feelings of indignation in low-level job
September 16, 2010 9:36 AM   Subscribe

How do I refrain from feeling resentment and indignation at a low-level position in research and academia, when I know I am capable of much more? How do I make my stay more pleasant and earn the respect of my colleagues?

I recently graduated with a B.S. from challenging major at a well-respected university, and have taken a low-level research assistant position in the science field, in hopes of gaining more experience, and applying to graduate school in maybe the next few years. I'm surrounded by people with advanced degrees or working towards them, and I understand I need to "pay my dues". The main duties of my position were pretty time-consuming but mundane and repetitive tasks (think something along the lines of glass-cleaning or simple data crunching). It is very important for these tasks to be done, but they require little skill, education, or creativity. Upon hire, it was understood that these were my main responsibilities, but if I enjoyed the field and have become more efficient at performing my main duties, I can perhaps get more involved in the actual research. My boss said it'd be great if this interested me, but he's not expecting it from me and it's not too important to him.

When I first took the position, I was feeling out of luck in the job market and needed the money, so I took what I could get. Now as I'm more settled in, I find myself really excited about the research of the lab in general and would like to be more involved in the research aspect that involved asking questions and designing experiments. However, I am very bored of my assigned duties. They take pretty much my entire time, and I can't help but feel that my brain and abilities are being wasted. I also feel like everyone's assistant, because I'm essentially helping them do the most tedious and boring parts of their research. I know this fact has been made clear to me from the very beginning, but I simply feel unhappy doing what I spend the majority of my time on. Additionally, because of my lack of an advanced degree, I feel I receive less respect from my colleagues (this might be partially due to my own self-consciousness...I feel embarrassed that I'm not doing more to advance my career and settled for a low-level position). What further frustrates me is that there is a graduate student who went to the same college I did, and graduated in my class with a similar degree, yet they are now pursuing a Ph.D. I feel she looks down on me and sees me as a technician and assistant, there to set up equipment and perform simple tasks. In fact, today, when we were starting an experiment, she actually waited and chatted outside, and made it clear it was expected of me to set everything up, and she would come in when everything is ready. She also continually asks me to do things like order her office supplies from online, and when I tell her that I haven't received information about how to do that, she said, "Oh, I thought that was why you were hired." She has admitted to being very competitive, and I can tell she is extremely judgmental from my interactions with her, and I feel increasingly uncomfortable around her, and feel she's looking down on me. Additionally, I know in my heart, I feel jealous of her.

From my few weeks here, my boss has been thoroughly impressed with my work, and acknowledges I am talented. Additionally, I actually LIKE the work the lab is doing, and I do not want to look for another position just yet (especially since i just started). I want to be able to make the best of the situation, because I think I'll be happier, and I feel I can contribute a lot if given the opportunity. Though my boss approves of my work (and I suppose is surprised as well), he says it's very important I complete my original tasks, because it's fundamental to everyone (else's) success. He mentioned he's thinking of finding volunteer students to help me with my more mundane tasks in the future, but I'm not holding my breath for this.

As of now, I lack confidence in my position (and almost feel a bit embarrassed to discuss it when meeting others at my institution). I know it's because I lack confidence in myself and feel I "should be doing more with my life". And from this, I feel resentment, indignation, and shame when people, especially a graduate student my own age and from my alma mater, treat me like her assistant. I also feel that if I continue to do menial work, I am not actually learning anything, and this will not help with my future graduate school applications.

So my questions:
1. How can I deal with my feelings of lack of self-worth in this situation? How can I be at peace with doing what I consider menial labor, when I know I have the capabilities, background, and desire to do much more?
2. How can I increase my responsibilities and gain people's respect, despite my low position? Like I mentioned, the work I was assigned to do does not require much thought, but is very meticulous, time-consuming, and must be done manually, so there's no way to shorten or automate it.
3. How do I make pleasant company with the graduate student, and stop feeling so jealous and resentful?
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (27 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
IME, the move from student to working person, no matter what the job, is really tough. Your brain was like STIMULATION STIMULATION STIMULATION and now it is like I AM MAKING COPIES I AM ANSWERING EMAILS I AM WORKING 9-5.

