LOR from Research EC

[Ginger Ale]

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How have yall managed to get LOR from Research Faculty? I started doing research and Im working with a grad student only, and I barely even see the Professor who runs the lab.

Right now I'm just learning the ropes, so I'm thinking that maybe he'll get to know me more in the future if I start an independent project.

What do yall think?

-Ginger Ale

 

[randombetch]

Easy - I worked directly with the faculty member.

 

[Catalystik]

In large busy labs where one has little contact with the PI, it isn't uncommon for the grad student to write the LOR and have it cosigned by the faculty member.

 

[bravofleet4]

do you have a post-doc supervisor? That's who I got to write my LOR but the PI signed it too

 

[obgyny]

How have yall managed to get LOR from Research Faculty? I started doing research and Im working with a grad student only, and I barely even see the Professor who runs the lab.

Right now I'm just learning the ropes, so I'm thinking that maybe he'll get to know me more in the future if I start an independent project.

What do yall think?

-Ginger Ale

I know how you feel. I've done research in two completely different types of labs. The first one was a huge lab with TONS of undergrads running the lab, supervised by a few graduate students. The professor never set foot in the lab, and I have not formally met him. However, I gained great leadership experience and managed a team of undergrads on an independent project. The graduate student knows me very well and will be writing me an LOR but is also having the professor sign it.

In the other lab I did undergrad research in, I got to know the PI very well, and he ended up hiring me after graduation. So it really depends on the lab you work in.

It's obviously better to get the LOR from the professor, but if you don't get the chance to work with him/her directly, maybe you can talk to the grad student and explain the situation (ask if the PI or maybe a postdoc could co-sign).

If you do start your own project, definitely use that opportunity to get to know your PI. Make appointments to discuss the research.

 

[still h0ping]

wait.. I'm confused about something..
can a post-doc be a PI? or is a PI the faculty member who runs the lab? I don't see the faculty member much either... but the post-doc knows me best. Is it fine to get a LOR from a post-doc instead?

 

[typhoonegator]

wait.. I'm confused about something..
can a post-doc be a PI? or is a PI the faculty member who runs the lab? I don't see the faculty member much either... but the post-doc knows me best. Is it fine to get a LOR from a post-doc instead?

A post-doc is not the PI. The PI is the guy/gal who gets the grants that pay for everything you see and touch in the lab. Although post-docs tend to know you the best, they are not the best people to write your LOR due to their lack of stature. If you work in a non-sociopathic lab, then there tends to be a latent understanding that by working there, the PI does what he/she can to further your career. The PI in my lab won't even take an undergrad or post-grad assistant unless he knows how he can help them take their next career step, even if he can barely remember their name thereafter.

Hence, if you want a letter, ask your grad student or the lab coordinator how to move forward. Most will end up writing the letter themselves, and having the PI sign it, as others have already stated. No big deal, happens all the time.