How to revive self-confidence - When lab results are not as optimal as desired :( (Aug/30/2007 )
Hi all
I am a newbie in research (currently still an undergrad but currently hired by a lab until December and going on to grad school if I get in next year) and I love it, but when results don't go the way I wanted I always feel incompetent and useless regardless of what the reason for it not working be. I hate that feeling lol..... 
It seems like I am wasting reagents into all these bad results.....
Sorry I just needed to vent 
Sorry I just needed to vent
That's so nice of U to vent the frustration here and that with a very good spirit. 'Lol'ing and saying U hate that feeling and making an angry face. That made me ROTFL.
After reading your post, I felt I am not the only one in this earth without any results and wasting reagents. Till now, I had a feeling it was only me and rest of the world was just doing good experiments and coming up with brilliant results.
I am not the only one.But, go around the Bioforum and U will find that everyone in this forum are here because they are not getting results for ages. Except a few who are doing research in 'chit-chat psychology' and few great people who spare there invaluable time to help idiots like me out when I have problem. I will always be grateful to them.
Look around and find them dude.
Venting is good 
It's important to remember that everyone who has done research has been in the same situation, and had the same feelings as you. The job you are doing is very specialized and tricky. As you gain experience you will make fewer and fewer mistakes - remember that the experienced people in the lab are only experienced because they have already made the mistakes! Also, sometimes the science just does not work, no matter how good you are... something maybe fundamentally wrong with the experiment, but you just have to accept that and move on.
Disappointment and frustration are part of a scientific career and they will always be there to a degree. You just have to stay positive, accept that things won't work all of the time and try to improve your technique as you go. Finding and speaking to friends who are in the same situation helps too.
Currently I am feeling the same way!! I feel like all summer I haven't made any progress! But hey, that's science. If I wanted daily results and affirmation of my contribution and existence I would have been an accountant! Keep plugging away you'll get there. Remember bench science is a lot like Baseball. If you succeed 3 times out of 10 your a star!
7's
My advice is, keep on trying, trying and trying
you are not the only one who gets bad results
Last time, i did colony PCR 3 times, 12 colonies each time, but still din get any result. But i tried it again. The last time, i did 12 colonies, and i accidentally broke the centrifuge(dun ask me how i did that but i just did it), and 6 tubes were spilled, left with 6. Then went on to electrophoresis in which out of 6, only one of them have a very very very dim band( which we actually din notice it at the first place before adjusting the background). After all the hardwork (and a broken centrifuge), eventually we get the desired plasmid.
Just keep on trying and then you will get the result you desired eventually.All the best!
WllmCh
I am a newbie in research (currently still an undergrad but currently hired by a lab until December and going on to grad school if I get in next year) and I love it, but when results don't go the way I wanted I always feel incompetent and useless regardless of what the reason for it not working be. I hate that feeling lol.....
It seems like I am wasting reagents into all these bad results.....Sorry I just needed to vent
Why thanks for all the kind comments. There should be a club for people like me lol.....
Anyways today I will try again and prays that I will have good results....
Usually good results happen on Thursdays and Fridays for me.......so let's hope it will be the same 
Thanks again
there is!
Sometimes I think scientists are just like junkies... We have really high highs when we get good results but unfortunately lows to.. If nothing seems to work... I'm having one right now!.. For over the past month or so.. It's horrible and can't wait to get high again!
I hold the one memory I have in vain, hoping I will feel the same.. soon
I know what you mean about the highs and lows. One of my former colleagues had another approach, his advice was just to "stay depressed" even if you got a good result!! That stopped the rollercoaster effect for him!! 
Haha I joined that facebook group lol......
I feel a little better today lol...my results are somewhat getting closer to optimization!!!