Why and How You Should do Research as an Undergraduate

Careers in the sciences are centered around research. Whether you want to be a scientist doing the research, a journalist writing about the findings, or a policy-maker or environmental manager using those findings to make decisions, a thorough understanding of the scientific method and the process of research are vital. There is no better time to get acquainted with research than college, when you will likely be surrounded with faculty and graduate students working in a wide variety of fields. Working in a research lab will help you to narrow your professional interests, inform your future career decisions, and give you a taste of what graduate research is like.

How do I get Research Experience?

Depending on your school you have a few options. Most labs are constantly strapped for cash, so they are always willing to accept undergraduate volunteers. If you are a student at a research university (or if you just happen to live near one), all you need to do is find a lab that sounds interesting to you on the school website and email the PI (Principal Investigator) offering your time. In many cases he/she will have a hard time turning away free help! Some schools may offer course credits for working in a lab. If you can get your PI to sign off on it, this is an excellent way to document volunteer research experience on your transcript while (possibly) giving your GPA a boost.

The ideal find would be a paid position working on a research project. Unfortunately for reasons stated above, these are few and far between. There are paid technician roles in many labs that do more repetitive or menial work however, and you may be able to use these as an “in” with the lab manager or PI. For example, if you’ve been working as a tank cleaner or animal feeder for a semester already when the lab has a need for help on an existing project, the PI might offer you the spot before advertising it to other students. Your school might also offer undergraduate research funding that you can apply for, which may or may not include a stipend for you. Consult your PI or your school website to find out what is available to you.

Some schools require an undergraduate thesis or capstone project during your final year. If you haven’t gotten some experience with a research lab by that point, this is your chance! Every school handles this a little differently, and some (mostly American schools as I understand it) only require a thesis of Latin Honors graduates rather than all students. If your school has a formal process of choosing a lab in which to do your thesis then that is the process you should use. Otherwise, it would be wise to start volunteering in a lab well in advance of your thesis time so you are familiar with your lab-mates and the available resources. An undergraduate thesis/capstone project is also a perfect experience to leverage when applying to graduate school.

Finally, I recommend you look into the National Science Foundation REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. I’ve written about the program here, but the idea is that you apply to one or more REU Sites where, once accepted, you get to conduct a research project in a PI’s lab. You are given a stipend, research mentoring, and sometimes room and board. REUs are typically more involved than research at your home institution because most programs last 3-4 months over the summer and are typically a full-time job. The REU program can be helpful if you want to do research in a field not studied at your home institution, or if you aren’t sure whether graduate school is the right path for you.

These are all excellent ways of getting research experience as an undergraduate student. I heavily recommend that anyone working toward a science degree of any kind gain experience with a research lab before graduating. Having a hand in the scientific process early in your academic career can give you an edge in graduate school applications, help you figure out which career path is best for you, and make you a more scientifically literate citizen.

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When and How to Talk to your Research Advisor about Asperger’s

Whether in academia or not, you will almost always have a superior, mentor, manager, or advisor of some sort to work under. In most cases you are under no obligation to become close with this person, but in some settings you would be wise to become friends as well as coworkers. This is particularly true in academia, where your research will more than likely take place under the umbrella of a laboratory, and you will need to work very closely with your lab-mates.

The head of a research lab at a university or research institute is often called the “Principal Investigator” or PI. The lab typically caries the name of this person (e.g. Smith Lab). Under the PI, depending on lab size and funding, are one or more Post-Doctoral Research Fellows, graduate students pursuing doctorates and master’s degrees, and sometimes undergraduate staff or volunteers and/or full-time technicians. Depending on where you fit into this hierarchy, you may report to a technician, the grad student or post-doc in charge of your project, or possibly the PI themselves. In each case, there may come a time when you need to discuss your Asperger’s with your superior.

First, you need to determine whether this conversation is necessary or advisable at all. For short-term positions like seasonal fieldwork or situations where you report to a lab manager or graduate student, you might not have to bring it up. If you are comfortable passing as neurotypical and don’t have any serious sensory issues or stimming requirements that would come up while working, I don’t see how explaining your Asperger’s to your supervisor upfront would be necessary. Small accommodations, like needing noise-cancelling headphones to prevent sensory overload in an office environment are often reasonable and common, and most advisors would probably agree to this without an explanation of your diagnosis. More significant accommodations will probably require you to fully discuss your Asperger’s, but if you can get away without this conversation and are comfortable doing so, go for it. If, however, you are enrolling as a graduate student and plan on studying under a PI for 3-7 years, this conversation will probably need to happen sooner or later. The relationship between a research mentor and their student is a unique one, and it frequently requires very open and comfortable communication. Having your mentor on the same page as you will be necessary.

Once you’ve decided that your working relationship will require a conversation about Asperger’s, the question becomes when to broach the subject. This depends a lot on your social confidence. Over the years I have become comfortable enough discussing my Asperger’s that I consider it no secret. I often mention it when appropriate during job interviews as evidence of my learned ability to understand and work closely with others. If you have built your social confidence and feel the same way, I’m sure you will be able to read your advisor and find an appropriate and relevant time to mention it. If you haven’t yet built this self-confidence, I have some very good news for you: Understanding of the autism spectrum is at an all-time high, particularly amongst educators, and many academics are autistic too. Honestly, there is a decent chance that your advisor is on the spectrum as well. Take a deep breath and remember that your advisor is on your side and wants the best for you. When should you bring it up? If you are a graduate student, you likely have regular meetings with your advisor to discuss your project. These are an excellent time to have a respectful, face-to-face conversation with them, and to answer any questions about Asperger’s they might have. The same goes for post-docs. If you’ve been hired on as a lab manager or full-time technician, you may have a more difficult time getting the PI alone. Travel to and from field sites, if this applies, can be a good time for this. Otherwise, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for a one-on-one meeting to discuss this.

