Originally posted by Adcadet
I'm planning on doing 10 hours/week in my current lab. I plan on doing the first two years of med school than breaking to do a PhD - in the mean time my PI (an MD, by the way) wants to keep me involved in the lab. He is really cool about balancing classes and work - he has suggested that rather than actually running experiments, that I just be involved in the planning, analysis, and writing parts (stuff I can do on evenings, weekends, and whenever I find the time). He also suggested that I do some in-depth reading into different topics that are relevant to our research (getting paid to study!). The job will be an official research assistantship, so I'll get tuition and health benefits on top of decent pay. This should cover 1/4 to 1/3 of my student budget for the first two years. I feel really really lucky to be in such a situation - not only do I get compensated generously, but it's also a great learning opportunity.