I resolved that problem by going back to school. You can only stay in school for so long.

I'd recommend getting a hobby or volunteer work that speaks to your brain.
posted by k8t at 9:39 AM on September 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


A. maybe you should just quit if this situation's causing you that much stress and angst.

B. accept where you are. I liken it to being fourth line on a hockey team. No glory, not enough ice time but when you are out there you've got to do your best or i) the team loses, ii) you don't get promoted to third-second-first line. It's called paying your dues.
posted by philip-random at 9:43 AM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


If you were hired as a tech, and are not working toward a degree that requires you to have your own project, then helping others is what you are supposed to do. However - experienced techs often end up doing a lot more than this because the lab needs them, and they have the history with the lab that enables them to know as much as or more than the grad students. But this will take time; you'll have to wait for your current cadre to graduate and move on before you are seen as the "old hand" or the go-to person.

It sounds like what you really want is to get the advanced degree?
posted by Knowyournuts at 9:52 AM on September 16, 2010


You're treated like an assistant because that's what your job is. If you want more you can either buckle down, do a good job and get a good recommendation for grad school from your boss, or you can quit and look for someone else.

Your duties take up all your time now, but you'll probably get better and faster at them since you've only been there a few weeks. When you have more time offer to help people, or ask questions about the projects. If you do a good job with what you are assigned now you'll probably get more respect and more responsibilities.
posted by ghharr at 10:06 AM on September 16, 2010 [7 favorites]


In dealing with your colleague, it's important for you to determine the things that are and are not your job. This is a greater task then to just determine the strict list of things that you do; there are politics involved. Welcome to office life! If it's your job to keep her happy, then you might end up doing things that are not technically "your job" (like ordering her supplies). If it's not your job to keep her happy, you must learn tactful ways of setting boundaries. For example, you're setting up a lab, and she comes in asking you to, I don't know, get her lunch. You tell her you're busy until 3 and then you have such and such and then blah blah blah her to death. Sweet and nice, but ultimately, you're not doing it. There's also the passive-method of not being very good at things you don't want to do, but that is advanced level boundry setting and you might want to start with the basics.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:06 AM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Let your boss know you are very, very interested in doing more challenging work, and keep an eye out for things you'd like to do and could ask to be assigned. And look into futhering your studies. Maybe you would benefit from finding a mentor or someone more experienced in your field who could advise you on how to advance in your line of work.
posted by orange swan at 10:09 AM on September 16, 2010


1. How can I deal with my feelings of lack of self-worth in this situation? How can I be at peace with doing what I consider menial labor, when I know I have the capabilities, background, and desire to do much more?

I think you have to keep repeating to yourself that you are paying your dues. I've been the lowly tech and I've been the graduate student. One of the most pleasant thing for me to have when I'm the grad student is a really good, pleasant, efficient tech. It's like a miracle. There are so many techs (and inexperienced grad students) you can feel think teching is beneath them and they are seething with rebellion but more annoyingly - they are half-assing the tech job. Having someone who labels vials properly, has everything lined up neatly, is there on time, keeps track of when we need supplies, listens to my instructions, doesn't argue with my instructions and is interested in the project. Wow. That makes my job/work so much easier.

Now that I'm an older grad student, I still get very zen about being a tech. It sounds kind of horrible to say, but I will be totally at the other student's beck and call. I will use my many years of schooling to properly label things (clearly, block letters, dates with the month spelled out). I will smush down my own thoughts about how I'd arrange the data sheet more efficiently or arrange the experiment differently. I'll offer the odd suggestion but I'm not hung up on the way things are done (except that vaseline is wrong when taking blood samples).

2. How can I increase my responsibilities and gain people's respect, despite my low position? Like I mentioned, the work I was assigned to do does not require much thought, but is very meticulous, time-consuming, and must be done manually, so there's no way to shorten or automate it.

Be interested. Stay after your time and volunteer to help them out. Hang out with the students after hours for beers or socializing. Ask them about grad school - where to go, how it works, what their advice is. You might have to face that you can't work 9-5 and get people's respect. Grad school is a life style.

