What is the First Day in a University Lab Like?

the_kanzure writes "I'm going to start at a university lab a few days after my high school graduation ceremony. The lab is an eclectic blend of computer science, evolutionary engineering and molecular biology, essentially it's research/development and — best of all — the research is worth something to me and my other pet projects. What I do know of science, tech and research has been gleaned from the internet. The open access research repositories (arxiv, PLoS, etc.) have been a life-saver. But showing up to get real, hard experience is not the same as those late hours into the night spent debugging software. In person, you can't just call up a favorite bash script to open up a few hundred tabs to do some quick research on feasability and past research ... how is this supposed to work — does anybody really get stuff done this way? So I've been wondering how Slashdotters have handled transitioning from learning in front of a screen and a good net connection, to actually showing up and getting stuff done. What's a first day like in a lab? Stories? What's the etiquette? Informal? In programing circles, you can always submit a patch and alternatives, but does this hold here? Is the professor still generally considered the PHB and the lowly undergrads are his minions to carry out his bidding?"

Stupid question time

[nickname29]

Stupid question time (I'm not from USA).

How does it work that you go to a lab directly after high school? Are you going to study while you work in the lab? Or is it a permanent type of work?

With shiploads of luck I may be studying postgrad in the USA next year... (It seems that the USA has to most amazing university system in the world).

It's... interesting

[Metasquares]

First of all, realize you're starting out at the bottom of the food chain [phdcomics.com], which means you're probably going to get all of the grunt work that no one else wants to do.

The agenda of a research lab typically revolves around its director(s). Everyone will be working on their own individual projects (all of which have been detailed in the grant the faculty member was awarded 5 years previously), but you can always approach someone who is working on something similar to you for help, should you require it. Most will probably be glad to help you. The environment is less formal and more close-knit than that in the corporate world.

Most time spent in the lab is rather dull. The exception to this is the month of January, because that's when conference paper deadlines tend to occur. Think of it as a punctuated equilibrium. If you know that the professor wants to submit a paper on one of the projects you're working on, start preparing a paper early, before he even mentions the conference, because if he's anything like mine, he won't mention the conference until two days before the deadline.

Don't expect fair apportion of credit, adherence to some glowing paragon of scientific method, or even basic integrity to abound. Most beliefs that outsiders hold about academia are false. In general, I'd advise going into the process with a healthy dose of cynicism.

Oh, and everything in PhD Comics is true.

Some Thoughts

[raaum]

Every lab has its own distinct culture, some of which comes from the discipline, some of which comes from the PI (Principal Investigator), and some of which comes from the other people in the lab. I've worked in several academic labs and the culture in each was startlingly different. I'm starting my own lab now, and I imagine it will turn out different from any in my prior experience!

That said, I'll offer some general advice.

1. Unfortunately, there will probably no one whose job it is to set you up. And there are a thousand and one little details that you need to learn. Where is the photocopier? What do I do when the printer runs out of toner? Where do I order this reagent? Where happens when the biohazard is full? And so on. _Politely_ ask the lowest person on the totem pole until you get an answer.

2. There usually is not an official hierarchy, but the unofficial hierarchy generally runs along the lines of PI -> Postdocs -> Graduate Students -> Research Assistants -> Undergraduates -> Others, modified by time of residence and area of expertise.

3. Everyone in academia likes to be asked to offer their opinion. Even if you think you know the answer, you will often learn something by asking a question or two.

4. Nobody likes it when the new guy is a know-it-all. Even if you do actually know it all, wait a little while before letting everyone else know :)

5. Have fun and relax. No one expects you to solve all their research problems in your first week.

6. Also, a lot of academic research time (especially in the type of lab it seems you're going to) is "in front of a screen and a good net connection," albeit with access to a lot more peer-reviewed literature than you've probably had access to in the past.

Have Fun Doing Minipreps

[Anonymous Coward]

The PI will be nice to you and you'll have a good time, but don't expect to be the intellectual driving force for a project. You'll get assigned to a grad student or post doc and end up doing all of the menial molecular biology tasks they have to do on a daily basic like mini-preps, restriction digest, and cloning. You'll probably get to do a PCR reaction or two

student or tech?

[sh()gun]

First of all, your post doesn't really say whether you are entering this lab as a tech or a student. I assume a student because no one would hire a tech out of high school when they can get a undergrad for free (who has taken classes and actually knows something).

You are not going to be expected to find your own ass being fresh out of high school. If you are competent and work hard, you will be noticed and it will be to your benefit. I have had collegues who have gotten lots of recomendations, nominations for fellowships, ect by doing good work right out of the box.

Lab is usually chill. Some PI's like to run it like a family, some like a gulag. Keep laced up until you get the feel, then you will know when you can BS with your labmates and when you have to pull a 14 hour each day on a weekend to get something done (usually applies to grads, nobody trusts undergrads with real work).

I have had some monster PI's and some who I owe my career too. You are young and early enough in your academic career to switch if they guy is crazy (one of mine made the techs cry EVERY DAY, we went through a tech every two weeks.)

Your labmates and the demiPI's (post docs, grad students, assistant profs) are the ones you will learn most of the ropes and info from. They don't expect you to have it wired on your first or fiftith day, but make sure you don't alienate or piss them off cuz they are spending time away from their work to help the nOOB. Most help and info is handed out with a smile so don't be afraid to ask, it's better that pretending to know and fcuking up.

