What should a PI look for in a physical sciences PhD candidate when hiring?

[feynman1]

What should a PI look for in a physical sciences PhD candidate when hiring? Among diligence, knowledge about the field and cleverness, willingness to follow their boss, complementary skillsets if they are from another discipline, what's your favorite? What else?

 

[Choppy]

I suspect you actually mean to ask what qualities supervisors typically look for in graduate students. This varies from supervisor to supervisor, but in my experience...

• The student needs to be academically capable. By that I means that all signs suggest the student is going to be able to pass graduate courses, a comprehensive exam, candidacy, etc. Specific thresholds here are variable, however most supervisors know they aren't doing anyone any favours by taking on a student who's very likely to struggle.
• Ideally you want a student who's going to learn well from your particular style of mentorship. Some students (and supervisors) need a rigid structure to be successful. Others need flexibility.
• Open and honest communication tends to be a big one on both ends.
• As a supervisor you also want a student with a genuine interest in the research. Ideally this goes beyond "I looked up your webpage and your work sounds cool" or "I just want to get in somewhere and you're accepting students." You want a student who will read up on the field beyond just what is assigned or what's been taught in class.

 

[feynman1]

thanks a lot. any other opinions?

 

[mfb]

PI

Principal Investigator, typically a professor, for people unfamiliar with abbreviations in the US.

In my experience interest and general capability to learn new things are more important than subject-specific knowledge, especially for e.g. a PhD in Europe that directly starts with research. Courses won't cover your specific research topic in detail anyway, and while more background knowledge is very useful it's something you can acquire over time.