Many students at Princeton spend their summers exploring a research project or a lab internship in their field of interest. But what’s next? Maybe you really enjoyed your experience and wanted to continue. Then, you come across the question: should I stay in the same lab or join a different lab?
This was the question I pondered when entering my sophomore year. I had an incredible summer experience as an High Meadows Environmental Institute intern in the Sigman Research Laboratory in the summer of 2023. I worked on a project that enabled my exploration of biogeochemical reconstruction via an investigation of the marine environment during a historical mass extinction through the use of a biological proxy known as foraminifera. But, where did I want to go from there? If you’re in a similar position, here are some things to keep in mind!
What are some advantages to staying in your same lab?
You have a community you’ve built over the time you’ve spent with your faculty mentor and graduate student mentors. By staying in the same lab, you can continue building upon these relationships. You’ve also likely gained familiarity around the lab, and you are well-versed in the various equipment, the various lab spaces, and the various people involved in the laboratory work. Familiarity can often be a huge asset when pursuing a research project as extensive as some of the ones you’re expected to pursue throughout your junior and senior years at Princeton. Staying in the same lab doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stay on the same project. Maybe you didn’t feel as passionate about a specific research project or topic as you would have liked, but you loved the general pursuits of the laboratory. Reach out to your faculty mentor and see if there might be other graduate students or members of the lab who would be willing to have you tag along on their research projects. There are often lab members pursuing different research questions within the wide breadth of a topic, and you might very well find a niche subject you’re passionate about there.
What are the advantages to switching it up?
You have the liberty to explore a new project and field, possibly discovering a different field of the sciences, social sciences, or humanities that truly excites you and encourages you to change your academic path. You get to meet new mentors, learn about their passions, and receive exposure to new forms of research and lab environments – gaining flexibility and collaboration skills. You might find a project that more strongly aligns with your interests.
In the end, I realized that my summer experience increased my passion for biogeochemical reconstruction, and I had remaining interests in the research questions being pursued by the Sigman laboratory. I felt the best decision for me was to continue my work in the same laboratory. And with gratitude to HMEI and the Smith-Newton family, I was able to return to the Sigman laboratory as an HMEI Environmental Scholar in the summer of 2024, where I’ve jumped onto a new project working with organic carbon isotopes in fish otoliths and coral – a topic that integrates my wide interests in geochemistry, anatomy, and physiology.
— Rebecca Cho, Natural Sciences Correspondent
