Things I Didn't know...

In my mad search for wanting to travel/work/study abroad, I finally checked out some of the CDC resources...and I was pretty taken aback at some of their guides. For people like me interested in the envrionment and biotechnology, there are career guides listing types of jobs and locations and companies. There's even quite a large guide called "Living and Working Overseas". For some people I know who are looking to travel as well, there are smaller guides on volunteer programs that are an alternative to peace corps, which may be not exactly what will make you find your way, but would be a wonderful starting point. I've actually talked to a lot of international people who would like to be working for companies from their country but in the US, and there is rather large directory of such foreign firms in the US as well.

When it comes to finding jobs outside the country, it's difficult at a school like WPI, where most engineering majors tend to stay pretty local after graduation. It's also difficult for life science majors, where Boston seems to be the meccah of biotechnology and bioengineering. Many other options exist for me though- even within the US, if that's what it comes down to. And that is good to know. If I want to travel, I recently found out that San Diego is also a big bio-science hub, so California (which, let's face it, might as well be a whole new country) is definitely an option.

But as far as living and traveling and working abroad goes, it's great to have a good starting point. Luckily life science majors have some time before they can start job hunting, and hopefully that time will give me the leverage I need to get where I want.

Remember how I said I started writing a few weeks ago? that's all I got so far....I don't know why I have no time to do this. On the other hand, I keep meeting people who have written like ten personal statements already and are almost all set with their applications...whatever will I do...


But I did find out today that the CDC can even evaluate your personal statement- I definitely did not know that. I mean, I'm going to have them check out my resumes and things before I include material from that into my applications, but I certainly didn't think they would read my essays too...that's great news. Because I'm going to need a ton of feed back!

It seems like since applications for grad school are due for most US schools, people are scrambling to get theirs done. Good thing I have some time...things to do this week are:
-Finish writing personal statement (FOR REAL!)
-Ask Registrar's office for multiple copies of transcript
-Reminder emails to professors I asked for recommendations (believe me, professors are worse than students and more often than not also wait until the last minute to get papers in on time...especially busy ones, like the ones doing biology research...)
-Make appointment with counselor as soon as I finish personal statement for advice and feedback

Yay! Maybe setting goals will get the ball rolling for me :)

Starting to Write...

SO last weekend, I decided I needed to get a start on writing my personal statement...take a guess where I went to start that...in Harvard. Probably the most random decision of my life- I went into Boston just for a change with no specific purpose in mind, and I wandered around Harvard Square with a cup of coffee hand, and then..well, I decided why not go into Harvard, find a quiet spot and get to work. Definitely got some good work done, and it was pretty relaxing. Writing about yourself can get tedious though, which it did....so I quite after a while.

Haven't really looked at it otherwise, but I have looked at the rest of my application yay! I'll be applying to the Cambridge Gates Scholarship. Cambridge apparently has the most funds to give away so if you ever want to apply there, make sure to apply to this program- it covers all their trusts and funds through one application and all you have to do that's extra is a personal statement and a couple of write-ups about your exracurricaulars and all that jazz. I'll be applying for a Masters, so I'll have some time to write these things up, because the deadlines are later than for a PhD. SO I guess that's what Thanksgiving break is for...and here I was thinking it would be about enjoying my tofurkey (yes I know it's wrong not to eat a turkey on Thanskgiving-I'm spending it at a vegetarian house, so please don't judge)....

Talking about yourself is weird....

So I've given out reference letter forms to my three referees...hope to get them back in time. I've given them over a month to write them, which is pretty good timing I hear.

Started working on my personal statement- this is the weirdest thing I've ever had to do. Talking about myself to complete strangers, my dreams and aspirations and past experiences...yes, different from a blog because I'm talking myself up a little, trying to convince someone why I'm worth it. So I looked back at some past journal entries, essays and looked up some tips on how to write these essays. It's a step toward getting started right? I also realised my application is going to go nowhere sitting on my desk in the office I work in- so I've finally got ahold of them, looked through them and started filling them out, even though it's incredibly intimidating.

Apart from all of that, MQP is eating my life- there are so many mistakes to be made in labs, so no wonder Bio students take at least a year or more to complete their MQPs. Good thing I'll be taking off from here soon....

I definitely need to look for jobs though. I'm going to update my resume and look through JobFinder this weekend...let's jope I find something :)

If anyone ever says to me senior year is a breeze...um, they're LYING. I've been living in lab for so long now...yes, living, becuase I might as well be...I have had barely any time for anything else. Thankfully I managed to get some research done on schools and will be getting my reference letters out to professors this week. Good thing most of those school deadlines are later for Europe and Australia...yay!
The next thing I need to work on is my personal statement...like asap. I got a lot of good suggestions from friends. One said write down your thoughts every morning or night for a few weeks, and look for the most consistent pattern. Another said just write-everything...it doesn't have to be a statement, just write about yourself and aspirations and stuff. Then narrow it down from there...pretty good ideas. Now if only I could get started on them...

