Monday, September 29, 2008

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!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

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!

Friday, September 5, 2008

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.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

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!