Switching labs because of finances?

[Shirafune]

My parents are on the verge of retirement, and I need employment experience and money before the next application cycle.

Lab 1: worked on independent project that didn't pan out in the end, but now I would be finishing up ongoing projects that are soon publication ready. Likely to get another independent project when ongoing projects are concluded. Chance to publish as 2nd or 3rd author is good. No pay because of uncertain funding.

Lab 2: paid, but no independent research. it's mostly stuff that I'm already comfortable doing: PCR, cloning, DNA and RNA prep, etc. I can probably get hired here as a junior specialist in my gap/application year because I have a good amount of independent research experience and that funding here is more stable.

I've considered other part-time jobs, but most of them are much harder to work into my schedule. Only concern is that I've only spent 1 year in each of the two labs I've been in (Lab 1 and another one previously). Ideal situation would be getting paid in Lab 2 during work hours and working in Lab 1 after hours, but I don't think this will work out.

Should I be concerned about jumping around labs and how adcoms view it?

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[BurghMed]

If you need money, take the money. Especially if the lab is doing things you're comfortable with, it seems like the choice is obvious. Do not put you're mental state and finances at risk just to get a "possible" 2nd or 3rd author publication. I don't think adcoms care about you switching labs at all, as long as you're getting experience doing something. Good luck!

 

[Shirafune]

If you need money, take the money. Especially if the lab is doing things you're comfortable with, it seems like the choice is obvious. Do not put you're mental state and finances at risk just to get a "possible" 2nd or 3rd author publication. I don't think adcoms care about you switching labs at all, as long as you're getting experience doing something. Good luck!

Moving to lab 2 means I am not getting experience. I have a lot of experience working independently, and based on the job description, I will need very minimal training. It's just grunt work.

 

[BurghMed]

saying "you worked on an independent project" surely sounds like you got experience doing something for a number of months, whether it panned out or not.

 

[Shirafune]

saying "you worked on an independent project" surely sounds like you got experience doing something for a number of months, whether it panned out or not.

I'm just worried that it'll look like I'm moving backwards if I switch from lab 1 to lab 2, whether or not my previous lab experiences were rich.

 

[BurghMed]

I'm just worried that it'll look like I'm moving backwards if I switch from lab 1 to lab 2, whether or not my previous lab experiences were rich.

Or it will look like you did research in a lab for months, and then decided that you learned some things and chose to work in an another lab to get more/different experience. Don't worry about the notion that they'll somehow secretly know you "switched."