Hi!
I have the opportunity to either do research here at State or perhaps pursue a summer internship with a pharmaceutical company outside of Raleigh. I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on which I should do. I am assuming that both are paid, but I'm not exactly sure if the research position is. What would look better on a resume/Grad school application? The research is not exactly in my field (biomedical engineering) but the internship is.
Any suggestions are welcome!
Thanks!

4/5/2006 5:26:40 PM

experience for resume
research for grad school

Do both if you can ... I cooped two rotations and did a summer REU my last summer. I'm glad I did the REU ... gave me a really good idea of what my second major was all about. I'm also glad I did the coop ... it's helped me tremendously with my current job.

My answer would be "it depends". I would meet the people/work environment for both positions first and try to see if one "feels better" than the other.

[Edited on April 5, 2006 at 5:40 PM. Reason : Lounge or Study Hall?]

4/5/2006 5:40:33 PM

Internship without a question.

Why? Because you stand a good chance of getting hired on by those folks you intern with, and if not, it's actual REAL WORLD experience. Only do the research thing if you're 100% certain you're going to avoid the working world and go get a Ph.D

4/5/2006 5:40:40 PM

i would think working in industry would look better, but

i worked for my department (bae) in weaver for 2 years doing lab work and research and have enjoyed doing that because they decided to go ahead and keep me on during the school year. which was awesome bc i didn't have to try to find another job. also my hours are really flexible, and i got to meet a lot of grad students working over the summer and a lot of the faculty that you normally don't get to know because they either are there for research only or only teach grad level courses. the latter has been really nice for gaining opportunities for other research projects and references for grad school. little perks like knowing the guy with the color printer and copier you can use for free and having a key to a lot of the rooms are nice too. (these may sound stupid but when you have a lab report due and the sr. design room is out of toner its nice to know where a printer is, or when you have lab work you need to do after hours its nice to have keys to the rooms)

i would take the one more closely related to your major or your personal interests

4/5/2006 5:41:22 PM

probably the single most important part of a grad school application is showing that you have experience doing independent research. i would HIGHLY recommend doing the research and extending it for more than just the summer. there's a ton of scholarships and grants out there to fund your research that will make your application look great. after grad school there will be plenty of time to make money: getting experience doing self-directed lab work will make your adjustment to grad school much easier however.

as far as it not being similar to your field, that is entirely irrelevent to your acceptance: all of my undergrad work was in analytical chemistry but i'm going to UCSD for stem cell biology. grad schools want people that have proven that they can design experiments and "think like a scientist."

4/5/2006 5:43:33 PM

Ok, for those who suggest research, do you think it's a good idea to do 2 research opportunities? I know I have one for sure, but I'm going for an interview on Friday with another and if they both give me less than 20 hours then would it be doable? Also, isn't even acceptable?

Thanks for the suggestions!

4/5/2006 5:44:36 PM

what department is your research experience in?

4/5/2006 5:45:00 PM

i was full time during the summer so i'm not sure about that

i would first make sure that one wasn't going to start off slow and then pick up later on and require more time

4/5/2006 5:46:12 PM

genetics

4/5/2006 5:47:18 PM

^unless they are very similar, i would probably recommend against it: a large portion of my time is spent reading the literature to find background information and directions for my experiments.

genetics experiments are usually pretty time consuming in my experience. i would make sure there's no chance your time would overlap between the two.

[Edited on April 5, 2006 at 5:48 PM. Reason : .]

4/5/2006 5:47:29 PM

^
Agreed. You'll probably learn a lot of new procedures/techniques/etc. if this is your first research experience. Also, no two labs are like either ... you can have a really frustrating time trying to figure out how to do the exact same procedures in lab B vs. lab A.

katie, I would get some more information about each of the opportunities are you are interested in and go from there. Check the total number of hours each research experience offers (if its a contract basis) or talk to the professor for each experience and ask about how many others per week they expect you in the lab.

4/5/2006 5:59:52 PM

I didn't get anything at all out of my summer research, but real work experience from my co-op made it much easier to get a job. Go for the summer internship, and then do research either part time or as an independent study class during the semester.

4/5/2006 6:23:21 PM

awesome, thanks everyone! This really helps me make my decision!
Have a great day!

4/5/2006 6:54:16 PM

industry

4/5/2006 7:02:19 PM

I'm a BME senior. I took an internship during the summer and did research under Dr. Mente during the year. I suggest a mix of both industy and research. I applied for grad school and will be entering the PhD program at Wake Forest next year.

4/5/2006 7:19:21 PM

i'd go for the summer internship. it would give you industry experience which would be helpful for both grad school and might land you job when you graduate. They generally look at laboratory experience for grad school and you can volunteer in a lab on campus at any time.

4/5/2006 10:51:39 PM

Just do something! j/k but seriously, lemme know what you decide and I'll still try and stick ur name in for the program I'm in...

4/5/2006 11:19:17 PM

ive done both working for a company and research on campus...they both have their ups and downs, i guess do whatever interests you the most

4/6/2006 8:42:26 AM

for industry, honestly, they are pretty much the same. i had no internships but had 2 years of part-time and full-time research in the che dept. my company looked at that about the same as they would any other experience. the only thing that would have been better might could have been a co-op in the same industry as i am in now. but really, most companies don't expect too much out of people coming right out of college as far as experience goes (don't take that to mean they don't care whether you have any or not... they just aren't picky as to what type of experience).

for grad school, really about the same but i'd give research a slight edge.

and always, the more, the better.

[Edited on April 6, 2006 at 10:03 AM. Reason : er]

4/6/2006 10:02:55 AM

So, I've ended up getting an internship with a company that I could definitely see myself working for in the future. I think this will be better for me than going with a research opportunity.

Thanks for the advice everyone!!!

5/16/2006 11:54:49 AM

industry for the summer, and see if you can punt the research on campus into fall. that way you'll have both.

5/16/2006 11:57:10 AM

^^ what company? I'm in an R&D function with a pharma company - just curious who you ended up with . . ..

5/16/2006 9:41:37 PM

Well, I got an internship with Closure medical, but it's not official yet. Yesterday I was offered an internship at Diosynth (which would have been a good opportunity, but not as great as Closure) so I had to let them know that day. I told them no thanks, but I'm concerned that the Closure thing may fall through!

Regardless, my aim was to get an internship with closure, who specializes in cyanoacrylate-based topical (and some internal) adhesives such as Liquid Bandaid and DERMABOND.

[Edited on May 19, 2006 at 1:19 PM. Reason : ]

5/19/2006 1:12:12 PM

Just keep in mind that a University/research job can only get you so far. Down the road, you'll need an industry position, unless you start your own thing/get a PhD and become a professor after spending years as a slave postdoc. Most industry experiences look equally good on your grad school application, especially if you can point out leadership and consistency/devotion traits.

Plus, who doesn't like getting paid more? There's a lot of exploitation at the University level.

5/19/2006 1:44:06 PM

Good choice going with Closure. I am a former intern there & it was a great experience. Best job I ever had. You'll enjoy it & get to do good research. They at least offer jobs to most of their interns. They offered me one, but I chose to go to grad school instead. (Looking back I wish I would have taken the job)

5/19/2006 2:37:12 PM