- #1
questioning
- 1
- 0
Hello everyone,
I'm in a bit of a predicament. I am a rising junior and I have realized that I would really like to transition to a different research group sometime in the near future. I have already received several offers from this research group in the past and have taken a graduate level class with the professor.
There are several reasons why I would like to change labs. The first is that I have realized that I am not an experimentalist - after having done two experimental projects and one computational project, I have realized that I enjoy and am much better at computational work.
The other reason why I would like to change labs is because my current lab is not a good fit. The professor is an amazing professor, and is arguably the best professor in his field in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with him. Because of his fame, he very rarely takes undergraduates. I work in the lab for between 10 and 15 hours each week unless equipment has not arrived. I do not feel that this is enough for my professor, but my courseload and other requirements makes it difficult for me to work longer hours, so I feel that I am letting him down. Furthermore, I was awarded a prize to do a research internship off campus with another eminent professor. I accepted this prize and completed the internship, but I know that my professor here was unhappy with this decision as he expected me to spend 14 weeks working on campus, rather than six. I understand where he's coming from, and it definitely makes sense as most of the lab group are postdocs/visiting professors. However, I would like my undergraduate years to be a time of exploration, and would hence like to be able to focus on my coursework and accept REUs off campus to learn different skills.
I'm hoping to stay with this group until we finish this project. However, we have no data and it's been almost a year. I'm considering changing labs in October if there are no signs of progress. If we do have some results, I will stay until the project is done.
I was wondering if people could provide advice about how to change lab groups without disenfranchising my professor. I'm not sure whether he'd be able to write me a positive recommendation, especially given that he's not used to undergraduates and I'm of course less knowledgeable than a graduate student, and that I didn't spend all of my summer here. However, I would love to stay on favorable terms with him, as if he does write me a recommendation, it would go a long way.
Any advice would be welcomed.
I'm in a bit of a predicament. I am a rising junior and I have realized that I would really like to transition to a different research group sometime in the near future. I have already received several offers from this research group in the past and have taken a graduate level class with the professor.
There are several reasons why I would like to change labs. The first is that I have realized that I am not an experimentalist - after having done two experimental projects and one computational project, I have realized that I enjoy and am much better at computational work.
The other reason why I would like to change labs is because my current lab is not a good fit. The professor is an amazing professor, and is arguably the best professor in his field in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with him. Because of his fame, he very rarely takes undergraduates. I work in the lab for between 10 and 15 hours each week unless equipment has not arrived. I do not feel that this is enough for my professor, but my courseload and other requirements makes it difficult for me to work longer hours, so I feel that I am letting him down. Furthermore, I was awarded a prize to do a research internship off campus with another eminent professor. I accepted this prize and completed the internship, but I know that my professor here was unhappy with this decision as he expected me to spend 14 weeks working on campus, rather than six. I understand where he's coming from, and it definitely makes sense as most of the lab group are postdocs/visiting professors. However, I would like my undergraduate years to be a time of exploration, and would hence like to be able to focus on my coursework and accept REUs off campus to learn different skills.
I'm hoping to stay with this group until we finish this project. However, we have no data and it's been almost a year. I'm considering changing labs in October if there are no signs of progress. If we do have some results, I will stay until the project is done.
I was wondering if people could provide advice about how to change lab groups without disenfranchising my professor. I'm not sure whether he'd be able to write me a positive recommendation, especially given that he's not used to undergraduates and I'm of course less knowledgeable than a graduate student, and that I didn't spend all of my summer here. However, I would love to stay on favorable terms with him, as if he does write me a recommendation, it would go a long way.
Any advice would be welcomed.