<p>I think the question of when, not if, you start doing your independent research depends on your mentor and the nature of your work. </p>
<p>If your mentor thinks your up for the challenge and the lab techniques used aren’t too difficult, then you might be starting out with your own project.</p>
<p>If your mentor won’t give you that much responsibility to start with and the lab protocols involving very expensive and fragile pieces of equipment, you might start doing independent work after 1 or 2 years of being a lab assistant.</p>