<p>How much control do you have over the research you do for a PhD? For instance, since my undergrad is in mech. engineering, is there a chance I will be stuck doing ME research for my advisor, even though i’m applying to material science because I want to research nanotechnology?</p>
<p>As an engineering student in a PhD program, I can say you have some limited control. You should be able to speak to your advisor about your concerns. Also your mechanical engineering background might be a good way to get a foot hold into a lab that you want that does nanotechnolgy. You can use your background as a stepping stone.</p>
<p>If your advisor isn’t willing to listen to you, or presents work that you don’t find suitable, you can always find another advisor(lab). This happens regularly where I’m at. Once you passed the equivalent of your qualifying exam, you do have some flexibility to find another advisor if things are not going well with you present advisor. From you advisor’s point of view, be aware that she will be limited by her ability to fund you. Many funding agencies are very specific as to what they want researched, and will not allow you to diverge too much from your original proposal. In other words, your advisor will be limited in how much flexibility she can give you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I was just concerned because this is my senior year and a nanotech professor here told me I could do nanotech research for him in the fall, but now he has me shooting lasers at sol gel and doing stress tests on the specimens, whereas I was hoping I was going to be able to work with the characterization machines in the lab and do actual nano research. I was just hoping actual grad school wasn’t like that.</p>
<p>To echo Jack, you have limited control. As a doctoral student, you will be expected to do original research; however, it will be under the direction of your PI AND within his own research range. Let’s say that you get a PI in nanotechnology to fund you. You want to work on doing X in nanotechnology, but he wants you to do Z instead, a problem directly associated with his research and which he feels will make a significant contribution to the field. It doesn’t matter that X is also important – you have to do Z. How you solve the problems associated with Z is, of course, unique to you. You will indeed be performing independent research in nanotechnology even though it might not (yet) be exactly what you wanted to do. Of course, it may also be that X interests him as well, but you won’t know this until you start discussing your research. This is why research fit is critical when applying to graduate school. If you don’t like what a professor is currently doing, then you probably won’t like working under him/her.</p>
<p>You will have a whole career to pursue research topics of interest to you. Think of yourself as an apprentice to a master. You learn his style and benefit from his knowledge so that when you’re on your own, you’ll be able to build upon it.</p>
<p>I’ll let Phd comics shed some light on the subject…</p>
<p>[PHD</a> Comics: Intellectual Freedom](<a href=“PHD Comics: So productive”>PHD Comics: Intellectual Freedom)</p>
<p>The comic does shed some light on the pressures that profs feel in doing their own research.</p>
<p>I’ve met Jorge Cham and watched one of his presentations once. The guy is overly cynical, but sometimes he does capture a situation well in an amusing way…</p>
<p>I’ll just start my own company, problem solved.</p>
<p>I’m in the social sciences, but in my experience the control comes in at the front end of the process - by applying strategically to work with professors who are doing research very close to what you want to do. I wanted to do HIV/AIDS research with ethnic minority adolescents. I applied to schools and accepted a PhD program offer with an advisor who does HIV/AIDS research with ethnic minority young adults, primarily men. I’m really enjoying the research, but switching to try to do adolescents is difficult because my work is supported by his grants, although he has sought out opportunities for me to work with adolescents or at least adolescent data.</p>
<p>Once you’re working with a professor, you have limited control, as others have said. You’ll be expected to do what they do. I have a colleague whose parents are both professors, and she says they have told her that might be able to decide what she wants to study in a post-doc. Maybe.</p>
<p>As for PhD Comics…I’m a big fan, and although Jorge Cham is cynical I have yet to come across a comic strip that I have not found to be true at least in part.</p>
<p>What you work on is intimately tied to the projects that are funded. One thing to remember is be flexible and keep an open mind. Also, research directions may change as you move along. If you want some freedom, try applying for some fellowships.</p>