A guide to expectations
You could use this list for personal brainstorming, as notes in a conversation with your adviser / potential adviser, or as a document co-authored by you and your adviser to articulate your expectations of one another.
During my PhD, I expect to…
- be happy and healthy
- have interests, friends, and hobbies outside the lab / do nothing except labwork, eating, and sleeping
- take about X days of vacation per year
- take vacation with X days of notice / with no notice whatsoever
- spend X hours per week in the lab
- be in lab during daytime / nighttime / between the hours X and Y
- spend my weekends in lab / not in lab
- go to conferences X times a year / during years Y
- have my travel expenses for X conferences funded by my adviser
- have a career in X (or Y, or Z) after I graduate
- prepare for (the possibility of) a career in X by doing a postdoc after I graduate / taking a summer internship during year Y / taking Z coursework at Sloan
- do projects that give the skills X that I will need for a career Y
- have the option of becoming a postdoc in this lab for N months / years after I graduate
- take my TA position seriously and reduce my research output during that semester / do the minimum of work possible for my TA position
- graduate in N years
- graduate with X first-author papers
- be allowed to graduate after I meet X criteria
- have the opportunity to mentor UROPs / not be burdened with UROPs
- have lab duties aside from research / have no obligations to the lab other than research
- have the ability to direct my own research / have oversight that guides me on my research / be able to discuss the specifics of my projects and protocols with my adviser
- be allowed to form my own collaborations / work without any outside collaborations
- be permitted and supported on more than one project / not be distracted with projects other than my thesis work
- apply for my own fellowship funding / write a grant proposal / never think about funding
- be mentored or supported by more senior grads or postdocs
- meet with my adviser N times a month / be able to meet with my adviser when I want to
- have my adviser help resolve conflicts over authorship in the lab
- be able to get letters of recommendation from my adviser when I apply for jobs / apply for fellowships
- write a beautiful thesis / do the minimum amount of work necessary of my thesis document
- have a desk / share desk space
- have a dedicated bench / share bench space