Potential Students

Dear Prospective Student,

Thank you for your interest in our lab. If you'd like to join us, I'm afraid that you were born too late, as I have begun winding down operations here at LSU. I still have a couple grad students working on their degrees and hope to continue collaborative research for a while, but I will not be around to guide new students. Still, having spent almost four decades using genetic approaches to learn about how life evolves in the sea, I have an ongoing interest in helping those with similar passions, so I have rejiggered this letter to offer some friendly advice.

First, before you commit to graduate school, ask yourself some questions:

What are you interested in? Are you genuinely interested in marine and/or evolutionary biology? If not, then none of the hard work required to become a professional biologist will be worth it. Any worthwhile mentor would drive themselves (and you) crazy trying to get you to do the things (reading journals, going to talk, gathering and analyzing data) that anyone who was really into it wants to be doing right now. If you’re unsure of your answer to this question, try two more: Do you ever wake up with an idea of how something might work and passionately hope that no one else has done the research needed to answer it (so that you can)? Do you wonder about how little you could do and still get your Ph.D.? If you answered no to the first one and yes to the latter, you should reconsider grad school.

Why do you want a graduate degree? The outlook for employment in the basic sciences, particularly at research universities, is modest at best. Fewer than half of new Ph.D.’s obtain academic positions. On the other hand, opportunities for biologists outside of traditional academia (in government, industry, NGOs, and the like) are growing. Ask yourself: What sort of position do I ultimately want? What skills must I acquire to excel (don’t settle for “be competent”) at that position?

Given that you properly check the above boxes, what should you be doing in grad school? Graduate education is about becoming an independent scientist. This means knowing the background in your field and in related ones, being aware of emerging ideas and approaches, generating interesting yet answerable questions about how life works, and sharing your findings with others. You also must know how to make convincing arguments to funding agencies to provide the financial support for these activities. These things require self-motivation and organization.

To succeed, you should read the literature broadly, attend and present at scientific meetings and departmental seminars, and devote yourself to learning the tools of this trade. You should also develop a knowledge of the natural history of the taxon or geographical region that your work focuses on. Most importantly, you will need to hone your oral and written communication skills. You earn professional credit for having mastered these skills by writing successful proposals and publishing papers in high-quality journals, so you should pursue those ends soon and often. Finally, science is not a solo endeavor, so you should build a network of peers who can help guide your work just as you help them.

What should your potential advisor offer you? Well, what do they know? What can they pass on to you? Do they have colleagues who can complement their knowledge? Where do they fall on the freedom/financial support continuum? At one extreme, they may be well funded out but not for projects that ring your bells. On the other, you may be able to formulate your own questions and take your model system with you when you go but face a funding slog to make that happen.

Finally, are you, your potential advisor, and the place you will work a good match? Impressions in written words are a start, but not the same as back-and-forth interactions, so aim to pay your potential advisor and their institution a visit before making any commitments. Meet with others who know their lab in a setting where they can speak candidly. Ruminate on your impressions, decide, and don't look back.

Thanks for your interest, best of luck in all your future endeavors, and I hope I see you out there somewhere.

Mike