No professional growth in RA position.

[Prius92]

Hi all,

I am a Clinical Research Coordinator, and my goal is to get into a fully funded PhD program for clinical psychology. However, I don't think my job offers enough professional growth to get me there. In the day-to-day, I am basically doing what I was doing as an undergrad volunteer: scheduling, recruitment, assessment, and etc., except I am getting paid for it.

I've asked the PI multiple times to get involved in grant writing, irb revisions, and etc., - all things that will help my CV - but they'd just nod and say yes without coming through. I've followed up a few times, and each time, it was like the last conversation didn't happen. Their eyes would glaze over, say yes, and nothing would happen again. Am I just... not asking or following up correctly?

To my dismay, they gave me even more recruitment work to do. Then I found out they have a reputation for doing everything themselves a few months into the job when I had already moved for it. I also noticed the labs on campus - including them - accept volunteers from nearby Alliant affiliated schools for free labor doing the same things I'm doing. I'd see them ask for more professional development/mentorship and getting empty promises too.

I gave notice and the PI is desperately trying to get me to stay because they are short-staffed. They are making every promise in the world, including professional development. Their collaborators called and offered professional development. But I've been here for almost a year and don't trust them on their word. Some of the things they said didn't help either, like how it'd be hard for them when I leave for grad school if I get more involved and they've relied on me. I get the sense that they don't want to invest in me because CRCs leave after 2-3 years.

To be honest, I am really angry and hurt about these false promises, but I am trying to remain even-keeled at work. Sometimes I think it is my own fault - like maybe I didn't ask the "correct" way - because what I'm hearing isn't what I'm seeing. I'm professionally inexperienced and am in a tough situation. Please advise.

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[Temperance]

Sorry to hear that you haven't had a fulfilling experience in this position. You said that you gave notice; what's your next step? Have you looked into a possible lateral transfer? You might be able to apply for another position elsewhere, but you may get questions about what led you to leave this position after nearly a year.

 

[Prius92]

I was thinking about moving back home with my parents to volunteer at a nearby lab.

 

[futureapppsy2]

I hope I'm not remiss in saying this, but the tasks that you are talking about, enough though they feel like grunt work, are vital to research, and you'll totally do them even as a PI. It may just be that there's no real opportunities for writing at the moment. I'd ask specifically about timelines for writing and other tasks but stay in the paid position.

 

[MCParent]

I hope I'm not remiss in saying this, but the tasks that you are talking about, enough though they feel like grunt work, are vital to research, and you'll totally do them even as a PI. It may just be that there's no real opportunities for writing at the moment. I'd ask specifically about timelines for writing and other tasks but stay in the paid position.

+1

or just ask to analyze some data. If they’re short surely they have a backlog of work to get out; more feasible than starting your own thing.

 

[Osteosaur]

Jumping in here because I used to work as an RA. I really don't think losing income and going back to volunteering is worth it. As a paid employee you're around more consistently and will simply be trusted with more. No one in research trusts volunteers to do much because working for free will always fall behind other obligations. You will be starting from square one in a new lab. At least you can swing this experience into industry or something if PhD doesn't work out.

I think your main issue might be lack of follow-up because this isn't part of your job description per se. You might have to really keep on top of them and ask specifically "When is the next IRB proposal and what can I do?" and remind them constantly. Ask for specifics: dates, projects, and so on. I got a lot of pubs out of my position and got involved in that stuff because I seized initiative and made it happen. I didn't dance around the issue and wait for them to offer a project. Its a lot easier to do something yourself than teach so people won't go out of their way if they don't have to.

 

[Prius92]

These are the responses I'm looking for, thank you. I'm a first-gen college graduate and white collar worker, so some things that may be obvious to most may need to be spelled out to me. It sounds like I need to follow up "correctly" about timelines for other tasks instead of asking for professional development over and over.

 

[Ollie123]

Agree with the advice you've gotten above. Some other thoughts:
- Having "sorta" been in this position with staff before - how efficient are you? How well do you perform in non-data-collection aspects of the job? This may require some serious introspection. I have had staff who frequently expressed interest in these activities, but I had little confidence they had the capacity to do that type of work. Someone can be an excellent technician and in no way ready to go anywhere near higher-level activities.
-Some staff are also extremely slow in getting certain activities done and if someone is already struggling to manage what should be a very modest workload, the last thing I'm going to do is give them development activities that benefit them. I had one RA who clearly didn't like that since I gave other staff who weren't working directly with me opportunities she didn't get, but they had more to do and still finished early and it took multiple requests and days longer than it should have to get simple things from her. To be clear, I have no way of knowing or reason to believe either of the above apply to you, but wanted to put it out there for consideration.
- While I'm not advocating slave labor, I do think putting in some effort outside normal hours is sometimes expected for these sort of professional development activities, just like in some other fields. A lot depends on context. An established, high-functioning employee assisting with a manuscript? I'd expect that to count as their hours. A very junior employee who asked to do secondary data analysis to help a grad school application, will require extensive guidance, etc.? That's a lot more iffy. And it ties into the above - if the works getting done with time to spare then great, but if it isn't I'd probably expect this person to write on their own time.
- I agree more initiative is usually very helpful. I know very few faculty who would deliberately hold someone back who is taking initiative (within reason).
- Timing is everything. This may require some research. What conferences do they normally go to? 1-2 months before, ask if they can get you involved in a poster submission. Chances are they're crazy busy and will appreciate the help. A couple months before a grant deadline? The same. Some humility can go a long way - make it clear you know you may not be ready to help with writing but would love to learn about the process and help wherever you can. Even if this just means getting all the damn PMC numbers that didn't download correctly into Endnote (arguably my last favorite activity ever). Maybe ask if you can attend the grant planning meetings just to learn. Now you can read the grant as you are doing some formatting and learn some things. Maybe do some proofreading while you are at it and send a "Hey - was just adjusting the numbers but I noticed a couple things I think are typos here and here."
- Literally all of us have more data than we do time. Usually many times over. I easily have data for 30-40 papers right now, of which I'll maybe get out 5 and I'm far from the most egregious case. I know senior faculty who have primary papers from multi-million dollar grants they haven't gotten to yet. Not saying that's OK, but that's the reality of it. Remember you can volunteer outside your current lab too...

 

[Skye18]

While I don't have advice per se as others have offered, I can completely relate to your position. I've been in my current lab since 2019, and I've seen very little change in my CV for a long time, even though I too have been trying to follow up about various other new opportunities here. Due to various circumstances, I'm moving to PT for my current lab so I can begin volunteering with a new one. Far from ideal, yes, but I'm confident this is the only route available to me for the time being to actually gain new experiences.

 

[NeuroPsychosis]

As a pre-PhD RA I can also relate to how sometimes I rush myself into thinking that what I am doing is not enough. However, keep in mind that the work you are currently doing is valuable and counted as research experience. The additional stuff you mentioned such as grant writing, pubs, and etc are all extras that come as part of proving/showing your professional growth (which is a PLUS of course). PhD programs are not looking at these as requirements or heavy expectations to get admitted. It is nice to have a pub or some heavy involvement in data analysis, however I wouldn't stress too much over not getting there on time. You will definitely be trained to get there as a PhD student.