> they want to be left alone in a lab to answer their questions while someone else keeps the lights on. And well...yeah...you just described the perfect job. W

> they want to be left alone in a lab to answer their questions while someone else keeps the lights on. And well...yeah...you just described the perfect job. Well, that IS what I want, probably what everyone wants. I don't like writing grants, as I said, but I am in touch with reality and consider it an important part of my value proposition. Plus, I like my PI and consider him my friend. It's not nice to leave all the shit work for your friend. EDIT: In many ways, I have tried to alter my behavior to prevent exactly the kinds of problem you are talking about. I absolutely want my PI to feel like my presence is a net benefit. If a staff scientist didn't understand these realities, they could easily be both naive and unhelpful. > And this hasn't backfired by having one of his "postdocs" not progressing very fast? Interesting point, one I hadn't considered. We are a pretty small lab, 4 grad students, 1 postdoc, occasional summer/rotation/temp postdocs or students, and me. In the past we had 2 postdocs. The 1 postdoc who is in the lab now is a statistician who has zero interest in his career or ever being a PI. He is extremely valuable but I don't get the impression he feels held back. He is a "give me a job and I'll do it" type. For informatics, I believe the productivity multiplier for skill is higher than in wet lab. Thus, it is not only easier but potentially better to have a small lab with high skill than the converse. So we have little interest in rapid growth.