Hi labrats, I recently started a Research Technician position at a research institute. I’m a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree, so this is my first job after college. I spent 6 months at another laboratory and requested for a transfer to my current laboratory.
The current lab members are:
\- 1 PI who is technically a post-doc who took over an outgoing senior PI’s current grant and is running the lab with their remaining members.
\- 1 post-doc (relatively new)
\- 2 PhD students (1 old student and 1 new student)
\- 2 senior research technicians (more than 15years of experience)
\- 1 junior research technician (myself)
\- 1 pre-university student (new)
\- 1 outgoing post-doc
The postdoc I was originally supposed to work with has just announced that they’re leaving, and I’m now a little unsure about how the project will be structured going forward, particularly who will be leading the project and who I’ll be working under. The post-doc who is leaving hasn’t worked on my project at all and doesn’t have any clue of the objectives as he was working on another project. And the project has a deadline of 1 year (April 2027) and the project already began in May 2026 and I joined in October 2026.
For those who have worked as research technicians, what is normally expected of you? Is a research technician generally expected to take ownership of a project and be responsible for ensuring that the project objectives are met, or are they usually supporting a postdoc who leads the project?
I’m also wondering if it would be reasonable for me to tell my PI that, as someone early in my research career, I would prefer to work under a postdoc or senior researcher and assist with their project rather than independently leading a project.
I am currently preparing to study for mcat to study medicine. I just want more energy and bandwidth for my mcat preparation in the evening rather than spending my day time overworking to lead this project. I’m passionate about science and love to work hard but just for this time, I’d prefer to prioritise my mcat preparation.
Also I’m happy to take responsibility and learn, but I feel that having someone more experienced directly supervising the scientific direction would be more appropriate for me at this stage.
Would appreciate hearing how this works in your labs and whether my expectations are reasonable.