Q: I have the opportunity to study abroad during my Ph.D.
As: Absence may delay your home credits from being awarded, thus slowing program completion and graduation. If these, and/or financial adjustments, are immaterial to you, by all means experience someplace new. 

Q: I’m having trouble asking questions in seminars, conferences, and public talks.
As: Jot down and taxonomize questions that others ask in group meetings and talks. Ask your advisor and university learning center for tips and practice sessions. Consult Anatomy of a Research Report.

Q: How do I come up with strong research ideas?
As: Just as musicians often perform songs from the past, a gold mine of scientific inspiration is research literature of 1-2 generations ago, when pioneers in your field identified then-insoluble, now-soluble questions. Today’s open questions are also reviewed in talks and literature; always have a notebook at hand for active listening and reading. Chat with vendors at conferences. Their livelihood depends on knowing the field’s current and future directions, and on building solution technologies.

Q: Do advisors help with networking?
As: Some advisors send students to meetings in their stead; complement and direct questions to students or postdocs during their own talks; alert them to fellowships, jobs, and prizes; and make calls on their behalf in addition to writing strong letters of recommendation. Many other PIs take a “sink or swim on your own” policy. Check with group postdocs to find out where your PI sits on this continuum.

Q: How do I get my name out there?
As: Write, write, write, write, write. Meet with your advisor to plan out possible publications a year in advance. ARR will help you to become speedy and competent in producing research reports.

Q: Is it appropriate to walk up to random people at conferences and introduce myself?
As: Yes indeed. Networking is fundamentally what conferences are about. Information transfer is most efficient via print, not in person. In contrast, forming an opinion of, knowledge of, or an acquaintance with colleagues is best achieved directly, face to face.

Q: I’m burned out and exhausted. Please suggest strategies to get through my dissertation.
As: Some advisors are accessible, sympathetic, and helpful; others will perceive weakness in requests for advice and assistance. Anatomy of a Research Report is a good section-by-section guide to the dissertation. Search for a quiet place to work and relax. Many friends, family, and sports or other groups will gladly provide care in this last push.

Q: Should I complete a Master's degree then go on to a Ph.D. program, or apply to a Ph.D. program directly?
As: As a Ph.D. appears to be your ultimate goal, we advise getting on with it within the strongest program to which you are admitted. Compare program rankings and reputations, professorial standing and supportiveness, and cost if any.

Q: Should I continue on in the same department for a Ph.D.?
As: It’s a better idea to acquire breadth of training and a larger collegial network by going elsewhere.

Q: I’ve been accepted to a two-year Master’s program only. Should I attend it, or take one external research year before a guaranteed Ph.D. spot, as recommended by an advisor in that Ph.D. program?
As: One external research year in industry is short, its financial rewards considerable, and the experience valuable. Further, you will be demonstrating attentiveness to the Ph.D. advisor’s advice. Lastly, it’s unlikely all credits from an external Master’s program will transfer to the Ph.D. program. 

Q: Should I accompany my advisor, who is moving to a different country?
As: Is the advisor a teacher and mentor worth following? Will s/he still be accessible after the transfer despite additional demands on her/his time? Is the group being allocated equal or better resources? If so, prepare to enjoy and learn from foreign experience. If not, switching your advisor under these circumstances will give rise to fewer questions and repercussions than usual.

Q: What is an appropriate level of professionalism between a graduate student and advisor?
As: As a graduate student you’re a PI in training, onstage the moment you walk onto campus. Assume your best professional self. Show unfailing courtesy to younger and fellow students, secretaries, lab managers, safety officer, mail handlers, and custodians. In emergencies, help with others’ problems or donate snacks. Consider matching your PI’s hours at work. Your own professionalism and collegiality will benefit the relationship.

Q: All around me, male graduate students gravitate into gender-exclusive friendships.
As: Always greet these men courteously, and don’t be afraid to show your competence in a dispassionate way. Another route to men’s seeing you as an ally is their respect for sustained physical prowess e.g., sports, grit, long hours, hard work. If you want to meet on their playing field, offer the department a tough lunchtime running or exercise class. Take part in group activities however skilled you are. If you play a sport yourself, invite a male counterpart to scrimmage or to watch a game in a public place. (See too AP1.) 

