summer: stay on campus+continue research in lab, or more dedicated research elsewhere

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I currently have been a research assistant in a lab for over a year, and we're working toward getting results that we can publish in a paper. Should I stay on campus over the summer, continue working here, maybe work a side job for a little extra cash?</p>

<p>OR...</p>

<p>Should I apply for research experience that's more in my chosen area (both my current lab and my major are bioengineering, but within bioengineering my lab focuses on one area, and I want to get my Ph. D. in another)? I would be trying to apply to universities which have good research programs in my chosen area of study, but it could only be a summer thing since none of them are nearby, and it will be much harder for me to get a job because at my own school I have experience within a department that will guarantee me a position. So, I guess the question is...</p>

<p>get closer to publication but in an area I won't be going into, make a little extra side cash, or get a more dedicated experience in my chosen field but only for the summer and with less of a possibility of making extra money?</p>

<p>Thanks so much for any and all advice!</p>

2

<p>I would do the former since you have gotten pretty far along already. Might as well go all the way.</p>

3

<p>So are you a coauthor on what would be publication submission(s)? Is the faculty member(s) you are working with going to be writing you a letter of recommendation? What is the faculty member(s) expectations about your involvement on the project and this summer in particular? </p>

<p>If the expectation was you’d be a coauthor, how is it optional to step out for the summer? Leave the others to finish it? Or on hold until your return? It all seems rather odd.</p>