Quitting from a lab

[Shredder]

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How did any of you guys quit a lab position, especially a paid one? Did you feel bad or guilty? How did you explain it, and what was your boss' and labmates' reaction? How much notice did you give, and did you tie up loose ends? What were your reasons for throwing in the towel? Besides graduation--I mean unexpected quitting.

As for me I want to gain experience in other areas besides the cooped up lab, particularly in business, maybe even volunteering if it helped my app and was worth my while but thats unlikely.

 

[DrDarwin]

How did any of you guys quit a lab position, especially a paid one? Did you feel bad or guilty? How did you explain it, and what was your boss' and labmates' reaction? How much notice did you give, and did you tie up loose ends? What were your reasons for throwing in the towel? Besides graduation--I mean unexpected quitting.

As for me I want to gain experience in other areas besides the cooped up lab, particularly in business, maybe even volunteering if it helped my app and was worth my while but thats unlikely.

Did you recently attend the French Open? If not, does the BIG "Rolland Garros" just indicate your desire to be there? I saw Pierce, S. Williams, Hewitt, etc. last year, and it was absolutely amazing.

As for quitting a lab position, just provide sufficient notice (i.e., as much as feasibly possible) and inform them that you want to gain some experience in other areas, obviously noting your interest in dual degree programs. Don't step on any toes, because some schools--I know of at least one--require a letter from all research advisors. I quit one lab to go abroad for a fellowship and will be quitting another shortly to begin medical school. I told both PIs before I started when I would need to quit because I knew from the get-go my approximate last day of availability.

 

[Kazema]

I quit my research job about midway through my last semester. My courseload plus MCAT studying were enough to worry about and I told my PI as much, he totally understood and supported my decision.

I had told him at the beginning of the semester that I might not be able to continue through the whole semester so he knew for a long time that it might be coming. When I did finally decide to quit I gave notice 2 weeks before I was going to stop but he just told me that it was alright if I just stopped coming in. This was probably cause we were at a lull in the project - we had finished the pilot and he was writing grant proposals at the time so he didn't have any immediate need for me.

He actually invited me to work with him on a different project in the summer for the Army, but the Army being what it is, cancelled the funding about a month before we were going to start. Which turned out to be good for me because it gave me plenty of time to work on secondaries .

 

[Haybrant]

ive just got too many things backed up to quit; i think people would be pissed if i up and walked off right now; ill be done in a month but will prob keep comming in.

On a more important note, did you see the federer/nadal match or that one crazy shot by nadal in the ferrer match? nutty stuff man!

 

[logos]

Give 2 weeks notice if possible.

Get your notebook in order so that others can find what you have done. I'm making an index page for each of my notebooks...just to give anyone a general sense of where something might be in the book.

If the leaving becomes contentious and you have contributed significantly to the lab, you may want to consider photocopying your notebook and making a personal backup if you have any data on computer. Can copy the notebook at like 5am so noone knows. But, if everyone is being civil, I wouldnt bother.

 

[rpkall]

Ugh. Mad props to the dedicated people out there, but research just was NOT for me.

I just told the PI that. "I don't think this is working out; I really don't think it's for me, but I very much appreciate the opportunity you've given me."

Etc, etc.

Why lie?

 

[Newsradiofan]

I actually worked for a horrible PI that I hated. I couldn't stand coming in to lab every day and I was working 18 hr days for little recognition. So I left to take more classes. When she asked what I was going to do I said get a masters or something. She was like you are making such a bad decision and this will ruin your career. Needless to say she was slightly POed. But you need to do what is good for you. So leave, give 2 weeks, and stand firm. And do something in the interim - it looks bad to have significant amounts of time for which you cannot account.

 

[ramblinwreckie]

kinda like what happened in Office Space. I just stopped going in to the lab. If I had any respect for this particular PI, I would have done the right thing and told him. Things worked themselves out.

 

[45408]

I'm planning on bowing out after I get a little past the two year mark in this lab. At that point, I'll only have a semester left, and starting a big new project wouldn't make sense, and I'd like to relax a bit before I move, get married and start med school within a very short period of time.

 

[GaryM]

After a year of working on my Master's thesis, I came to realize that my PI did not have the necessary resources for me to conduct any real experiments to test my hypothesis. He would instruct me to go back to the library to pull articles on different topics that were not related to my thesis. I came to realize that I was pulling articles for his main project, and that everytime I would try to progress with mine, he would send me off on a tangent. I had a meeting with him to express my concerns, and felt as though nothing good came out of it, so I had to leave. It is too bad that it worked out that way.
Anyone out there that is considering research, please take your time and find the PI that is right for you, even if you have to volunteer in their lab before hand. Make sure that the project is right for you and that you get along with your PI ----- Otherwise you're in for a couple of years of hell!!!

 

[Sanctuary]

Since I've done this several times, I'll share what *I* did. Disclaimer: May not be suitable for children under the age of 12.

Whoops wrong disclaimer, let's try this one: May not be suitable for all lab assistants.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Make up a reason that doesn't put you directly in charge of the situation. What does this mean? Well it means something like this: Explain to your PI that in four weeks (from the time you tell him/her) you will not be able to work for him/her anymore, even though you'd really like to continue. The reason being, a commitment that you've been waiting for, outside of school, has finally surfaced and you have no choice but to start it now. Act as though you REALLY want to continue working for him/her but you just can't because of an OUTSIDE FORCE.

This way will enable you to NOT burn any bridges and it makes you look like the good guy! 🙂 Try it, I'm serious, it works!

 

[CoffeeCat]

kinda like what happened in Office Space. I just stopped going in to the lab. If I had any respect for this particular PI, I would have done the right thing and told him. Things worked themselves out.

What did the Bobs say about that?