Lots of layers here.
First, big labs =/ small labs. Structurally, they're very different in PI interaction.
Second, cascading mentorship is critical. As a student, being a PI is still a long way off, post-doc is your next step so that's critical mentorship.
First, big labs =/ small labs. Structurally, they're very different in PI interaction.
Second, cascading mentorship is critical. As a student, being a PI is still a long way off, post-doc is your next step so that's critical mentorship.
Third, personally, mentorship from the PI in two labs kept me in science for nearly 20 years, and "mentorship" from the PI in another lab almost drove me from science completely, and did drive me from academic research.
But I've worked primarily in small labs
But I've worked primarily in small labs
and as I noted above, small labs are very different. In a small lab as a summer high school intern I had daily meetings with the PI and active input on the project. In a big lab, you'd be working almost entirely with a grad student or post-doc, seeing the PI for project updates.
As the senior post-doc and lab director of a medium sized lab, I coordinated the undergrad projects and met with them on a daily basis. I was there late as they were finishing presentations and such, so I would have had outsized influence.
So... like most things "it depends."
So... like most things "it depends."
