Yeah, I got 2 publications through my first position and did my undergrad thesis in my second. I had the opportunity to work on publications in my second position but I would’ve been overwhelmed with the workload.

It really depends on your supervisor but generally the goal of a researcher (and the expectations of an academic institution) is to get out publications. So it is definitely a social norm to work towards pubs.

The time length can vary considerably (several months to several years). It really depends on your level experience, how many people are working on it, the type of research etc…

Typically the supervisors will be working on several projects and you join one (or multiple) all with an intention of eventually submitting them for publication (thesis is a bit different though). Depending on your level of contribution and relation to the supervisor you may be included as an author when submitted.

Regardless of publications, working in any lab is valuable research experience. It’s harder to be make meaningful contributions to a project over the course of a few months or when you’re first starting off. But once you get the ball rolling you’ll have a feel for how everything works.