Doing research as a lab tech

[DNARNAPROTEIN]

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I'm currently looking for a job in research and have seen a number of positions open for lab techs. In particular, I'm interested one doing PCR, DNA isolation and such. Would working as a lab tech be considered favorably as research experience by admissions committees? Any ideas of what else would? I looked into NIH programs, but my degree is over 2 yrs old, so dont qualify for those that I saw. thanks

 

[drizzt3117]

It depends... generally yes, research experience is good, but I would try to find opportunities where you will get to do independent projects and research and be involved in experimental design and data analysis.

 

[maristella]

in many labs if you prove to be a competent lab tech you can take over your own project and have publications, etc.
i am currently sharing a project with a grad student and have a publication in the works..i suppose it depends on the lab but many are very open to letting their techs take on more responsibility if they are truly motivated!

there are also a large number of students that are pre-med working in the labs in my building, it is a pretty popular route for non-trads in my neck of the woods

 

[kami333]

there are also a large number of students that are pre-med working in the labs in my building, it is a pretty popular route for non-trads in my neck of the woods

Same here. It's actually what I'm doing, my PI is a MD/PhD and I'm getting some good experience.

It really depends on the lab what your responsibilities are going to be. I know of labs that are basically run by the lab techs who do most of the work designing and running experiments, etc, and labs where they only do grunt work and PI has a policy of not publishing lab techs. When I got my job my PI knew of my interest in going to med school so I've been given some "good" responsibilities and some publications.

It can also depend on your level of commitment, are you going to treat it as a 9-5 job or put in the hours in the evening/weekends/holidays with the grad students and post-docs when necessary? Depends on the research but a lot of times you can't just leave an experiment in the middle (like blotting/staining) and say I'll come back tomorrow to finish it (although there's nothing wrong with structuring your day/week so you get finished relatively on time😉) One of the first projects I was working on required me to be in the lab on Christmas evening, which was worth it. (I enjoy working in the evenings sometimes though, you can have the run of the lab and not have to fight over PCR machines etc).

One thing I will warn you though is that genetic research labs can be kind of stressful and cut-throat, it's a constant race to see who can publish first so the PIs always want to see newer and better results.

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

Same here. It's actually what I'm doing, my PI is a MD/PhD and I'm getting some good experience.

It really depends on the lab what your responsibilities are going to be. I know of labs that are basically run by the lab techs who do most of the work designing and running experiments, etc, and labs where they only do grunt work and PI has a policy of not publishing lab techs. When I got my job my PI knew of my interest in going to med school so I've been given some "good" responsibilities and some publications.

It can also depend on your level of commitment, are you going to treat it as a 9-5 job or put in the hours in the evening/weekends/holidays with the grad students and post-docs when necessary? Depends on the research but a lot of times you can't just leave an experiment in the middle (like blotting/staining) and say I'll come back tomorrow to finish it (although there's nothing wrong with structuring your day/week so you get finished relatively on time😉) One of the first projects I was working on required me to be in the lab on Christmas evening, which was worth it. (I enjoy working in the evenings sometimes though, you can have the run of the lab and not have to fight over PCR machines etc).

One thing I will warn you though is that genetic research labs can be kind of stressful and cut-throat, it's a constant race to see who can publish first so the PIs always want to see newer and better results.

I too am working as a tech in my off year between finishing my master's degree and starting med school next fall. Just wanted to input my 2 cents about the above highlighted statement. While I do agree that it is sometimes the nature of research to have to work late or on weekends, I should just let you know that you should also become familiar with the labor laws. I started working as a tech in April in a lab where the PI completely abused the techs' hours. I worked 6 consecutive weeks with no weekends off and ended up with 20 hours of overtime every one of those weeks. The PI did not want to compensate me for that time. Apparently he was accustomed to being able to work his students and postdocs like slaves. They can't do that to techs. Techs are staff and their time is protected by the labor laws. If your contract says you work 40 hours/week and you are working more than that, document your overtime and make sure you are compensated for it (either financially or with extra vacation). I ended up leaving that lab for a variety of reasons (mostly because of the PI's poor research ethics), and have since joined a lab where I am much happier. The techs in my current lab (there are 3 of us) do not work weekends or any overtime (or on the rare occasion we have to, we get to take weekdays off during the following week to make up for it), we get published and get to attend conferences. But more important than that is that it is a great work environment and my PI is awesome.