Join a frat, club, whatever. Meet people in whatever way you like the most. Don't listen to haters who say this is bad, that is bad, the whole point of freekin college is to learn, think, and find stuff out for yourself. (yes, you can be a uber nerd and be in a frat, it will teach you some social skills and you will have crazy experiences (good ones) that you can never get anywhere else. Just be choosy, frats are like jobs, schools, friends, bosses: some are cool, some are assholes).

Finally, ask to see if you can head up a project or experiment (after you get a little more salty) with the hope of publishing. This will be your ticket to the choise grad schools, fellowships and funding, women (ok, not women -> see clubs, frat, ect).

Have fun and meet people (and try not to subsist on junk food, the fresh 15 is no joke)

Chosse your professor wisely...

[Roger Wilcox]

I spent several years in a university biology lab. I can't speak firsthand about a tech lab, but from my associations with others I have gathered that the following similarity holds true for nearly all university research environments:

The single largest factor determining your experience will be your professor. The specific attitudes and personalities of professors and the methods by which they run their labs varies quite a lot. The only thing you can really count on is that the prof will be the overlord. The undergrads, the grads, the post-docs, and the paid laboratory employees all have their fates tied to the whims of the prof. You may be allowed time to work on your own projects, but you can expect to spend most of your time working on HIS projects.

Some advice from the voice of experience:

Make certain before you begin that you truly like the professor and are truly interested in his specific area of research. Otherwise you will be in for a long, miserable, and possibly fruitless semester. If you have problems with either your prof or the research that you think may remain unresolved, don't hesitate to look into other programs with other profs! I know more than one student who has unsuccessfully attempted to tough through a program that didn't suit him. One wasted semester is better than four or five wasted semesters.

Re:Broad question, but,

[Gryle]

"Try to find someone competent who can get you up to speed and answer your questions. Ask lots of questions."

I agree emphatically. I learned more about organic chemistry just by working as a lab assistant than I ever did in my organic chemistry lectures, simply by virtue of assisting an extremely bright and competent grad student. After he realized that I was working in the lab because I liked chemistry rather than just for the paycheck, he took time to instruct me and fill in the knowledge gaps that I hadn't picked up in the lectures.

In short, ask questions, keep your ears open, and people more knowledgeable than you will most of the time be happy to educated you.

Re:gen Y

[cashman73]

Since somebody mentioned the janitor here, I just thought I'd mention that 9 times out of 10, it's actually well worth your time to get to know the person that regularly cleans up your lab. Seriously. Many of them are very friendly and helpful, and they talk to people. The better ones talk to professors, department chairs, deans, grad students, undergrads, techs -- virtually everyone. While they generally don't have much of a scientific background or anything, they often do have a general interest in what's going on with research, and often can provide all sorts of useful and interesting bits of wisdom that a lot of professors often forget about. I've been at several universities now and a good portion of the cleaning staff are very helpful. Plus, if you treat them well, they won't bitch as much if you make a mess in an accident or something,...

Re:Not much difference

[The Master Control P]

Having MS doesn't necessarily mean the professors like it. In intermediate physics lab, we need to have LabView. The boxes all have windows (even though the lab assistants and the professor dislike it) because LabView only has real driver support in windows.

Now come on up to the theoretical physics department: Linux cluster, Linux servers, and the professors have Linux desktops.

Re:Tiptoe around the PHBs

[pz]

Good profs are not PHBs.

I'm a new professor at a Major Research Institution, part of a Large University You Have Heard Of That Begins With H.

No one gets to this level just being a PHB. No one heads a lab who has stumbled into it from middle management somewhere else. That just does not happen. (1) The vetting process to get these jobs is pretty hairy, and (2) the competition for them is insane. Then, once you get the job, (3) the competition to get funding is even MORE insane, and people who are just managers (that is, people who are not really good scientists with excellent ideas and long-term vision) are not going to raise money. Labs exist only -- ONLY -- because they can raise grant money. Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.

That said, as a new first-rung member of a lab, know this: you are building relationships that will potentially highly influence your future career for many years to come, potentially both for the good and the bad. Go to lunch with someone each and every day. Attend the weekly departmental seminars. Attend the journal clubs (and READ THE PAPER BEFORE GOING!). Attend the lab meetings. Make nice with the lab secretary / lab manager. Make nice with the HR people. If you're assigned a direct manager (perhaps a post-doc or graduate student), make extra nice with them. Attend every social event from the lab. Listen. Be humble. You know squat compared to the people who have been doing this work for possibly longer than you have been alive.

You will make mistakes. Make sure they aren't big ones. And make sure you aren't going to break any expensive equipment: IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO OPERATE EQUIPMENT THEN ASK FIRST. If you need to learn some skill, and there's someone in the lab who is good at it, ask them to show you. And then practice. You are there to learn.

If you find yourself with nothing to do, then READ. There are not enough hours in the day to read what you will need to know. Start with the papers published by the lab (if you haven't already read all of them ... and shame on you if you haven't!). Read Science and Nature every week. You don't have to read all of the hard articles, but be sure to read the encapsulations of each article that's published in your field.

And read Slashdot on your own time. At home. Stay off of email, IM, and everything else at work.

The best advice I was ever given on being a scientist: be the colleague you wish you had.

The other side of the coin

[Weaselmancer]

I took an intro to C class to pad my hours one semester. I was one credit short of full time and needed a 1 credit class.

The TA was an idiot. He taught the class so far over everyone's head nobody had the first clue what to do. And it was an intro class. But, I knew though. I actually did know how to program in C already. I was taking the class as a gimmie.

I wound up teaching the class in the hallway. I'd show up a half an hour early and help these poor people this uber-leet jackass left hanging out to dry.

You sound like him.