How can I convince my advisor to recruit me as a research assistant

Question

I'm about to finish my Msc in a university in Canada, my advisor offered me to stay with him to do a PhD.

The thing is, my first priority is getting permanent residency, and by jumping directly into a PhD program, I will postpone getting my PR for at least 4-5 years.

Given that, I asked him to recruit me as a research assistant for 1 year so I can get my PR and then I can continue my PhD with him.

However, he said this will cost him a lot of money, and he said he can't do that. Though I know that he has many grants and money is not a matter for him, I think he's just anxious that when I get my PR I will ditch him.

So, as a professor, tell me, how I can convince him to recruit me as an RA?

I haven't started negotiation with him yet, I just asked him and he said that will cost him a lot of money and refused. But I want to start negotiation once again with him.

Answer 1

I haven't started negotiation with him yet

Yes, you have. You made an offer, he rejected your offer. To get a different outcome, you need to make a better offer or assume this was a bluff and be patient. I don't think either of these are likely outcomes in your favor.

I think the language you've started with: convince, negotiation, suggests you do not understand your position. Offering to work for funds is not a big offer: it's a neutral trade at best if you're a good candidate and a position is open. I would think less about this as a negotiation and more about what it is that makes you an optimal candidate, better than any other candidates, that would justify opening a position that may not otherwise even exist. Probably a better approach for you is to aim for many possible opportunities with hope that you will be the best candidate for at least one of them.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You can't force someone to hire you. It's at their discretion to do so, and you can't "convince" him if he doesn't want to.

He may also very well be right about not being able to: Having lots of grant money is not the same as having money to hire someone as a research assistant. The grants may have money for equipment and graduate students, but not for other kinds of employees. All my grants work that way, for example, and I can not -- even if I wanted to -- move money around to pay a research assistant. There is also the matter that employees typically cost far more money than graduate students; for example, altogether a graduate student costs not much more than US$50k, whereas a postdoc costs around US$150k. It does make sense for a PI to consider how to spend the money.

Answer 3

First, as has already been mentioned by others, grants generally do not allow using funds freely. Funds can generally be used only in accordance with the plan submitted with the grant application.

However, leaving that issue aside for a moment and assuming the advisor can use their grant money as they please, let's focus on a different aspect: what's in it for them? Is there any benefit for your advisor in hiring you as a research assistant for one year before you start a PhD program?

If there's none, then you're essentially asking your advisor to take on additional costs because of your desire to obtain PR. Researchers are significantly more expensive than PhD students.

You may only have leverage if you are highly valuable to your advisor and are prepared to leave if they do not fulfill your request. However, MS graduates are typically not considered highly valuable, or at least not seen that way by professors. Your advisor will likely find another PhD student if you leave.

Also, keep in mind that a negotiation means either party can say no and walk away. Can you say no? Are you prepared to leave your advisor? Do you have any other options in Canada? If not, and your advisor knows this, then it’s not really a negotiation.

It might also be unclear to your advisor why you need PR now if you plan to stay for a few years as a PhD student with them anyway. You don't need PR to do a PhD with them, and you could get PR after getting your PhD. Your desire to get PR now might be seen as a sign that you aren't really planning to spend a few years to complete your PhD.

Given the above considerations and the fact that your advisor has already indicated their unwillingness to agree, I'm afraid that your chances of getting what you want may be non-existent and that any attempts to push your advisor can only do harm to your relationship with them.

Answer 4

The number of grants and how rich your advisor is perceived to be is irrelevant. As a graduate, you likely get direct or indirect support from the department or institution through a TA, some internal scholarship or in other forms. In other words, if your income is X, it is entirely possible that your thesis director only pays a fraction of this: X/3 or something like this. Additionally as an employee there are costs for vacations and benefits so the proposition of hiring a research assistant rather than a PhD student is comparatively very expensive.

Finally, even if your supervisor is flush with funds, this is hardly a reason to spend money unwisely: the funds spent on paying you as an RA could be used to fund 2,3, maybe 4 graduate students so unless you have an irreplaceable skill it would likely be wasteful to not fund you as a PhD student.

Answer 5

Since the question is about how to convince the other person, you will need to have something your supervisor wants. If they want you as a researcher, they will hire you as a researcher.

Others have commented about how grant funds can only be used for stated purposes, so you are definitely going to be an outlier if they hire you as a researcher instead of a standard PhD student.

You should consider options, like if you need to work for one year to obtain permanent residence, find a job outside the University, and if you get an offer, you can renegotiate with your supervisor about being hired as a RA, in this case you would get a work contract anyway, either with your supervisor or outside the University.

Having options is always better than not having them.

Answer 6

The only way is that you can prove that you can provide something that match/exceed the cost of hiring RA. Currently in your advisor's judgement it is not the case.

Answer 7

From my experience and discussions with other professors, supervisors are rarely in favour of students who "master out" of a program. It is really bad optics on their end. They have committed to essentially sign an unwritten contract that you will advance research in their lab over a certain period. They may have to recruit another graduate student to fill your position which will cost them extra on top of an RA position. Additionally, the department doesn't view that favourably.

I am not sure exactly how obtaining PR works for graduate studies, but is it possible that it can be counted toward work experience with a stipend? If money is the issue, consider asking for RA position while completing your graduate studies and taking on more roles in your lab. This will be a good investment for your supervisor. It shows you are not simply focused on your own self-interest but will provide a service to your supervisor in exchange for a position. If money is a non-issue, it may also be possible to be hired as a non-paid RA while completing graduate studies. All this does is change your title while fulfilling the same obligations. I have seen students do this but all depends on your institution, department and supervisor's budget.