Got Kicked Out of Lab?

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baratheonfire said:
Why do you want to work in two labs? There's not that much reason to work in more than one lab, especially a wet lab. I switched from a molec bio based lab to a BME lab, and love it though.

Also, no more letter, dude.
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One is further away than the other which only allows me to be there one large timeslot a week. The other I can be between classes, nights, weekends.
 
lalex said:
One is further away than the other which only allows me to be there one large timeslot a week. The other I can be between classes, nights, weekends.
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It's not on campus?
 
wonko said:
The PI loves you but let you go after you didnt show up to your initial training?
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He was told a lie which is the only thing I wanted to address since it is the grad student's decision.
 
It just sucks.. I'm a senior, put so much time already into this lab, and this was something I cold continue on during my gap year.
 
lalex said:
Kind of. Hard to explain without you know what school I go to.
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Ok. I'd advise you to find something on campus.

Well, it's a double edged sword. My first lab was supervised by the advisor of my major, so I think by getting kicked out/leaving I've alienated that entire department. But who cares about Bioinformatics anyway :laugh:

I've gotten really close to the BME department now though
 
lalex said:
It just sucks.. I'm a senior, put so much time already into this lab, and this was something I cold continue on during my gap year.
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How much time?

Also, this is why you start research early lol
 
baratheonfire said:
Ok. I'd advise you to find something on campus.

Well, it's a double edged sword. My first lab was supervised by the advisor of my major, so I think by getting kicked out/leaving I've alienated that entire department. But who cares about Bioinformatics anyway :laugh:

I've gotten really close to the BME department now though
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Oh dang... Maybe I'll just stay away. This lab is the one on campus I could do between classes... Unfortunately.
 
Can someone summarize what happened to the OP? I got nothing from his first post.
 
lalex said:
I did other research/work in a wet lab off campus. A quarter's worth LOL.
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A quarter isn't that long. Be grateful they didn't waste any more of your time, because if you got kicked out, you were eventually going to get kicked out no matter what. It's better to be in this position now than 8 months down the road.
 
LuluLovesMe said:
Can someone summarize what happened to the OP? I got nothing from his first post.
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Sorry...

I put my availability into a calendar which was three days (M/W/F). I got emailed to come W/F. I got kicked out today for not coming Monday.
 
Go to the lab in person. Emails are the easiest thing to disregard. Countless people told you to go in person. It shows how badly you want it to the grad student.
And the worst they will say is get out. And you walk away unscathed with a good lesson.
 
Satire5Texul said:
Go to the lab in person. Emails are the easiest thing to disregard. Countless people told you to go in person. It shows how badly you want it to the grad student.
And the worst they will say is get out. And you walk away unscathed with a good lesson.
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I will but am so shy and nervous to.. but people also told me that if he doesn't want me not to look like an idiot by begging.
 
wagonwheel23 said:
Honestly, emailing the PI probably won't make a difference. You are not working with the PI. So, if the PhD student already doesn't like you enough to fire you, you probably don't want to continue working with them.

I'd walk away from this. Also, work on your written communication skills. Based on this thread, they appear to be a bit jumbled .
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I think it's probably mostly this^ in bold. They found someone else they like better, for whatever reason. It happens--more than most people realize. You have to move forward. Make sure your future emails are clear and reflect back or restate in question form what they want--for verification purposes. "Dear So&So, I stated I was available for XY&Z. I am seeking clarification regarding the dates you require. They are YZ as per our last communication on x/date. Is that correct? Again, at this time, I am still available for X. If you would like me on (X) that day/date, please respond to me ASAP, so that I would be sure to clear that day/date on my schedule." Thank you. Your name.

Then I would f/u w/ phone calls, asking them if they received email, even though you have the notification of "sent."

RL politics seems ridiculous at times, but it means documenting every little thing. Still, at the end of the day, if they like someone else better, what are you gonna do?
 
lalex said:
If you were just fired, would you be calm and collected?
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What choice do you have, really? People get axed or fired all the time for cause, little cause, questionable cause, or no cause at all. The work world is not this Fair Land like everyone thinks it is. It isn't. Plenty of good people get fired. Be collected, clarify, and move on. Wipe the dirt of your sandals and keep going. The work world today is about being able to stay/keep working and finding new or other opportunities. There is no such thing any more as a strong sense of loyalty and FairPlay. Shoot, there is no such thing as pensions for people anymore--save working for the government; but that's a whole other level of craziness. Crap like this is where you learn to grow up, and it happens more in recent decades than pretty much any other time. People move around A LOT in the work world anymore for a reason. Get used to it, and be able to bounce back by seizing opportunities.
 
