Just got fired - gap year - help!!

[Hodag]

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So I got hired to be a research technician / lab manager for a wet lab (bench research) during my gap year. I graduated last year and I did not get accepted anywhere this cycle. I was working in a medical practice prior to this. I decided that the job would be great since I would gain a lot of research experience as well as get some money.

However, 2 month in, I got fired. I was told that my qualifications didn't meet the job requirements, but I am not sure if this was the reason. I admit I did mess up with a few experiments that I didn't know before such as transformation, qPCR, etc. but I personally believe I was very motivated to learn. Also, I am not quite sure if the PI fired me because she didn't like me. I am really upset since I left a good clinical job for this and now I have a lease in a whole new city I have to pay for.

Either way, I dont know what to do know. I am debating on applying again this cycle (3.4 GPA, 30 MCAT) but I don't know if I should be this job on my application (refer PI)/ what I should explain during the employment gap. Also I dont know why I got fired...

any recommendations, i am lost with life, financially and socially at the moment.

 

[gyrfalcon]

I'm a little confused by this story. Am I understanding this right that you were hired as a wet lab research tech but you didn't know how to do transformations, qPCR, etc? Were you open and honest about your knowledge during the hiring process?

 

[Hodag]

I'm a little confused by this story. Am I understanding this right that you were hired as a wet lab research tech but you didn't know how to do transformations, qPCR, etc? Were you open and honest about your knowledge during the hiring process?

Yes, I was. I said I knew these techniques only but during my employment I was taught how to do a few additional techniques that took me a while to troubleshoot.

 

[NewHorizons]

Yes, I was. I said I knew these techniques only but during my employment I was taught how to do a few additional techniques that took me a while to troubleshoot.

That alone tells me they have higher expectations of you. Troubleshooting experiments also requires understanding not just the principles of the techniques but recognizing consequences at every step along the way.

Not going to say it's deserved since I don't know the extent to which you messed up (and let's not forget reagents are money.... doing transformations on sensitive cell lines and the entire process of generating new plasmids with inserts can be very costly).... but I can understand their point of view for firing you if what you communicated above was true.

 

[Mansamusa]

Sorry OP :/ I agree with the above. They probably thought that you had more knowledge than you do and then were upset when they realized that they would have to train you from the ground up. I think it is a little skeevy on their part to not be willing to train you more after they chose to hire you.

And it sounds like you might have messed up a lot (if you are transforming Dh5a cells, for example, you can leave the cells and dna on ice for hours and the protocol would still work. If you were transfecting cells, that's a little more difficult to perfect, but transforming is a little straightforward) and that is why the PI was impatient.

Keep your chin up. Try to find some adult clubs or something that gets you out of your apartment so you don't fall into a rut/feel socially isolated. Take another year to strengthen your gpa with post-bac classes and volunteer. And I wouldn't list this job on my application. Good luck!

 

[Weirdy]

So I got hired to be a research technician / lab manager for a wet lab (bench research) during my gap year. I graduated last year and I did not get accepted anywhere this cycle. I was working in a medical practice prior to this. I decided that the job would be great since I would gain a lot of research experience as well as get some money.

However, 2 month in, I got fired. I was told that my qualifications didn't meet the job requirements, but I am not sure if this was the reason. I admit I did mess up with a few experiments that I didn't know before such as transformation, qPCR, etc. but I personally believe I was very motivated to learn. Also, I am not quite sure if the PI fired me because she didn't like me. I am really upset since I left a good clinical job for this and now I have a lease in a whole new city I have to pay for.

Either way, I dont know what to do know. I am debating on applying again this cycle (3.4 GPA, 30 MCAT) but I don't know if I should be this job on my application (refer PI)/ what I should explain during the employment gap. Also I dont know why I got fired...

any recommendations, i am lost with life, financially and socially at the moment.

Get another job. Income to sustain your living expenses are first and foremost right now. You do not have time to lament over a lab position that may or may not have treated you fairly. What's done is done.

Find support. You need family and friends to pull you out of the rut and light you up again. If you have a religion, start getting involved in the community again. Whether you think it helps or not, it will give you perspective. You are never too "old" or "mature" for family and friends.

Was sort of in your shoes. Moved to a completely different city. Landed a sweet grad research assistant job split between 2 different projects with 2 different professors. Hours were too much for me to keep up. They decided not to renew my contract for the following semester. They took me into the office and told me this the same week my grandfather passed away and my mother landed in the hospital due to pre-existing health issues.

Take it as a lesson. Maybe you bit off more than you could chew. Doesn't matter how receptive you are, how hard you work, or how well you take criticism. Management needs to provide results. PIs need results to secure more grants to get even more results.

But think of it this way: you now have the freedom to do whatever the **** kind of job you want. You have complete control over your job options, what experiences you'll gain, and where you're going to push yourself.

You've got a year.

Time starts now.