Recently,
I caught up with an old friend from high school. For years, she
thought that she wanted to go into the field of scientific research. But during our
conversation, she mentioned that she had dropped her Chemistry major and
planned to change to Communications or English. When I asked why, the answer
she gave me was simple: “It’s just too hard,” she said, “and I realized that I
hate research.”
 |
| It's too easy to find these pictures. I literally googled the word "scientist". Lab coat, goggles, test tube. Cliche. |
When
most of us think of research, we think of mad scientists and flasks full of
strange-colored liquids and hours of number-crunching. Images that come to mind
might include cliché stock photos of people wearing safety goggles and white
lab coats while holding up a test tube, or a disheveled-looking man hunched over
a desk late at night, or Dexter’s Laboratory and Big Bang Theory-esque nerds programming
a robot to love. We might think back to our fleeting experiences with high school biology and
chemistry, and the dreaded “lab days” where we’d have to perform a titration or
dissect a frog, which basically meant placing bets on the first kid to run out
of the room in disgust. But what exactly is research? A lot of students come to
Tufts with plans to major in the sciences, but many of these students (myself
included) have had little prior research experience. Research experience is a
common criterion for medical school and many other graduate programs, and a
requirement for acceptance into a PhD program. But many students often jump
into research projects without knowing what to expect, and some, like my
friend, are disappointed by the reality. A far more common travesty, however,
is the total writing-off of research by many, when in fact research is an ideal
industry for many people. Through a little bit of Internet scavenging and a lot
of asking around, it’s pretty easy to learn things about research that you
may not have known.
Research,
simply put, is the practice of inquiry and discovery: to find the meaning behind an idea or phenomenon. For one thing, research isn’t confined
to the sciences – it spans across disciplines such as economics, sociology,
public health, biomedical engineering, and marketing. A recent post from Wetfeet.com, a
great site to peruse for career development tips and tricks, excellently
explains the broadness of research in the professional world. Another common
misconception is the social isolation that people imagine when they think of
research. A friend of mine here at Tufts wants to pursue research in biology
for this very reason. Although it is true that research is not the most “social”
job in the world, interpersonal and communication skills are a definite
requirement. Researchers need to relate to their peers, supervisors, and the public
the significance of their findings, often through papers, publications,
lectures, or simple discussions. Furthermore, grant-writing is a staple of any
researcher’s livelihood – without funds, it’s difficult to perform research of
any kind. It’s important to be able to communicate with others, through words
or writing, and thus skills in these areas are a must.
 |
| You just can't make this stuff up. This time I googled "researchers". Come on, Google, step your game up. |
Like I’ve said multiple times, research is a broad realm.
This short blog post does little to encompass everything about the field. At the
very least, it emphasizes the importance of research experience to
college students, and the impact it can have on your career. So, if you’re torn
between chemistry and physics, or want to know what a marketing researcher
does, or just want an experience to spend time in Boston (or at least outside
of your dorm room), consider the rewarding opportunities of research.
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