 

[foster033]

I too am working as a tech in my off year between finishing my master's degree and starting med school next fall. Just wanted to input my 2 cents about the above highlighted statement. While I do agree that it is sometimes the nature of research to have to work late or on weekends, I should just let you know that you should also become familiar with the labor laws. I started working as a tech in April in a lab where the PI completely abused the techs' hours. I worked 6 consecutive weeks with no weekends off and ended up with 20 hours of overtime every one of those weeks. The PI did not want to compensate me for that time. Apparently he was accustomed to being able to work his students and postdocs like slaves. They can't do that to techs. Techs are staff and their time is protected by the labor laws. If your contract says you work 40 hours/week and you are working more than that, document your overtime and make sure you are compensated for it (either financially or with extra vacation). I ended up leaving that lab for a variety of reasons (mostly because of the PI's poor research ethics), and have since joined a lab where I am much happier. The techs in my current lab (there are 3 of us) do not work weekends or any overtime (or on the rare occasion we have to, we get to take weekdays off during the following week to make up for it), we get published and get to attend conferences. But more important than that is that it is a great work environment and my PI is awesome.

lol...I find this post to be really funny. Overtime? Seriously. I work as a lab tech too, generally at least 50 hours a week and I don't get paid overtime. Are you serious about labor laws? I guess I could leave when I was at 40 hours if I wanted to, but why would I do that. Research is something I enjoy and hopefully will help me get into med schoo,md/phd. Why would I not put the maximum amount of effort into it? If you just want a job you can go work at the mall. If you want to be sucessful in research you have to put in the hours and if you don't get paid for them, oh well. The rewards will come later.

There's a ton of people out there who would take over your job, alot of them would do it for less, or free. A postdoc usually has their own funding and knows a lot more than you do.

Basically, you are a slave, and you should like it😀

 

[lumanyika]

Why would I not put the maximum amount of effort into it? If you just want a job you can go work at the mall. If you want to be sucessful in research you have to put in the hours and if you don't get paid for them, oh well. The rewards will come later.

There's a ton of people out there who would take over your job, alot of them would do it for less, or free. A postdoc usually has their own funding and knows a lot more than you do.

Basically, you are a slave, and you should like it😀

see this kind of reasoning is what demoralizes many competitive candidates. free/slave labour is easily exploited. what we all want is a descent work environment and some job rules set so that a PI would not violate common human descency laws not to mention federal labor laws.

and BTW nothing is free nowadays. That neo-classical mentality your horrible PI's have is rubbing itself on you....free youself!!

 

[Foghorn]

lol...I find this post to be really funny. Overtime? Seriously. I work as a lab tech too, generally at least 50 hours a week and I don't get paid overtime. Are you serious about labor laws? I guess I could leave when I was at 40 hours if I wanted to, but why would I do that. Research is something I enjoy and hopefully will help me get into med schoo,md/phd. Why would I not put the maximum amount of effort into it? If you just want a job you can go work at the mall. If you want to be sucessful in research you have to put in the hours and if you don't get paid for them, oh well. The rewards will come later.

There's a ton of people out there who would take over your job, alot of them would do it for less, or free. A postdoc usually has their own funding and knows a lot more than you do.

Basically, you are a slave, and you should like it😀

50 hrs/wk in the lab....whatta newb.

 

[kami333]

PI would not violate common human descency

I don't think PIs are human. Humans need sleep.

 

[skijumpbump]

Well I am glad my lab isn't that crazy and my PI is actually a very nice person. I occasionally have to work for more then 8 hours a day or come in on the weekend but any job with a salary you basically expect this. I work for an ivy league med. school doing cancer research and I couldn't be happier. I have my own project and am pretty independent, I am going to be a second author on a paper and my PI is going to give a great LOR. I think doing this kind of work is one of the best jobs you can have between undergrad and med school and I can't say how much I like doing it.

 

[kami333]

My lab is actually fun and my PI is very nice too, we have potlucks at least once a month, social stuff (my PI pretty much paid for a camping/boating trip this summer), happy hour on Fri afternoons. It's just those crunch times when grants/publications are due (pretty often) that it hits the fan.

I occasionally have to work for more then 8 hours a day or come in on the weekend but any job with a salary you basically expect this.

Pretty much any job that you consider a stepping stone in your career and want to get ahead in it's a requirement.

 

[Jesus DO]

I'm currently looking for a job in research and have seen a number of positions open for lab techs. In particular, I'm interested one doing PCR, DNA isolation and such. Would working as a lab tech be considered favorably as research experience by admissions committees? Any ideas of what else would? I looked into NIH programs, but my degree is over 2 yrs old, so dont qualify for those that I saw. thanks

I think working as a lab tech will greatly help you stand out from a lot of other canidates. Having NIH would certaintly make you stand out big time too.

