is something any of us can help you with. You're asking us what we think you should do research on, but that is such an individual decision, how can we know?

 

Assuming that you really can't do work with the group whose interests are most closely aligned with yours, you have no choice but to rank the pros and cons of the other groups against each other. How important is it that it's medical-related research? How important is it to have variety in possible projects? How important is it that the professor is well established? My guess is that based on what you've already told us is important to you, group 1 is more of a risk than the other two (with work that might lead no where and a new professor). Of the remaining two, the third group is the one with more opportunities, but you need to somehow decide if it's the kind of research you could become interested in. No one here can tell you that. 

 

Disclaimer: I am from a completely different field so this is based entirely on your post and some informed guess work. Take with a spoonful of salt.

[St Andrews Lynx]

The other things to think about are the PI's management style and general group dynamics, since those will vary from group to group. 

 

Some people like a group where there is lots of flexibility in the working hours you self-select. Other people prefer a more regulated set of working hours, to keep them motivated. PIs can give you lots of hands-on assistance or very little - depending on how independent you are you will know which kind you prefer. Some PIs are more concerned with "training" their graduate students and placing them in good jobs, others will expect you to train yourself. 

 

The type of research you do in grad school doesn't matter too much: many chemists use their postdoc to change fields and explore new research areas after their PhD. Ideally you want to do a kind of research project that gives you a good skill set, that will make you employable afterwards.