3. How do I make pleasant company with the graduate student, and stop feeling so jealous and resentful?

See the socializing above. Realize that some of her snobbery is probably because she's being treated like a lowly first year grad student by the rest of the grad students and her supervisor. And you are her assistant, for now. In a couple years you can blow by her with a couple amazing publications and then you'll be peers, or she'll be working for you.
posted by hydrobatidae at 10:10 AM on September 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


I am a Ph.D. that runs a laboratory at a major institute. I was also been a research technician for 2 years after my undergraduate training, so that I could pay my dues and prepare myself for my Ph.D.

I have a few things to say about this:

1) most research is boring, tedious, time consuming and must be done manually. Get used to it or find another line of work. To this day, I continue to perform cell culture, which is basically moving liquid from one place to another for hours a day. And that's with my Ph.D. and being head of my lab. I try to engage my brain by listening to copious amounts of podcasts while I perform my duties.

2) I think that you're looking at things the wrong way. You are being paid to prepare yourself for your further education. You could be flipping burgers but instead you are hopefully learning new things that will help you earn your Ph.D. in the future.

3) One thing that would impress your boss is volunteering to work extra and without pay. Perhaps you could come in early to perform all of your menial tasks which could free up time to allow you to do more fun tasks. Yes, you might have to do this "for free", but again, I think you need to drop this line of thinking right away. Good scientists are in the lab nearly every weekend, and sometimes 7 days a week. And we don't get paid for that. You work hard because you're given the opportunity to do something interesting. If that isn't enough, you've selected the wrong career.

4) You are lower on the totem pole than your friend. She is now a Ph.D. candidate (or at least will be soon), whereas you are a technician. You shouldn't be embarrassed by this, but that is how the world works. Your friend is lower on the totem pole than the postdocs in the lab. And the postdocs are lower than the principal investigator. This is the hierarchical structure of a laboratory.

Of course, if you study and work hard, there is nothing to say that you won't "pass her" during the next decade of getting a Ph.D. and doing your postdoctoral work. Nonetheless, this really shouldn't be about anyone else: it should be about you and your own personal progress.

So, my advice to you is to earn the chance to perform more challenging work. Your boss will appreciate your work ethic and initiative and will likely give you that opportunity if you work overtime without pay. Don't neglect the boring things you're getting paid to do: you are not a grad student. When you are ready to apply to school, this boss of yours will have given you money to live, will write you a letter of recommendation critical to your getting into school, and will have given you the experience to succeed in school. And you get over your resentment of the graduate student by recognizing that she's right: you are the technician that she needs to further her career. When it's your turn, there will be another technician there to help you. Will you want him/her sitting around and resenting you? Not working for you?

This isn't about how smart or pedigreed you are. In a laboratory setting, no one cares. You'll earn people's respect by being pleasant, working hard and asking good questions. Good luck in your career!
posted by SciGuy at 10:11 AM on September 16, 2010 [17 favorites]


Uh, that should have been "I was a research technician..."
posted by SciGuy at 10:12 AM on September 16, 2010


In fact, today, when we were starting an experiment, she actually waited and chatted outside, and made it clear it was expected of me to set everything up, and she would come in when everything is ready.

Typical first-year grad student. Rest assured that she will eventually cease to be impressed with herself for being a grad student, and be forced to buckle down and do lots of tedious, repetitive things. Grad school really breaks your spirit in that way. Like SciGuy says, even when you have the PhD, most of lab work is repetitive and monotonous. (But it's more fun to pretend science is glamorous when talking to lay people.)
posted by Knowyournuts at 10:25 AM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


SciGuy is absolutely right. Labs are unlike other workplaces and other graduate school environments. You're a tech, not a student, they like you, it's just been a few weeks. Do everything SciGuy says and you'll be well on your way to heading your own lab someday.
posted by vincele at 10:26 AM on September 16, 2010


I think I'd be a little less cynical than Knowyournuts ; ) It can be fun and glamorous, and it's fun to think of new models, things to test, etc. And getting an awesome new result is an amazing feeling. It's just that there can be months, potentially even years where nothing great happens. Science is measured on a geological time scale. You've just got to get used to that. Not everyone can.
posted by SciGuy at 10:28 AM on September 16, 2010


In terms of question number 1, I think it is important to point out that depending on where you end up, not all labs have technicians available to help the graduate students. So your entire PhD could be filled with what is essentially menial labour. The difference is, of course, that you would have ownership of your research and be more emotionally invested.

