<p>I'm doing summer research right now and the PI, supervisors and my project are very far from ideal. Every minute in the lab is a nightmare.
How bad is it to quit a summer research after you're 3 weeks into it?
Do you get a permanent record of this?
How can you quit without burning bridges?</p>
<p>Why is it such a nightmare?</p>
<p>The projects are lame and my PI never comes in the lab. Instead I was assigned to three supervisors - a PhD, a grad student, and a lab staff.
The PhD stays in the lab only 40% of the whole time I'm in the lab. I feel threatened and uncomfortable when I ask him something. He makes it difficult for me to ask him anything freely. He also seems to expect me to understand what he says at first try and gives me weird and scary look if I tell him that I have no idea what he said and ask him questions on what I didn't understand. He can't even explain anything in a clear and concise language.
The grad student is okay, but very far from an ideal mentor.
The lab staff is very indifferent and unhelpful. When I ask him something, his explanations are vague and hard to understand. If I keep asking him questions based on his unclear explanations, he eventually gets mad and belittles me. So now I don't bother asking him anything. Also, just like the PhD, he threatens me or tries to make me feel dumb if I ask him some basic questions whose answers it's naturally for me to not know as a starter. I don't feel he is really one of my supervisors (the same goes for the PhD).</p>
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my PI never comes in the lab.
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Very normal. </p>
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The PhD stays in the lab only 40% of the whole time I'm in the lab.
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Also very normal.</p>
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He can't even explain anything in a clear and concise language.
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Fairly standard in a science lab.</p>
<p>Threatening, angry, belittling, scary behavior is not normal, but it's also hard to evaluate this behavior on an Internet message board.</p>
<p>ysk
it's not unusual to feel intimidated/belittled the first few weeks. i felt similarly in my lab when i first started. the pi assigned me to a postdoc, and while he was a nice guy, i could tell that he was skeptical of my intelligence at first and that he found me more a burden than anything else (which is fairly accurate when you're still in training).<br>
stick it out for a little longer... it took me a few weeks of full-time work to get in synch with the lab and to get familiar with the little things like where they keep the extra test tubes, etc. now my postdoc and i have a great relationship, even friendly.<br>
be as pleasant as you can and as helpful as you can. for the things you do know, offer to help out or even do it without asking (i can't tell you how many pipette boxes i've refilled because my postdoc was running low). ask them questions about their projects that show that you're actually interested in what they're doing. they'll realize in time that you're a hard worker, even if you don't have the science background that they have (which they shouldn't expect anyhow).<br>
if things STILL don't change after a bit more time, then consider relocating so you don't waste the whole summer.</p>
<p>well iwouldnt advise you to quit, plus what would you do instead?</p>
<p>But also consider how this job will look on your resume later. If it looks great, you might just want to suck it up, even if it's no fun.</p>
<p>Sometimes you learn things even when you think you're not.</p>
<p>You need to take some initiative here. </p>
<p>I work with some of the nicest people around but it's very normal, even in my lab, for the PI and various lab members to disappear and also very normal for them to assume you know more than you actually do. </p>
<p>If you are having trouble understanding some of the protocols, then read the protocol/instruction manuals that come with various kits and reagents. Also, use the internet. You can usually find protocols to do almost anything.</p>
<p>If you are having trouble understanding the science behind what you are doing, then ask your PI to suggest some papers for you to read so that you can get a better idea of the background behind your project.</p>
<p>I'm not suggesting that you abandon your labmates altogether but if you read up ahead of time, you won't have to ask so many questions.</p>
<p>This is also an example of why med schools like to see research. There are times, when you're a med student or resident, when you won't know what to do, when there isn't anyone around to answer your questions, and when you will meet unfriendly/snobby nurses and attendings. You can't just quit and go hide in the corner. Your patients need you. You need to be resourceful in finding alternative sources for answers and, if need be, you need to be able to communicate with people you may not like.</p>
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But also consider how this job will look on your resume later. If it looks great, you might just want to suck it up, even if it's no fun.
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</p>
<p>HORRIBLE advice!! </p>
<p>never do anything because "it looks good". If you did it just for that reason it will become obvious...trust me. Whether it is the uninspired manner with which you write about it in your personal statement or the unenthusiastic response you give to an interviewer. </p>
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This is also an example of why med schools like to see research. There are times, when you're a med student or resident, when you won't know what to do, when there isn't anyone around to answer your questions, and when you will meet unfriendly/snobby nurses and attendings. You can't just quit and go hide in the corner. Your patients need you. You need to be resourceful in finding alternative sources for answers and, if need be, you need to be able to communicate with people you may not like.
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</p>
<p>this is a very good point but i doubt its the reason med schools like to see research. Also I think there is something else to be considered here that noone has dared mention..... maybe bench research just isn't your thing! it certainly isn't my thing and there are plenty of med students and doctors who also did not particularly care for it....</p>
<p>the last time i ever did bench research was summer between junior and senior year of HS....and i hated it....i am just not the kind of person who can sit in a lab for hours on end doing mostly mechanical work (sorry if i offend anyone with this story, but this is how i feel about it). I also had the same experience as you in lab (and mind you i was in HS )...i was completely overwhelmed, felt my PI didn't care, and had trouble communicating with the grad students (though the fact that they barely knew english may have played a role in that). Also the topic i was researching ....something about alfalfa and rhizobium bacteria (can't believe i still remember this) was really boring! Anyway whether it was this experience or my personality that made the lab so unsavory but i really couldnt force myself to do it again. </p>
<p>Going back to my point about being unenthusiastic... i had a moment of premed-ness before the summer of my junior yr of college and decided to apply for a lab position (even though i hadn't set foot in a lab since junior summer of HS). Needless to say the interview went terribly! I didn't notice it at the time, but reflecting back on it, i think the prof got the feeling that i was just there trying to fulfill what i thought was required of me as a premed and clearly didn't offer me the position.</p>
<p>The upside to this all though is that you should try your hand at clinical research instead!</p>