It's been interesting for me to read the assigned articles for the past two weeks. As a sophomore undergraduate very early on in my science career, it's interesting to reading papers critically assessing different aspects of science and illustrating the cultures within laboratories. As someone who has only had a coupe of months of research experience, I've never thought to observe science and the different settings it takes on as a culture until now. I keep thinking back to my summer research experience and comparing it to the different things these articles are brining up.
This class and these articles seem to perfectly fit into the current stage I am in right now--applying to my first research internships. I've submitted a few applications in the past couple of weeks, and I have a few ahead of me in the next couple of weeks. To me, it seems extreme the amount I'm applying to--about 11. But, that's what my major advisor recommended to me. The shear number of them has already got me worried about the competitiveness of the programs. Under all the programs' descriptions, it emphasizes the fact that hundreds of people apply, but only 20 or so will get accepted. Further, the programs are for undergraduates just beginning their science career, but they expect a certain level of experience for you to be accepted. Every single program I am applying to has a question related to the level of experience I have had to prepare me for the certain internship. Personally, I find it confusing--why do I need experience to get experience? I'm only 19!
I consider these applications and the stress and competitiveness I feel from them abnormal. But when I think about the articles I've been reading for this class, I wonder if this competitiveness and need for experience is typical for the field I'm choosing to pursue. I wonder if this is just the start, and I'm committing myself to constantly being expected to be confident and experienced and wise enough to answer the question "what previous research experience do you have that will allow you to thrive in this setting?" but also young and unexperienced enough to answer the question "where do you see yourself after graduation? If you aren't sure, explain how this program will help you decide."
I can't help but be a little bit cynical while filling out these applications. I can't imagine that people my age have years of experience under their belt, so I'm not worried about my experience compared to others. I am worried, however, about the kind of culture and indoctrination these preliminary aspects may be indicative of in this field.
This class and these articles seem to perfectly fit into the current stage I am in right now--applying to my first research internships. I've submitted a few applications in the past couple of weeks, and I have a few ahead of me in the next couple of weeks. To me, it seems extreme the amount I'm applying to--about 11. But, that's what my major advisor recommended to me. The shear number of them has already got me worried about the competitiveness of the programs. Under all the programs' descriptions, it emphasizes the fact that hundreds of people apply, but only 20 or so will get accepted. Further, the programs are for undergraduates just beginning their science career, but they expect a certain level of experience for you to be accepted. Every single program I am applying to has a question related to the level of experience I have had to prepare me for the certain internship. Personally, I find it confusing--why do I need experience to get experience? I'm only 19!
I consider these applications and the stress and competitiveness I feel from them abnormal. But when I think about the articles I've been reading for this class, I wonder if this competitiveness and need for experience is typical for the field I'm choosing to pursue. I wonder if this is just the start, and I'm committing myself to constantly being expected to be confident and experienced and wise enough to answer the question "what previous research experience do you have that will allow you to thrive in this setting?" but also young and unexperienced enough to answer the question "where do you see yourself after graduation? If you aren't sure, explain how this program will help you decide."
I can't help but be a little bit cynical while filling out these applications. I can't imagine that people my age have years of experience under their belt, so I'm not worried about my experience compared to others. I am worried, however, about the kind of culture and indoctrination these preliminary aspects may be indicative of in this field.
I understand the stress you are feeling! "Why do I need experience to get experience?" That was exactly what I thought when I was in a similar position. It is unfortunate that a lot of the time we have to compete with others to get what we want, which can get pretty stressful. However, I want to say that this element of competitiveness is present not only in the science world but also in the "outside" world too. You talked about applying for research internship, but it’s the same for applying for jobs and internships at a company, as you might imagine. Suppose you plan to get a job after you graduate. To have a good resume for your application, you would probably want to have internship experience the summer before. But to apply for that internship, you'd better already have another internship experience listed on your resume in the first place… basically it’s a similar story. Therefore, maybe the frustrations you’ve encountered are not due to some unique culture or indoctrination of the scientific world, but are common to all communities in which the members need to compete for limited resources, which will help them become more competitive in the future. Academia is probably one of such communities.
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