Finally, what should this conversation look like? The priority should be making sure everyone is on the same page. Your advisor has a vested interest in supporting you and your work, so make sure they know what you need to succeed. If you struggle with communicating via email or text because you need facial expressions and tone of voice to fully understand, say so. Video chatting exists for a reason, and in my experience advisors are more than willing to accommodate. If you need to wear noise-cancelling headphones while working at your desk to avoid sensory overload, tell them. If you stim in a particular way and need your lab-mates to not make a big deal out of it, explain that. Odds are, you won’t be the first person on the spectrum that they have worked with. Or the tenth. Besides, a good advisor will be willing to learn from you just as you learn from them.

My last piece of advice is to make sure all of this isn’t blurted out suddenly and quickly. I made this mistake with one of my early academic advisors, and the conversation just muddied the water. Your priority should be to calmly, politely, and genuinely explain what Asperger’s means for you, and what that means for the lab. Talk about your strengths and weaknesses, what you feel you add to the work environment, what you need to succeed, and how you would like to improve. Your advisor is training you to be a scientist. These are the sorts of subjects you need to discuss with them even before Asperger’s comes into the picture. I know some of us dread this conversation, but imagine how much it would mean to have your advisor on board as a supporter and an advocate.

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The Academic Roadmap Explained: How to Make Science Your Career

I made it all the way to college before knowing the difference between a master’s degree and a PhD. Seriously. I knew they came after your four-year college degree, but not much more. If you’re spending any amount of time on this site you may be considering a career in the sciences, in which case you should be aware of how the academic roadmap generally works. Learn this now and use it to inform your career decisions going forward. The last thing you want is to get a graduate degree only to discover you don’t need it for your intended career path, or to assume your bachelor’s degree will be enough to land your dream job when a PhD is absolutely necessary.

Quick disclaimer: Academic careers are highly variable; no two people will take the same path. This post is not designed to be a be-all, end-all guide. That said, there are some constants. You will not be considered for a full tenure-track professorship without a PhD, for example. My intent here is to show you the general flow between degree programs and jobs in academia.

An academic career generally starts with earning a four-year degree, called a bachelor’s degree. People in a bachelor’s program are called undergraduate students. Two-year associate degrees can be enough to get you into some fields as a technician, but if you want to continue in academia you will need to then earn your bachelor’s. This can be done at essentially any four-year college or university, depending of course on where your desired major/program is offered.

In the natural sciences, a bachelor’s degree is not always enough to start a career. There are exceptions of course, but the pickings can be slim. I know folks working as animal caretakers/zookeepers and government field technicians who only hold bachelor’s degrees, but these jobs are often quite competitive or will only hire you seasonally at first. I don’t mean to discourage you from taking this route, I just want you to be prepared for the job hunt. This is also where people who want to teach grade school science typically exit the academic pipeline. There are teaching programs nested within colleges which net you a teaching license while you earn your bachelor’s, allowing you to pursue, for example, high school science teacher positions. You may also find a paid research position in a university lab that mentors you as a budding scientist while also being a full-time job. This is called a post-baccalaureate (or post-bac) research position.

After earning your bachelor’s degree, the next step in the academic pipeline is often a master’s degree program. Depending on your program, this may take anywhere from 1.5 to 4ish years. It is important to note that, unlike other fields like music or education, you can sometimes skip over a master’s program and start a doctoral (PhD) program right after your bachelor’s! This of course varies from program to program, so check the websites of the schools you are interested in. In any case, while Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees generally teach you what to know, research-based Master of Science (MS) programs begin to teach you how to uncover new knowledge through the research process. There are also course-based MS programs that don’t require any research on your part, only classes. A research-based MS will generally require a capstone research project/report at the end called your master’s thesis. Course-based MS programs don’t often require a thesis. Other master’s options also exist, like a Master of Professional Science (MPS) program. These vary quite a bit from place to place, so you’ll have to check the program’s website to see how exactly each one works.

With an MS, your career options expand significantly. Depending on the subject and type of your degree, you can apply for positions in the public sector (Government positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, various state agencies, etc.), private sector (Company positions at places like Sea World, environmental consulting companies, private zoos or aquariums, etc.), nonprofit arena (Oceana, The Wildlife Conservation Society, The World Wildlife Fund, The Ocean Conservancy, etc.), academia (Research positions at colleges or universities, often as lab managers or full-time technicians), and any number of other places. Master’s programs are so varied that I can’t possibly list everywhere you might work after completing one.

Continuing along the academic route, you will need to enter a doctoral (PhD) program. These can take anywhere from 3-7 years depending on your program requirements, research project, and even country of study. A PhD graduate needs to have made a significant, original contribution to the body of human knowledge. What this means is that, whether your program requires coursework or not, you will be doing a lot of research. At the end you will present a massive final research report called a dissertation, and upon graduation you get to put “Dr.” in front of your name. In the research sciences, where you earn your doctorate is often much less important that in whose lab you earn it. The school you attend may not be the best, most advanced school in the world, but if the narrow sub-field you’ve chosen to study has three professors working in it you go wherever they are.

