Undergraduate research repertoire - (Jun/02/2010 )
On the eve of gearing up for an awesome two interviews for lab jobs as an undergrad, I want to ask the forum what an undergraduate who wants to do work in molecular biology/genetics should have in their skill repertoire by the time they apply to graduate school. What kinds of things should I ask the PI of my lab to show me? What will look good? Which skills' absence would look terrible on a graduate school application?
-acetylcholine-
acetylcholine on Jun 2 2010, 08:11 PM said:
On the eve of gearing up for an awesome two interviews for lab jobs as an undergrad, I want to ask the forum what an undergraduate who wants to do work in molecular biology/genetics should have in their skill repertoire by the time they apply to graduate school. What kinds of things should I ask the PI of my lab to show me? What will look good? Which skills' absence would look terrible on a graduate school application?
If you came to my lab as an undergraduate, the only requirement for me is that you display a genuine passion for science, a strong work ethic and the willingness to learn things the right way. The rest we can teach you.
With molecular biology, you really have to get the basics first. That means things like PCR, gels, cloning, bacteria work, cell culture etc. These are the things you should be looking to master before you enter a PhD program in molecular biology. I see way too many post-docs doing very complicated protocols but they just have no solid foundation; I believe that is a big mistake.
-Dukey-