Am I stupid for giving up a seemingly great research opportunity?

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choronglee220322

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I'm an incoming college sophomore and I've done research ever since high school and I really love working in a lab. During freshman year of college, I was fortunate enough to get a lab position at a T10 med school (due to my previous lab experience in high school), but it was just really discouraging and felt like a waste of time to do a bunch of grunt work, compared to being able to design experiments and take on an experiment on my own while I was in a lab during high school. Although the lab position guaranteed a letter of recommendation and multiple publications (the PI made it clear that his lab worked with premeds and as long as certain hours were fulfilled, we'd be able to get both) I'm planning to quit (after a year of working) because it just feels like such a waste of time and is just physically strenuous. Am I being dumb to quit this opportunity?

Also, I really wanted to pursue my own project; potentially think of a proposal on my own and email PIs to see if they'd be willing to take me in and offer guidance/resources for me to carry out my project, and i was wondering if most professors/PIs would even be interested in listening to an undergrad's research ideas? I know in the most traditional sense, it makes more sense to join a lab that works on topics that I'm interested in, start from the bottom, and once they know that I'm capable of taking on a project, probably work on side projects or get a project in that sense. However, I really do have a specific project in mind that I'm really interested in, but I'm not entirely sure if I'd be perceived as a really naive/cocky undergrad who's asking for too much or they'd actually take me seriously? Any sort of advice would be appreciated, thanks so much!

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I'm an incoming college sophomore and I've done research ever since high school and I really love working in a lab. During freshman year of college, I was fortunate enough to get a lab position at a T10 med school (due to my previous lab experience in high school), but it was just really discouraging and felt like a waste of time to do a bunch of grunt work, compared to being able to design experiments and take on an experiment on my own while I was in a lab during high school. Although the lab position guaranteed a letter of recommendation and multiple publications (the PI made it clear that his lab worked with premeds and as long as certain hours were fulfilled, we'd be able to get both) I'm planning to quit (after a year of working) because it just feels like such a waste of time and is just physically strenuous. Am I being dumb to quit this opportunity?

Also, I really wanted to pursue my own project; potentially think of a proposal on my own and email PIs to see if they'd be willing to take me in and offer guidance/resources for me to carry out my project, and i was wondering if most professors/PIs would even be interested in listening to an undergrad's research ideas? I know in the most traditional sense, it makes more sense to join a lab that works on topics that I'm interested in, start from the bottom, and once they know that I'm capable of taking on a project, probably work on side projects or get a project in that sense. However, I really do have a specific project in mind that I'm really interested in, but I'm not entirely sure if I'd be perceived as a really naive/cocky undergrad who's asking for too much or they'd actually take me seriously? Any sort of advice would be appreciated, thanks so much!
Describe the type of work you are currently doing and the type of work you wish to do.

I am a little bit confused. Are you just washing glassware all day?
 
Sounds like the classic 'Big fish in small pond' versus 'Small fish in big pond' conundrum. Put out feelers and see how feasible your dream project would be, if it is, then you have to decide what would make you happy?

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors
 
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Take the pubs and LOR man. I assure you, you do NOT want to risk getting another worse lab where you can’t even publish or get a LOR (speaking from experience).
 
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I’m not going to tell you that you’re stupid; but 99% of pre-meds would dream to be in the position that you’re in.

Realistically, undergraduates have NO idea how to actually conduct research. They think they do, but they really don’t know all the intricacies, science, processes, write-ups, red tape, etc, to actually conduct their own research (not saying that you don’t know how, simply pointing out that it’s highly unlikely you know how to do all of that stuff as a sophomore).

You are correct that the best thing to do is work from the bottom up. Once you get to the top, then you can probably conduct your own research.

My advice would be to stay (or at least move to a lab that offers the same kind of output and LOR. Use your research idea in med school when it can really make an impact on your career.
 
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Do you know well funded your lab is? They probably can't afford a lab tech so they trade lesser authorship for tech work.
 
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