SciGuy's comments are great - there are lots of things to love about scientific research but you need to be able to deal with the time scale.

For question number 2 - you just have to give it a bit of time. A couple of weeks is not long at all. I would suggest it is more likely you will be rewarded with a bit more autonomy and a specific research project after approx 3-4 months of good work.
posted by unlaced at 10:47 AM on September 16, 2010


This is why you should go to graduate school right away: because you'll be doing the same work, but at least you'll be working towards a degree and on track to go on to more interesting research.

Look, the guy likes your work and sees that you're a good worker. You're gaining bench skills, and being good at those menial tasks is important. Most importantly you will have a recommendation for graduate school.

applying to graduate school in maybe the next few years.

NO. Apply to graduate school NOW.
posted by deanc at 10:58 AM on September 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


A lot of this is perfectly normal. And everyone does it. And everyone's above it. And everyone sees later that there were reasons for that being the way it was and that they weren't as above it as they thought. You're transitioning worlds here and it takes a while to adjust. There's something about working towards a degree and then getting it that can give you a sense of entitlement. You think that because of your piece of paper (maybe even from a good school) and your obvious potential, people should just pluck you out of the crowd, let you cut in line, and go ahead and let you do the good stuff. Tell that to the people who have already paid their dues though, and who depend on the noobs to get the low-level stuff done. Back of the line, buddy.

It was hard for me when I graduated to realize that nobody owed me anything, nobody had been waiting for me to show up, there was no such thing as "deserve", and nobody gave a crap about my education. Meanwhile the people around me who started succeeding at a noticeably accelerated pace were those who hustled and made it happen for themselves while I sat there with my hand out. Everybody pays dues, but the people who take action rather than wait for recognition pay less. Become the captain of your own ship right now and don't count on anyone to recognize your special snowflakeness. When there's no wind, row. Eventually you'll get moving and get somewhere interesting. Patience tastes bad but it's your lunch for the foreseeable future so learn to stomach it. Meanwhile recognize that you can do whatever you want outside of work, including things that could turn into better work down the road.
posted by Askr at 11:07 AM on September 16, 2010 [4 favorites]


1. How can I deal with my feelings of lack of self-worth in this situation? How can I be at peace with doing what I consider menial labor, when I know I have the capabilities, background, and desire to do much more?

Learn about the experiments as if you were the grad student. Do the lab journal club. The grad students are in much the same boat.

2. How can I increase my responsibilities and gain people's respect, despite my low position? Like I mentioned, the work I was assigned to do does not require much thought, but is very meticulous, time-consuming, and must be done manually, so there's no way to shorten or automate it.

You'll get better at it, making it go more efficiently. Techs in some places turn over somewhat quickly, so by being competent at what you do you'll get promoted to more important tasks.

3. How do I make pleasant company with the graduate student, and stop feeling so jealous and resentful?

She may just be a difficult person. If your lab has other techs and she treats them like that, she has discovered the key to her experiments never working and others never helping her. Chat with them for more info about the lab culture.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 11:17 AM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


As someone who entered grad school immediately after her undergrad I urge you to see this year or couple of years as an opportunity rather than a burden. See the thing is, once you're a graduate student the clock starts ticking. You're going to be judged on how many publications you produce, how confident you are about your area of research, the conferences you attend. So the clearer you are about what you want to do when you enter graduate school, the quicker you'll get that PhD and the easier the getting of the PhD will be. You have a great opportunity to take it a little slow, get your feet wet, figure out exactly the area of research you want to enter. Socialize more with the grad students and post-docs. No one is going to be so snobbish as to refuse to talk to you about science if you read papers and are genuinely interested. Use the fact that you are on a university campus to actively meet other people in other research areas and attend talks in other areas you're interested in. Don't think of this as time wasted -- it's a wonderful opportunity to narrow your interests before taking too long at it actually matters much.
posted by peacheater at 11:23 AM on September 16, 2010 [8 favorites]


I understand I need to "pay my dues".

