<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>I am currently a Cell and Molecular Biology major hoping to eventually get a dual MD-PhD degree. During this summer I was part of a undergraduate research program funded by the USDA. Because the USDA was the primary funder, we had to pick a lab that does work that is agriculturally or environmentally related. Because of this I ended up picking a professor of entomology and ecology. </p>
<p>Well the program has ended and I had a great time, despite the research not necessarily being what I'd ideally want to work on (I'd really like to see what medical research is like), but I can't decide whether or not I should continue working in his lab. He has already offered to write me a letter of recommendation, however I feel that one benefit of remaining in his lab would be being able to get a much stronger letter. I also feel somewhat bad about just downright leaving as soon as the program ends. I fear that might upset him. However I also feel like the research I'm doing in his lab is not really pertinent to the type of medical research I would like doing. </p>
<p>tl;dr version: Should I remain in my entomology professors lab or leave and try finding a spot in a biomedical lab?</p>
<p>Although any research experience is good (for a PhD or MD-PhD application), the best research experience is one that you enjoy. If you like what you’re working on, you’ll probably get more out of it. So it doesn’t really matter that the research is not directly relevant to what you’d like to be doing (most undergraduates don’t have research experience in an area closely relevant to what they’d like to eventually study; generally speaking, graduate programs are more concerned with students who understand what research and the research process are like); what matters is that you’re not really into it.</p>
<p>My personal advice would be to find a position in a lab you’d like working in.</p>
<p>Thank you for your answer. While I had a good time in the lab the topic wasn’t that interesting to me. You’re right, I should probably try finding something more pertinent to my interests. Also, one more question I don’t think warrants a new thread, when should I go about getting the letter of recommendation from my professor? Right now (I’m a sophomore)? Or do grad schools usually give a prompt?</p>
<p>Are you worried about letters of recommendation for grad programs already? If you want, you can request that the professor write you a letter of recommendation now while you’re fresh in his/her mind and then have on file and adapt later on. Or, this might be unnecessary. By the time it comes to grad school applications, you’ll probably want more recent letters than from summer after your freshman year, and you’ll have a lot more experiences under your belt. When it comes time for grad school applications, there will be a part of the application that explains how to have your professors submit their recommendations.</p>
<p>If you apply to work in another lab next summer, ask the professor you worked with this past summer to write you a letter for any positions that you’re interested in. </p>
<p>This professor might also have suggestions of places to apply. He volunteered to write you a letter of recommendation so appreciated your work. Stay in contact with him.</p>
<p>Yeah I actually changed my mind after thinking about it more. Decided to stay, going to work in his lab for credit. Would you guys say researching for credit vs pay vs volunteering matters at all in terms of grad school? I’d assume they don’t really care, right? And thank you for your advice Nano and Manhattan, I was just confused on how the process for letters actually works, thank you for clarifying.</p>
<p>They care about what you did research-wise and the time you put in. The credit/volunteer/paid they won’t care about, really.</p>