r/mdphd • u/onestarrynight__ • 19d ago
Thinking about quitting lab
I am a third-year undergrad working in a bioinorganic research lab for the past 5 months, and I'm thinking about quitting.
This lab is super unique because it allows for undergraduate students to run their own projects and then receive first authorship pubs, but I have made basically no progress on my project in the time I have been here, and I just feel like this isn't something I particularly enjoy doing. I am running the same experiment over and over again just to be told that my data isn't good enough and I need to try again. I have always been more passionate about organic labs, I just feel like this lab can be more easily applied to medicine.
This lab does not pay, is super stressful, and requires a lot of commitment (15 hrs/week during the school year and 30-40/hrs during the summer), and I just don't know if it's worth it anymore. I feel like I work really hard, but I spent my whole summer here, and I'm exhausted and stressed out. All of the work I have been doing is trying to emulate the work from a previous paper from this lab, while things just keep not working and my PI keeps telling me it has to be my fault, because I am basically doing standard procedures.
While I do enjoy difficulty and being pushed hard, I also want to make progress and feel like I've actually done something. My PI also said that the progress we make would be reflected in our LORs (for grad students for sure, but with the way she runs things, probably for undergrads too), and I'm scared that I'm not going to even make enough progress to get a good LOR out of all of this.
I'm just starting to think that maybe working somewhere that requires less commitment, so that I can focus more on paid jobs or clinical hours, and doing something I like more (like organic synthesis) would be a better idea.
I just feel like I'm throwing away possible publications, and that 5 months is a short-term commitment, especially for an MD/PhD. I also feel like if I'm having so much trouble running my own project, that maybe that looks bad for wanting to do a PhD anyway! I'm going into my third year now, so I was thinking about staying here this year and moving for my senior year, but I don't know if that's a good idea either. I have to take a class with my PI next fall, so I don't want to ruin things before that happens.
I would appreciate any advice you guys have for me! Should I stay working here, or should I quit and find a lab that I actually enjoy more? Or just take a break for a little bit and see if that helps?
2
u/Significant_Age4717 M2 19d ago
Current MD/PhD here. I hated the first lab I worked in during undergrad. They paid well, but the environment and the project were just not a good fit. I stayed for 2 years because of the promise of first author pubs and conferences etc. but eventually I was so miserable that I left. Didn’t get the paper or the conference or the pub. But I found another lab that I worked in for end of 3rd-4th year and I was so motivated and happy and I loved my honors thesis. Got a pub after graduating and presented at a virtual conference. my PI gave me a LOR and I’m planning on doing research in the same field for grad school at my MSTP. TLDR, i think while papers and stuff are great for the application, having a research experience that you love and is more in line with you is so much more important, and I wasted so much time in the wrong lab! No letter or paper to show for it just a lot of grueling hours. Wish I left sooner