My Fall Break...not much of a Vacation...

So...since I've been really indecisive about my future I decided to sit down and really research a lot about zoology programs around the world. I e-mailed all the professors in related fields I know, and asked for their advice. So far...I've come up with some good schools I'll be applying to...sweet!

Also, since I was sticking around Worcester, I went into lab...oh, everyday. It's a lot of work but it's super exciting because it looks like I've made a lot of progress toward something that might be a big deal in the future in terms of finding cures for diseases and whatnot...that's helping society right? Kind of, eventually...and it makes me happy. This 'breakthrough' of sorts of course means now I'll have to be in lab all the time...even weekends(which I've been doing this break, btw). I guess it's okay though..especially if it turns out to give me a sweeeeeet MQP and a scientific paper (keeping my fingers crossed).

Next week when school starts I'll make sure to look up European schools and scholarships at the CDC office...there's tons of binders I always mean to look at and I never do. Need to stop procrastinating...it's crunch time for applications...wish me luck!!

:)

Taking Steps...Slowly

So um, I realize that even if I want to be outside the US, taking a job will mean facing the real world (yeah...not so ok with that). So maybe that's plan B, let's say. I woke up this morning thinking about what I like, and I really like wildlife conservation and management. But I think I'll start at zoology first. I've been looking at some programs around the world-some in UK, some down under, and they all seem pretty interesting. The application deadlines are a little later than most US schools, so I got a few weeks to really delve into the matter- good thing we got a term break coming up :)

I also didn't see that the CDC has a lot of resources I could use-in the office itself. So if I want to check out some bio-related programs, I could take one of their several binders or books on masters' programs related to zoology and environment and things like that- sweeeeeet :D

Anyways, so I guess I am taking the right steps towards what I want to do...it's just...slower than most people. But I guess that's ok. I'd rather take a little time and get into the right program than rush things and end up in a school or program I don't like.

Steps Toward the Future...

So recently I decided that I have no definite idea of what I want to go to graduate school for. I like research, but I don't really want to spend the rest of my days in a lab, working crazy hours everyday and never seeing the sun. I like communicating with people, so does that mean I should head straight for an MBA, and get a job with a biotech company? But what about learning more about neuroscience, which I love?

Moreover, I really just want to do nothing more than to travel around and see different countries. Biotech is in fact, a pretty big field in a lot of places, especially in Europe. So what do I do next to achieve work experience and travel experience in one go?

Well, I walked into the CDC with an appointment about this, and got a lot of information for where I can go for resources. Apparently the Career Search option on Job Finder (if you don't have an account yet, go to the CDC website and create one-it's super-helpful!) to look for companies anywhere, and I mean, ANYWHERE, around the US or around the globe. I can choose the specific areas of biotech jobs I'm looking for-like pharmaceuticals as opposed to neuroscience companies or non-profit organizations. I can look for all the places I want to go- so in the US, I've decided to stick to MA, NY and CA, and I can limit my search to that as well. Outside of the US, I'll be looking in different areas in Europe and some in select countries in Asia.

This past summer in June, there was a biology conference held in San Diego (apparently this is an annual thing), about which I can find information at bio2008.org, so I'm going to find the lsit of sponsors, and target the global companies I'm interested in. I checked it out already and it's a great place to start searching about all the companies that attended, whether in or outside US, because it seems like this conference was massive.

It's going to help also to stay local and make sure to apply to several companies around here. Even if I decide not to stay here, it's going to get me a lot of experience of how to approach applying and networking, and most importantly at this point, how to interview.

I know that intially I was going to approach the CDC for grad school application advice, and I just want to mention that they have great resources on that stuff too. If you're confused about anything like that at this point, definitely make an appointment. It's always best to start early, because there's a lot of research to do about schools or jobs, and the older we get, the busier we get also. So make sure you're ahead of the game. And good luck!

Career and Grad School Fair...helpful or not?

For the past three years at WPI, there is only one thing I had heard about the Fall Career Fair from life sciences students...there are no bio-related companies...ever. That is why I was definitely more than just hesitant to go this year, even as a senior. But then I saw the list of grad schools going the second day of the fair, and I rushed to improve my resume before the fair (during class, I might add...tsk, tsk) so that I could walk in there with a good resume, and not look foolish (good thing I wasn't wearing jeans). Anyways, I realised that it doesn't matter what others have to say when it comes to career fairs, because often people have a very biased opinion.

