How to Help Undergrad on Brink of Being Fired

[yash13177]

Hello all,

In December my PI gave me an undergraduate to help me with my project (it's a huge project and we just need more hands). The undergraduate is a first year (about to start his second year) with no lab experience. I've had to teach him everything from putting on gloves to how to work pipettes...etc. 

Now, 7 months later, the undergrad is still struggling. I myself have been frustrated. He has trouble with things I taught him months ago (like diluting an overnight culture to a specific number and letting it grow) and doesn't make the best decisions... And he forgets a lot of things I tell him (even when I ask him to write it down). His technical skills are improving but he still lacks a scientific sense and doesn't have much lab maturity.  I believe that it is something that develops over time, experience and exposure to more science classes. However, my PI is frustrated with the undergrad's progress. Now, my PI mentioned to me that he is thinking of firing the undergrad.

My question is: How do I help my undergrad do better? How do I help him develop this scientific sense at a quicker pace so he doesn't get fired? Are there any good methods any of you have used to help a struggling student? 

I am limited by how much more time I can devote to my undergrad. I have my own experiments, a thesis to write and a different undergrad (summer program) to manage.

[Bumblebea]

Why do you want to help him save his job? It sounds like he's not a great fit. It also sounds like it's not really your decision to fire or retain him.

[lemma]

I would have a frank talk to him (though leave out the risk of being fired). If he's struggling a lot, he's probably not having fun. And maybe he's just terrible in a wet lab! It doesn't mean that he would be terrible as a doctor, in a computational setting or doing something more biomedical engineering related. And he should know that there are other options, and just because he doesn't have a good intuition for this project doesn't mean he can't be a good scientist. 

[yash13177]

8 hours ago, Bumblebea said:

Why do you want to help him save his job? It sounds like he's not a great fit. It also sounds like it's not really your decision to fire or retain him.

I suppose I feel that he hasn't actually had enough time to train, he joined in his second semester of college entirely! So I feel my PI has expectations that are too high of a college freshman. 

[yash13177]

7 hours ago, lemma said:

I would have a frank talk to him (though leave out the risk of being fired). If he's struggling a lot, he's probably not having fun. And maybe he's just terrible in a wet lab! It doesn't mean that he would be terrible as a doctor, in a computational setting or doing something more biomedical engineering related. And he should know that there are other options, and just because he doesn't have a good intuition for this project doesn't mean he can't be a good scientist. 

Thank you for your advice lemma!

I actually did end up talking to him. He actually really enjoys lab and the project, he just really has no experience in a lab setting (thus no experience with designing/running experiments, interpreting results, etc.). The best analogy is maybe asking an elementary student who knows addition and subtraction to do high school math.

[lemma]

Would it be appropriate to suggest he leaves and comes back to a lab once he has some more academic experience under his belt? I think leaving now with an explanation to the PI about how he doesn't have the skills yet is a much better option than termination. However, it also isn't fair on you or the PI to spend resources getting him up to speed as that comes at a cost.

I worry that if he is terminated, it will do a lot of harm to his self esteem and enjoyment of STEM. I would be gutted in his position.

[lemma]

I wanted to add: if termination is likely, be honest with the student and get them to resign ASAP. Termination does come up in background checks for future jobs. 

[yash13177]

On 8/4/2018 at 4:12 PM, lemma said:

Would it be appropriate to suggest he leaves and comes back to a lab once he has some more academic experience under his belt? I think leaving now with an explanation to the PI about how he doesn't have the skills yet is a much better option than termination. However, it also isn't fair on you or the PI to spend resources getting him up to speed as that comes at a cost.

I worry that if he is terminated, it will do a lot of harm to his self esteem and enjoyment of STEM. I would be gutted in his position.

Lemma, 

Thank you for your many replies. I really really appreciate it! 

So to update you he's on thin, but stable, ice. He's been doing better and I think as long as he continues to show improvement my boss won't consider firing him anymore. Hopefully. I completely agree with your last sentence - I don't want this experience to turn him away from research or STEM in general! I think my boss is just tough and unfortunately this undergrad is feeling the pressure.

On 8/4/2018 at 7:28 PM, lemma said:

I wanted to add: if termination is likely, be honest with the student and get them to resign ASAP. Termination does come up in background checks for future jobs. 

So actually he does not have an employment contract but he joined our lab through a research program. But, I completely agree that resigning is better than him waiting to get fired. I've been keeping a close eye on him and will suggest it if the time comes.