got kicked out of the project becuase I was "enthusiastic" - (Jul/17/2008 )
I'm sad today.. am just a first year grad student, and just started with my project.. initially it was all going fine, and for the past 2.5 months, nothing worked... i struggled and tried to find a way out... the problem was false positives in PCR.. After testing out so many options, I thought the problem was environmental contamination and so asked a friend in another lab to do it for me.. there was no false positive.. the negative control was negative..
I walked into my boss's office and said that the problem is environmental, and he said you are out of the project!! I did not know about the politics involved in the department.. it cost me dearly.. he was really angry that I did such a thing... the problem is he was never there to sit with me and offer me solutions... and now he's fired me from that project and given me a "simpler" project, and said "better get it done"!! As a newbie, I thought bosses would be patient and helpful..
I feel frustrated/diasppointed... I've started to look for options like patent lawyer etc..
I walked into my boss's office and said that the problem is environmental, and he said you are out of the project!! I did not know about the politics involved in the department.. it cost me dearly.. he was really angry that I did such a thing... the problem is he was never there to sit with me and offer me solutions... and now he's fired me from that project and given me a "simpler" project, and said "better get it done"!! As a newbie, I thought bosses would be patient and helpful..
I feel frustrated/diasppointed... I've started to look for options like patent lawyer etc..
1. This kind of issues are not uncommon. Many people are un-necessarily punished for things they did not have control over and their bossed did not have the knowledge or time to understand the real issue. So you are not alone.
2. Don't feel frustrated, teh same boss will lift you up later if your things work beautifully. It is all human. Try your best to do your best.
3. Options are not bad, but make sure your training, your talents suit them. Patent lawyer, scientific writing etc are not for everybody. you need specific personal traits for them that can not be deevloped in a short time.
4. Always make sure that it was not you who was at fault. Be objective in your assessment or ask somebody to assess the situation for you (not your close friends).
hth/
U better discuss it with your boss first before asking around for help in future.
To be devil's advocate:
To suggest that it was environmental problem at fault..
1. Can't you manage to change the environment in your workplace? That is your responsibility, you can ask your colleagues and boss' help for that, but it is upto you.
2. You should have done it in another lab, not your friend. How does the boss know if it was your technique at fault that got corrected when somebody else did it, or it was teh environment?
So, question your own self along these lines while thinking of the entire matter.
Try to find someone who really likes to teach. The boss apparently only wants to see results and just assumes you'll learn everything by yourself. And if you can't manage the problem, you're a problem.
It's much too harsh for a first year student. This kind of independence is to be gained, not inherited.
Anyway what I'd advise: use the forum if a problem appears. Also, talk to people, asking how to solve it instead of letting them do it first. They will gladly like to do it, because for them it's simple and they think they are helping. Truth is they're just make your growing difficult.
And I'm very sorry, because that will hurt: grow up. The world of adults is cruel, people are eating each other, for one nice person there are two bad ones, even if they seem nice; adults lie, ruin each other, make bad research and tell "you're not motivated" if you try to point it out; they will get you fired if you disagree with them and so, and so. Try to think for yourself, fish the nuances between people and cheer up; these nice persons exist, too.
Contamination of PCRs: I had the same problem once. Here's what to do:
1) Use the hood. If contamination is enviromental, sterilize the hood with UV, then wash it with H2O2 or DNA away or a similar product. If there's none in the lab, suggest the technician to buy it. Do not dwell on a problem; seek solutions to a problem.
2) Change the pipettes. Chances are, as a new student you've got old ones and they might be contaminated. Alternatively clean the pipettes with the solutions above. Dry them, because they're corrosive.
3) Use filter tips. For PCRs consider buying long tips, which prevent your pipette touching the eppendorf.
4) Clean the bench with the same solutions as before. Ethanol does not help!
5) Of course, change the ingredients and water;
6) For future use, aliquot PCR water and keep it in the freezer. Aliquot pretty much everything. Make it a nervous habit...
In my case, it was the old Taq that got contaminated. I just threw it away. No worries; it was only a few microliters left.
Sometimes weird things happen! Once I had problems with working out a PCR and it showed up....... the buffer in kit was wrong. It was clean water... who would think?