In addition to (potentially) higher-level positions with each of the organizations open to master’s degree holders, your doctorate will allow you to apply for tenure-track academic positions! However, you may not be as competitive for those until you complete one or more post-doctoral fellowships (post-docs). These are limited term (often 1-2 years) research positions in a professor’s lab that allow you to better your research and lab-management skills while working on a funded project. They are not easy jobs, and the stress of not having a guaranteed income beyond one or two years turns a lot of people away from this step of academia. But, with perseverance and some (a lot) of luck, you can land a tenure-track professorship! This is kind of the golden goose of academia, and usually allows you to set up your own lab and start taking on graduate (master’s and PhD) students. From there, you can advance along the “tenure track” from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor, to Professor.

There are also non-tenure-track positions, such as adjunct professors or lecturers. While these are certainly academic teaching jobs, they generally have lower pay, less job security, and little to no research involved. There are also many other academic positions available (research only professorships, teaching professorships, etc.), but these vary a lot from place to place and may be part-time, temporary, or both.

This is the general academic pipeline, from undergraduate student to tenure-track professor. The exact route any one person takes may vary heavily from this roadmap, and your results may vary (especially during the post-PhD period). Many folks take breaks from academia in between these steps, most commonly after earning a bachelor’s degree. That is ok! This post is not intended to funnel everyone down the same path, I just feel that anyone operating at any level of academia should be aware of how the system works. Use this roadmap as a career planning tool, not a set-in-stone path. Best of luck!

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The PSAT and the National Merit Scholarship Competition

One of the highest-profile scholarships an American student can earn while in high school, National Merit Scholarships can give you a huge advantage both when paying for and getting into college. The crux of the competition also falls on standardized tests, so if you’ve found those to be a personal strength I would heavily encourage you to apply.

The competition is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) every year and begins with the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) typically taken during your junior year of high school. You can’t sign up as an individual; you need to talk to your guidance counselor or other school administrator about how to sign up through your school. Many schools require the test and automatically sign up all their students as juniors, so you might not have to do anything to get started! If you aren’t sure, ask your school administrators about it.

To be absolutely clear, the PSAT is not a college admissions test like the ACT or SAT. It is the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Competition, although it has very similar questions and structure to the SAT.

If you will be taking the PSAT soon familiarize yourself with the test structure and types of questions so you’ll feel prepared on test day. Like the SAT, the PSAT doesn’t test a lot of high-level content. It instead focuses on basic mathematical skills, reading comprehension, and reasoning.

If you do well enough on the test, your school will be notified of your competition status during Fall of your senior year. According to the NMSC website (as of 2019), about 50,000 students are designated as “high-scorers,” with the lower two thirds of this bracket receiving letters of commendation and the upper third progressing to the next stage of the competition. Student scores are also compared against scores from their state, rather than at the national level. This means that moving to the next round might require a higher score in some states than in others.

If you are in the lucky upper third of the “high-scorers,” then you’ll be named a semifinalist and given application materials to become a finalist. As part of this application you’ll need to send in SAT or ACT scores, as well as pick a “first choice college” that you plan to attend. This choice can be very important for getting scholarships sponsored by your school!

Most semifinalists advance to finalist standing and are given another (more involved) application to complete. You will have to explain your student activities and leadership roles, write an essay, and get a letter of recommendation from a school official.

After all of this, about 7,500 finalists are selected as scholarship winners! You will be given a National Merit Scholarship of $2,500 (as of 2019), as well as the title of National Merit Scholar to bolster your college admissions prospects. There are also some corporate-sponsored awards based on the competition that may be available to you if the company operates in your area or employs one of your parents. These may or may not require a separate application. The big money often comes from school-sponsored scholarships, which are usually awarded to students attaining winner or finalist status who listed the given school as their first choice on the finalist application. Many large universities will award tens of thousands of dollars for these awards, so do your research and think carefully about which school to choose on the application!

The National Merit Scholarship Competition can seem intimidating, but I recommend that every student take the PSAT and give it their best! If you prepare and are a good enough test-taker, you may just earn yourself a lot of money for college.

Helpful Links:

NMSC Website

Khan Academy PSAT Study Materials

I have no affiliation with Khan Academy and have received no compensation from them. I link to their site here because it explains the structure of the PSAT and offers free practice tests. There are a multitude of paid test prep services that can be found with a quick web search. I neither encourage nor discourage the use of these services in general, or of any service in particular.

Photo Credit to Pexels

Paying for Undergrad

One of the biggest obstacles to becoming a scientist can be the financial burden of college. In the United States, high school seniors often commit to colleges and universities without knowing how much they will pay for tuition, fees, textbooks, room and board, etc. (For reference, when I started college at a large state school in 2014 my father and I estimated the total cost of four years at about $100,000). Student loans are marketed extremely well, and most undergraduate students I know have been told that taking out large loans to pay for school is not only normal and necessary, but safe. No one should be ashamed of needing student loans, but if you intend to pursue the sciences as a career you should do everything in your power to minimize your debt as early as possible. Going back to school for an advanced degree or two is difficult enough without student loan debt from undergrad hanging over your head.

The good news is there are ways to fund your education without taking out loans! None of them are easy, but they can all be worthwhile depending on your situation. Preparing for college probably has you feeling overwhelmed already, but putting in the work for scholarship applications or AP classes now can go a long way toward reducing or eliminating the amount you owe at graduation. The goal of this post is to outline a handful of funding sources and strategies you can use to lower the cost of college, better positioning you to pursue a scientific career after graduation.

Earning College Credit in High School

One of the most effective ways of lowering the cost of college is to knock out required credits before you start your freshman year. High schools typically advertise these programs heavily, so you are likely already aware of what your school has to offer. In my experience the three most common programs are:

-Advanced Placement (AP)

-International Baccalaureate (IB)

-Dual Credit Programs (PSEO, College Credit Plus, etc.)

