Submitted by Amy Wang (PEACE Advisor)

Hello to all you Bears in the lab! I’m Amy Wang, and I’m here to talk about what you should be getting out of your research experiences at Cal.So you’ve landed a research position – hooray! But now what? I often hear from my friends that they don’t really enjoy what they do at research. Maybe it’s boring. Maybe it’s extremely repetitive. Maybe you don’t really understand what your project is about. Sometimes, research can be all of these things. But what’s important is that you feel like you’re learning something and gaining a meaningful experience from your time in the lab. If you’re not, you might want to reevaluate whether the position is right for you.First, let’s address the issue of research being “boring” and “tedious”. Most research projects involve experiments that are inherently repetitive, which translates to not always having the most exciting time in lab. Don’t get me wrong – research is definitely a very exciting field of work, but the day-to-day tasks may not always reflect that. Because undergraduates generally have the least research experience in the lab, they are often assigned tasks of this nature. Until you show your intellectual and analytic potential in the lab, this is generally unavoidable, but on the other hand, it is also a necessary and extremely important component of every research project. To publish a paper, a lab needs interesting findings. To know what these interesting findings might be, a lab needs to generate data! And that’s why although these entry-level research positions might be tedious at times, they’re absolutely vital to the lab.However, for any research experience to be meaningful, you probably want to understand why you’re doing the things you’re doing, whether that be sequencing DNA, growing bacteria colonies, or running tests on rats. Ask your PI or postdoc mentor about the background behind your project. Why are they interested in this? Talking to them about the project will help you learn more about what you’re doing as well as the field in general. If you’re not already part of the data analysis process, ask if you can get involved. Personally, I’ve found that the most rewarding aspect of research is developing your critical thinking skills by applying your knowledge to the interpretation of data.Sometimes, however, you’ll find that research isn’t the right thing for you. And that’s completely okay! College is a time for you to discover your passions, and that includes finding out what you enjoy and don’t enjoy. Don’t waste your time on an activity just because you think you “have to” do it in order to go to medical school or grad school. The best thing you can do for yourself is find something you love. Not only will you enjoy your time, but when interviews roll around, you’ll be able to talk about an activity that you found meaningful.So all in all, yes, you should enjoy what you do in your research lab. If you don’t, try to get more involved or see if you can work on a different project that fits your interests better. Or maybe try doing research in a different lab. And if you still aren’t feeling’ it… well, it’s okay to not enjoy research. Everyone has different interests and strengths. Whether your passion lies within research or not, doing what makes you happy will help you succeed in the long run.