careers extremely susceptible to the
“Impostor Phenomenon” (described in
Chapter 1). Particularly difficult is the transi-
tion to playing the opposite part in the men-
tor-student relationship. Science is one of the
few professions that is still entered by
apprenticeship, and the dynamic between
graduate students and faculty is complex. A
little informal surveying has revealed some
common themes and experiences on the part
of those doing the crossing over:“Graduate Students Listen Too
Carefully to Everything I Say.”
Even though the new P.I. is the same per-
son she was a month before as a postdoctoral
fellow, with no more wisdom and very little
more experience, her words suddenly carry
disproportionate weight. Students are much
more likely to remember an offhand comment
or supposition of a P.I. than the P.I. is likely to
remember it herself. An off-color remark or
moment of inappropriate public behavior,
which would have been laughed at and for-
gotten when the P.I. was one of “us,” can
become a rich source of gossip after she has
crossed over to the other side. And no matter
how hard a P.I. tries to be unobtrusive, her
personality quirks will be diligently noted
and faithfully reproduced in student skits.The best way to deal with this is to learn to
choose words carefully. We all remember
how a few cutting words from our own grad-
uate advisor could sting, and, likewise, howjustified praise at the right moment could
mean so much. Do not worry too much about
the quirks. Students don’t make fun of the
faculty they despise; being lampooned is a
real sign of affection.“Graduate Students Don’t Listen
to Anything I Say.”
Of course, the P.I. does not get to select
which words the students choose to retain. In
a competitive research field, it is often impor-
tant to get results quickly; a few weeks or
months of delay can mean getting scooped.
Since the new P.I. has spent so much time
learning to do science, is now so good at it,
and has so much riding on the early success
of the new lab, the temptation is strong to res-
cue a floundering student’s work (in the
planning, experimental or analysis stage) by
saying, “here, let me just do that.” Good
graduate advisors must develop a balance
between guiding students and letting them
figure things out for themselves, even if this
sometimes takes longer than just doing the
work for the students. Many students will be
smart and opinionated (maybe like the P.I.
once was in graduate school) and will prefer
to try new things their own way. This can be
frustrating for a P.I. who feels that she is usu-
ally right. A common and useful solution is to
let the student do things both ways. If the P.I.
is right, the student will figure this out, and
perhaps take advice more easily in the future.
If the student’s way turns out to be better,
then everyone is better off anyway.“Nobody in the Lab Ever Tells
Me When There Are Problems.”
When the P.I. spends much of the time
alone in an office that is separated from the
lab, major conflicts can arise among the team
that do not come to light until weeks or
months later. It is a shock to many new assis-
tant professors to learn that the famous obliv-54 CAREER ADVICE FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS
Good graduate advisors must
develop a balance between
guiding students and letting
them figure things out for
themselves.