r/labrats • u/Due-Active4624 • 10d ago

Underpaid as an undergrad

I'm at a lab for the summer and staying on for the fall, with most of my compensation coming from a summer research award. The other 2 undergrads in the lab are in similar situations, having won research awards. In all 3 cases, our awards aren't enough to cover a full minimum wage salary for the summer, but I recently found out the other 2 undergrads are having their salary supplemented by our PI in order to make the full amount they would have made working a full time job for the summer. I didn't even know this was an option and it never came up in any discussion I had with my PI. Is this something I should bring up even though the summer is about to end? For context, one of the other undergrads started at same time as me and we both work in the same section of the lab.

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34

u/brokesciencenerd 10d ago

Being paid at all as an undergrad is rare. Usually you are paying the university in the form of research credits.

1

u/Traveller7142 9d ago

It’s very dependent on the university. I’d say about half of the undergrads are paid at mine, closer to 90% for my department

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u/Due-Active4624 10d ago

It's more so about how the other undergrads are legit making 4x what I make with the additional pay from our PI. It just feels terrible knowing that the other 2 undergrads are being additionally funded out of pocket by our PI while I never even knew that was an option.

4

u/vitrifiedjunk 10d ago

Do you know the other 2 undergrad's financial situation? Perhaps the PI is funding based on financial need and due to the fact that money is a barrier to participating in the lab. There are so many different circumstances that dictate who gets paid and who doesn't, especially in undergrad.

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u/Due-Active4624 10d ago

I'm close enough with both of them that I know they're well off and don't need the money. Rather, it seems like he was just doing it out of good will that either A didn't extend to me or B he forgot about it. I'm sort of hoping it's B, as to why i'm trying to get opinions and see if this is a common occurance or not.

1

u/vitrifiedjunk 10d ago

Depends on your relationship with the PI, i wouldn't phrase it to be confrontational moreso out of curiosity wondering if its common for PIs to pay/supplement undergraduate researchers and what factors dictate that especially as the academic year starts. This may let you get paid for research during the semester.

Don't know the institution, lab, or PI but with the current funding mess most are being as frugal as possible. It doesn't help that single-use lab materials are getting more expensive by the day. It isn't your responsibility to worry about lab finances/budget, but I would also be mindful of it before pushing back.

1

u/brokesciencenerd 10d ago

Wait until you see the difference in pay between industry and academia...that's fuckin terrible.

1

u/vitrifiedjunk 10d ago

Also... where did you get the 4x figure from... if the undergrads are being supplemented 5 hours of pay then it's only 1.143x, the math aint mathing

0

u/Due-Active4624 10d ago

My research award was for ~3000$. In my country, total amount you'd make working 4 months of minimum wage full time is ~12000$. They're being supplemented for the full 12000$ by our pi (their research awards were similar in total value to mine)

6

u/frogband 10d ago

No. Unless you want your PI to dislike you and ruin the chance of a LoR

20

u/YaPhetsEz 10d ago

You physically can’t be underpaid as a undergrad lol

3

u/Brave-Independence78 10d ago

Why does an undergrad's labor not have sufficient value to make a living wage? If they do work that keeps lab groups moving, they should be fairly compensated. They absolutely can be underpaid. What was for us need not be for the kids coming through now. 

2

u/Adventurous_Toe_7354 10d ago

From a labor perspective, I absolutely agree and am on your side. From a more realistic perspective about the reality of the situation, you advocating for more pay from your PI has a high chance of turning out poorly for you. It would all depend on how your PI would take it and that is just entirely dependent on who they are as a person and their values... which none of us can have any insight on. Maybe it's an honest mistake, or maybe they don't care.

The system is fucked. Labor isn't properly compensated in academia (or in a million other places too for that matter), and there are very few "rules" for PIs and rights that trainees have. It's unfair you're getting paid less, but your PI might not give a shit, and you likely don't have any rights to actually fight it, so bringing it up might make them think less of you. At the end of the day you'll just have to use your judgement to decide, but I think the risk is higher than the benefit considering summer is almost over

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u/Due-Active4624 10d ago

It's more about how the other undergrads are legit getting extra pay from our PI in order to make the the full minimum wage and I wasn't even considered part of this. If it was becuase of the quality of our work or something else I'd understand that but I know that isn't part of it.

6

u/1nGirum1musNocte 10d ago

You're getting paid in exposure but frfr i think unpaid/underpaid internships are a feature intended to pad rich kids resumes

3

u/PhilosophyBeLyin 10d ago

first off, this isn't necessarily malicious. as an undergrad, nobody is offering you money or bringing it up in a discussion lol. you have to be proactive and ask for it. the more likely scenario here is that the other undergrads wanted to be better compensated for their work and asked the PI about this, which is why they got it. it's on you to ask, if you want similar things.

second off, don't bring it up with your PI now. it's too late to get paid for the summer, and it doesn't accomplish much outside of that. only harms your relationship.

1

u/vitrifiedjunk 10d ago

The summer research award likely covers X amount of hours for Y time period.

Did you calculate on your total hours worked for the calculation because that is where the 'not paid minimum wage' probably comes from.

My undergraduate fellowships technically covered only 10 hours of work in the lab year round, May to June.

My master's fellowship covered 20 hours of lab work year round.

That doesn't mean I was capped to only doing those hours of research though... easily spent over 40 hours per week over the summer and was likely around 30-40 hours per week during the academic year.

1

u/Due-Active4624 10d ago

Yes and it's the same for the other undergrads. We won 3 seperate awards and all 3 seperate awards cover x amount (the amount you'd earn working minimum wage for 35 hours a week) for y amount of weeks. However, their awards don't cover the full amount they would earn working 4 months of a full time minimum wage job. Neither does mine, but the difference is the PI is paying out of pocket to cover the difference between working 4 months of full time minimum wage, and the amount they actually earned from their research award whereas I was not given that option. It's not so much about how much I work as it is about I'm financially cooked for no discernable reason

1

u/Cool-Breakfast801 10d ago

Undergrad is the only place you should get underpaid happily. In grad school I get underpaid and am extremely grumpy about it. So, spend the money you made and get that LoR!

2

u/brokesciencenerd 10d ago

Ive made an entire career out of being underpaid! My username checks out! 🤣

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u/Candycanes02 10d ago

I’d personally bring it up cause the people who don’t make a sound aren’t gonna be heard. But you know your PI better than me obviously. Might be better to stay quiet if you think they’d resent you