Joining three labs in the same university on the CV for a grad school [duplicate]

Question

I am a sophomore. I have joined two labs now as an undergraduate. At the first one I joined, I had an interest in science but my supervisor was not good with me and she created a very competitive environment in the lab, so I left. Now I am in a different new lab. I love the supervisor so much and she loves me and is willing to write a pretty good rec of letter. However, I hate science, and I hate the approach we are using. I do not find the motivation to do research because of that.

There is another professor who I think about joining her lab. I am interested in her research because I have done something related to it before in high school. I heard she is also a good supervisor. I want to go to her lab.

The problem is that I will apply to grad school, and I am afraid that the many different labs on my CV will put me in a position of doubt. I am afraid that they might question why I moved to 3 labs. What should I do?

Answer 1

In my experience, when it comes to applying to graduate school different institutions differ about what they care about. So it can be difficult to give general advice that would apply.

That being said, most graduate programs have two major categories: non-thesis and thesis.

If you're doing a non-thesis track, then you don't usually do any research, and you only take classes. In this case they will largely care about what is on your CV. They get awarded usually directly by the department you are applying for, so it usually only happens from your own merits. And in my experience it is more heavily weighted towards grades, but work experience would still matter. And as some of the other comments have mentioned, switching around a lot without have a ton to show for it, isn't always perceived positively. So it might be best to stick with the one you've got.

On the other hand, if you're doing a thesis track program, you often times need a faculty sponsor in your department, e.g. Someone that wants you to join their lab to do the research and write a thesis or dissertation in the process. For this, you want to reach out to professors directly and inquire about their work. Then you can send them your CV, and you both can decide if you're the "right" person for the job, and interested in working with one another. And while every supervisor is different, they ultimately want someone that is passionate about the work they are doing so they stick around and can get the job done. So they want people that know "this is what they want to do".

If you know that you don't like the current work, but would like to try something more in line with your passions, I think that's the right way to go. Then when you get that job with the new supervisor you can decide if that's what you actually want to do. From there, reach out to professors directly at the institutions you'd like to go to that are doing the research you want. And just tell them the situation up front and honestly. That you switched because you had a poor experience the first time. And the second time you had a better experience, but the work wasn't something you were passionate about. So you decided to switch to try one more thing to see if it was more in line with your long-term interests. And that that inspired you to join "so and so's lab". If they like you and you get along, they can put in a internal request for you to be admitted to the graduate school, and that holds its weight more than anything. Particularly, if they are willing to fund your research.

Moral of the story, if you're doing anything non-thesis, they will only really see your CV. So switching around a lot is not always perceived as good (they start to wonder why you can't stay anywhere). If you're doing a thesis track, it matters a lot more that you have a "sponsor" from someone (preferably the one you want to work with) in the department that you are applying to join. And for that, in my experience most supervisors would want someone they are confident will enjoy the work, and as a result be able to finish it. And if that means you have to try 3 research labs to figure out what you want, more power to you.

Ultimately the decision is up to you and do what you think is best. Every institution is different so no piece of advice works for everyone or every place. Do what you think is best for you now, and I'm sure it'll all work out in the future. As long as you're always up front about why you made the decisions you did.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

Since you are only in the second year and you are seemingly looking for doctoral study eventually, I'd think that this is a minor concern. The undergraduate program is normally very broad, especially in the US, but also other places. What this implies to me is that you are "looking around", which I think is a good thing.

However, the farther along you get the more important it is that you focus somewhat more narrowly, but (especially in the US) only somewhat. Having a lot of experience in different things puts you in a good place as long as you can maintain - and express - focus.

So, at this point it isn't an issue (IMO), but it will possibly become one as you go along. My advice might be a bit different if you were in the final year and, perhaps, a lot different if you aren't in the US but in the final year.

Answer 3

At my university (R1 with a strong focus in STEM), many students do "rotations" in different labs. Each rotation consists of a three to six months stint at a lab. It is rare to expect an undergrad to understand what they want to do and what kind of people they want to work with. So, no. It is unlikely that working in different labs will prove to be an issue later.

However, if I may suggest something, it is that your language in grad school applications matter. I would not use the word "hate" anywhere. This is also true when talking to someone who could possibly be writing a letter of recommendation for you. And try not to burn bridges.