Understanding is sometimes separate from acceptance, as you're experiencing. It takes time, which it doesn't sound like you've spent a lot of time cultivating.

Upon hire, it was understood that these were my main responsibilities, but if I enjoyed the field and have become more efficient at performing my main duties, I can perhaps get more involved in the actual research. My boss said it'd be great if this interested me, but he's not expecting it from me and it's not too important to him.

Your career is never going to be as important to other people as it should be to you. Don't expect it to be important to others. It's nice when your bosses want to cultivate you into a better and better employee but not everyplace is like that and some structures - possibly your lab is among them - simply don't lend themselves to that kind of approach.

Though my boss approves of my work (and I suppose is surprised as well), he says it's very important I complete my original tasks, because it's fundamental to everyone (else's) success. He mentioned he's thinking of finding volunteer students to help me with my more mundane tasks in the future, but I'm not holding my breath for this.

If you're hearing "you need to get what we hired you for done" in the first few weeks of employment you should consider that a big hint and a warning sign. It's also a very reasonable expectation for them to have: for you to take charge of and master your core responsibilities. If they think you're not on board with that when you haven't been there a full 200 hours that's a problem you need to address if you expect to keep this job.

Along those lines I'd say yeah, you shouldn't hold your head underwater waiting for them to bring in students to help you. You just got started doing this. If you want to be in a position where you can delegate these tasks to others you need to know them backwards and forwards and have a command of them. No matter how trivial they are, after a few weeks - you don't have that command. If it was trivial to bring in some volunteers to do the job they're paying you for they wouldn't need to pay you for it.

You're just getting started and you're attaching all this importance to the prestige and, in one situation, the courtesy and respect of a person whose opinion shouldn't get any special consideration. The primary difference between you and her at this point is that she paid an application fee and got into a grad program. Other than that you're both still barely off the starting line.

The difference is going to materialize if she keeps applying herself to her responsibilities and you keep viewing yours and an imposition on your time. Work on getting good at what you are doing. Learn it well enough that you start to understand why you're doing it and see ways you can do it smarter. Become the research assistant who is so good that you're anticipating people's needs.

That's your path to more autonomy and managing other folks to free you up for more interesting things. It's also the only way you're going to get to take more out of this job: nobody is going to invest in making your experience better if they feel like you're phoning it in and not making their experience better.

Some of the folks you're going to deal with are going to be douchebags who look down on you, don't appreciate your work and don't want to do anything to help you learn. I have bad news: you can make your say to the peak of the world and there's still going to be some of those jerkoffs. The good news is that its ubiquity and inevitability frees you up from having to worry about it.

Commit to the job and remind yourself that there's room in it for mastery, even if it's not exactly what you're like to be mastering at this moment.
posted by phearlez at 11:34 AM on September 16, 2010 [5 favorites]


I wrote a really long response, and then I realized that you don't need a sermon. I've been the lowest rung on the ladder (although not a science lab) and now I'm a manager hiring bright kids fresh out of school. Some important observations (maybe generalizations), which may or may not apply to you.

1) It's very hard for many people just out of undergrad to resign themselves to the mundane 9-to-5 grind. I miss undergrad too, where everything is lofty and exciting and art, etc. But crapwork needs to get done. You're the new person, which means you get crapwork until you are no longer the best candidate to do the crapwork.

2) Sometimes it's hard to tell, but your bosses have crapwork too. Sometimes it's going to be the same crapwork, sometimes it's just a different flavor. It all sucks, but it needs to get done for tasks to be completed and documented properly.

