It's been a pretty tough time as of lately. Life is ok. New rotation is sort of sucking, not just due to my personal life drama-yo-mama status.
My new boss has bitched out at least two graduate students and one undergrad in front of me (and the rest of his group). And there's no desk for me in the lab. And his students literally apologize and grovel over things that I think are stupid and inconsequential because he's such an ass about them. And he has been super passive aggressive towards me because he probably realizes that his lab is unlikely to be my first choice based on my research interests. Whatever.
The cool part of this rotation is that I am doing organic synthesis! For the first time in a research setting ever! (Yes, it does have bearing on my metalloprotein loving scientific heart.) I've done bits and pieces along the way of my undergraduate career, but not a whole lot otherwise. I'm enjoying it so far mostly because: a) the postdoc that's teaching me is very nice and keeps on telling me that I'm not as much of a n00b as I am and b) it's a very different way of doing research that's sort of relaxing to me in that you can control everything (as compared to my favorite biological systems) and come up with a good explanation as to why something's not working and c) because I'm a n00b I can't do anything by myself and so there isn't a lot for me to do each day.
I've definitely hit a dilemma with the choosing between Group A and Group B. Currently leaning towards Group B. Here's why:
Science: Group B (BUT it's a lot riskier/high reward than the Group A stuff)
Boss: Group B has more attention from boss which I liked in the few weeks I was there
People: Group A as friends, Group B as coworkers
Work Hours: Worked less in Group A, but Group B people are there on the weekend mornings or afternoons which is nice because I like going in on the weekends for a few hours
The general vibe/energy in Group B is appealing as well. I *loved* Group A, but I feel like I would always have to be ultra self motivated since my peers/boss wouldn't provide any external motivation.
Any other major points I should consider?
Hi, from Long Lost Me.
1 year ago
You can always keep in touch with people from Group A as friends - it's not as though you'll find yourself on the other side of the planet from them in the immediate future simply because you choose Group B - but you're not doing your doctorate to make friends. You're doing it to become a kickass biochemist. Make your choices according to those priorities: if group B has the more interesting science (achem, scientist!), and group B's people are better for your work productivity, and group B's hours are better for your work productivity...
ReplyDeleteIt's not an actual dilemma or anything. It's not summer camp, it's the launch pad for your future career.
True. I guess I didn't make it clear that the biggest dilemma for me is that fact that I could probably publish more in Group A because Group B works on a protein that is incredibly difficult to work with. I'm trying to weigh out if more publications, lower impact is better than less publications, higher impact. Since I think I'd be happy in either group, the other stuff is just icing on the cake.
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