Hi Everyone,
My junior got two internship- one from salk institute and another from a professor (who have his own lab). Now it’s very hard for my kid to choose one. If someone have some experience please share. Thanks.
There is no wrong decision here.
Which research is your child most interested in?
Is one paid?
Will one provide more experience than the other?
Is one more convenient to your home for commuting?
Thanks for support.
1.both (both related to her interest)
2. paid / not paid- Salk is going to be paid one.
3. experience- I don’t know about this (if someone can share their experience with salk )
4. commute is equal.
So the confusion is - if someone can share their expertise that usually which one is better? one is famous institute but other one is university professor.
Really…it doesn’t matter. Does he know what he will be doing at each? Hands on research…or,what?
Without knowing anything other than what you’ve stated, I would chose the paid internship position. I think getting paid ups the level of commitment, both from the student but also the employer. They aren’t going to be paying students to sit around and do nothing and it may end up being more structured experience.
Hopefully someone with direct experience with Salk will add to the discussion.
Does the student want to do research?
Is one an opportunity they could have another year?
Is one easier to get to/have housing for/is more convenient?
Does one have more young people around?
Is one more convenient fo r the timing? (vacations/going back to school)
Will one let the student gain some skills they wish to have?
Is one more “prestigious”?
Has the student worked for pay before?
Salk is a highly respected research place. We know people who work there.
I’d go for the paid internship…because in the future, you want paid internships. Plus, I have a personal objection to unpaid internships…it’s a way to get “help” without paying…and I just think that’s wrong.
Thanks everyone for responding. Just to clarify, the confusion arises because Salk is giving my kid a paid internship and it is itself a renowned institute, and on the other hand, the professor is also very well-known in his field and my kid will get a chance to directly work on a research project with other scientists in his lab. My kid is equally interested in both, so which one would look better on a college app?
Do NOT worry about what looks good on the college application. Getting either position is huge for anyone in HS.
Getting paid will give your kid some of his/her own money. This is money s/he earned and should have some control over. You may be rich and able to give your kid every material possession, plus pay for college. If not wealthy any money earned summers will help wit college expenses. Even if your kid got an all expenses paid/full ride for college the discretionary funds will be useful.
I expect college admissions will not be concerned with your kid taking the less/more prestigious internship since just getting any such position is a plus- very few HS kids get opportunities like this (some because they are not available where they live, btw). I see the major benefit is for your kid to learn about research. It is not about knowledge gained because that will come with the college experience. I have an Honors undergrad degree in Chemistry which included various grad lab experiences and research in a pharmacology lab for my senior thesis eons ago. Then MD. I know from experience how little a HS student, regardless of classes taken, knows. I also know the exposure to the research world, regardless of the place, is valuable.
That “well known” professor doesn’t matter. Your kid can visit that lab to see how they do things and develop contacts without being an unpaid worker. Salk will give him contacts with other well regarded researchers, thus widening his/her range of knowing people and how they do things. btw- just because a person is well known in their field does not mean there are many others also well known. Plus- that prof may not be known outside the narrow field. Your kid may eventually choose a major or field that professor has nothing to do with.
Let your kid get paid and be exposed to a wider range of research than a single person in their lab.
Oh, and all of the above may be a moot point if your kid independent of parental/professor influence, has a preference. Do not let the known professor keep your kid from going outside his/her comfort zone to try a totally unknown experience with Salk.
I don’t think we can answer either. I would try to find out what he will actually be doing in each internship.
Hmmm… let’s see…
Paid internship at Google or with a University professor?
Paid internship at Goldman Sachs or with a University professor?
Paid internship at Salk or with a University professor?
I would go for the paid internship at the renowned institute. Then, I would write a gracious regrets letter to the professor, so as not to burn that bridge. GL!!
Are we voting? If we are voting…I would go with Salk.
In general I’d lean toward a paid internship. That said, I’d also look at what you’d be doing in each lab. (Realizing there isn’t that much useful a high school student can do.) But you don’t want to just be cleaning glassware if you can help it. The Salk position might include other perks such as learning about other labs in the Institute.
In terms of colleges there is no difference in prestige. But one might offer more opportunities for an essay, or getting to know a professor. We don’t have enough information to tell you which will give her a better experience.
FWIW my husband is a research biologist (working at a Med School now). He spent a couple of summers in high school working at a lab at NIH. He continued to stay in touch with his mentor there for many years. The researchers at Salk go to the same conferences and publish in the same journals as professors with teaching responsibilities.