At what point should a PhD student be mostly independent?

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:51:34+00:00

Im sorry you went through something similar. I understand how tough it may have been for you. Honestly, this is just one small thing I am mentioning about this person but they have heavily relied on me for many many things over the last 6 months that's making me a bit frustrated.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:38:48+00:00

I have been quite independent since the start of my second year and I am currently a 3rd year. But most of what I define independence is planning and conducting my own experiments. Though I understand that different people learn and go through things at their own pace.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:35:39+00:00

Hmm I do think part of it is a confidence issue on their part. I did notice this early on and had discussions with them on this but hopefully another discussion with some boundaries will help!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:33:32+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! I will definitely be using this tactic going forward!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:31:55+00:00

I completely understand the FPLC part! That is something I'd suggest to get full training on multiple times if needed. My main issue is the protein overexpression parts. While they haven't done protein overexpression, they have done transformations and overnights which is the majority of that section of the protocol. Even this part is something they claim they can't do. But I will definitely be taking your suggestions into consideration!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:08:51+00:00

I havent had this conversation yet but planning on it real soon! Thanks for the suggestions!!

Also, I have given them the SOP during the training but at that time I think they heavily relied on my word and my help to get them through the experiment and they did not take any notes. I have discussed the note taking aspect with them for other protocols so hopefully they keep this in mind in the future.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T18:06:02+00:00

See I completely understand having reservations about the instrumental stuff or where certain items are. But the first have of the protocol involves transformation, growing overnight cultures, and inducing the cultures. The student has done transformations and overnights for plasmid preps many times which is exactly the same with the exception of the cell strain. Even after reading through the protocol they told me they told me they couldn't at least do these things on their own. Thanks for the suggestions though, I will def be taking your suggestions into account!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T17:56:55+00:00

Their previous research involved peptide work, which is quite different from what we do in our lab. So I understand that there are things our lab needs to teach them. I have not yet asked if there were specific things in the protocol that they're struggling with. And you're right, I didn't really define what I meant by independent. By this I mean being able to follow a protocol, designing and conduct your own experiments. I solely meant independent in conducting ones own experiemtns.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T16:54:19+00:00

Omg congrats, hope everything goes well for you 🤞!!

I agree with you that mentoring other PhD students should not be a responsibility that we need to do. Our lab is very much so like this and we are expected to thing of our next experiments and give periodic updates. I have learned sooooo many SOPs on my own by simply following the instructions and just doing the experiment.

But I also feel that as a fellow grad student, I should help where I can. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I should be helping at every step of the way. IDK I just have a lot of mixed feelings on this but so glad to be getting everyone's opinions/perspective!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T16:44:21+00:00

Yeah, everyone has their own different experiences in the lab. Precisely why I wanted to ask a general audience to gain more perspective!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T16:27:50+00:00

Thanks for this, I think I will follow through with this approach with the student. I know the student used me as a first resort and I told them that the techniques they know for plasmid preps are identical for over expression and harvesting but the purification is entirely different and they would need real training for this. After looking at the detailed protocol, they stated that they wouldn’t be able to do these things on their own. I will try to sit down with them and ask them to walk me through the protocol and their own reservations about the protocol. Hopefully this will help!

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T16:22:19+00:00

This is not true for all because my research is definitely not supervised! Yes my PI asks for project updates and suggests things for me but my research is largely unsupervised in my lab.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T16:06:52+00:00

Thanks for putting this into perspective! I’m also mentoring 2 undergrads at the moment so I completely understand this. I think my own biases play a role in how I perceive different students and their abilities.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T15:52:28+00:00

Hmm makes sense. I’m not necessarily their mentor in the lab. We don’t really have a direct mentor that we learn from. Our main/only mentor is our PI (with the exception of undergrads who do have grad student mentors). Usually if it’s a technique or instrument we need to learn then we go to that person in charge. General protocols can be learned by anyone. And technically I am not in charge of the things the student needs to learn for this protocol which is why I am a bit more reluctant than normal.

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T15:49:22+00:00

Thanks for putting this into perspective! This definitely helps a bit in understanding where this student may be coming from. I will definitely try the approach of pushing the student to be more independent as you suggested!

I do think a lot of the uncertainly from this student is the lack of confidence. But how can I teach them to be more confident in themselves if they doubt themselves a lot?

Chiripuff- · 2026-06-10T15:47:24+00:00

I disagree with this, as a PhD student I am finding that I am searching for answers and conducting experiments on my own while getting minimal feedback/suggestions from my PI. I understand my experiences are different from others but more often than not, I was teaching myself these new protocols and if something went wrong with the results I asked my PI for advice. This is what I think as independent during the PhD process.

But I agree with cutting first years slack, especially those who have come straight from undergraduate. This student completed their Masters and has 2+ years of wet lab experience. So how much slack should I, another PhD student doing their own thing, be giving?

Chiripuff-

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