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jl lin said:
What choice do you have, really? People get axed or fired all the time for cause, little cause, questionable cause, or no cause at all. The work world is not this Fair Land like everyone thinks it is. It isn't. Plenty of good people get fired. Be collected, clarify, and move on. Wipe the dirty of your sandals and keep going. The work world today is about being able to stay/keep working and find new or other opportunities. There is no such thing any more as a strong sense of loyalty and FairPlay. Shoot, there is no such thing as pensions for people anymore--save working for the government; but that's a whole other level of craziness. Crap like this is where you learn to grow up, and it happens more in recent decades than pretty much any other time. People move around A LOT in the work world anymore for a reason. Get used to it, and be able to bounce back by seizing opportunities.
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The work world is really about playing dirty politics, and not about being a good and efficient worker.
 
Affiche said:
I will never understand why pre-meds come on here and make an entire thread to ask a question they should be able to answer themselves. FFS, you're an adult, you should not need advice from a bunch of strangers to tell you how to send an email.
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180px-Specialsnowflake1.jpg


Alternatively,

3258777406_ef20224be1_n2.jpg
 
Meeting with grad student. This is embarrassing
 
Lawper said:
The work world is really about playing dirty politics, and not about being a good and efficient worker.
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It's both, but much of your point is sad but true.
 
lalex said:
Meeting with grad student. This is embarrassing
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Why is this embarrassing? Just be cool and objective and seek clarification. You have the emails, no?

If he found someone he likes better, it's whatever. You can't let this stuff phase you. Just learn to seek clear and verifiable validation.

Heck, I have had nurses, back in the days when schedules were written in, erase or cross out my scheduled dates, so that I would come into work on the dates written and presumably approved, only to be sent home or to be called at home, with "Why aren't you here?" Copies of final/approved schedule well in hand, scratching my head. But I caught on to the game. Being young but not apt to be walked all over, I learned to get validation on all final schedule approvals in various ways, especially with the right people. It took extra vigilance on my part, b/c sadly there are just people that play dirty pool. In the digital world, it's easier to verify and to f/u w/ validation. I also learned to check the schedule every day I was on and have my friends notify me on my days off of any changes--and to verify back final schedule copies. That is, you seek clarification with the right people w/ final word on the schedule in writing after the final schedule approval date. Amazingly my surprise changes on the schedule ended, b/c I went the extra mile and sent final copy as if to say, "I am forwarding this copy to you, so that we can agree to my expected dates on the final, authorized scheduled, and that any changes will be made via phone call and written verification." You are not trying to be a j.o. You just don't take such idiotic antics sitting down. If the leadership over the schedule blew it off, I would have gladly tendered my resignation, for this is not acting in good faith. And if there was a tendency to not act in good faith w/ each other on things such as the schedule, if some serious patient/legal/clinical issue arose, how could I know that I would get due diligence and good faith support versus being used as a scape goat? I'm pretty anal about my documentation though, but it's the principle of the thing.

Seriously, there are people that just are lowdown jerks that smile and seem to get away with it...for a while. Usually it catches up with them eventually.

Education/academia, research, and healthcare can be much more cutthroat than people realize. It comes as an alarm, b/c these are all supposed to be altruistic areas--at least somewhat. 😉
 
lalex said:
Meeting with grad student. This is embarrassing
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Why are you meeting with him dude
He's going to enjoy having you fully at his mercy. Don't make that mistake; preserve your dignity
 
baratheonfire said:
Why are you meeting with him dude
He's going to enjoy having you fully at his mercy. Don't make that mistake; preserve your dignity
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He's already taking me back but I agree which is what is embarrassing
 
jl lin said:
Why is this embarrassing? Just be cool and objective and seek clarification. You have the emails, no?

If he found someone he likes better, it's whatever. You can't let this stuff phase you. Just learn to seek clear and verifiable validation.

