Hey @AcademicChatter,

Wanted to share some things I wish *I* had asked/known (directly or indirectly) when picking a graduate program / PI, a thread:

inre program (milestones):

- What are prelims/quals/dissertation proposal/ defense like?
- Rate of students passing each of these milestones and matriculating out?
- For those who do not pass any of these, is there are a second try? A third?
- How many people are forced out?

inre program (coursework):

- When I'm taking classes, how much time should I expect to dedicate to research?
- Besides in-field courses, do non-field courses count towards my credits (e.g grad level courses in writing, tech comms, marketing, which are all HIGHLY useful)

inre PI (communication):

- Avg time to graduation w/in group?
- How often do you meet individually vs group?
- Communication expectations of me, and what I should expect from you?
- Hours of availability? Best time to meet?
- How often do you expect me to be campus vs remote?

inre PI con'd (papers):

- How many submitted/published papers do I need (rough estimate) to defend?
- Will I be 1st author? (THIS IS A HUGE ONE)
- How involved are you with writing & revisions?
- What should be my publishing timeline?
- How do I know if I'm ~falling behind~?

inre PI con'd (presenting):

- Will I get to present at conferences? If so, how many? how often?
- Do you create such opportunities for students, or am I expected to find these myself?
- Can I collaborate with other students, or groups based on networking?

inre PI con'd (mentoring):

- How do you feel about mentors beyond this group? (aka, if I seek research help from other faculty/students will this be deemed inappropriate?)
- Have you mentored students through post-grad career opportunities?
- Can i seek co-advisement?

inre PI con'd (funding):

- What does my funding look like? Is there a chance it falls through?
- If I apply to external funding (fellowships, grants, etc) will you support me? Write me rec letters? Some PIs may refuse for early students as they don't "know you to vouch for you"

inre PI con'd (time away):

- What do you define as vacation vs. time needed off (emergencies, sicks days, mental health days)
- How much is reasonable vs not?
- How much notice would you prefer before I take any time off?
- What is your view on work-life balance?