Girls, How do I ask a lab mate out without compromising our future collaboration and work relationship?

[pigozzif]

I happen to have a lab mate that I like. We are both Ph. D. students. We are friends. If she was not a member of my lab, I would definitely ask her out. Instead, I fear that, if she turns me down, that might undermine her willingness to collaborate with me in case we both end up doing research.

[SueShe]

Asking co-workers or students out is a no-go, mainly if those are friends.

All you will achieve is to ruin the friendship. You may ask her to go for a coffee but certainly nothing more serious than that.

Since you placed your question under the "Dating" topic, I must assume that your intentions are more than just to be buddies and casual friends.

What you are risking is simply put just to risk to fail your next exams because one cannot fully concentrate on studies and to listen to your testosterone. The one or the other will definitely lose and my fear is that you will place your studies in second position behind getting into the pants of that other student.

Forget about it because you are taking too much of a risk of

1. losing the friendship

2. failing your final exam

Be wise and concentrate on your education first. You will have plenty of time later in life to make serious errors with heavy consequences.

[Anonymous]

Don't go there. You have too much to lose.