<p>I keep reading how important it is to have a good advisor/PI in charge of the lab you work in. </p>
<p>But I'm wondering, if research is supposed to be very self-directed and independent (meaning you figure stuff out for yourself), how much does the advisor actually help? What do they do for you?</p>
<p>a good PI is imperative -- but if you hate interacting with other people and taking directions AND you happen to score a PI who's extremely hands-off, well then, it might work out for you.</p>
<p>i've known PIs to range from spoon-feeding grad students (ie, [re]writing all their manuscripts to the point that it was just his words) to those who expect their grad students to handle everything on their own. labs in which the PI is "very" tenured (closing in on emeritus status) are generally more lax and the postdocs handle a lot of the mentoring roles, as the PI's usually off on conferences and talks, too busy to deal with the day-to-day minutiae of the lab.</p>
<p>Even the most independent grad student still requires intellectual and conceptual guidance. A PI provides this along with your committee. Also grad students require a funding climate that allows for reagent purchases and a steady salary, PI provides this too. A PI also sits on the committee (I am fuzzy on the exact nature of this) and helps determine your fitness for being granted a PhD. Also the PI has an important role in introducing you to collaborators and expanding your scientific network. After grad school, your PI would ideally help you in landing in a good post doc and serve as a mentor for the rest of your career.</p>
<p>It is very important to have a PI that you can stand to work with. Yes, that's quite blunt but if your personalities clash, then the experience won't be good for either of you.</p>
<p>My PI isn't optimal at times. She likes to micromanage everything, while I'm very independent and have always been a leader. </p>
<p>At times it is good to have a PI that is very involved because then, most things will get done, however PIs that are very involved can be annoying and difficult to deal with. On the other hand, PIs that are rarely there won't have the time or opportunity to mentor and teach you. That may be frustrating as well. </p>
<p>So I guess to answer your question, the role of a PI mainly depends on the person.</p>
<p>The short answer is that, at the graduate level, you absolutely don't figure everything out for yourself.</p>
<p>And the funding thing that belevitt mentions is absolutely imperative: a PI with good funding ensures that you can purchase reagents and equipment that will allow you to move through your PhD at an appropriate pace. In one of the labs I rotated in, students had to ask the PI for permission for any purchase over $300. (And basically every scientific reagent costs more than $300.) That's a hindrance to an on-time graduation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A PI also sits on the committee (I am fuzzy on the exact nature of this) and helps determine your fitness for being granted a PhD.
[/quote]
Your own PI is not actually a member of your committee (at least where I am; perhaps it's different elsewhere). Your PI reports to your committee, as you do, on your research progress and readiness for dissertation-writing/defense.</p>