Research troubles... any advice?

[shahm5]

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[Deleted]

 

[Microbug]

Do you even like research? I take care of my cells like they’re my first-born. If you don’t like research, drop it and go do something else you like.

 

[Shirafune]

First, should I wait for this PI to tell me if I can return or not, then from there look for a new lab? I want to continue to do research in some way because it really interests me, but that means that I should start emailing professors today if I can't return to my old lab. Is it okay to start emailing PIs without a final "yes" or "no" from him?

You need to make clean relationships. Decide if you want to return to the lab or not before emailing other PIs. Commitment to a single research project is key to meaningful research. It looks bad if you're jumping around without making your intentions clear with other people. You may explain to your first PI that you would like to explore other research topics before emailing other PIs. Also think about if you will list your first research experience when emailing other PIs. They will surely email/call your first PI if you do.

Second, I plan on meeting with him this week to discuss my grade, and hopefully explain myself in some situations and get a higher grade. Not try to beg him or anything, and if it turns out he does not want to change my grade, I should leave it here. But I am not sure. Should I try to be a little aggresive and get a higher grade if it might help? I have done that for some of my classes, but I am not sure about this situation. This might affect what I have below, though.

DO NOT ASK FOR A HIGHER GRADE. This is in incredibly poor taste. You recognize the poor job you did and acknowledge you deserve that grade. Faculty know one another, and again, if you want to list your first research experience when looking for other research opportunities, they will contact your first PI.

Third, I really wanted to do some summer research programs, and I was hoping to ask my PI for a LOR. I am not sure I should anymore due to the grade he gave me and his hesitancy to let me back into the lab. That being said, he does know I am someone who cares about the work I do and I have always been respectful in the lab to him. Maybe I should just stick to professors for LORs, butI am not sure how much that will help.

When asking for a LOR, confirm that he will write a strong LOR supporting your application, in those exact words. I think that longitudinal research experiences (i.e. way more than a semester of a summer, ideally one experience throughout college) is the most valuable. I prefer 2-3 year commitments to a project at the home institution than a summer away, though summer research programs are a nice change of pace and exposure.

Finally, if I do go on to look for another lab, I was thinking I might ask him for atleast a recommendation on my CV. Like I said, I didn't have great work, but I was always respectful and open to learn. Should I ask him for this recommendation when I meet with him this week?

If you want to list an experience on your CV, it's always good to give the listed contact a heads up. If he feels uncomfortable supporting you should somebody contact him, he should advise you to keep this experience off your CV.

As you can see, I am pretty conflicted about this and have a good amount of anxiety from it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much.

See comments in bold. My advice is to tell your PI that you want to explore other fields and commit to not returning to the lab. You may ask him if he feels comfortable being listed as a contact. Then, email other PIs with/without this experience.

 

[shahm5]

I would just start looking for new labs that you can do well in. I don't see any good for waiting, maybe there are students in someone's lab graduating in winter and they are now open.Even if you get a response from another PI, you can always respectfully decline it and give the reason that you found a better fit elsewhere. They'll understand that. The letter would seem lukewarm at best if he is only writing about respect. Hopefully he doesn't write about not good work. Idk how he is personally but he doesn't seem to be a relaxed professor type since he gave you a B in a research credit which most people find to be free A's

Yes, that is what is pretty frustrating. I know my work was not great, but it surely was not bad enough to really hurt my GPA like it did this time. My PI never even gave me clear direction on what to do, and left it to the graduate student I worked with. And at the time, the graduate student was preparing for qualifying exams and a grant submission, so she was not very available to me. I was left to do a lot of the work on my own, and I honestly did everything the best I could. Yes, I made mistakes, but not out of laziness and not out of a desire to do well. My PI also never gave me clear direction on how he would ultimately grade my work, and rather at the end of the semester simply stated I did these things wrong, and I deserve a B-. The grade is not fair and really harms my GPA, when ultimately, this research should have been good experience.

 

[alveron_]

Yes, that is what is pretty frustrating. I know my work was not great, but it surely was not bad enough to really hurt my GPA like it did this time. My PI never even gave me clear direction on what to do, and left it to the graduate student I worked with. And at the time, the graduate student was preparing for qualifying exams and a grant submission, so she was not very available to me. I was left to do a lot of the work on my own, and I honestly did everything the best I could. Yes, I made mistakes, but not out of laziness and not out of a desire to do well. My PI also never gave me clear direction on how he would ultimately grade my work, and rather at the end of the semester simply stated I did these things wrong, and I deserve a B-. The grade is not fair and really harms my GPA, when ultimately, this research should have been good experience.

It's a tough position to be in, I understand. I would suggest that the best thing for you to do is accept what happened an move on. It may help to think about things from the point of view of the PI - he is a busy person, and taking you into his lab is a service to you more than it is to him. It takes time, money, and effort to train an undergraduate student. And even though your performance may not have justified a B-, by leaving out reagents and such he not only was disappointed by your work ethic but he also lost resources and money. After a certain point, to him I'm sure the risks outweighed the benefits. It is in your best interest to pursue other research, taking what you have learned from this experience and using it to fuel a strong, positive work ethic in your next position. I would suggest looking for research in labs that are well established and have plenty of upper-level individuals (lab techs, research associates, Post-Docs, etc.) that can help you during specific experiments if your research mentor is not readily available. Good luck.