I thought before I dive into talking about research, I should begin with my story of how I got into research and talk a little bit about undergraduate research in general. I began doing research in my sophomore year at Ohio State University. The summer before that (2017) I took courses at OSU’s Stone Laboratory, which is on a little island in Lake Erie. This was a really cool experience that got me excited about ecology research because we had the opportunity to get outside and do fieldwork nearly every day. We rarely spent all day in the classroom, and learned about ecology through practice. I fell in love with fieldwork and wanted to continue this type of work after my six-week courses ended. Once I got back to campus that fall I began to look around for undergrad research positions.
How?
I was worried that I was late to the research game because a lot of my friends had been working in labs since the beginning of freshman year, but I am glad that I waited. This gave me the chance to experience my freshman year more fully because I focused on passing general chemistry (ew), establishing a friend group, and getting involved in student organizations. From the first week of school, professors emphasized how important undergrad research was, but never explained how to get started. A friend had given me advice to contact PI’s directly, but that ended up not working out very well. I had begun to give up, but one day I was sitting in Starbucks and a woman approached me with an opportunity. She knew I was looking for research positions through my cousin who also went to OSU, and connected me with one of her friends who was a graduate student in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology. A week later I was working in Dr. Gibb’s lab helping that graduate student with his research.
When?
Backtracking a bit to the question of when to get involved in research, I think there is no “best time” to begin. The fun thing about research is that everyone’s timelines are different, and everyone’s path to research is different. It is not for everyone either. I have had a lot of friends try to get into research only to hate it and quit after two weeks, or feel trapped and stay in the same lab for four years only to change career paths after graduation. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing either of those, but you do you. Just remember you do not owe anyone your time and effort during undergrad.
I have also met researchers that came into research in non-traditional ways, such as one man who worked on a fishing boat all his life before finding a faculty position at a university, or people that return to school for a second bachelors degree because they did not find their previous job fulfilling. What I am trying to say is take your time; try different things until you find what you like. The best advice I received as an undergrad student was actually to figure out what you don’t like first to narrow down your list of possible interests.
Why?
This is the most important question to ask yourself before getting involved in research. What are your goals? Do you want to get a paper published? Do you want experience for grad school? Is it a part time job to pay the bills? Or do you feel pressured to do research because everyone in your chemistry class is?
It is so easy to be peer pressured into doing research because everyone wants to be on par with other people in their classes. Undergraduate STEM students (especially freshmen) can be a bit cutthroat when it comes to making academic accomplishments a competition. I often struggle with this because I want to be able to do everything at once and always end up over committing myself. Research is a big time commitment though, and it can be really difficult depending on how involved you are in a project. You really have to evaluate what is most important to you as an undergraduate student because it is impossible to do everything.
That being said, undergraduate research is a great opportunity for anyone interested in going to graduate school or having a career in research. You will be able to graduate with experience, have the skill sets to make the transition from undergrad to grad school or a career easier, and you will also be able to build a network of connections and mentors. Research can also be fun! The summer I spent as an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) student at the College of Charleston was the best summer of undergrad because I was doing work I enjoyed, made so many new friends, and was living in a new place (on a beach!). Presenting research at conferences also took me to some pretty amazing places that I would not have had the chance to travel to otherwise, such as Honolulu, Hawaii.
To wrap up, I want to share my advice for how to get started in research as an undergraduate student; make connections with people you meet in person. It is difficult to try to make connections with PI’s through email. If I were to do it all again I would have talked to my TA’s to see if they knew anybody looking for an undergrad student, or even other students in my classes doing research to see if they knew of any open positions. I cannot emphasize enough how important making connections is. You never know who will help you land an internship, or connect you to a future mentor. It could be a stranger at Starbucks. Do not get discouraged if you do not find anything right away either, I am a firm believer that in research, everything happens for a reason. You will eventually end up where you need to be.
Learning How to Science 