Should I leave my current lab?

[Dro133]

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Hey everybody, I'm looking for some advice on whether or not to continue with my current research. I'm a MS1 and I've been doing research for the past year in a computational lab. I have no formal educational background in computer science, but I can code alright. When I was working on my first project in the lab, my PI provided a lot of guidance on the stats/algorithmic side of things; it was a great learning experience, and I even got a first-author conference abstract (and potentially some middle-author pubs) out of it. However, now my PI has given me a new project, and he wants me to figure it out without as much guidance this time around, and I'm really struggling on implementing these complex (at least to me) algorithms. Furthermore, I'm trying to do this on my winter break because I don't have time to do it alongside classes, and now I'm stressing out over my research instead of relaxing, which is just compounding my frustration.

It would be easy to quit the lab, but for the past few years I've had this dream of one day doing really interesting research at the intersection of big data and biology/medicine, and I feel that if I can't cut it in this lab, then maybe I'm not cut out for this. Part of me feels like quitting would be akin to admitting that I don't have the chops to work in this area of research, at least not without some further training, and that upsets me quite a lot.

I guess I'm just looking to see if anyone has any similar experiences that brought up similar feelings, and if it makes more sense to find some way to stick it out with this lab and project, or if I should just cut my losses and move on. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Tl;dr - I don't have the requisite knowledge to carry out my project independently, nor do I currently have the time to obtain said knowledge. However, the prospect of quitting this area of research is also quite upsetting to me.

 

[.hematoma.]

Ask your PI for help. I have learned that in medical school, egos sometimes get in the way of us saying "I don't get this, can you help me?"... if you say that to the PI frankly, then he will help you. Tell him you gave it your BEST SHOT (if you truly did), and you need assistance. Now if he doesn't help you out, THEN consider another lab.

I don't have too much experience with PIs, but I think they know you're a medical student and not a researcher/statistician/computer scientist and should be willing to help you out!

 

[gbrar]

Hey everybody, I'm looking for some advice on whether or not to continue with my current research. I'm a MS1 and I've been doing research for the past year in a computational lab. I have no formal educational background in computer science, but I can code alright. When I was working on my first project in the lab, my PI provided a lot of guidance on the stats/algorithmic side of things; it was a great learning experience, and I even got a first-author conference abstract (and potentially some middle-author pubs) out of it. However, now my PI has given me a new project, and he wants me to figure it out without as much guidance this time around, and I'm really struggling on implementing these complex (at least to me) algorithms. Furthermore, I'm trying to do this on my winter break because I don't have time to do it alongside classes, and now I'm stressing out over my research instead of relaxing, which is just compounding my frustration.

It would be easy to quit the lab, but for the past few years I've had this dream of one day doing really interesting research at the intersection of big data and biology/medicine, and I feel that if I can't cut it in this lab, then maybe I'm not cut out for this. Part of me feels like quitting would be akin to admitting that I don't have the chops to work in this area of research, at least not without some further training, and that upsets me quite a lot.

I guess I'm just looking to see if anyone has any similar experiences that brought up similar feelings, and if it makes more sense to find some way to stick it out with this lab and project, or if I should just cut my losses and move on. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Tl;dr - I don't have the requisite knowledge to carry out my project independently, nor do I currently have the time to obtain said knowledge. However, the prospect of quitting this area of research is also quite upsetting to me.

Dro133,

I haven't been in an exact situation, but until you find someone who has, I can provide some general recommendations.

1. Your relationship with you PI is unique to you, however I would highly recommend having this conversation with him/her. Many professionals, especially those in academia, often misjudge the amount of knowledge/training you have. He/she may be allowing you autonomy because you did an excellent job on your first project, and assumes that you have more knowledge/training/time than you actually have. As a professional, I imagine they would value your honesty in ability to understand your limitations as well as maintain your mental health.

2. "If I can't do it now, I'll never be cut our for it" is a common way of thinking, but I believe is a bit misleading. Almost never are people able to do the things they want to initially. I could use some cliche examples like walt disney, etc., but will defer to use your education instead. You are currently performing in medial school, but most likely you didn't have the maturity, knowledge, or experience to do so right out of high school. Continuing your research seems to the option most in line with your dream of working at the intersection of big data and healthcare.

Again, I'm not looking at this from a more experienced viewpoint than you, merely an external one.