3) You have to succeed at crapwork before you get anything else. It's a test: do you care enough about the firm/lab/where ever AND yourself as a professional to do a good job, even with crapwork? Also, can you do it without complaining all the time? (We all need to vent from time to time, but folks who whine about their responsibilities are not respected colleagues and generally do not advance. Team players are very important. This is true in any professional environment, I think. I learned it in a theatre scene shop, and it's been applicable in every professional setting I've experienced since then.)

You are also learning what it means to have a crap boss. These are valuable lessons, so that in a few years when you've risen above the current level of crapwork you're at now and you have minions, you'll know how to treat them well and honor the important crapwork they're taking off your hands. You've also learned that minions don't respect bosses who don't lend a hand with crapwork.

I know crapwork sucks. I know it sucks to be at the bottom of the org chart. But if you persevere, you will grow into a valuable team member that everyone will want to work with. Good luck!
posted by smirkette at 12:09 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


If your boring tasks are taking "all" of your time, can you make more time? Can you come in at 6 am instead of 9, finish at 2 instead of five, and offer the extra three hours to your boss, so you can use them for more interesting and challenging tasks?
posted by prefpara at 12:12 PM on September 16, 2010


However, I am very bored of my assigned duties. They take pretty much my entire time, and I can't help but feel that my brain and abilities are being wasted. I also feel like everyone's assistant, because I'm essentially helping them do the most tedious and boring parts of their research. I know this fact has been made clear to me from the very beginning, but I simply feel unhappy doing what I spend the majority of my time on

First, I should note that you've been there a few weeks. The PI and the other researchers will probably be more willing to give you leeway, your own private project, etc. once they've seen that you're competent, reliable, and intelligent. Secondly, labwork is not 9-5. You probably know this already, but official hours have nothing to do with actual hours worked; experiments run on their own schedules. Techs who work 9-5 tend to end up being the ones for whom lab is just another job, and they rarely run their own experiments (though they can still be very useful!) It sucks, but if you want to fit in your own research, you probably have to be willing to stay late and come in on some weekend days. In other words, you have to be willing to work like a grad student. Thirdly, everyone - everyone! - in science has to deal with some repetitive, boring tasks. That awesome new technique that you saw some graduate student was using can become boring really quickly. I sometimes think the most important traits in scientists are stubbornness and high tolerance for boredom.

However, assuming that you keep doing your boring tasks - and doing them well! - over the next few months and you're willing to put extra time into it:

Is there any chance you could work more one-on-one with a specific postdoc or graduate student, or take on your own project? As a tech, I had my share of assigned duties (inventory and maintaining machines and making various stuff for the lab), and I sometimes ran things for specific researchers, but I also had my own project, where I worked primarily on my own (but did some things with the grad students & postdocs working on related projects.) Even if you're essentially a part-time assistant for a single researcher, you can often get much more involved in experimental design and so on.

At the same time, in every lab I've worked in, even the postdocs have a few basic lab responsibilities, and are willing to take over some of the gruntwork if they are using a large share of a given resource. I know you say that "the work I was assigned to do does not require much thought, but is very meticulous, time-consuming, and must be done manually, so there's no way to shorten or automate it." However, it might be worth looking at whether there are any tasks that could be better accomplished by the researchers who use those resources the most, and whether there are any simple enough to be taught to undergrads who are in the lab for credit. Many labs will hire undergraduate glass-washers who are not research techs, as well, to do the most menial stuff.

In the worst case - if nothing changes, and it becomes clear that you will never get to do research in this lab - you can look for other labs that expect their techs to do a combination of general lab work and research. "Paying your dues" by doing nothing but gruntwork is not necessarily the norm. There are many labs that want motivated research technicians who do more than wash glassware and muck around with Excel spreadsheets.

What further frustrates me is that there is a graduate student who went to the same college I did, and graduated in my class with a similar degree, yet they are now pursuing a Ph.D. I feel she looks down on me and sees me as a technician and assistant, there to set up equipment and perform simple tasks.