I faced a similar situation with negative results when I was a fresh graduate but my supervisor adviced me to do:
1.training esp. for accurate pippeting
2.Disinfect my work environment
3.Do negative controls and positive ones
4.Don't hesitate to ask my senior staff if I need an advice.
Now Iam independant,and I use this forum for work troubleshooting.
I think u should try again. Best of luck.
Not many bosses are patient or sympathetic... Sad but true...
If you were unable to get help within your lab, going to another lab for help was a smart thing to do. The problem is that sometimes an advisor does not like you going to another lab for help without going THROUGH him/her. A safe way to use the resources in another lab, even if they are your friends, is to ask your advisor to ask your friend's advisor for permision (ussually through email.)
My graduate advisor sounds very much like your current advisor. He was COMPLETELY hands off. My second year in grad. school I was alone in the lab as everyone else had graduated or finished their post-doc... Also, my advisor went to France that year, so when I say I was alone...
As a result, I got used to working on my own and going to other labs/advisors/etc. for help without talking to my boss first... That never changed by he grew to hate it... The good side was that i learned a great deal that I never would have other wise, and i ended up as co-author on two papers because I ended up helping other people.
DO NOT let this ordeal make you think it's wrong to go to other labs for help, BUT be discreet, go through your boss if you can, and if you do not have to mention it to him then DON'T.
One other thing you could do the next time something similar happens, have your friend come to YOUR lab, use YOUR reagents, and run the experiment.... do that FIRST, then go with his lab and you run your experiment (pcr) in his lab both with your reagents, and then with his...
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION....
Most people think if they wipe the counter or hood down with clean DI water and then 70% EtOH the area is clean/sterile...
- Flow hoods and incubators can be emptied, taken apart, parts autoclaved, and the entire surface sterilized
- Clutered areas should be emptied, sterilized, and organized... Keep chemicals, buffers, reagents a safe distance from your working space...
- Replace old buffers. In many biological labs, buffers such as PBS or TRIS-HCL are used out in the open and are susceptible to contamination... If you suspect contamination, get rid of them...
I AM sorry this happened to you. You are not alone, sadly this kind of thing is common... REMEMBER you did NOT get FIRED from a project, you got taken off of it, that's different...
FIND A MENTOR
See if you can find someone with experience, that you can trust, that likes to teach and is willing to help... That would be an invaluable find!
thanks for some advice... but you know whats frustrating? I'm the only one doing this in the lab, when I ask him for a separate pipettes he says that would not infulence the result of the reactionnobody in the lab believes that pre- and post PCR operations are going to do me any good.. they see me like speaking based on imaginary things... even my boss doesn't seem to understand..
and is it be that if you're a new student, and you're asked to do somehting for the first time, an experienced member will show you how to do it, and from on you catch up? coz my lab postdoc always gave me instructions on a piece of paper and let me do it.. but now she's told all sorts of things to the boss about me... how will i know if i'm doing something wrong unless someone shows me how to do it?
Chances are your boss is stupid.
Detach your emotions and wonder if it might be true, considering all occurences of your and his faults, or your possible lacks in diplomacy, etc. If he indeed is, quietly and with a dilpomatic smile change the lab, ASAP. Use your experience to get a better boss.
The postdoc is truly a bad teacher. Nobody sane gives a protocol to a freshman without guiding him first. The guideline is first let him watch, then let him do while watching, and after he feels confident, let him do it.
and is it be that if you're a new student, and you're asked to do somehting for the first time, an experienced member will show you how to do it, and from on you catch up? coz my lab postdoc always gave me instructions on a piece of paper and let me do it.. but now she's told all sorts of things to the boss about me... how will i know if i'm doing something wrong unless someone shows me how to do it?
I would suggest that you take it upon yourself as much as possible.
1. joining a forum is a good first thing.
2. Make connections with neighbours and friends like you found in another 'environment'.
3. Think through your experiments, read well. After a point, you don't need people guiding you at each step, even if it is a novel method. Basic steps and clean practices are generally similar for most expts.
4. This is how it works for many many people, so get used to it.
5. I am not diminishing the importance of guidance and mentoring, just that there are some things you can do yourself.
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