Another tip that I would like to mention: Although your research and many other things of you depend on your advisor, but try not to see him/her in an upper level and see yourself very down, try not to see him/her as a boss. For many PhDs, postdocs, this mindset is detrimental, stressful and not helpful at all!
Thanks for the video. Most students who enter a lab are not cognizant of the points raised. And the same could be said for their supervisors. How many student-supervisor relationships have been damaged because of this? It’s obvious that supervisors need training on how to manage people, and then pass on that knowledge to their students. I wonder how long will university administrators ignore this obvious problem?
Thanks for watching. I completely agree. This is actually also true for a lot of other things that faculty are expected to do; we are just trained to do research, at least in my generation. I also never received any training in terms of admin, teaching, outreach,.... At least in my university there are now courses in leadership, and many courses about teaching, so it seems it's changing...
As a PI, how do you draw a line between attention to detail and micro-management? Does micro-management really help building relationships with respect and trust?
The differences is between you responding to a request by the student/postdoc vs you imposing yourself, as far as I see it. If someone asks me something I give answers that are detailed. I'm not a fan of micro-managing at all, it basically signals a lack of trust.
Thank you so much for all your helpful videos. I have valued them a lot. You mentioned you moved to the US to do your postdoc. I will be doing the same in a couple of months. Do you have any advice specifically for doing an international postdoc?
Thanks! Not really any specific advice. Just be prepared for culture shock (I suffered from that during the first few months in the US), enjoy, and get the most out of it! My situation was a bit different, because I already did my PhD there...
Do you have any additional tips for building a good relationship with your advisor? Please add them here! :)
I am starting my Ph.D. in a week in the USA. thank you so much. This is helpful.
Thanks; and good luck with your PhD journey!
Another tip that I would like to mention: Although your research and many other things of you depend on your advisor, but try not to see him/her in an upper level and see yourself very down, try not to see him/her as a boss. For many PhDs, postdocs, this mindset is detrimental, stressful and not helpful at all!
Excellent point. My own advisor also treated me like a future colleague. So that's what I do.
Thank you Prof. Dr. Rillig for providing such insights for making academic life easy for the PhDs and Postdocs.
Thanks for watching! :)
Thanks for the video. Most students who enter a lab are not cognizant of the points raised. And the same could be said for their supervisors. How many student-supervisor relationships have been damaged because of this? It’s obvious that supervisors need training on how to manage people, and then pass on that knowledge to their students. I wonder how long will university administrators ignore this obvious problem?
Thanks for watching. I completely agree. This is actually also true for a lot of other things that faculty are expected to do; we are just trained to do research, at least in my generation. I also never received any training in terms of admin, teaching, outreach,....
At least in my university there are now courses in leadership, and many courses about teaching, so it seems it's changing...
As a PI, how do you draw a line between attention to detail and micro-management? Does micro-management really help building relationships with respect and trust?
The differences is between you responding to a request by the student/postdoc vs you imposing yourself, as far as I see it. If someone asks me something I give answers that are detailed. I'm not a fan of micro-managing at all, it basically signals a lack of trust.
Thank you so much for all your helpful videos. I have valued them a lot. You mentioned you moved to the US to do your postdoc. I will be doing the same in a couple of months. Do you have any advice specifically for doing an international postdoc?
Thanks!
Not really any specific advice. Just be prepared for culture shock (I suffered from that during the first few months in the US), enjoy, and get the most out of it! My situation was a bit different, because I already did my PhD there...
how to communicate with advisor who talks and emails about themselves in the third person and thats not the wierdest thing they do
Hmmmm.....good luck!