Some people are just assholes; even as a high school student, the grad students I worked with were willing to show me how to do things and work with me. To deal with assholes, you need to be clear on what your actual duties are. You say: "She also continually asks me to do things like order her office supplies from online, and when I tell her that I haven't received information about how to do that, she said, "Oh, I thought that was why you were hired."" Well, was it? If your job doesn't include ordering things for the lab, or handling the orders of individual researchers, you have to be willing to say that no, that isn't actually your job. At the same time, labs can get pretty hierarchical. You need to remind yourself that it's not personal. It often abates a little over time, as everyone gets to know you as a person & a scientist and you're no longer just The New Tech.

More generally, getting your doctoral degree is not a race. Spending time gaining experience as a research tech before heading to grad school can make you a much better graduate student. You will have more experience in basic techniques and experimental design, you will know how to schedule experiments full-time, over weeks and months, and you'll be more knowledgeable & mature than many of the kids who came straight from college. You will also have experience, recommendation letters, and maybe publications will help you get into and succeed at the graduate program you want. There's no reason to feel ashamed that you're not in grad school yet; you've made a reasonable decision that will hopefully make you a better scientist when you do start grad school.
posted by ubersturm at 12:50 PM on September 16, 2010


I'll be blunt - even if you hate your current job, you probably need to be there a year before you can move up to a new position. When you do apply for a new position, most labs want to see a two year commitment from a beginning research assistant. Why should they bother to train you if you're just going to leave in 9 months?

Here's one way to benefit from your current position: learn about what you ARE working with. It you're making media, learn what the components of the media and what they do. Ask the grad students and postdocs what the reagents you are ordering are for, what they do. Many of them will be happy to explain it to you (assuming they aren't obviously busy/stressed ^_^). You can gain respect by showing an understanding of what you are already doing in the lab and by showing a curiousity and ability to learn. Does your lab/department have a colloquium or journal club? Go to the lectures you see posted around campus, if your schedule will let you. Or go to the lectures and stay late to finish your work. Actually, staying late will also help you gain the respect of your lab mates.
posted by maryr at 12:53 PM on September 16, 2010


I think I'd be a little less cynical than Knowyournuts ; ) It can be fun and glamorous, and it's fun to think of new models, things to test, etc. -SciGuy

Oh, get on with ya. You probably give great talks at conferences, too.
posted by Knowyournuts at 12:55 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


The big unanswered question for me is what is the delay in going on to graduate school. Because the answer to your problem is to go to graduate school and pursue an advanced degree. Get there as quickly as possible. In the meantime, your job is a place where you can observe the real work of your field, make contacts, make good impression, (everybody does scut work in science and an intelligent person who does it well and with a good attitude will have respect and develop good personal capital with his or her superiors), have access to people you can talk to about first-hand experience with different academic programs, spend lunches and breaks reading material relevant in your field, and leave at work at the end of the day when you go home and work on your strategy for getting into graduate school as quickly as possible. Nothing is going to make menial work not a drag but when you are pursuing a credible strategy for going back to school in the relatively near term I bet you will feel a lot less twisted up about "wasting your potential."
posted by nanojath at 1:01 PM on September 16, 2010


I'd agree with Nanojath here, with the following exceptions. You have to realize that doing science is repetitive and often very boring. I assume most jobs are. (Can adding up numbers all day as an accountant be Super Exciting! after 20 years?) If your goal is to get into a great graduate school, and into a great lab within said school, then there is nothing wrong with taking a year or two off to tech. Most of the best young students I mentor these days did that. In the old days, this wasn't necessary but it is rapidly becoming the norm. It will help you earn your Ph.D. later but you'll only get back what you yourself put in. You need to think of this time as an investment in yourself, not menial labor. Science IS menial labor.

The fact that you are delaying grad school, when coupled with some of your language above, indicates that you have some reservations about it. You should - anyone should. But be honest with how dedicated and passionate you are about pursuing the Ph.D. There is a long and hard road ahead, and few make it all the way. Only the hungry survive.
posted by SciGuy at 1:17 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


19 years ago, I graduated with a degree in biology from a very well respected small liberal arts college with an excellent record of educating future PhDs. I'd put so much effort into graduating, I hadn't bothered applying to grad school, which, I thought, was fine, because I could work as a tech for a couple of years and broaden my horizons a bit before choosing where to focus my grad school applications.

