Interview with PI about research position

[Beyonce2.0]

Hey SDN! I'm a rising sophomore who is trying to get started in a lab hopefully this upcoming semester. I was able to find two PIs who are willing to meet with me, one this Wednesday and another one in about a month. I have a few questions about how to approach this interview and just about undergrad research in general:

1) What sorts of questions will I likely be asked in these interviews? I know that people have suggested reading a few of their papers, which I plan on doing, but will I be grilled directly or will it be more of a "what about my research interests you" type of question?
2) If after my first interview I get an offer that I really like, should I still meet with the other PI? If so, how do I go about mentioning this to the PI who makes me the offer (purely hypothetical)
3) Those of you who have worked in labs, did you start out immediately with your own research project? Was it a project you proposed after working in the lab for a bit and thinking of a related idea that you wanted to explore? Was it a project that your PI assigned to you, allowing you to take full ownership of it, and, if so, was the project assigned immediately to you or after you had proven yourself as a competent researcher?

Advice doesn't have to be limited to these three questions; anything is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hoihaie]

What are your future goals, what do you want to do in this lab, how does his lab fit to your overall career goal...etc

meett with the other one, don't mention anything

Have you ever worked in a lab before? if not you'll prob start out learning the techniques from postdocs or grad students

 

[DrHart]

Definitely read a few recent papers by the PI and I would definitely have an answer to the question "what about my research interests you?"
You might be asked, what type of research are you interested in? <-- depending on how big the lab is. In other words, if the PI has several major focuses, which would you want to work in (I know that sounds like a reiteration of what I just said lol).
I wouldn't mention to either PI about the other. Honestly I don't think it matters where you go as long as you can get along well with the PI and other labmates. But I would still try to meet with both before you make a decision.
A PI will probably pair you up with a grad student or postdoc to help them with their project. Once again it depends on the lab, but you probably won't start right away on an independent project. My PI "assigned me" a project - but my postdoc pretty much guides me in what I do.

A piece of advice: there is definitely a learning curve to doing basic science research. If you can commit the time, try to work 20-30 hours in the lab. Start by reading a few reviews from Nature or Cell about your area of research. When your project takes shape and narrows down in focus, sign up for "Read" by QxMD and tag some keywords so you can keep up on the most recent papers about your topic. I don't think PIs are looking for genius undergrads who can perform independent research right away - they're looking for motivated kids who are dependable and willing to put in the time and effort it takes to push a project forward. Good luck!

 

[GrapesofRath]

From all the times I've done this I've never had a PI grill me about "Why" their lab but it is definitely in your best interest to read several papers.


The better thing to ask is what are the types of things you should be asking him and looking for.
What type of people will you be working with(ie post-doc, PhD's who have been doing this for decades, students who have been their for a while, post-baccs etc)? Have you had previous undergrads before and what was their experience like? How many people are in the lab? What kind of time commitment are you expecting from me(of course this is under the assumption you are willing to do what it takes and express that)? Will I jump into a project soon or is there a learning curve needed to learn techniques(again its about their opinion and how they see it)? Is this the type of lab and project I can make a commitment for several years to(again see what they say)? Express your goal of producing data, learning everything you can, and hopefully getting a publication and again see how they react and what they say. You have to express your goals and interests clearly and see how they react. There is a huge difference between a PI who just sees you as a student looking to get some exposure to research and do menial tasks vs a PI who sees you as someone who can produce data, work on a project and be part of a paper.

 

[Beyonce2.0]

SDN coming in clutch as always. Thanks for the help guys! To answer your question, hoihaie, I've been doing lab work during summers for 4 years now, so I have a bit of experience with some standard lab techniques. There's probably still a bunch of necessary advanced techniques I still don't know, so maybe that's what I'd start of learning. I'm just really hoping that an extended period of time in one lab, rather than just a few months in multiple, will allow me to grow more as a researcher and hopefully allow me to pursue some sort of independent project in the future. Thanks also for the suggestions of questions to ask! Hopefully these meetings go well and I can get started in a lab this upcoming semester!

 

[ChrisMack390]

In my experience, you should def read up on the research, but you shouldn't go in with a very specific idea of what you want to do. Again, could just be the places I have worked, but every time I have been offered a spot in a lab, the PI has already had some idea of a project they wanted to be done (hence why they brought someone in).