How many schools to apply?

EvoViro
Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:01:22 +0000

“Real world” research, the way I use it, simply means the opportunity to do true investigative work. As an undergrad, students are often given protocols and projects to do without much need for independent thought, problem-solving skills, or creativity. It can be a huge eye-opener in grad school when someone is then expected to actually propose project ideas, plan out the experiments, interpret the data, and make it something meaningful.

Any research lab will do, provided they are willing to give you that level of independence. Some technician jobs are just as bad as undergrad, while others will allow for much more flexibility. If you don’t have many options, you can still get a lot of that exposure through being involved in the process, even if you don’t have freedom with your lab work. For instance, even if you don’t do your own data analysis, you can still be involved in knowing how and why it’s done certain ways, and really understand how the data gets transformed into results. Talk to your PI about how they come up with project ideas, how they decide on experimental design.

Mostly, it’s about taking initiative to really understand how research is done beginning to end. Being a scientist isn’t about knowing how to do PCR, it’s about seeing the unanswered questions and figuring out the answers, and that’s the “real world” of research.