PCR, gel glectrophoresis, doing floruresnet staining, ELISA, these are all going to help you down the road when you learn about them in school too.

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

My lab is actually fun and my PI is very nice too, we have potlucks at least once a month, social stuff (my PI pretty much paid for a camping/boating trip this summer), happy hour on Fri afternoons. It's just those crunch times when grants/publications are due (pretty often) that it hits the fan.



Pretty much any job that you consider a stepping stone in your career and want to get ahead in it's a requirement.

Hey, I understand the whole "increase the effort at crunch time" thing and I have no problem with that. What I did have a problem with was working for someone who treated his whole lab like slaves. I have no issues with working hard, I did my "slave labor" as a grad student, working 60-70 hour weeks for 3 years, and for a lot less compensation than I receive now. But when I sign a contract for working 40 hours/week and my PI threatened to fire me because I asked to be fairly compensated for the extra 20 hours a week I worked for 6 consecutive weeks to cover my postdoc's behind while she was in India, that's BS.

My current PI is fantastic. She hasn't asked me to work any extra hours yet, but if she did I would do it no questions asked because she treats everyone in the lab respectfully and I know she would compensate me for my work.

 

[kami333]

I can understand where you are coming from. But at the same time you have to admit that your experience and expectations are slightly different from what a recent grad or non-trad (not sure how how much lab experience the OP has but if he's looking for further research experience probably not a lot) with little prior research experience is looking for or is able to get. I had a very hard time getting interviews for lab tech positions due to my lack of experience outside of coursework, plus I had worked in another country in a complete unrelated field (IT), anything that wasn't just stocking supplies or washing glassware usually wanted 2years of prior experience. Sure I could have gotten one of those positions stocking stuff, probably worked my 40hrs/week for a year or two, then looked for a better job with more responsibilities/duties (which was actually my plan until my current job basically fell into my lap) but I'm not sure it would have put me in any better of a position than I am now. As it was, I ended up volunteering for a few months at a lab until my PI decided I wasn't a total idiot and could be trusted to be productive and try my hand at running experiments.

Let's put it this way, do you think the OP would have gotten a job with your current PI if someone like you (MS, several years previous lab experience) were the other candidate? BS or not, beggers can't be choosers. I mean come on, if there were that many lab jobs floating around would we have so many volunteers in the lab?

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

I can understand where you are coming from. But at the same time you have to admit that your experience and expectations are slightly different from what a recent grad or non-trad (not sure how how much lab experience the OP has but if he's looking for further research experience probably not a lot) with little prior research experience is looking for or is able to get. I had a very hard time getting interviews for lab tech positions due to my lack of experience outside of coursework, plus I had worked in another country in a complete unrelated field (IT), anything that wasn't just stocking supplies or washing glassware usually wanted 2years of prior experience. Sure I could have gotten one of those positions stocking stuff, probably worked my 40hrs/week for a year or two, then looked for a better job with more responsibilities/duties (which was actually my plan until my current job basically fell into my lap) but I'm not sure it would have put me in any better of a position than I am now. As it was, I ended up volunteering for a few months at a lab until my PI decided I wasn't a total idiot and could be trusted to be productive and try my hand at running experiments.

Let's put it this way, do you think the OP would have gotten a job with your current PI if someone like you (MS, several years previous lab experience) were the other candidate? BS or not, beggers can't be choosers. I mean come on, if there were that many lab jobs floating around would we have so many volunteers in the lab?

The other 2 techs in my lab are very similar to the OP in experience level. Just out of college, little previous research experience. My current PI felt I was overqualified for what she wanted in a tech and that I would be bored, but I was so desperate to leave my previous lab that I was willing to be bored and take a pay cut to work for her. Best decision I ever made. The moral of the story is that some PIs do prefer less experienced techs. My PI is very involved and likes to teach us all the lab techniques we use herself. The OP may be the perfect candidate for a PI like mine. Experience can be a good thing, but the more you work in a lab, the more you can pick up bad habits. Some PIs prefer a cleaner slate.

As far as what the OP is looking for (simple molecular work), if he applies to enough places it shouldn't be a problem to find something. It would definitely be easier for the OP to find something if he's in a location with a high concentration of labs available (when I was looking, I had a lot to choose from because I had 2 large research institutions to apply to). Another thing that will help the OP is if he is willing to work for at least 2 years. That was where my problem was, I was just looking for a position for 1 year. That was where having a lot of previous experience helped me, because I needed much less training, I could accomplish more in 1 year than a newbie. But if the OP is willing to spend a decent amount of time working as a tech, not having much experience shouldn't be too much of a hindrance.