Advice: lab coordinator vs chance at research

[asecondtolife]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Would it be better to be the lab coordinator with little to no chance at publications, or start from the bottom in another lab and have a shot at doing some hypothesis testing research? Also, is it necessary to have bio or hard sciences specific research? I currently work in a psych lab.

My PI approached me and offered to promote me from research coordinator. It's more of a leadership role w/ more administrative work, in which I manage the research assistants, schedule participants, deal with IRB, etc. I will be more directly involved in the research, particularly study design and procedure, but I won't be given any personal research projects. Instead I will be "managing" a variety of professors' studies.

I am equally interested in finding a different lab--perhaps a bio lab--and being given a specific project to work on for an extended period and possibly have a shot at getting published. The downside is that I will be working from the bottom of the ladder up (again).

My question to you is: which do you think med schools will weigh more heavily, a leadership-like position or extensive research experience?

 

[flatearth22]

Pubs > leadership all day erry day.

But if you're not sure if you can get pubs with the 2nd lab I would play it safe and do the leadership role and also cop a great LOR from the PI.

 

[asecondtolife]

Thanks for the reply 🙂 you think 2 years is sufficient time to get myself established in a lab?

 

[Phyozo]

Thanks for the reply 🙂 you think 2 years is sufficient time to get myself established in a lab?

Why not use your opportunity to work in another lab to try and leverage yourself your own project (or piggyback off another's project) in the lab you're in? Just approach it as "I really want to remain here and help out, but am really wanting to get hands on experience and this other lab has offered to give me my own project...I'd really rather stay here and help though...any chance we can work together and create an opportunity for learning some hands-on research experience here?"

 

[flatearth22]

Thanks for the reply 🙂 you think 2 years is sufficient time to get myself established in a lab?

Totally depends on the lab, the PI, how the research is going, etc. You should never go into a lab expecting to get a publication because it's too unpredictable and very few applicants (probably less than 5% if I were to guess) have a legit peer-reviewed publication anyway. Some PI's pump out pubs like Kenny McCormick's mom does babies while others take their time and might only have one a year. Some PI's put the entire lab on the publication. A buddy of mine got a 6th author pub in a decent chem journal just for preparing some samples for NMR and washing dishes while contributing nothing intellectually towards the paper. Other PI's are really stingy and won't put your name even if you produced significant results but didn't make significant intellectual contributions to the paper. Ideally you want a PI that does a lot of pubs with a lot of names because in the med school game quantity > quality.

Why not use your opportunity to work in another lab to try and leverage yourself your own project (or piggyback off another's project) in the lab you're in? Just approach it as "I really want to remain here and help out, but am really wanting to get hands on experience and this other lab has offered to give me my own project...I'd really rather stay here and help though...any chance we can work together and create an opportunity for learning some hands-on research experience here?"

Yeah this would definitely be the ideal situation. Leadership + pubs + glowing LOR from PI = the treble of med school applications.