Q: Is a web presence necessary to researchers?
As: Yes, social media and an up to date website encourage colleagues to stay abreast of your work and events you endorse or in which you participate.

Q: How do I talk about my former advisor, with whom I have a poor relationship?
As Summary: Don’t, except with your closest trusted colleagues. If asked by others, give an anodyne reply such as “we don’t always see eye to eye.” If bad relations threaten to become obstructive, set the record straight as possible in a conversation with the department chair. We hope you will receive a fair hearing.

Q: My advisor decides all my projects for me. I want more input and autonomy.
As: Obviously the first step is to discuss this with your PI. Propose, in writing, 2-3 side projects, along with timelines, you’re knowledgeable enough to execute semi-independently. If one or two of these don’t persuade the PI, and autonomy is very important to you, revise the listing according to her/his input and that of a second knowledgeable person, such as a senior technician or the lab manager. Return the revised listing to the PI within a month. If unsuccessful at that point, consult your university ombudsperson.

Q: Is it okay to reach out to external researchers for their expertise?
As: No, you’re likely unaware of pre-existing history and issues among your group and others. Your PI must pre-approve project-related contact, especially information trading.

Q: How much do my university’s rank/status affect chances later in my career?
As: A great deal. Prestigious universities typically offer successful students more rigorous, comprehensive, topical training than is possible elsewhere. For this reason, positions, grants, and fellowships often go to their graduates, all other things being equal, i.e., all applicants are highly recommended and submit similarly stellar proposals.

Q: I’ve never failed a test before, let alone as terribly as now on material I thought I knew.
As: Meet with the course TA and instructor to pinpoint where you went wrong. Compare their explanations. Take these explanations to your university’s learning center, whose experts can restore confidence by ensuring you’re preparing properly for exams. Retake the test.

Q: My PI is an idiot. He knows one phenomenon only, and one way to look at it only.
As: Hey, too strong. He was hired for that expertise, and unfashionable thinkers have, over time, proven themselves visionaries. Make certain you can’t learn further from him. Politely and deferentially, ask him and one or two of his professorial colleagues about the work’s importance and impact. Only then, if not persuaded, vote with your feet.

Q: On progress reports I receive no comments from which I can learn, only uninformative check marks and nods.

As: Your advisor probably realized long ago that comments are often disregarded or cause for combat. Ask her/him, and a friendly senior postdoc, for more constructive feedback and for recommendations of excellent examples of research reports. Consider rotating into the group of junior faculty, who are often energetic and still filled with zeal for teaching as well as research. Consult Anatomy of a Research Report, and convene or join writing practice sessions.

Q: How should I allocate time spent on teaching versus research?
As: If you seek an academic career in science, your central focus is research. Alongside, it’s beneficial to experience teaching, learn whether you enjoy it, and, later in your career, to cite preparedness and ability to teach. While TA’ing, we suggest a time division something like 30% classroom and 70% lab. 

Q: Both my PI & teaching advisor are unhappy with effort I can allocate to each.
As: Which activity dovetails better with your professional goals? Request a brief meeting with both your advisors simultaneously to agree on a sustainable time distribution, including preparation for each activity. 

Q: I can attain a higher GPA by taking one less class, or maintain a full load to get through coursework.
As: Slow down if you feel strongly about learning at your own pace, but understand that your pace and productivity are being compared to your cohort’s. Your advisor may counsel you to complete your coursework at the same rate your classmates do. 

Q: Working on two simultaneous lab projects is too much. I prefer to concentrate on one at a time.
As: Carefully catalog each project’s requirements. If these are untenable taken together, go to your advisor. In general, however, single projects don’t exemplify training for a career in research. In your future, at least two investigations will mitigate risks of failure. It’s wise to maintain a backup project or two.

Q: I am being excluded from a paper to which I contributed data and text, and am not sure how to proceed.

Q: A collaborator is fabricating data and plagiarizing my text. As: You have a case if you made a concrete substantive intellectual contribution to the work’s conception, design, implementation, analysis, and/or interpretation. Highlight the article sections where your work appears, key these to your dated lab book reports, and take this material to your advisor. If this step is unsuccessful, consult a university ombudsperson.