AP classes can be taken individually, so you can usually sign up for as many or as few as your schedule and high school graduation requirements allow you to. At the end of the year, you pay a fee to take the corresponding AP test and are scored on a scale of 1-5 by a nonprofit called the College Board (the same people who administer the SAT). At many colleges, high scores on AP tests can net you credit and get you out of required classes. AP credits are widely accepted, but you should check with specific schools when you are deciding where to go.

IB is a comprehensive program that extends from elementary school all the way through high school, and individual school districts may offer the full program, only a few high school IB classes, or anything in between. The classes typically conclude with a test that might be worth college credit depending on course level. IB and AP are frequently compared, but which program to choose (if your school offers both/if you cannot take advantage of both) is ultimately up to you and your family. I am aware that not all IB tests are accepted for college credit and that IB students often take the corresponding AP tests at the end of IB courses to guarantee credit, but administrators at your school should be able to tell you more and advise you.

Depending on where you live, your school may offer you the opportunity to take classes at a local college for free while still in high school. Programs like this generally give you “dual credit” that counts toward your high school graduation and for college credit at the same time. Examples include Minnesota’s Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) and Ohio’s College Credit Plus program. These programs can be very useful, but I recommend you take a careful look at how easily transferrable those credits will be before you start. I knew many people in high school who took classes at a local private liberal arts college through the PSEO program, only to discover that most of those credits could not be transferred to less expensive state schools. They were forced to choose between abandoning the college credits they had worked for and attending a much more expensive private school. These programs can be great ways to earn college credit, but always make sure the credits can be transferred before you start, assuming you want to go to college elsewhere.

The FAFSA

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an application you should fill out every year starting your senior year of high school. Essentially, the FAFSA takes in detailed information about your and your parents’ financial situations and spits out need-based financial aid to help you go to school. Depending on your financial status, you might be offered loans, grants, and/or work-study funding. You will then have a chance to accept or reject each offer individually. I can’t explain the pros and cons of individual awards because the details may change from year to year, but the general idea is that:

Grants don’t need to be paid back under most circumstances (this includes the Pell Grant for students from low income families). Always read the fine print, but I would generally advise you to seriously consider accepting any grants you are offered.
Work-study funding is a great opportunity to get paid for work that can be related to your major! Again, read the fine print, but these awards are usually helpful.
There are many types of loans, but they usually come in two flavors: subsidized and unsubsidized. As a rule, subsidized loans don’t start to accumulate interest until after you graduate (because the loan is subsidized by the government paying for your interest until that point), and unsubsidized loans do accumulate interest from the get-go.

I am not a financial advisor of any sort and you shouldn’t make potentially life-altering financial decisions based on this blog. Navigating the world of college financial aid (especially loans) is complicated, and you should talk over your options with your family and guidance counselor if possible. There is no single way to pay for school, and the right way forward is something you and your family will need to decide. The only universal piece of advice I can offer here is read the fine print!

Taking Generals at a Cheaper School

This is a relatively common strategy in my experience. Students enroll at a local community college for their first year or two in order to knock out general requirements like freshman writing, chemistry, and physics for a better price. After that, they will transfer to a bigger, more expensive school to take advanced classes and ultimately graduate. Alternately, some students enroll in community college during summer breaks from their regular school. The above warning about making sure your credits will transfer to your desired school before you start applies, as well as a brief caveat regarding research.

If your goal is a career in scientific research, getting research experience as an undergraduate student is a no-brainer. Not only will this experience tell you whether a research career is right for you; it will make you a more attractive applicant for graduate programs. These early research experiences are also where you will begin to build your scientific network, which can produce job contacts and letters of recommendation going forward. I bring up the importance of undergraduate research here because the “community college transfer” strategy can easily hinder your opportunities if you let it. If you arrive on campus as a junior and only spend two or three years there, you will have less time to find, apply to, integrate into, and gain experience with a research lab. It’s certainly possible to do all of this on a shorter timeframe, but I recommend taking your time to try out different labs to find one where you fit academically and communally. If you start at a community college, try to volunteer (or work for pay, if you’re really lucky) in a lab at your desired school before you transfer, even if it’s only one day a week. Volunteer experience with an on-campus lab will absolutely help you find a place in the research community once you do transfer, and you will be a competitive applicant for any other lab positions you decide to pursue. Bottom line: taking general credits at a cheaper school is a great way to save money, as long as you don’t use it as an excuse to put off getting research experience.

Scholarships

Scholarships can be like magic. If you put in a little effort to write essays and ask for letters of recommendation, money might appear out of thin air!

In all seriousness, scholarships are often a much more efficient way to earn money for college than working a part-time job. Some require you to write personal statements about why you want to get a degree in this field (which encourages self-reflection), and best of all, you never have to pay this money back!!! I heavily recommend that you apply for lots and lots of scholarships at every opportunity, especially if you want your career to center on research. What are grant applications, after all, if not massive, bloated, ultra-competitive scholarship applications? Asking for money to further your research will be a central part of your career; applying for college scholarships is excellent practice.

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll separate scholarships into two categories: Internal and External. Internal scholarships are offered by your school or department. These are typically a little less competitive because applicants must be from your institution, and you should absolutely take advantage of them. During my undergrad I spent two summers at a field station run by my school. There were a handful of scholarships set aside for students taking classes or doing research at this station, and the open secret was that, because so few students came to the station each year, every applicant got at least $500. The only way to miss out on this money was to not apply! While this may have been a special case, the principle holds true. If you have decent grades and a good letter of recommendation, your chances of netting some cash are probably pretty good. Look over your college/university/department’s website, ask your professors, research mentors, or academic advisors, and apply for everything you can!

