Choosing a Lab

My course includes a three month research project at the end of the year- so we need to choose a lab and dissertation topic by the end of next month.

We've been visiting labs, but it can be hard to evaluate a lab simply by reading the papers that come out of it, or talking to the PI.

There are a lot of factors that are involved in choosing a good lab- and they vary, depending on your working style and interests.

It's obviously important to choose a topic that interests you- but since we have a three month deadline we can't really stick to our interests- it makes far more sense to choose a project thats doable in a short period of time, even if it's not as glamorous as what you'd ideally like to do.

I've learned that lab size, the seniority of the PI, their working style and your lab mates are also a huge factor in the success of your project- it's not just the thesis you choose.