Working in two labs over the summer? Good or bad idea?

[TrishaK1997]

Hi,

So this summer I secured funding to conduct research in my current lab, an autism research lab. However, it's only 20 hours per week. I'm a bit tempted to try to get more research experience by volunteering for 10 hours per week in another lab.  I am a rising senior and right now I only have one semester worth of research experience. I am going to write an honor's thesis and continue to work with my current lab through next year, but I am trying to get as much experience under my belt as possible. 

Is this a bad or good idea?

Thank you.

[rising_star]

I think it's a good idea. A combined 30 hours a week certainly isn't too much.

[healthpsych]

Not a bad idea at all! It’s good to have diverse research experience when applying to grad school, and it’ll definitely be manageable if you’re only working 20 hours/week. 

[brainlass]

Go for it! I've worked in two labs concurrently before. It can be a great way to get diverse research experience and make more connections with potential reference letter-writers. It's also very valuable to experience working under different supervisors. Different labs operate in very different ways, and the more you sample different lab cultures, the better you can develop an idea of what you like and dislike in a working environment.

[Le Chat]

I'm also trying to be involved in 2 labs if possible. It gets me two different experiences to list, and possibly twice the amount of CV material. It's hard to put a lot of time into research during regular semesters as a graduate student, so summer lets me devote time to research (online classes being more flexible.)

[MarineBluePsy]

I think this is a good idea if this is all you will be doing over the summer.  If you also have to work to support yourself, need to take a class or two, or have other family/personal commitments then I would say factor the time and energy those will take into your decision.  Yes you want to diversify your training and accrue enough experience to create really good graduate program applications, but you don't want to overwork yourself and burnout either.