Questions to Ask a PI Before Joining the Lab
Questions for a prospective PhD or postdoc adviser, covering meeting cadence and mentorship, funding runway, authorship practice, time to degree, where past trainees ended up, and how the lab handles conflict.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How often would we meet one on one, and what usually happens in those meetings?
Why ask it
Weekly and monthly are both workable; what matters is whether the meeting exists on a calendar. A PI who says "my door is always open" and names no recurring slot is usually describing a lab where you will have to chase them.
Who would I be working with day to day?
Why ask it
In larger labs the real supervisor is a senior postdoc, which can be excellent or can mean two people giving contradictory direction. Ask to meet that person before you accept.
Which projects need someone right now, and how much choice would I have?
Why ask it
The gap between "you can work on anything you like" and the projects the current grant will actually pay for is where a lot of first-year frustration lives. Ask which specific aims your salary is attached to.
Where is the funding for this position coming from, and how long is it committed?
Why ask it
You want the end date of the grant, not a reassurance. A postdoc funded to eighteen months in a five-year project is a different offer from one with the full term secured, and grant end dates are usually a matter of public record you can check.
What has the lab published in the last two years, and who was first author on each?
Why ask it
Publication rate matters less than who gets the credit. If first authorships cluster on one or two people while others carry middle positions for years, that pattern will very likely continue with you.
How do you decide authorship order?
Why ask it
Listen for a stated rule and for who arbitrates when two people both contributed heavily. A PI who says it has never been a problem has either a very small lab or a poor memory.
How long have your students taken to finish, and has anyone left without finishing?
Why ask it
The median is the useful number, and the departures are the useful story. A PI who answers the second half of this openly is telling you they can discuss failure, which is the single best predictor of how a stalled project will go.
Where are your last five trainees now?
Why ask it
Ask for five specific people rather than a general description of outcomes. If most went to positions unlike the one you want, ask what the lab did for the person who did not follow the standard path.
What are your expectations about hours and being physically in the lab?
Why ask it
Answers range from tracked attendance to complete indifference. What you want is the unwritten norm, so ask what time people typically arrive and leave, and whether weekend work is expected during experiments or in general.
What do you do when a project isn't producing?
Why ask it
This is the situation you will most likely face. A useful answer includes a time frame, a decision point, and an example. An answer about persistence and grit describes a lab where students get stuck for years.
How do you handle feedback on writing, and how long do drafts usually sit with you?
Why ask it
Turnaround on drafts controls your publication timeline more than your bench work does. Ask current students for the real number, since a PI's estimate is generally optimistic.
How involved would I be in grant writing?
Why ask it
Writing sections of a real proposal is one of the most transferable skills available in a PhD, and some labs never let trainees near it. Ask specifically whether you would be supported in applying for your own fellowship.
What's the plan for conferences, and who pays?
Why ask it
There is a large difference between one meeting a year with registration and travel covered, and being told to apply for travel awards. Presenting is how people in your field learn your name.
What equipment, computing, and core facility access would I have for this work?
Why ask it
Ask where the key instrument physically sits and whose queue you would be in. Shared access across departments can add weeks per experiment, and that cost never appears in a project description.
How does the lab handle data, code, and protocols?
Why ask it
Ask to see how a recent result is documented. Labs with shared repositories, version control, and written protocols save you months; labs where everything lives on individual laptops will cost you a reanalysis when someone leaves.
What happens if my interests shift while I'm here?
Why ask it
Some flexibility is normal and total flexibility is not, since your work has to stay fundable. What you are testing is whether they respond with curiosity or with a reminder about the grant.
Could I take a project with me when I leave?
Why ask it
This determines whether you can start an independent position with something in hand, and practices differ sharply. Ask now, in a friendly moment, because the conversation is far harder in your final year.
How did the last serious disagreement in the lab get resolved?
Why ask it
A concrete account, even an uncomfortable one, shows problems get addressed. "We don't really have conflict here" usually means disputes are settled by people quietly leaving.
Can I talk to current and former lab members on my own?
Why ask it
The willingness matters as much as the conversations. A PI who hesitates, or who offers to arrange the meetings for you and stay present, has answered a question you did not have to ask.
What do you think the lab does badly?
Why ask it
A PI who can name a real weakness and what they are doing about it is showing you the mentorship you would get. Deflection into strengths is the answer to note.
Choosing an adviser
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Talk to people who are not the PI
- Email former lab members directly rather than only meeting the ones you are introduced to. People who have already left are the most candid source available.
- Ask everyone the same two questions: what surprised you about working here, and what would you want to know if you were me. Patterns show up fast.
- Ask current students what they do when they disagree with the PI, and watch how comfortable they are answering.
- If someone left the lab early, try to reach them. One conversation there is worth several with people still inside.
Check the record yourself
- Look at the last three years of publications and note who holds first authorship and how often trainees appear there.
- Check whether the lab publishes at a steady rate or in bursts around grant deadlines.
- Public grant databases list award periods and end dates, so you can verify funding runway rather than take a summary of it.
- Look up where recent trainees are now. Their current titles tell you what the lab prepares people for better than any statement about career support.
What to watch for in the meeting
- Vague answers to concrete questions about money, timelines, and authorship.
- Current trainees who defer to the PI in the room and go quiet outside it.
- Any suggestion that you should not need to ask about hours or work-life boundaries.
- Enthusiasm about your skills paired with no clear account of what you would be working on.
- Reluctance to let you speak with anyone unsupervised.
Weighing the offer
- Mentorship quality outranks institutional prestige for most careers, and it is the one variable you can assess before committing.
- A well-funded lab with an absent PI and an absent-funding lab with an attentive one both fail; you need to check both dimensions.
- Ask yourself whether you would be comfortable telling this person an experiment failed. If the answer is no, that is the finding.
- Get anything specific about funding term, expected duration, and support for your own fellowship applications in writing, even informally by email.