External scholarships vary a lot more in both scope and size, but are equally worth pursuing. There are high-profile national scholarship competitions like the Astronaut Scholarship and the National Merit Scholarship (I’ve written about the National Merit Scholarship here), as well as field-specific awards like the Hollings Scholarship. You may also find smaller-scale awards from community organizations like churches or businesses. I can’t list every possible external funding source for science undergrads because they are numerous and constantly changing, but I can advise you to give it a google! Large schools often have an entire office devoted to national-level scholarship competitions; seek them out if you’d like to throw your hat in the ring.

Jobs Related to your Major

Another fantastic way to earn money while in college is to find a job that will get you more experience in your major. The obvious choice for an aspiring researcher would be to find a paid role in a lab, but these are more frequently volunteer positions because labs are usually strapped for cash. In the natural sciences, animal care can be a more viable option. Chances are there are labs on campus with live animals that need to be fed and looked after. This grunt work is often pushed off onto undergrads in exchange for a paycheck and extra exposure to the lab animals and equipment. My undergrad alma mater was landlocked, so I found a position feeding zebrafish that were used by genetics and neuroscience labs. If you don’t want to wash fish tanks, improving your teaching skills by tutoring younger students may appeal to you. Many departments have formal tutoring programs that you can apply to work for; if not, you could put up flyers and freelance! “Weed-out” courses early in a major will always have students that need a little extra help, and teaching material will help to solidify your own understanding. There are plenty of other options for work on campus that don’t involve cleaning plates in the dining hall, but they vary a lot between institutions. Consult your advisor, professors, classmates, and department website to see what’s available!

There are also paid research internships called “REUs” (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) funded by the National Science Foundation. REU programs typically take place during 10-12 weeks over the summer, and pay in the neighborhood of $5,000-$6,000 (as of 2017). Think of it as grad school lite. You spend a summer working on a project under a faculty mentor and participating in seminars, culminating in a final report and presentation. Not only is this fantastic experience, but the pay is usually great. These programs can get uber competitive, but they are absolutely worth the effort. (I’ve written more about the NSF REU program here).

I realize this is a lot of information to take in at once, but if you put in the work, knock out a few generals before starting college, land a couple of scholarships, and work an on-campus job, you’ll be in a much better position to pursue a research career after graduation.

Photo Credit to Pexels

Conferences: A Highly Social Environment

As a scientist, you will probably be expected to present your research at academic conferences. These are meetings of professional societies where you can present posters, give research talks, participate in roundtables and workshops, and network with scientists from other institutions. Well-known marine/natural science conferences include the annual meetings of the American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, American Elasmobranch Society, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, etc.

As an Aspie, these intensely social experiences can be overwhelming. When surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar city it can be tempting to hide in your hotel room as soon as you’ve finished presenting your research. This was how I felt at my first conference, and I imagine I’m not alone. It’s also possible to have the opposite problem; many students push themselves to attend as many talks as possible, ending up exhausted!

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, I have a few pieces of advice that you might find helpful when attending your first conferences.

Listen to Other Research Talks

Look over the list of talks and pick out a few that interest you. It’s always good to support your lab-mates or advisor if they will also be presenting, but you likely already know a lot about their work! Depending on how long the conference is/how many talks there are, I recommend listening to 3-5 presentations not counting the ones from your lab. As you attend more conferences you’ll get a feel for how many talks you can handle before getting overloaded and forgetting all of it. DO NOT try to hear a talk during every single time slot, you’ll get exhausted and stop paying attention anyway. Find your balance!

Set Specific Networking Goals

I am a huge proponent of breaking larger tasks down into smaller ones. Even if your project is broken into tiny baby steps it will get done if you take a step every day. Networking at a large conference can feel like a nebulous goal, but if you set a specific benchmark for yourself it becomes much more manageable. For example, if you are attending your first conference as an undergraduate, you might be scoping out potential grad school advisors. In this case your specific goals might be 1) Pick the three most interesting research talks, 2) Take notes during the talks and write down any questions 3) Find a time to introduce yourself to the speakers, either during a social event or after their talks if they don’t appear to be too busy, and 4) Inquire about openings in their lab and, if possible, swap email addresses. You can follow up with them after the conference. These are measurable, realistic goals for networking that make the process seem more approachable.

Don’t Feel Obligated to Attend Every Social Event

Many conferences have cocktail-style socials or full formal dinners. While these are often included with your conference tickets they are not required! If you’re feeling socially drained from a full day of presentations you absolutely don’t have to attend. It’s also ok to leave early if you need to. These events are common places for networking, but there is no rule against getting your networking done during the actual conference and taking some alone time during social hour. Remember, these things were designed by neurotypicals so you shouldn’t feel bad if they aren’t easy for you to get through. You certainly wouldn’t be the only person that struggles with them and needs to take some time for themselves.

Try Something Outside of the Conference

If you’re in a new place you should try some new experiences! Just because you are in town for the conference doesn’t mean you have to stay there the whole time. Try some local food, see some sights, or even participate in a day of service if the conference facilitates one. My first conference was the Southern Division American Fisheries Society meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. My advisor recommended that I go kayaking on a bioluminescent bay, and it was a fantastic experience! I realize most conference locations aren’t quite that exotic, but any city will likely have something worth doing or seeing outside of your work. Do something to help you unwind after a long day of talking and socializing.

Consider Getting More Involved with the Conference

If you are an undergraduate student presenting at your first conference or two, you don’t really need to worry about this part yet. Once you are a grad student, post-doc, staff researcher, or professor, you should think about becoming a full member of the research society/organization that puts on the conference. Depending on how frequently you attend and what exactly you research, you may even want to run for a leadership position within the organization. Every group has different rules for how this works, but these additional responsibilities may help you to network and improve your professional standing.

