Should You Buy Your PI a Holiday Gift? (If You Want to Graduate…)

It’s hard enough to finish holiday shopping for friends and family, so the idea of adding another person to the list, who likely does not fall into either of those categories, may seem to defy logic. But our PI is not just some stranger we met on the bus. For three to five (or six, or eight) years, they are the steward of our career and our relationship with them will govern the professional opportunities we will enjoy for years to come. So sure, they may have chewed us out when we accidentally performed the assay on the wrong cell line, but they also gave us a chance to do research in their lab and made sure the paychecks didn’t bounce. What better way to show our appreciation and let bygones be bygones than by closing out the year with a holiday gift for the PI…right? Bueller?…Bueller?…Bueller?…

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“I don’t have the money.”

“I would rather light a $20 bill on fire than spend it on my PI.”

“I don’t know what they like.”

“I’ll be the butt of my labmates’ jokes for years if they find out.”

“I don’t have time.”

“I tried it last year and it obviously didn’t matter.”

“I haven’t seen my PI in months- heck, they might not even work here anymore for all I know.”

“Does a flaming bag of dogs–t count as a gift?”

“They never get me one, so what’s the point?”

“Nobody else does it, so why should I?”

Yeah, we know – a few things may be running through your head right now. But frankly, none of these are particularly good excuses for not taking a moment to thank the person who puts the bread on your table (even if that “bread” is a dehydrated pack of Ramen noodles…). While PIs may not give each of us a gift individually, many take the lab out for a holiday lunch or dinner and some even invite the group into their homes. Unless that “dinner” is McDonalds, they’re running up a pretty good tab on our behalf.

Although one may argue that other than the single digit difference in writing the rent check, new year is just a week like any other. However, with the new year comes the opportunity to reflect on the previous twelve months and make a change, if necessary. The new year is like a giant reset button and all we have to do is press it. But is giving a gift to our PI the button we’re looking for?

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Have any cheap and easy PI gift ideas?

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