Introduction to Engineering Research. Wendy C. Crone
that you can speak about.
It is likely, however, that having access to these kinds of opportunities will require some persistence on your part. Research positions for undergraduates on most campuses are relatively rare. If you throw up your hands and give up at the first obstacle, you will be unlikely to find the sort of experience that you are interested in. This is also good preparation for doing research, because doing research will require persistence and the ability to work your way around the roadblocks that appear.
There are a variety of strategies that you could employ and you should begin with the one you feel most comfortable with.
• One way to initiate contact is to send an email of introduction with your resume as an attachment. Even if you don’t hear back from the faculty member right away, you can then follow up during the faculty member’s office hours.
• You can talk to your academic advisor to find out if they have a suggestion for who may have research openings that you can apply for.
• You may have friends and classmates who are already involved in research. You can talk to them about whether there are openings in their research group, and if they would make an introduction to their research mentor on your behalf.
• You can talk to professors you have taken classes from and have done well in. They might have a research opening, or they might be able to suggest who would.
• Use your network. Talk to people about your interests and what you would like to do. You never know, the person you see on the bus every day, or the person you know from your soccer club, might be just the contact you were looking for!
Expect that it will take more than one contact attempt with a prospective research mentor, as well as more than one potential research mentor on your contact list.
Student Perspective
“I tried once again to reach this professor through email, but realized that I’d have to try for an in-person meeting if I was going to get anywhere. I quickly learned that this professor was extremely busy. I spent a lot of time that semester waiting in the hallway to meet with him. After more than a month of rescheduled or missed meetings, I got an interview and soon began work … I think the clearest lesson I learned during the process of getting [a research position] was that sometimes you have to be a little impertinent to get noticed.”
An alternative or additional way to gain research experience as an undergraduate is to apply for a summer undergraduate research program. These are often called research experiences for undergraduates, but they have various titles and are offered by a number of different organizations. For instance, the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsors numerous research experiences for undergraduate (REU) programs around the country, mainly based at university campuses. Several national laboratories offer summer research opportunities, such as the Sandia National Lab Summer Internships and the NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). There are also a few international opportunities to do research such as the DAAD Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) that sponsors U.S. student to go to Germany for research opportunities. In your conversations with your academic advisor and professors, you can ask about summer opportunities that they might know of at other campuses and institutions.
These summer programs are almost always paid opportunities and there is usually some coverage for living expenses. The quality of the research experience can vary, so you will want to be sure that the ones you are applying to provide authentic experiences in research. Look into the range of different things that might be available to you. If you are persistent about seeking them out, you are likely to find a really great research position.
Regardless of the specifics of the position, and how it is compensated, you should approach it in a professional manner. Once you obtain a research position you need to be responsible with how you conduct yourself and how you take on the work. Ideally, you will also show initiative by thinking creatively and innovatively about the details of the project. As you exhibit these traits within a research setting, you be given more responsibility as time goes on. If your contributions are not noticed, then you need to point them out and ask for more responsibility so that you can show what you are capable of contributing. Research shows that that being proactive is directly linked to career success and satisfaction.4
Sometimes You Don’t Have to Make a Choice
One of my undergraduate advisees, who is already engaged in an extensive on-campus research experience, is now thinking about the tradeoffs between gaining more research experience in a different area through a summer research program vs. studying abroad. It’s a tough choice, but my main piece of advice is that she may not need to choose. It may be possible for all of it to happen, just over a larger time span than she originally imagined.
It is easier, and more common, to study abroad as an undergraduate than as a graduate student. However, it is possible to put off study abroad without giving up the opportunity all together. I spent a semester in Australia as a graduate student, but I had to independently organize it rather than join an orchestrated program with multiple students. There are pluses and minuses to the differences in those experiences, but both will give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture.
Summer research experiences can be a great way to get experience with another area of research and another institution. If there is a specific area of research you are interested in exploring a bit more prior to graduate school, you can look for a program at a different institution that would provide you with an experience related to your interests.
The other consideration may be money. Summer research programs usually pay several thousand dollars and sometimes provide you with a place to live. Study abroad programs are generally something you must fund yourself as an undergraduate student. (There are some exceptions, with a few scholarships that are available, and funding opportunities for graduate students to do research abroad.)
2.4 THE GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS
2.4.1 IS GRADUATE SCHOOL RIGHT FOR YOU?
Graduate school is an excellent way to continue your education, deepen your engineering skills, and open yourself to other career opportunities. However, graduate school should not be viewed as simply an extension of your undergraduate studies. In most cases, earning a Master’s degree or Ph.D. will take more than a few extra classes. Particularly for the Ph.D., it takes an interest in and serious commitment to research. When considering applying to graduate school, examine your motivations. Because you are not sure what to do next, don’t want to venture into the “real world” yet, or think the job market is tough are NOT good reasons to go to graduate school. In fact, these unsuitable motivations will likely show in your graduate school application materials and make it very difficult for you to get accepted.
That being said, I encourage all of my advisees with good GPAs to seriously consider graduate studies. Maybe it is not something they are interested in embarking on right away, but it should be kept in mind in the coming years. Of engineers holding a B.S. degree, 40% go on to get a Master’s degree and 9% go on for a Ph.D.5 Many companies will consider whether or not someone has an advanced degree at hiring and/or promotion. Some companies will even provide funding for courses and/or a graduate degree.
Once you have decided to consider graduate studies, then you need to decide if you want to apply to get a Master’s degree (often called terminal Master’s) or to a Ph.D. program where you will likely complete a master’s degree on your way to your Ph.D. It is alright to not be 100% certain of your goals at the point of application, but you should represent yourself honestly and indicate how strong your desire is to continue on for a Ph.D. In many programs this can be a deciding factor for entry and for funding, so you should try to choose programs to apply to that will be a good fit for your goals.
Going Corporate
After I completed my Master’s degree, I began working in industry (which I really enjoyed). As I learned more about the company and the engineering positions available, I realized that I was keenly interested