Will this FWS experience help with a grad school application or is just valueless and careless?

I’ll be a sophomore this year at college, and during my first year, I had a FWS labeled as a “Lab Assistant” for a professor. I’m planning to apply to grad school later down the road and, while that sounds nice to put on my application, it’s not the end of it. I don’t really get involved with the post-docs who are doing research in the lab; I’m more of what you’d call a Grunt Worker, cleaning flasks, test tubes, disposing of plant matter and bio-hazardous waste, etc.

I feel like I am going to have to go into extensive detail about what I did experience wise while in college and, if I just end up (in the most elegant and formal way possible) having to say that I basically was a glorified janitor, is the job basically meaningless (relatively speaking as interest experience in the field and lab, not experience in general)?

I should also clarify that I’m asking this because I was re-offered to come back and work for the lab again this year, but if I’m not doing actual research, then… you get the idea.

This year, you should ask to start helping in the laboratory under the supervision of graduate students or the postdocs. This is a reasonable progression to getting research experience. If this professor is not willing to let you start in this direction, seek out someone else.

^What xraymancs said!