Decision between two research labs....

[smallbadwolf]

SO.....

I've been working in a lab on campus in UTDallas since December of 2009 (7 months and counting).

However, I recently have been offered an opportunity to work in a lab in UT Southwestern (for potentially up to two years if I start in the fall --I'm going to be a junior).

In either lab, I may be able to get a publication if I work my ass off these next two years. But, the head of the lab at UTDallas is more well-known than the head of the lab at Southwestern (has more papers out there).

Question: Should I switch to Southwestern??

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[mdeast]

Do you like your current lab? If so, you probably already have a project going and I'd say stick with it. Continuity is huge in research, you'll get more done.

On the other hand, if you don't like your lab, don't have a lot of responsibility, aren't fulfilled, like the research more at the other lab, then go for it.

 

[cfx]

SO.....

I've been working in a lab on campus in UTDallas since December of 2009 (7 months and counting).

However, I recently have been offered an opportunity to work in a lab in UT Southwestern (for potentially up to two years if I start in the fall --I'm going to be a junior).

In either lab, I may be able to get a publication if I work my ass off these next two years. But, the head of the lab at UTDallas is more well-known than the head of the lab at Southwestern (has more papers out there).

Question: Should I switch to Southwestern??

Why would you switch? Is there anything wrong with the lab you're currently in?

I know this may not concern you, but it seems a little unfair to your current PI, whose lab has invested the time/money/energy into training you, for you to up and switch to a "more prestigious" lab just because.

You should also take into consideration that, just because the lab churns out a lot of papers, does not mean you will definitely end up on one. My lab PI has her name on hundreds of papers because she's incredibly active and has tons of collaborators, etc. However, I was put on a fledgling project, so I ended up with no pubs. It's a bit of a roll-of-the-dice.

 

[NickNaylor]

WORK AT UTSW if you're unhappy with your current lab. The quality of research being done at UTSW is simply phenomenal. No offense, but UTD likely will not compare. I did two summers of research at UTSW, and it was an incredible experience.

 

[smallbadwolf]

Why would you switch? Is there anything wrong with the lab you're currently in?

I know this may not concern you, but it seems a little unfair to your current PI, whose lab has invested the time/money/energy into training you, for you to up and switch to a "more prestigious" lab just because.

You should also take into consideration that, just because the lab churns out a lot of papers, does not mean you will definitely end up on one. My lab PI has her name on hundreds of papers because she's incredibly active and has tons of collaborators, etc. However, I was put on a fledgling project, so I ended up with no pubs. It's a bit of a roll-of-the-dice.

Nothing is wrong, per se, with my current lab. However, my PI is a graduate student (the actual head of the lab is hard to get to know) who mainly uses me for training animals, even up until this point. There are prospects for me to learn more complex tasks in the lab, but until I learn those tasks I will not be able to make a large contribution to any one project. Essentially what I'm saying is that I'm very replaceable as of now in my current lab, but if I were to learn some more tasks (which could take months), I could be of more important use to the lab.

At UTSW, none of the tasks can be done off the bat, because it involves more sophisticated research which requires more experience. They require training to be of ANY use (also perhaps months).