When Ted Gries was finishing his undergraduate degree in
biochemistry at Indiana University, Bloomington, he knew he wanted
to go to graduate school--just not right away. "I really didn't
feel like I was ready to go to graduate school," he says. Although
he had done undergraduate research, "I needed to get that
experience"--the experience of working in a lab all day--"before
committing to 5 to 6 years to a Ph.D.," he says.
So a week after he graduated in May 2004, he started a job as a
research technician for Indiana University biochemistry professor
Tom Tolbert. In his year in that lab, he expanded his skills,
learning how to work with yeast andEscherichia coli. "I also
got a good idea of what I wanted in a PI [Principal Investigator]
and a graduate mentor," he says. He applied to graduate school and
started work on his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,
in August 2005.
"For the great majority of students, some time off is a good
idea." --Deborah Goldberg
The conventional path to a science career moves students
directly from a bachelor's degree to a Ph.D. program so that they
can complete their training as quickly as possible. But data from
the National Science Foundation indicate that over the last 25
years, there has been a fairly consistent 1- to 2-year time
variance in the interval between an undergraduate degree and a
Ph.D. (on the one hand) and the time enrolled in graduate school
before finishing a Ph.D. programs (on the other). So where does the
extra time go?
That statistical oddity can be explained partly by
"nontraditional" students who return to graduate school after years
away. But part of it, too, is the "postbac": those relatively short
working stints recent graduates often take between the bachelor's
degree and graduate school. "Postbac" time allows recent graduates
to mature, gain some perspective, and learn new skills before
starting out on a long graduate program. A short hiatus before the
long road, students and faculty members say, is almost always
good.
Faculty weigh in
Most faculty members agree that if students have a clear idea of
what they want to study and what their goals are (together,
naturally, with adequate intellectual skills), they can make a
successful direct transition to graduate school. But such students
are the exception rather than the rule, says Richard Superfine, a
professor of physics and astronomy at the University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. "I think it's too easy in some ways to go
straight from undergraduate to graduate school. Students don't
really take the time to think seriously about specifically what
they want to do and why."
"For the great majority of students, some time off is a good
idea," says Deborah Goldberg, a professor of ecology and
evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Students with more life experience often have the maturity it takes
to persevere through a Ph.D., she says. She has observed that
students without that experience are more likely to feel burned out
and to drop out of their Ph.D. programs than are students who take
time off.
But the postbac has downsides, says Samuel Mukasa, a professor
of geology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "I don't think
there's any one model that fits all," he says, but "there are going
to be speed bumps on their way to coming back to speed as a
graduate student." Financial and time pressures can also weigh more
heavily on older students, he adds.
Admissions impact
Faculty members agree that 1 to 2 years away does not hurt a
student in the graduate-admissions process. Jerry Houser, director
of the career development center at the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, gives a seminar to undergraduate students
about a "hiatus year." His conversations with faculty members, he
says, confirm that "2 years is fine. Three or 4 years, they begin
to worry a little about it. [But] a year is almost never a
problem." Time away from school doesn't seem to hurt even if the
time isn't spent doing science. Volunteering for Habitat for
Humanity, the Peace Corps, Teach for America, or similar programs
is at least neutral in its effect on your admissions prospects,
Houser and other faculty say.
Butrelevantwork--especially research experience--often
has a better-than-neutral effect on admissions prospects. As he
considered graduate programs, Gries was able to discuss his
research in one-on-one interviews with faculty members, and all of
them, he says, considered his year of work an advantage. "I can't
imagine that it didn't help to have had an entire other year that I
was doing nothing but lab work."
Maturity and life experience are the main selling points for
"postbac" time, but the details of what you learn can matter, too.
In fields such as ecology, new graduates can use experiences such
as hiking the Appalachian Trail or working in a different part of
the world to gain valuable knowledge. Getting acquainted with
different ecosystems can "broaden their background in biological
diversity, and that certainly can be a plus," Goldberg says. And
acquiring new lab skills on the job means you don't have to learn
those things in graduate school.
In addition, many faculty members appreciate the perspectives
students with added life experience bring to their classrooms and
laboratories. "I personally enjoy teaching and working with
students who have something extra that they bring to the table,"
says Michael Chapman, a professor in the physics department at the
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
No regrets
Individuals we spoke to who had completed a "postbac" expressed
no regrets about their decisions. Sarah Walker sees only advantages
to the time that she spent in the Peace Corps and working in
Africa. After she finished her undergraduate degree at Smith
College in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1994, she worked as a
biology and mathematics teacher for 2 years in Lesotho. "It was ...
invaluable to me to take that time to have better sense of what
place I wanted to have in the world," she says.
When she returned to graduate school at the University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, in 1998, Walker found that her
experience in the Peace Corps made teaching assignments easier. Her
experience in Africa shaped her career goals: Her thesis research
in environmental science examined the impact of land-use changes on
ecological systems. Her Peace Corps experience matched well with
her adviser, who "was doing fieldwork in Africa and wanted to work
with someone [who] could go into a small village" and thrive,
Walker says.
Walker says her relationships with faculty members were also
improved by her time away. "Because I was a little bit older, I was
able to interact with faculty on [a] different level," she
says.
Finding opportunities
Finding a postgraduate position outside of organized programs
such as the Peace Corps requires undergraduates to mine a diverse
network of resources. Talk to as many people as possible, Goldberg
says; faculty members might know of colleagues who are looking for
research assistants. Regional and national meetings present great
opportunities for undergraduates to scout for positions. As Chapman
points out, "it's easier to get into graduate school than to get a
job."
Lauren Sullivan found an internship in plant ecology at Archbold
Biological Station in Lake Placid, Florida, by following up on an
e-mail that had circulated 2 years earlier at the University of
Michigan. Sullivan needed a break from coursework after completing
her undergraduate degree and wanted to be sure that a career in
research was right for her. "The whole science thing, it's a
lifestyle, not a career choice," she says.
The 6-month program at Archbold is one of only a few programs
aimed at giving experience to recent science graduates. The program
provides a small stipend and room and board. Interns work 20 hours
per week assisting ongoing projects at the station and spend their
remaining time developing an independent research project.
The independent research component is unusual, says Eric Menges,
a senior research biologist at Archbold who started the program in
1989. "The interns start to learn and understand what being a
scientist is about," he says. They also bring "a lot of fresh
ideas." Many former interns have returned to the station as
graduate students, postdocs, or visiting scientists.
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Interns Amanda Brothers (left) and Orou Gande conduct fieldwork
at Archbold Biological Station. Credit: Eric Menges
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Time away that shapes careers
After completing the core requirements for her Ph.D. in 2005,
Walker took a job at Winrock International, a nonprofit
international development organization in Arlington, Virginia. Her
job--advising projects that help limit carbon emissions and
deforestation in the developing world--builds on both her Peace
Corps experience and scientific expertise. Unsurprisingly, she's a
strong advocate of the postbac. "Taking 2 years [off] has zero
negative impact on your ability to continue on in school," she
advises. "It allows you to grow as a person and have a better sense
of what it is that you want to do."
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Update, October 2007
Eric Menges recommends the following links for more information
about ...
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Sarah Webb spent a year doing chemistry research in Giessen,
Germany, on a Fulbright fellowship before starting graduate school.
She has a Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry and writes from Brooklyn,
New York.
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Comments, suggestions? Please send your feedback to our editor .
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Photos credited to and courtesy of the subjects, except where
otherwise indicated.
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DOI: 10.1126/science.caredit.a0700114
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