2 Research Labs at the same time

[JeetKuneDo]

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Anyone ever work for two labs at the same time?

 

[229141]

Yes...

But one was molecular bio, one psychology. Very different fields in terms of research

 

[SDN2013]

yes. For one semester I volunteered at a neuro lab and did research for credit at a mol bio lab

 

[PremedIowa]

I do now-one clinical and one basic science.

That being said, I graduated in December, so I have tons of free time.

 

[BlueElmo]

For me, I barely have time for one right now.

 

[lovedocta07]

im about to, i dont think you should ever mention to one lab that your also working in another one..its like cheating with your girl

 

[RevivedPreMed]

I've been wanting to do this (I work in a clinical medicine type lab but also want to get basic science experience) but i'm afraid my PI will be offended. I'm not sure how to go about this.

 

[moto_za]

how is the pay working in a lab?

 

[JeetKuneDo]

how is the pay working in a lab?

I personally don't get paid, so when I say work, I guess I mean volunteer. However, some places pay pretty well, anywhere from minimum wage to around 13 dollars is what I've seen.

Also everyone, I was wondering. Right now, I call my boss (the head researcher, is that a PI?) by my boss's first name. However, we will be going to meet another researcher and my boss calls that person by his first name, as does the rest of the lab. Now, I'm wondering if it would be appropriate for me to call him by first name or just Dr. Yadayada.

Also, thanks for the replies everyone. I might consider the second lab. For those that did do two, how was your course load for that quarter/semester and did you do any other stuff like volunteer while working?

 

[Red Leader]

I would not recommend this, unless your job is to clean beakers/tissue culture at both labs and you are hopeful for rising up the ranks. Otherwise there simply is not enough time.

 

[kansaskid]

I would not recommend this, unless your job is to clean beakers/tissue culture at both labs and you are hopeful for rising up the ranks. Otherwise there simply is not enough time.

I don't know...I worked in two labs last semester and did a little more than just cleaning glassware. One was a genetics lab where I mostly extracted DNA and ran PCRs all semester and the other was a lipidomics lab where I had some original research and may get a short publication out of the deal. I worked 10 hours/week at each one and took 13 hours of coursework. I did take a smaller amount of hours in order to incorporate the lab time easier, but it was totally possible and fun, too!🙂

 

[SiR99]

You should just find one lab that you really like and stick to it and give it your all or else you will get overwhelmed.

You have people depending on you at the labs and the data you provide is critical for them to publish their research and when you take two lab volunteering positions you have to start cutting time out of your sleep in order to juggle everything with your class.

 

[135892]

What advantage is there to working in two labs at the same time? It seems to me that you should just pick one lab and stick with it. And how would you have time to do this anyway... I barely have time to do all the work I need to in my one lab, on top of school work and everything else.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

Update fellas. I decided that I'm just gonna take one lab. I've been with this lab for a long time and know everyone in there pretty well. I'll probably just stay in it until I graduate.