<p>I am currently working with a professor as a freshman in a lab. I joined because I was interested in his research and I wanted to take his class. Things are going smooth, but I rarely see him and there's little or no connection. I guess you can imagine I'm trying to build a relationship here.
For those of you that have worked in labs, how did you manage to assert yourself to higher responsibility positions in the lab? Is it just 'pay your dues' as they say?</p>
<p>I feel like its a dead end but that could be my naivety.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I think most professors are like that. I took my PI's biochem class (and did very well) so I think that helped him like me (I actually started working in his lab while taking the class). But I've only seen him sparsely since then, maybe once a week (if that).</p>
<p>I've worked closely with a post-doc in the lab, and he's the one who's given me progressively more responsibility and taught me everything.</p>
<p>Just try and talk to the PI every now and then so he remembers your face! You're in a good position though as a freshman, you've got plenty of time. I wasn't able to start working in a lab until now (junior year) unfortunately.</p>
<p>Yeah, I've found that most professors rarely spend time in the lab. They are usually busy doing a lot of paperwork, including writing grants to secure funding for the research you do. If they hold a teaching responsibility, they'll have to spend time preparing for the class, holding office hours during the week, etc. And for the most part, I know that my professor, while she doesn't do the bulk of the experimentation, participates a lot in the analyzing of the data.</p>
<p>From my experience, you learn skills and techniques from grad or phd students (or post-docs in some cases) and do a lot of their "dirty" work, which will eventually become part of their thesis. Depending on the communication between the grad/phd and the PI, the PI becomes aware of whether your are inept in these skills or whether you have shown some mastery of the basic set of techniques in the lab. This can then lead to a greater responsibility in researching and possibly your own project.</p>
<p>If the communication is poor, it may be in your best interests to chat with the PI often about what you are doing in the lab, the skills you are learning, etc. I suggest becoming actively involved in the research you are doing and finding out what it's about. It's one thing to learn the techniques of protein quantification, ELISAs, etc., but if you don't know the science behind these techniques or the answer to why your lab is performing these experiments (whether it be for actual scientific progress or just a "quick and dirty" paper to secure funding for a grant), I feel that the research job is somewhat pointless, unless you are in it just for a line on your resume. Being actively involved, will improve your understanding of your lab's research, and if and when it comes time for your own project, you'll know the best way to attack it and get it done.</p>