<p>I need some help figuring out what this situation means. </p>
<p>I'll try to make it short. (failed)</p>
<p>I started working for a professor in october last year. I helped a postdoc with his research. They both liked me. In early April, the professor suddenly tells me that he doesn't have enough funding to let me work in the lab in the summer. I know he didn't have a lot of a funding (many people have said this). So he says he's going to try to find me an internship in the field I was doing my research on. I think he asked 3-4 companies, but they're not the kind of companies that have accepted interns. Not surprisingly, none of those companies needed me. I was really expecting to have a job for the summer. I feel like I got screwed over.</p>
<p>Also, from early April to the end of the semester (mid of may), the prof made his wife make me do labor work. TF? He told me before I started working for him that new undergrads working in the lab are expected to do labor work in the "beginning." I wouldn't have been surprised if he made me do labor work when I first started working there, but at the end, it was weird. </p>
<p>Anyways, I asked before the semester ended if I'd be able to work in the lab in the fall/incoming semester. He said it'll all depend on his funding and wanted me to keep in touch. The postdoc I worked for also asked him to which he responded "probably." </p>
<p>The postdoc recently finished writing a journal paper and added my name as 2nd author (the professor also wanted me as 2nd author when the abstract was written half a year ago). I find out today that the professor downgraded me to 5th (last) author. I don't know the reason. The 1st author doesn't know the reason either. I don't really care which author I get, I just want to work in the lab this incoming semester because I actually like the area of research.</p>
<p>What do you guys think this means? </p>
<p>I also plan on emailing him within the next couple days to ask if I'll be able to work in the lab. Do you guys think the professor hates me or something? It definitely seems like it when he couldn't let me work in the lab in the summer, letting his wife make me do labor work, and downgrading my author position. I've seen no signs of hostility from the professor and his wife towards me during the end of last semester. I'm really confused about all this. Maybe I'm thinking too much.</p>
<p>What exactly do you mean by “labor work”, both in context of him making you do it as part of the research group and his wife making you do it? Can you give some examples? I am not sure what to make of that. If by “labor work” you mean stuff like cleaning up the lab and just helping out the research group with what some would call the ***** work, then yeah, that is common, and a year is not uncommon to be doing that. Shoot, even graduate students usually take at least a year to get their sea legs before being useful enough to move on to planning experiments and other things like that.</p>
<p>It is very common for professors to be scraping by with funding and let undergrads go for the summer. To me, it speaks volumes that he actively tried to find you a job in the field even though it wasn’t successful.</p>
<p>As for the paper, did you actually contribute to the writing of the paper? Who were the other authors? Did they contribute to the text of the paper? Typically in most engineering fields, author lists start with the primary contributor and then go in order of decreasing role in the paper. If the paper is written by students or post-docs who work for a professor, the professor, or PI, gets listed last. So the important thing is whether or not you contributed as much as the other authors. If you were second author but they basically wrote the paper without you, then that is probably why you were bumped. It could certainly also be because of politics as well.</p>
<p>The lab used to be directed by a famous professor, he retired a few years ago and left a lot of stuff that needs to be moved around. I had to move a lot of stuff. They were pretty heavy (I lift weights and I still thought they were pretty heavy). I had to do a lot of work in a dusty room, taking apart shelves and throwing out trash and other stuff. I was just surprised he made me do this because he never asked me to do any of that in the past.
I actually asked him how come I couldn’t help the postdoctor I was working with anymore and he said with a semi-saddened tone “well you can, but we also need other stuff done too.” He also said the postdoc had things under my control and can do most of the things himself without my help even though the postdoc, himself, told the professor that he still needs my help. I’m not sure if asking him this was a good idea, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t act in a way that made me seem like I resented doing labor work.</p>
<p>Yeah I appreciate him trying to help me find a job. That was nice of him. I think part of his reason for doing so was because he told me pretty late (in my opinion) that I couldn’t work there in the summer.</p>
<p>I admit, I had almost nothing to do with the writing portion of the paper since I wasn’t working there in the summer. I don’t care that much about the author position, but him bumping me made me feel like he probably wouldn’t want me working there in the fall. Back in like january or something, he specifically said when the abstract was written that I would be 2nd author (the professor was last/5th). The other day switched mine and his position. Like you said, I thought normally the prof is usually the 1st or last author, I thought it was weird he changed it. Regarding the 3rd and 4th author, I’m not too sure what they contributed to the project&paper. I’m pretty sure I did more work than the 4th author unless he did something after I left.</p>
<p>The thing is, when some of that manual labor needs to be done, someone has to do it. In general, it falls to the lowest rungs on the seniority ladder, i.e. the undergrads. If it is something that an undergrad can do that lets the grad students focus more on science like they should be, generally the undergrads will be the ones doing it. That’s just how the game works.</p>
<p>As for authorship, my guess is that he felt you didn’t contribute as much as the others. I can’t really say for sure though since I am not part of the situation. Still, as an undergrad it is nice to be any author on the paper.</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand the prof’s position enough to read into his actions for motive. My advice is to volunteer, be happy if they want to pay you, do whatever is necessary to get the job done (and that job is to do whatever they tell you AND then some, within reason), and get an internship at a company, not a school.</p>
<p>I’d agree with the others and add that I would bet that the professor has enough important things going that he doesn’t have time to figure out how to make your life miserable. It sounds like he tried to come up with solutions so that your life wouldn’t be miserable.</p>
<p>Let’s see, a professor going out of his way to try to get an interview for me with an employer, getting my name on a paper as an undergrad…not feeling a lot of hate here. And yes, doing some physical labor is pretty standard. An undergraduate researcher wears a lot of hats. One day helping out means doing some computer programming or setting up a piece of equipment, the next day it may mean lugging heavy things around.</p>
<p>Other duties as assigned. We all do or have done scut work in our lives. Do what you are asked with a smile on your face as long as it is legal. The guy doesn’t have the funding he expected.</p>
<p>As for the manual labor(lifting, etc.) everybody does this. I’m a PhD student and sometimes the lab manager sees me and asks me to lift heavy things. This is life. Honestly, if a woman needs heavy things lifted, I’m usually rushing to volunteer anyway just out of courtesy. If you show even the slightest aversion to doing some occasional manual labor you will come off as a complete jerk. Also, every semester my lab gets together to clean the lab for a couple of hours. This is all manual labor.</p>
<p>Now if the prof’s wife made you do a weeks worth of manual labor, this is bad and inappropriate. I’d quickly find somebody else to work for.</p>
<p>As for your paper thing, I’d disagree with the other posters. This is potentially very serious. Being moved from 2nd to 5th is hugely bad. If possible, I’d understand if there was a major shift in the focus of the paper. Perhaps what you had worked on was “scooped” by another lab and can only be a minor focus of the paper. Also, perhaps they are planning another paper where you will be given more credit. If there is no such reason, and you are just an undergrad, I’d cut your losses as soon as possible and find someplace else to work and just hope for a good letter of recommendation from this professor.</p>