Research problem

[thepidog]

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Hey everybody,

I'm a freshman who had a little experience doing research in high school, and pretty much expected to do some in college as well. Lucky for me, I found a job with a Limnologist who does a lot of work with zooplankton ecology and a little bit of work with E. coli in watersheds (relative to agricultural operations). I really enjoy it, I get paid, and my professor and I get along SO well. I'm already thinking about starting work on my own project. Having said this, the research I'm involved in has absolutely nothing to do with vet med. I feel like I should be taking a chance and finding another place in a lab where I might not be paid but I'll be doing things more directly related to animals.

I'm also running a little low on vet experience hours (about 100 I guess) and feel that the research could be beneficial to that (I do have a job lined up for this summer though, as well as some mixed animal observing). I really just don't know.

Does anybody have any input? Has anybody been put in this situation?

Thanks!

 

[tpad40]

I think it is definitely important to raise your vet experience hours, but the research opportunity is GREAT!

I have research in my undergrad through the med school in psychiatry and published 2 papers. Totally not vet related, but at all of my interviews they were very interested in it and impressed. And they never once gave me the impression that it not being veterinary related was a problem! I told them that although this was not directly in my field of interest, I had learned a lot about the research process that can be applicable in many different fields. Besides, the research you are doing really doesn't seem too far off from vet med!

I am a little confused about what you are saying though, are you going to be gaining vet experience hours this summer and doing the research during the academic year?

 

[stick91]

I think that as a freshmen you are off to a great start! You have time to get both more research and clinical veterinary experience before you apply. Are you going to be continuing this research throughout the summer or just for the school year? Either way I think it will benefit you even though it isn't directly related to animals. The summer before my senior year I started doing research under a molecular/cell biologist that ended up continuing throughout my senior year as my thesis project. Mostly I worked with yeast! I learned a lot and the places I interviewed seemed to like that I had that research experience, even if it wasn't directly related to vet med. Finding research that you enjoy and you get paid to do is awesome, I say keep at it!