Research Lab Situation

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I recently started working at a research lab in the engineering college at my university.
I am having some concerns with the person I have to work with already. Basically the problem is I'm volunteering 10 hours a week for the lab. I can't afford more time than this. I honestly have almost no free time, except maybe Friday nights, outside of school and these 10 hours.</p>

<p>The professor wants me to work with someone who works in his lab. Let's call this other person 123 (not a grad student, but I think he has a B.S.). Basically 123 can boss me around, I think. The problem I have with him is he wants me to work longer than I can afford. He gives me tasks and deadlines and says if I don't finish those before the deadline, I would need to sacrifice time from elsewhere to finish those tasks. OK.
The problem is the tasks he gave me take way longer than my 10 hrs/week can manage and it's not even close. I'm volunteering in the lab with the expectation that I spend 10 hours doing whatever task I'm given. It seems that 123 thinks he can give me whatever he wants and I must finish it even if it takes significantly longer. </p>

<p>As I said, 10 hours a week is about the maximum I can afford. </p>

<p>I don't think 123 understands that I have other classes that take up most of my time. I'm pretty sure he knows that the things he wants me to do will take much longer than 10 hours. I'm not talking about spending an extra hour or too. I'm talking about spending an extra 20 hours a week. </p>

<p>Oh and over spring break, I was on vacation. He practically messaged me every day giving me a new task to do and wants it done by the next day (still spring break). I told him I was on vacation and I'll do it when I get back. He told me to tell him when I got back from vacation. I did. Right after telling him, he asks me to come meet him in his office.
Basically this is what happened on a timeline:
3pm: got off plane
4pm: got home
4:15pm: told 123 I was back
4:30pm: Can you meet me in my office today at 5:30pm?
***? This is a bit ridiculous lol. </p>

<p>123 is foreign and seems like a very hard working employee, so maybe this is because of that. </p>

<p>So I'm kind of confused as to what to do. I like the research in the lab. Would it be best to talk to my professor about this? What do I do if the professor sides with 123?</p>

2

<p>If you keep this up, you’re eventually going to end up making sacrifices somewhere critical. You should talk to the professor and tell them that you can only commit 10 hours/week, and that 123’s work assignments are beyond the scope of that (give some specific examples). If the prof sides with 123, you’re probably better off finding a position in another lab.</p>

3

<p>Stay pleasant and polite. Make sure everyone understands that for now, all you can afford to volunteer is 10 hours per week. That’s not really negotiable, or is it? If not, tell them that you don’t want to let them down, but if there is nothing that you can help them with under your time constraints, then you’d better bow out now. </p>

<p>Politely ask 123 to prioritize and tell him that you will do the best that you can with the 10 hours that you have. You can recommend that he not give you the most time critical stuff because you don’t want to disappoint him and you don’t think you can complete those tasks on his schedule. Suggest that you take the stuff with longer term deadlines. </p>

<p>In the scheme of things, 10 hours per week may not be worth his time to work with you, but as long as you are clear in what you can do, then he can decide. Very often the initial period of employment requires more time resources from the mentor than the volunteer and thus it may not be a wise investment of his time. It’s often difficult for undergraduates to see that because they view research as an entitlement as part of their education. However, research is the prime business of a research university and while you are volunteering, there is a general expectation you will benefit by gaining experience and the lab will benefit by getting something of value out of you. If they don’t feel like working with you is going to be a net positive for them, they shouldn’t indulge you.</p>

<p>The other option of course is to devote more time to the lab so that it is worth it for them to work with you.</p>

4

<p>ClassicRockerDad hit the nail on the head there.</p>