Thread by @realscientists

Earlier I said it's better to choose your supervisor rather than have your eyes set on a specific project.

How do you choose a supervisor? Do you choose someone famous? The person with the most students? Someone who is up and coming in their field?

I'm not sure I entirely like putting the onus on students to find 'good' supervisors as it essentially blames the student if the supervisor-student relationship doesn't go well.

This thread has some advice from my personal experience of how to choose a supervisor!

Firstly, you're going to be spending a lot of time with this person for the next few years.

For me, I needed to find a supervisor who I felt comfortable talking to, and I didn't feel awkward around. My litmus test: Find someone you can sit and have coffee with.

If you're considering working with someone, make sure you talk to them face to face before you actually sign on to work with them. Either talk in person or via skype. Ask them questions about their expectations on PhD students.

Different supervisors may approach the PhD differently. One supervisor may tell you exactly what steps to take, others may develop your project alongside you and be more hands off. You need to think about what you'd prefer (I always advise the latter)

Some supervisors do not like it when students work from home, and if you tend to prefer this then you may want a supervisor who is more supportive of flexible work arrangements.

Ask how often they expect you to meet with them. This should be consistent with what you want.

Meeting once per week should be the /absolute minimum/ for the primary supervisor in my opinion, especially in the first months of the PhD when meetings should be more frequent.

This is where it's worth considering how many other students the supervisor is working with.

Advantages of a large group of supervisees: camaraderie with other students, and can get help from other students

Disadvantage: From observing this happen, more than 7-8 students per primary results in students not getting adequate supervision

A good supervisor should advise you to contact their graduated students to find out more about working with the supervisor. Make sure you do this, as it will give you a lot of info about the reality of working for the supervisor (including any negatives)

Being supervised by someone famous, someone who is the chair of a department or someone who is in charge of a big research center can be great, but you may find that the supervisor will not have too much time for you in comparison to their other responsibilities

Don't be disappointed if you contact someone who is famous (e.g. a Nobel prizewinner), or a chair of a department, and they tell you they can't supervise you. Professors have their limits too, and they may be doing you a disservice if they can't give you the time you deserve,

It's usually a good idea to have a supervisory panel (most universities require this) - you can fill up your panel with a range of expertise and this gives the opportunity to do some interdisciplinary work!

You should always have a mentor or advisor who is not your primary supervisor who can potentially mediate if something goes wrong between you and your primary supervisor.

Disagreements happen a lot - it doesn't make anyone a bad person (but you need to deal with them properly)

I advise picking a supervisor where you find a balance between someone who has some supervisory experience, but who isn't overwhelmed with administrative duties running big departments or research centers - you want to work with someone doing active research if possible

Also, it's good to pick someone who will definitely be at your institution for the duration of your PhD. I don't want to say only pick a supervisor with tenure, but a tenure-tracked supervisor will have more security and will be able to provide things like funding more easily

My primary supervisor almost had to leave my institution twice, and I only had one occasion when he bankrolled an overseas conference because we'd made a bit of money from hosting a conference. I fought hard for funding while others had it handed to them by supervisors.

Finally, you need to discuss your career plans with your supervisor from day one. If you want your PhD to take you out to industry, you may want to focus your time differently than if you want to be on an academic track.

This doesn't mean you can't change your mind, but you need to keep your supervisor in the loop so they can help you out! This is why its important to pick someone you feel able to talk to easily.

Finally, remember that your supervisor is human too. They have feelings, stresses and strains of their own, and they'll have off-days too. Even if you're being supervised by a Nobel prizewinner, they're still people. Try to build a genuine relationship with your advisor...

It's tempting to put someone more experienced with a pedestal, but your PhD is about becoming a member of a professional community. Ultimately, your supervisor is your collaborator, not your dictator.

By the end of my PhD, I considered my primary supervisor (and the rest of my supervisory panel actually!) not only to be my teacher, mentor and advocate, but also one of my greatest friends. I was extremely lucky!