Academic conferences are a whole ecosystem unto themselves, and they can be very intimidating for Neurotypicals and Aspies alike. They are also excellent opportunities to meet others in your field and hear updates about other areas of research. I highly recommend you start attending as soon as you can and take full advantage of all they have to offer. Your research advisor will have the best idea of which conference(s) are most appropriate for your interests and will likely help you apply for funding. Best of luck!

Photo Credit to Pexels

Teaching as an Aspie (How to Teach Neurotypicals)

This post will be less of an exhaustive guide and more of a collection of lessons I’ve learned on the subject. Neurotypicals often learn very differently from Aspies, and just as your teachers have (hopefully) adapted to your learning style, you should adapt to your students’. Even if you don’t plan to become a full-time teacher, you may need to TA undergraduate classes while earning your graduate degree and so should be prepared. My experience comes from one year teaching 5^th-12^th graders at a marine science camp, two years as a TA in undergraduate classes, and two years working as a Divemaster.

Don’t Get Stuck on Lists and Categories

Asking students to remember sets of information is ok to a point, and as an Aspie you may be very fond of lists, categories, and hierarchies (as I am). While this sort of structure can help us to organize and remember information, most neurotypicals don’t work that way! Especially when dealing with elementary and middle school students, nobody will remember the “four traits all echinoderms share,” but everyone will remember that they can regenerate body parts because you told them about brittle stars regrowing arms! Even with high school students, memory and understanding seem to improve as you help them visualize concepts with demonstrations, stories, or exciting descriptions.

Don’t Use Exclusively Formal Language

As a scientist, I value precise, accurate, and succinct writing. Unfortunately, teaching using only this language doesn’t usually go over well! When teaching grade school students (and in many cases undergraduates) speaking in a more casual, conversational manner can be more effective. As I see it, the language with which you would write a peer-reviewed paper or give a conference presentation is designed to transmit as much information as possible in a limited space or timeframe. It does that job quite well, but it simply isn’t how neurotypicals talk to each other! An an Aspie, I often slip into formal language when explaining things because I like the precision and I don’t want to leave out any information. I imagine other Aspies may feel the same. When teaching neurotypicals, you should try to mix this precise language with more conversational and generalized language appropriate for the students’ age group. You can use simple metaphors for grade school (zooxanthellae is the in-house chef for a coral polyp), case studies or historical experiments for high school or college, etc. Even when discussing dense scientific topics, try to mix the precise, high-level language with more casual explanations to help your students understand the material and feel more comfortable. Reading dense scientific papers is a skill all science students need to learn, but at the end of the day it’s important to remember that even professors speak casually with their students and amongst themselves. Teaching doesn’t need to be too formal!

Be Flexible in your Explanations and Teaching Style

Just as Aspies and other Autistic folks are incredibly diverse, any two Neurotypicals probably don’t learn quite the same way. A particular example or way of explaining a concept may work for some or even most of your students, but you will always have at least one student that struggles with your default way of explaining something. There are a few ways of dealing with this. You can of course think of a new way of explaining the concept, or…you can get your students to do it for you! Try getting the students to explain the concept back to you by splitting them into groups and having them apply a principle to a specific situation as a team or draw out the full life cycle of an animal, or even assign different parts of the lesson to each student. They can then learn these pieces on their own and teach their portion back to the class. Obviously which method you should use heavily depends on the age and educational level of the students, as well as the class context (for example, having students act out the characteristics shared by all marine mammals charades style is great for a science outreach event with elementary or middle schoolers, but not so much for undergrads in a zoology lab!). If you’ve been teaching for a while you probably have a way of saying and doing things that you like and makes sense to you. But no matter how experienced you get you need to be ready to adapt your teaching to your students. If you try giving your students a little bit more of a voice in the classroom, you might be surprised at the creative ways they come up with to explain concepts you’ve known for years.

Avoid Condescension

Your students will get things wrong. They will miss questions on exams, screw up lab reports, and give incorrect responses in class. They are human, and that is ok. I have known a few Aspies (myself included) who prefer simple feedback when this happens to them. “You did that wrong.” “Ok, show me how to do it right.” No hard feelings, no wasted time. We don’t often dwell on our own mistakes, both because that would be unpleasant and because we prefer to learn from them and move on. Most people are not like this. At least not always. Most of your students will benefit from a gentler approach, so as not to bruise their ego and discourage them from engaging with your lesson. Proper learning requires confidence in one’s ability to learn, and it is as much your job to nurture that confidence as it is to teach material. Show your students that you are invested in their understanding and that you respect them, and they will be open to learning from you. If a student raises their hand in class and gets the question wrong, don’t just say “no” and move to the next person. Talk about whether they are on the right track, if they have elements of the correct answer in theirs, or even the method they used to solve the problem. All of this may seem inefficient, and it absolutely is. But a desire for efficiency is no excuse to be inconsiderate or condescending. I have seen professors with a royal superiority complex outright refuse to treat their students with respect because “there is a lot of material to get through” or “they aren’t paid to make students feel good.” To teach well, you must engage your students, make them feel welcome, and create a respectful, positive learning environment. This will never be efficient. Have some humility, and don’t look down on your students.

Make Class Engaging and Interactive

This might be the fiftieth time you’ve given this lecture. You know the points you want to make, you know the concepts to highlight, and you know exactly how long it will take. The whole experience is probably a little monotonous for you. But from your students’ perspectives, this is brand new information that can be difficult to understand! You must never lose sight of this. No matter which level or age group you teach, neurotypical students often struggle with long, sterile lectures. Class activities, such as small group discussions or debates, group research or writing projects, or (with younger kids) games that illustrate class concepts allow students to grapple with class material while giving them a break from the endless powerpoints.

