I got into a top 5 graduate school for physics. There are 3 groups I'm strongly considering. One is well established, another has been getting a lot of attention recently, but there's one that really caught me eye. It's a new group: a new professor just out of his postdoc. He did some impressive work in his phd and postdoc and has 3k citations within the last 4 years. His work is incredibly well-aligned with my interests, and it's making it difficult to choose a group to work with.
Here's my question: can some people share what they think about working in a new group? I can think of some pretty sweet advantages, like being the first graduate student of a professor guarantees you will get a lot of mentorship and guidance, and you will develop some strong knowledge by working on a project from scratch. that being said, I worry there are some more unforeseen negatives, perhaps related to funding or publications? so I'd greatly appreciate any input from current students as to what some of the pros and cons of working with a new group are. Thanks!
Working with a new professor
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Re: Working with a new professor
I'm just a first-year grad student, so someone with a little more experience might provide a little more insight here, but this has been my experience seeing new professors and working with new professors:
Pros:
Pros:
- There's no group culture yet, so you end up with a say in what that group culture is.
- The young guys are often full of new and exciting ideas, with lists of projects 20 miles long.
- Tenure. Because new professors want it, they're going to be among the busiest and most prolific in the department to prove that they deserve it.
- Older professors are usually better connected. They've got more clout in the community, so you take the risk when you work with a new professor that they might not have much in the way of name recognition or connections when it comes time to apply for postdocs.
- Tenure. Since new professors don't have it, there's always a chance that they might not be around long enough for you to complete a PhD. Additionally, them being the busiest and most prolific in the department will get passed down to their graduate students. Be prepared to work like a dog for your advisor's sake.