How I made the most of my time as an undergrad

For me, college was a time of incredible growth and development. While degree requirements were clearly outlined, I didn’t really know how to make the best use of my time as an undergraduate to prepare for my future. Here are a few things I learned.

Teach something

When I was an undergraduate, dozens of teachers shared their knowledge and expertise with me, and each of them had dozens or even hundreds of teachers who had taught them. One day I realized that I could add to this lineage and teach others myself, even before I finished my degree. My professor might have been an expert in their field, but they hadn’t had to take their class … and I had.

While my professor may have loaded hundreds of agarose gels in their career, it had been quite a few years since they picked up a pipette for the first time and tried to load their sample into one of those tiny little wells. I, on the other hand, had just discovered the semester before that if you place your elbows on the bench on either side of the gel and steady the pipette tip with your free hand, you can load the gel much more easily. My professor may have known this, but the process had become such second nature for them that they couldn’t quite put it into words.

With this and other tips-and-tricks in mind, I signed up to be a peer teacher to share what I’d learned with other students. Not only did I help my classmates, but I also gained a better understanding of the material and discovered a passion for teaching that inspired my future career.

Write something

I had to write a lot in college: essays, reflections, lab reports, term papers … the list went on and on. My teachers usually limited me to one or a few topics that I could write about for class, and those topics usually didn’t interest me.

Outside of class, though, the sky was the limit. The first article I ever wrote and published was about whether college athletes should be paid. I now disagree with what I wrote in that article 10 years ago, and it wasn’t very well written. However, the experience showed me that I could write about things that interested me and that I could share my ideas with the world (or whoever read the school newspaper).

You too can write about your interests and publish in outlets such as this magazine, your school or town newspaper, a department newsletter, an online science journal, or a personal blog, just to name a few. Even if writing isn’t the main focus of your future career, writing experience, especially for the public, can be a great way to explore your interests, develop your communication skills and grow your brand. Tips for writing about science for a general audience can be found here and here.

Research something

If not for a stroke of luck, I may have never pursued a career in science. One day while working at the front desk of our school gym, a co-worker and fellow biochemistry major told me that he was graduating at the end of the year and that his lab would have an opening. He asked me if I wanted him to introduce me to his research professor and I said, “why not?”

That conversation and the next two years I spent in the lab set the course for my future. I discovered that I loved working at the bench and doing scientific research. That professor encouraged me to apply to graduate school and wrote the letter of recommendation that got me into the program where I later earned my Ph.D.

If research is not a requirement for your degree, don’t leave your future up to chance; go find a professor and ask them if you can work in their lab. Even if you don’t end up pursuing a career at the bench, the skills that you learn in time management, problem-solving and teamwork will be transferable to whatever career path you choose.

Learn something (extra)

Here’s a tip I wish I had when I was an undergraduate: learn something outside of class.

I learned a ton of information in my classes, but there were things I was wholly unprepared for when I got to graduate school. For example, I didn’t know a single thing about coding and, wouldn’t you know it, my very first first-author publication in grad school was about a bioinformatics package that I wrote the code for. To write that paper, I spent the first three years of grad school teaching myself how to code.

Don’t make the same mistake I did. Use some of your free time outside of class and during breaks to learn a skill that you aren’t taught in class. Take advantage of some of the free lessons on online education platforms like Coursera, edX and Udemy to learn a skill that’s used in your field.

Lead something

As an undergraduate, I believed that to lead something, I had to be an expert at it. Then, when I was in graduate school and took on leadership roles, I realized I didn’t have to be an expert, I just needed to care about the topic and have ideas for how to advance it.

It’s easy to gain leadership experience while you’re an undergraduate. A great way is to join your school’s ASBMB Student Chapter or start your own! Student chapters usually have numerous executive board positions that provide opportunities to take on a leadership role and serve the needs of your chapter, school and the scientific community.

Outside of formal organizations, you can gain leadership experience by organizing a fundraiser or starting an initiative. Insights on leadership can be found here and here.

These are just a few of the things I did, or wish I did, to make the best use of my time as an undergraduate. What’s best for you depends on your own interests, your school, and the career path you’re pursuing.

Ask your peers and those who came before you what they did — and be sure to pass on what you learn to those who come after you.