As an undergrad I took a biochemistry course where the final grade was determined by two midterm exams and a final. There were no homework assignments, group discussions, projects, or attendance requirements; only the tests mattered. At the time I loved this, because I was more than capable of skimming the textbook and memorizing everything I would need for the tests. At the same time my research advisor was teaching an undergrad course with weekly reading quizzes and online homework, semester-long group projects, in-class experiments, and group discussions. I disliked classes like hers because there were so many moving pieces to keep track of. She told me to ask my classmates about how much biochemistry they remembered after the semester had ended, and (predictably) very few of us could recall anything beyond a few basic principles. Meanwhile students in her class had been more engaged with the material and were better able to retain what they had learned afterwards. My experiences since have confirmed that, for most people, classes that focus on engaging students will be more successful at actually teaching them, rather than getting them to memorize things for a semester.

Photo Credit to Pexels

What is an REU, and Should I Apply For One?

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is administered by the U.S. National Science Foundation and is an incredible way to gain research experience while still in college. If you are a sophomore or junior I heavily recommend you look into this. I spend a lot of time on this blog advocating for undergraduate research opportunities on your home campus, but with an REU you can study any of a wide variety of research topics at another institution. Plus you’ll probably get paid!

How does the program work? First off, because this is a U.S. federal program, you need to be either a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or one of its territories. This is true even if the research will take place in another country. Essentially, the NSF funds many “REU sites,” which are hosted by specific labs or departments at different colleges or universities. Every year these sites will solicit applications from undergraduate students across the country. A handful of students will be selected (usually in the neighborhood of ten, depending on the site) to travel to the REU site, and live and work there for a few months. Most programs are between twelve and sixteen weeks long during summer break, although some take place during a full semester. Exactly what you’ll be doing varies from site to site, but the general idea is to give students a taste of life as a graduate student researcher. You will be conducting a research project under the direction of a professor and may be working alongside his or her graduate students. Depending on how your project goes you may even have the chance to present at a conference or publish your work! Some REU sites may offer additional programming, such as research seminars, networking events, or tours of labs or other facilities. You’ll also have plenty of downtime with your REU cohort, and I suggest you try to make friends because these may be your future professional colleagues! Lastly, you will likely receive a stipend for your work. Some sites provide room and board for their students, others house them but don’t pay for food, and still others require you to find your own housing but may assist you financially with this. The exact rate of pay varies depending on these and other variables, but the aim is to make sure students won’t turn down an REU opportunity because they need to make money at a summer job.

If this sounds exciting to you, or if you’re considering a research career, I heavily recommend you apply to some REU sites! The advice my undergraduate research mentor gave me during my junior year was to “apply to every REU program that interests you, even a little bit. Even if the subject isn’t exactly what you want to make a career studying, the research experience will be pivotal!” Every site has its own application and deadline, but for the most part everything is due around winter break (at least for the summer programs). Most REU sites either prefer or outright require that students be entering their final year of college, so most people apply during their junior year for the following summer. When you apply you will probably be asked to identify one or more professors at the site you would like to work with. Put some time and effort into this process. Read a paper or two of theirs, and most importantly, be able to explain why you are interested in their work! Nothing will shoot down your application faster than listing a specific researcher as your first choice, but when asked why responding with “Their research is really interesting to me.” You should also know that these programs are selective. Like really selective. In my college social circles people would apply to ten or more different REU sites, hoping to get into just one. I don’t have access to any large-scale metrics, but I am aware of one REU site that had more than 400 applicants for about twelve positions in 2017. I don’t know for a fact that this is typical of all REU sites, but it illustrates my point. I don’t bring this up to discourage you, but if you are serious about landing a spot in one of these programs you need to put real effort into the applications. I suggest making a list of all the programs you’d like to apply to well in advance, then submitting one application each weekend in late fall. You can then save the last few for winter break. Separate your applications with enough time that you don’t burn out and start phoning it in.

The REU program is an amazing opportunity to get varied research experience before finishing college, and is a good way to feel out whether graduate study is right for you. It’s no walk in the park to get in, but the connections, experience, and pay are all good enough that you should give it a shot! If you’re sold and are chomping at the bit to find an REU site, check the NSF website and good luck!

Photo Credits to Pexels and the National Science Foundation

The Autistic Spark

When I was first diagnosed with Asperger’s I was emphatically told that this didn’t make me lesser, only different. My parents were sure to explain that being an Aspie came with positives and negatives. “Specialist subjects,” a common facet of Aspie life, can be viewed as either depending on the context. These are subjects with which we are intensely fascinated, and we often jump at the chance to talk about them. For parents, educators, and siblings hearing about the same topics over and over can be frustrating, but to us collecting new knowledge in these areas is addicting and fun. If intellectual engagement with a subject is like a flame that may burn out, Aspies have an autistic spark that reignites the flame and drives us to learn more and more about our specialist subject. I believe this drive can be put to good use, both for our individual wellbeing and the planet’s.

Turning Your Specialist Subject into a Science Career

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” -Unknown

This cliché often attributed (doubtfully) to Confucius seems obvious, but for Aspies it goes double. For many of us, making a career out of our specialist subjects would be a dream come true. This is not always possible, but for those of us interested in parts of the natural world like species of birds or relationships between plants, statistics and big data, or even how humans structures are designed, a path exists to an enjoyable and vital career. The scientific endeavor is by its nature slow and methodical. To properly function it needs stewards who are committed to expanding knowledge in their field and protecting the integrity of the process. The road is long and complex, but passionate scientists are needed to improve human understanding of the world we inhabit.

