Regardless of where you are in your college career or what your end goals are, research is a great opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and to learn something new. I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in research two times in my college career. My first experience was during my sophomore year, and I shadowed in a research lab for a few hours every week in the pharmacy school that I graduated from. It was fundamental science working with chemicals and loads of equipment. My second experience is one that I’m an author on, and it’s been in the works since my first year in pharmacy school.
I’m telling you all this because research is a great opportunity, and I’ve learned so much from my experiences. Plus adding a research project to your resume instantly makes you stand out from the sea of applicants for future job opportunities and for applying into your dream graduate program. So let’s get started into this guide…
Tip #1: Get started early on
If you know that you’re interested in research early on, then go ahead and get started right away! The earlier the better because doing a research project takes time to finish. But if you aren’t quite sure of what you want to do, it’s always okay to take a semester off and see where your heart takes you. It’s a lot easier to jump on a project in the middle than to back out of one if you hate the experience.
Tip #2: Reach out to professors and advisors for research opportunities
The easiest way to get started on a research project in college is to simply ask your professors and advisors for any leads on potential opportunities that you could join in on. A lot of professors, at least mine did, have a laundry list of potential research ideas that they want to start, but just don’t have the time to right now. Those are great opportunities to spearhead a project from the beginning to end.
Or you can also jump in on a project that has already begun. Sometimes students graduate before a research project is completely finished and incoming students will jump on it to finish it off. Those are great opportunities as well, especially if you’re starting late in your college career. Regardless of where you start, you’ll get invaluable experience that you can’t get anywhere else.
Tip #3: Don’t be afraid to make your own opportunities
Do you have a great idea for a research project? Pitch it to an expert at your college! There is no right or wrong answer for potential research questions so take a chance and see where your ideas take you. You may end up finding a mentor in your journey that’ll help guide your ideas into something else (aka something greater!).
You may even have a great idea for a project after you started working on a different project. Speak to your professor or leader on the project and see if you can dive more into your idea for the remaining of the semester.
Tip #4: Pick a topic that you think you may enjoy or have an interest in
Research projects take a lot of time (we’re talking years), energy, and effort to complete. They are not for the weak at heart, but at the end of it all, it’s all so worth it. With the numerous amounts of professors on campus, you’re sure to find a topic that you find interesting or have a passion for. Even if you found a project that you might be interested in, but you know nothing about the topic, don’t let that stop you from jumping on board.
Tip #5: Have a goal and timeline in mind
When starting a research project, you’ll want to have a goal and timeline in mind about how long you want the project to last and what you want to get out of the project. Do you want to present your research at a national conference and publish your manuscript into a medical journal? Or do you want to discover a potential new drug or pharmabiotic that you can attempt to take to market? There’s no right or wrong answer to the goals that you set but go ahead and set them ahead of time. So whenever the going gets tough and you’re exhausted, you’ll remember your goals.
Pro-tip: It’s a lot easier to stay on track to reach your goals if you have a timeline of when you want to be complete your research project. I recommend setting up realistic deadlines for each section of the project from data collection to writing the manuscript.
Tip #6: Partner or no partner?
A big question that you’ll want to ask yourself before joining a research project is rather or not you want to have a partner on the project or not. Sometimes professors will post about opportunities on the university website but will state that they are looking for 2 or 3 students to spearhead the project. Having a partner isn’t always a bad thing though because typically if the professor is looking for multiple students it means that it’s a larger study that requires more hands-on deck. You can easily split the workload multiple ways.
Or if you want to be the only student on the project, then you can take on a project solo. Just remember that you won’t have back-up if you have a busy month in school or other issues arise later on.
Tip #7: Understand your why
Like I mentioned earlier, a research project is no small feat and requires a lot of time on your end. Before jumping onto a project, sit down with yourself and write down why you want to get involved in a research project in college. Is it to make your resume stand out for graduate school (like pharmacy or medical school)? Or do you enjoy working in a lab and want to gain more experience in that area? Make sure you have a good reason for joining a research project before you sign up for one. Otherwise you can be signing up for something that you later hate.
You may also like: How to Gain Pharmacy Experience as a Freshmen in College, 7 Ways to Build Your Resume with No Experience, and How to Manage Your Credit in College and After Graduation