First of all, I met a few grad schools that I was really interested in, and have great science programs as masters and PhDs. In fact, I even found out that Northeastern is having an Open House type of thing for the program I am interested in a couple of weeks, where I should definitely go with a lot of questions, a lot of research done on their PhD program and a good resume, if I want to be considered already for that program...of course now I'll be stressed out preparing for that :P

Moreover, I actually met a really good biotechnology company, that also does other areas of research, management, engineering, etc. They seemed eager to meet biotechnology students and were looking to hire for next year. In fact, I just e-mailed them and am hoping to hear from them soon :)

I have to agree that some schools I met were definitely not prepared to answer questions about their biotech department. But the little information they gave me was enough for me to go home and do a little research to follow up on that info.

Overall, I would have definitely missed out a LOT if I hadn't attended this fair. I actually found out that I did miss a great bio company in Cambridge the first day of the fair-where I didn't go because I didn't know any bio companies were going. So I definitely learned that different students can have different experiences, and that it's worth a shot to check out all career and grad school fair our school hosts, because you never know what you'll learn.

Getting Ready for the Career Fair...

So now that I'm a senior I definitely need a job or entrance to grad school for next year...good thing there's a Career and Graduate School Fair next week.Here's what I need to do:
-Get my resume critiqued
-Look at all the companies and schools coming and select the ones that apply to me
-Look them up to learn a little about them if possible
-Make sure I've got clothes/time to go to the Fair
-Think of all the positive experiences I have to talk about, like my lab work and IQP project
Right then...I should be all set if only I could get all of the above done.

Career and Grad School Fair:
Septemeber 17th and 18th, 1-5pm

Good luck everyone!

Life as a LabRat??

My biggest fear as a bio major was probably life as a lab rat. I guess I'm just not the kind of person who could pipette all day, and work with solutions and be focused solely on that all day, everyday. But spending most of my summer working in a lab changed my mind completely. It made me aware of a lot of responsibilities and benefits that working in a lab can offer.

There is the independence of research for example. Unlike most corporate jobs, you can go into a lab whenever and as often as you like. As long as you get work done and make sufficient progress, you're on the right track. My job entailed a lot of checking up on our model organisms, setting up a lot of genetic crosses, a lot of gel electrophoresis and such. There's a certain satisfaction of knowing your list of to-do things when you go in the morning, checking them off at the end of the day and going home knowing that you accomplished something. Sure you don't always get results that make sense, and sure you have to repeat a lot of experiments. But the best part is being on your own and having your own schedule to work with.

Another beneficial aspect of research is the frequent discussion you can strike up with your fellow labmates. I work in a lab with people all working on the same model organism, but in different areas and on different genes. Whenever I'm confused about something, they are more than willing to offer explanations and help me figure out solutions to my problems.

The best part of lab has probably been the guidance and the great learning experience. It's great to be focused on what you're doing- how much volume do I need of each component to run on the gel, how to make the gel, which crosses do I have to collect progeny from today, which stocks do I have to check on today- these were some of the things I dealt with everyday.

Without this experience I would not have known that I definitely want to go to graduate school and get more research experience. So it's a wonderful way to start out by volunteering in labs, to make more serious decisions about your career.

How I Spent My Summer

So among a variety of engineers, a purely life science student can feel quite...out of place. That's why I decided as I was finishing up my junior year to get a head start on my MQP. With the new labs at Gateway, all life science students (and that includes bio/biotech/biomed/biochem/chem)can find a lot of opportunities to work in various labs. It was an incredibly lucky chance that I talked to a great professor who allowed me to work in lab early on in the summer-and I feel that I learned more in the hands-on work during three months of summer than I had in three years of college from sitting in classes.

It's really simple to build good relationships with professors. In bio or chem classes where there are often a 100 or more students, make sure you go up to the professor after class, make him/her know who you are. Work hard, and ask for help whenever you need. The best thing about WPI is that professors are always more than willing to help you succeed and they give great advice. Ask around if they need volunteers in lab- you would be surprised at how many want more people to work in their lab.Or even how many are helpful to get you into other labs-maybe at UMass or elsewhere.My summer volunteer work was completely unpaid-but I have never benefitted more from an experience.The key is to be proactive about your college career from as early a stage as possible. But even if you are at a later stage in college, it's nothing to worry about. I found my MQP during D-Term of my junior year, for example.

Gateway Park has opened up a plethora of opportunities for science students. My best advice would be to get into a lab as early as possible and take advantage of all those opportunities given to us. Good luck!