I (Ehren) was recently asked if I had guidance for how to succeed in lab. This was what I wrote it reply. It struck me as a good start for a more comprehensive guide so I'm copying it here. Hopefully we can refine it and update it as time goes on.
Communicate often!
Communicate with the person who is supervising you in lab to share your recent experiences (successes, frustrations, etc.) and to check in regarding your progress and expectations. This should be daily at least for the first few weeks. You should have easy in-person access to them in lab but also you can use Slack. If they are hard to connect with, please let me (Ehren) know!
Communicate with Ehren regarding what parts of lab are most interesting / exciting / satisfying / painful / boring / etc. Anytime is a good time, but this should occur at least every semester. Let him know what new skills / concepts / directions you would like to grow in.
Remember why you are in lab and be proactive about getting what you came for out of the experience.
Perhaps you joined the lab to learn how systems neuroscience is conducted. Or perhaps how computational neuroscience is done. Or perhaps you wanted to build a tangible track record of research productivity to be more competitive for medical or graduate school. Whatever the reason, know that reaching your goals is an active process. If you joined the lab by way of emailing Ehren, you've already written a personal statement defining your goals and how you'll get them from lab. If not, it isn't too late - here are the instructions. Talk to the person supervising you to gain clarity regarding if/how you are moving in the right direction. Talk to Ehren too!
The most important metric for success in lab is meeting expectations. Better to set realistic expectations and meet them than to overcommit to something that sounds good but is unrealistic.
Simple expectations we have include:
Being in lab when you say you will be there.
Coming to lab meeting every week.
Communicating with someone when you have a problem.
Communicating with someone when you have a question.
Participating in lab culture to the extent you feel comfortable.
Sometimes things come up that interfere with meeting expectations. While we expect that you will do everything possible to proactively avoid this by setting realistic expectations and not agreeing to other activities that will interfere with the commitments you have made to lab, we nonetheless understand it can happen on occasion. When they do, the most important thing is to let someone know (probably your direct supervisor) ASAP. This will allow us to make sure whatever gap will be left open in your work gets covered before it becomes a problem. For example, if you're signed up to train animals from 10-noon tomorrow and find out today that the only time you can see a doctor is in the same window, contact your direct supervisor as soon as possible so that they can rearrange the training schedule to make this work.
NOTE: If things come up that interfere with your lab commitments more often than 'occasionally,' we will take this as evidence that lab is not among your highest priorities. While lab need not be your highest priority, if you are failing to meet expectations it means that there is a miscalibration in our expectations. Because you are explicitly judged by your ability to meet expectations, failure to meet expectations means that we should talk ASAP to scale back reset our expectations accordingly.
Though I don't anticipate there being any reason for you to have personal conflict with your direct supervisor, please know that I am motivated to make sure you have a healthy and productive experience in lab. Towards that end, please feel comfortable coming to me to discuss any concerns you have about interpersonal issues in lab.
You should never feel like you are being asked to do something you don't understand. Please ask lots of questions! Our reason for inviting you to join us for the summer is to teach you about what we do, not to squeeze mindless work out of you. 🙂
Reach out to me (Ehren) at any time for input or with questions! Slack is the best way for non-emergencies. I'm not great about connecting with everyone as often as would be optimal but this shouldn't be misinterpreted as evidence that I don't want to hear from you! In my experience, the more often students reach out to me, the more they get from me.
In case of an emergency, call my cell phone # (609-240-2211). Emergencies include animal welfare issues. These come up, especially after surgery or with implanted animals. When in doubt, call! Lab related personal health concerns (e.g., animal bite, chemical spill, etc.), though rare, are also a time you should call. Finally, if you see something in lab that "just doesn't seem right" - let me do the deciding, call! 😁