The World Needs People Like You

“I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.” -Greta Thunberg

The Earth is changing. Increasing atmospheric temperatures, ocean acidification, overfishing, deforestation, eutrophication of streams and estuaries, habitat loss, and many other destructive forces are reshaping our planet. We don’t yet fully understand how our global ecosystem functions and inter-connects, let alone how it will change as a result of human actions. Continued human existence as we know it, not to mention that of millions of other species, depends on a thorough understanding of how the world works and what we can do to protect it. This requires dedicated scientists who can work on all aspects of the problem. Ecologists are needed to characterize ecosystem structures and to identify keystone species. Data analysts and population scientists are needed to determine which species are in the most imminent danger and to set hunting and catch limits. Geologists and climatologists are needed to assess what will happen to the Earth’s biosphere and what we can do about it. Conservationists are needed to design and implement new strategies to protect life in each of our ecosystems. These are only a few natural science careers through which you can help protect our planet.

What is this Blog About?

My goal here is to convince other Aspies (and non-Aspie/NT folks too of course!) to put their autistic spark to work by joining the scientific endeavor to better understand and protect our world. As an aspiring marine scientist with a specialist subject in bony fish biology, I am familiar with the unique assets Aspies posses that may benefit them in a scientific career. I have also run up against a few challenges that may be unique to Asperger’s. With this blog I aim to-

Encourage young Aspies to pursue a career in the natural sciences,
Answer common questions Aspies might have about the academic world through my personal experiences,
Address unique issues Aspies may face in academia (specifically the natural sciences) and share strategies for overcoming them, and
Improve general public awareness and acceptance of Aspies in academia and society.

This blog addresses issues that may arise at different points in a science career, from high school to full-time researcher. It is designed to be read by Aspies at all career stages, as well as any neurotypicals that find it helpful.

What is an Aspie? A Personal Explanation

Aspie is an affectionate name for people with Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder closely linked to Autism. The syndrome is named after Hans Asperger, a Viennese pediatrician who first described it in the 1940’s. Generally speaking, Asperger’s has similar symptoms to Autism minus the delays in language development during childhood. The most commonly described symptom is the inability to read non-verbal social cues without careful practice. With the publication of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in 2013, Asperger’s Syndrome was formally folded into the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. That’s the clinical way of putting it, anyway!

I won’t be trying to define what exactly Autism is here, because I find any time someone tries to do that it ends up getting very impersonal and dehumanizing, and that’s not the goal of this blog. The minutia of Autism and Asperger’s research can be fascinating, but in this post I’d like to focus on, socially and professionally, what the term Aspie means to me. The Autism Spectrum is astonishingly diverse and the differences in experiences, abilities, interests, personalities, and modes of communication between individuals on the spectrum are huge! I won’t pretend to be an expert on ASD, but I can lay out the basics and offer links to other resources. Most importantly, if you’re reading about Autism/Asperger’s and are starting to think you might be on the spectrum, I would, if circumstances allow, encourage you to seek a professional diagnosis. This can get you access to all kinds of support and accommodations, and it’s absolutely something you should consider.

My understanding of Autism and Asperger’s comes primarily from my own experiences as an Aspie. I was diagnosed in about 3^rd grade; looking back the signs were obvious. I had a set of toy vehicles that came in a rainbow of colors, and absolutely loved to arrange them into their “proper” patterns. I had a series of “patterns” that heavily governed my movement within a space, the steps that I took, things in the room that I touched, etc. These were all forms of stimming, although not necessarily healthy ones.

As I grew up, I started to hear a lot of “high-functioning” and “low-functioning” labels being thrown around. These days those labels are considered outdated and rude, but at the time I let them undermine my experiences because I was labeled “high-functioning.” Sure, I had difficulty picking up on non-verbal social cues. I struggled with transitions from one activity to another, and my time-management skills were lacking. But I was able to interact with people a little, and I was good at school. For the longest time, I wouldn’t have called myself “really autistic,” because there were people out there who were entirely non-verbal, who couldn’t handle a school environment due to sensory overload, or who in other ways seemed to have it a lot worse than me.

While in college I read Steve Silberman’s Neurotribes, and it introduced me to the concept of neurodiversity: the idea that people of different neurological makeups aren’t broken or lesser, just different. This is the concept that now informs how I deal with other people on the spectrum, as well as how I treat myself mentally. Embracing neurodiversity led me to accept one of what I call my “specialist subjects” and to pursue it as a career. A common facet of Aspies is a fixation on one or more specific subjects, often involving categories or lists of things (think species of birds, or car models). Silberman’s book, in part, motivated me to push my career in the direction of my developing obsession with fish biology, and to see my specialist subject not as a weird obsession, but as a career asset.

In short, an Aspie is a person who has probably spent a lot of time confused about other people. Although many of us do learn to pick up non-verbal social signals, that ability isn’t usually present from the beginning for us. Aspies have a variety of talents, interests, methods of stimming, and ways of thinking about the world. We have personal struggles just like everybody else. We have good days and bad days, and we doubt ourselves a lot. I have learned to see my Asperger’s as an asset, and one of the aims of this blog is to help other Aspies do the same thing.

If you have an Aspie in your life or have recently discovered that you are an Aspie, I HEAVILY recommend that you read more than this blog post to get a better grasp on Asperger’s. The best places to start that come to mind are-

Centers for Disease Control

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

The Website of Dr. Temple Grandin