Heck, I have had nurses, back in the days when schedules were written in, erase or cross out my scheduled dates, so that I would come into work on the dates written and presumably approved, only to be sent home or to be called at home, with "Why aren't you here?" Copies of final/approved schedule well in hand, scratching my head. But I caught on to the game. Being young but not apt to be walked all over, I learned to get validation on all final schedule approvals in various ways, especially with the right people. It took extra vigilance on my part, b/c sadly there are just people that play dirty pool. In the digital world, it's easier to verify and to f/u w/ validation. I also learned to check the schedule every day I was on and have my friends notify me on my days off of any changes--and to verify back final schedule copies. That is, you seek clarification with the right people w/ final word on the schedule in writing after the final schedule approval date. Amazingly my surprise changes on the schedule ended, b/c I went the extra mile and sent final copy as if to say, "I am forwarding this copy to you, so that we can agree to my expected dates on the final, authorized scheduled, and that any changes will be made via phone call and written verification." You are not trying to be a j.o. You just don't take such idiotic antics sitting down. If the leadership over the schedule blew it off, I would have gladly tendered my resignation, for this is not acting in good faith. And if there was a tendency to not act in good faith w/ each other on things such as the schedule, if some serious patient/legal/clinical issue arose, how could I know that I would get due diligence and good faith support versus being used as a scape goat? I'm pretty anal about my documentation though, but it's the principle of the thing.

Seriously, there are people that just are lowdown jerks that smile and seem to get away with it...for a while. Usually it catches up with them eventually.

Education/academia, research, and healthcare can be much more cutthroat than people realize. It comes as an alarm, b/c these are all supposed to be altruistic areas--at least somewhat. 😉
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Although I completely agree and have been in situations like this at work, the grad student didn't find someone else, he legitimately thinks I'm at wrong.
 
Well if you really want to stay with someone who was willing to kick you out, it's your choice

I'm not sure why you'd trust them to write you letters of rec though
 
baratheonfire said:
Well if you really want to stay with someone who was willing to kick you out, it's your choice

I'm not sure why you'd trust them to write you letters of rec though
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No I trust the PI that has been lied to and I corrected the grad students lies.
 
lalex said:
Although I completely agree and have been in situations like this at work, the grad student didn't find someone else, he legitimately thinks I'm at wrong.
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Seems like it would be pretty simple for you to produce the email from him telling you to come on Wednesday and Friday.
 
lalex said:
I will but am so shy and nervous to.. but people also told me that if he doesn't want me not to look like an idiot by begging.
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If you cant sell yourself for why you want a research position...how will you cope with a medical school interview where you will be purposely stressed out to see how you cope with it.

Suck it up and go there. Explain yourself. Stay level-headed. Be very apologetic. Explain how much you value the time they took out to meet with you.
Its embarrassing but you got to do what you got to do.

If you get the position back, never ever be late to lab. Show them that you care. Explain to them in the meantime you would be a valuable asset and are a hard-worker.
 
Terry Toma said:
Seems like it would be pretty simple for you to produce the email from him telling you to come on Wednesday and Friday.
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I forwarded the email to both, he's saying I should have looked at calendar too
 
lalex said:
No I trust the PI that has been lied to and I corrected the grad students lies.
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Best of luck to you then. When I was in a similar position I chose a different path, but to each his own
 
lalex said:
Although I completely agree and have been in situations like this at work, the grad student didn't find someone else, he legitimately thinks I'm at wrong.
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Do you mean to say that he legitimately thinks you are in the wrong? If so, what about the email you sent? See, always send confirming email or you could easily get bitten in the azz.
 
I'm sorry to say that I am still confused in terms of the full details of this situation. Regardless, best wishes to you. I surely hope that the GS and PI were just busy, distracted, whatever, and they will from now on be kosher with you. For God's sake seek clarification and verification--in writing. Even word of mouth with witnesses can flip on you, b/c people are human and will ultimately look out for number one in most instances. Try to trust but verify, verify, verify.
 
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jl lin said:
Do you mean to say that he legitimately thinks you are in the wrong? If so, what about the email you sent? See, always send confirming email or you could easily get bitten in the azz.
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He sent to come Wed + Fri, I sent I can come Wed + Fri. So you are as confused as I am.
 
Glazedonutlove said:
So you already emailed them and are waiting for a response. What is the point of this thread exactly
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To see what I should do about getting kicked out UNFAIRLY. Are you just reading the end where things are getting resolved? If so, you read from the beginning not end.
 
lalex said:
To see what I should do about getting kicked out UNFAIRLY. Are you just reading the end where things are getting resolved? If so, you read from the beginning not end.
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OP: things take time. I honestly don't think we should be helping you with every email exchange... I can nearly guarantee that the situation isn't nearly as dramatic to the grad student or professor. Both have a lot more significant things going on than catering to you as an undergrad. If you want it enough, play nice and don't run in frenzied enough to make them think you'll be a handful. The grad student may be wrong about something or just not want you (undergrads often times are a lot of work to coordinate for the amount they contribute), but such is life. In your later career you'll also have people that probably don't want you around -- just gotta decide if it's worth it and make the best of it.
 
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