Beware, long stories (I need to vent a little, thats what pubs are for, right?)

I am naive. I trust people with too much.

Today I learned the hard way. Rewind a few months...

Drama from the Lab

Story #1

After I started my new job as a PhD in this lab and finding out how horrible this lab/boss actually is, I knew I will leave the place but gave myself until christmas to decide. During christmas I knew I am not staying anymore.

Before that, I talked to some colleagues, asking about how things go down when the boss isn't in a good mood etc. They asked whether I am considering to leave, I said that I am.

In january, some of them asked again (Mary and John), and I told them that I am staying until I find a new job. Latest would be June.

I got a project assigned to. I was supposed to continue the project of Mary. What started as a boring project had some interesting turn and I became interested in it. I did not have much to do in the lab (only some cloning, which takes a few days, but only a few hours of that day) so I began to read and dig deeper into the subject. While doing that, I found some publications that my colleagues has obviously missed. I didn't think much about it, until, at a meeting with Mary and the boss, the subject came up and I told them that there is this and that publication (published in 2007, easy to find). This changed the project and made us concentrate on those findings. Now mary got angry, because she thought that I am trying to make her look bad in front of the boss and that so close to her graduation (she has been there for 3 years). I told her that she should tell me stuff like that beforehand and that I will send her the publications that I find first before discussing them with the boss.

So, a similar situation happened again. I found a publication which was very relevant to our experiments (published in 2013, hard to find), sent it to her, talked about it and then discussed it with the boss. Working good, right?

The situation happened again, yesterday, I found two more publications (2010 and 2011, again easy to find) which are very relevant. At this point I am wondering what the fuck my colleague was doing the last 3 years. I again sent her the publications. What does she do? Send an email to the boss starting with "I found those two publications etc." without mentioning me or putting me in CC. Now the boss tells me to read those two publications and dig deeper there, except, I already did. At this point I get pissed.

I tell her we need to talk. I ask her what she wants. She says she wants to finish her PhD and feels like I am destroying all her plant because I am coming up with new ideas to do. She is afraid that I will find something that might make her results worthless etc.

I ask her what I am supposed to do. I am doing the minimum work that I can do. She tells me I should leave work, because that would be the best solution.

Now I get out of this talk feeling horrible. Destroying her plans etc. but then I am wondering, is it fair to give out a PhD-title to somebody who doesn't give a shit about science and misses several publications that are easy to find?

What do I chose? Science of man?

Story #2

This one is about John. John is a master student working in out lab. John is not a very good scientist. He is not motivated and does a sloppy job. Nothing which can't be changed, but thats the status quo.

John started his master's thesis in our lab half a year ago with the option to continue to his PhD thesis afterwards. Now this master's thesis is finished, the written part is over. But we were wondering, when do you get your contract for the PhD john? He said the boss didn't offer him one, but he will ask him.

So the time came, he asked the boss. The boss said that he would like to wait until the oral exam is done.

Why? Why wait? He is already working in the lab, for free. And you don't need the diploma to get paid like a PhD, you only need it to register your PhD thesis at some point...

Usually the boss doesn't hesitate with signing contracts at all, why now? We all figure, he is going to shove him. Except for him.

The boss also tells him that he thinks he fits on another project, project X (mine is project Y).

What does john do, he approaches me yesterday and asks me to quit work before his oral exam so he could ask the boss to give him project Y instead of X.

I secretly know, that the boss might not offer him the PhD position and if I leave, he might take him, despite him being not so fit and he has other options.

Then again. Does somebody who is not a good scientist deserve to do a PhD?

What do I chose? Science or man?

The solution to all the problems of my colleagues seems to be my departure. But no one asked me what I want. I don't want to sit at home, without money and without a job.

I should have never trusted my colleagues. What do I do? :(