https://acbs.cals.arizona.edu/

The University of Arizona School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Student Aide

March 2019 - January 2022 • Tucson, AZ

What I liked

I liked working with other students. They were the only ones who seemed to have their heads on straight

What I wish was different

Just about everything. Not sure I should share names, but the P.I. of the lab is an absolutely terrible person. For one, I was told I would start at 14 an hour, but found out i had been making 13 the whole time. Though, he did give me a raise to shut me up about it. When the students made a mistake that even other more senior diagnosticians agreed with them on, the P.I. just forbid us from doing half of our job. This led to a lot of down time, which was also somehow our fault, even thought we now had exactly half the work. He has also said incredibly misogynistic things in front of us. One time he told us, for no reason, that he found European women more attractive than American women because they werent as fat. He is unable to understabd or sympathize with neurodivergent people. One of his researchers has ADHD, so it can be difficult for her to finish things exactly on time, even when shes never too laye anyways. He made some remarks to her in front of her other superiors, making her go home early that day sobbing. When the students had half their jobs taken, it was given to the accountant, who was never paid or trained to actually do these things. When the lead of PCR's father died, she took some bereavement leave, but the P.I. would not let her be gone for long enough for her to pick up her father's ashes in another state. Even when he had said from the beginning to take as much time as she needed Its not all just him. Nearly everyone in the lab is a selfish, horrible person, even down to many of the post-docs and even a staff member who used to be a student. She would commonly say that because she had to struggle with the job, so should everyone else. A sort of "screw you, got mine," type of attitude. Over course in reality, she should not have had to struggle either, and because she had to, she should be an even bigger advocate for change, rather than just throwing the students she used to be a part of under the bus.

Advice

Dont stay here longer than you have to.
3 ${count} people found this helpful