It didn't work out that way, but that's another story. I already knew something about being a lab tech. I'd spent the two summers prior to graduating working in labs, and I'd done 9 months independent research during my Sr year as part of the graduation requirement. It sounds like you may not have had that experience before now, but rest assured, what other people are telling you above is true. Science involves a lot of repetitive, often tedious, frequently mind-numbing work. That's true at every level.

Often, the only way around it is to find ways to get other people to do some of the repetitive, often tedious, frequently mind-numbing work for you, but that only goes so far, and often, you've just swapped one trial for another, because now you have to deal with people, and people are, well, human, and you have to deal with more administrative tasks, like time-cards, tracking vacation... and, of course, you have to write grants.

So, to answer your questions:
1. Accept what you already understand, which is that the job you've taken is to do a lot of "menial labor." Accepting that may be easier if you understand that what you currently view as being beneath you is really not beneath anyone. I may be remembering a publicity photo, but I have a memory of seing Mario Capecci, who has since won a Nobel Prize, and who at the time had a very large lab, sitting in front of a sterile hood, pipetting media to and from cell-culture flasks (though more often, it was a tech or grad student).

Go back to your intro bio textbook, read the summary of some of the notable experiments. They'll make it seem simple and obvious. Now think of how much work it probably took to get to that point.

2. Focus on doing a good job. You've had this job, what, 3 months? I doubt you have your tasks completely nailed. If you are crunching data, learn to automate as much of it as possible with excel macros, or python scripts. How is the data recorded? Perhaps another opportunity for improvement so the automated analysis is easier. If you are washing glassware, see if you can find ways to reduce the amount of glassware that gets dirty, etc.

Most importantly, find opportunities to engage with people in the lab at a level above being a grunt. Look for other repetitive tedious tasks that at least get you closer to running and planning experiments, there should be plenty. People will be happy to pass them off to you if they are confident that you'll be as careful as they would be, or, at the very least, that if you screw up, you don't undo tedious work they did themselves (like waste some neurotoxin that takes them 3 weeks to isolate). Also, any university is going to have regular guest lectures. Go to them, particularly ones your colleagues are attending. Your lab may have its own "journal club" where people share and discuss papers they think other people in the lab should be aware of. Sit in on them. If your lab doesn't have them, see if one of the other labs nearby does, or take the initiative and start one. At the very least, try and take lunch or coffee breaks with other people from the lab. All these things can change the way people see you, but they should also help you see your current role in the lab differently.

3. Well, to start with, you are probably making more money than the grad student and having to work less, and you have less on the line. Moreover, you are in different places, with different roles, because you made different choices. Own those choices. You may feel crappy about them, but you shouldn't. That, and don't stop making and acting on plans for your future.
posted by Good Brain at 1:22 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


I could have written this question a year ago, except that I have a PhD and am/was in a low-level research assistant position doing mainly data entry. Here's what I did:

1. Every time I found anything interesting in the data, I made an effort to tell people about it, especially to note my interpretation of it, and suggest ways to follow up. This not only kept reminding people of my capabilities, but it led to a few co-authored papers, where researchers did follow up on my ideas.

2. Offered to do extra tasks on my own time. E.g. to assist with drafting papers, creating figures for papers, etc. Since these weren't in my duty statement, I made a point of only doing them when my data entry for the day was done, during lunchtimes, or in the weekends. Eventually my boss rewrote my duty statement to include this sort of work, because it became obvious this was a valuable contribution to the project.

3. Continued with my own line of research (unrelated to the project I was employed on) in my evenings, weekends and holidays. Published a few papers relating to it, did some guest lecturing relating to it, etc. This kept up my own academic self-esteem, and kept me active in my field in other people's eyes.

4. Kept reminding myself that the alternative was doing equally mind-numbing work outside of academia, which would lose me my networks, office, library access, etc.

I still felt bitter and angry for a long time, and became clinically depressed. Medication helped me get through that, and as I said, my work environment has improved dramatically. But it sucks at first, and I know how you feel.
posted by lollusc at 4:54 PM on September 16, 2010


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