Best plan to increase grad school chances?

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>Hey all, I will have my BS in biology with a few weeks. Unfortunately, I have nothing on my resume currently concerning research except for a short unpaid internship.</p>

<p>It seems that for jobs and for grad school, a resume that shows experience helping a professor with research during an undergraduate career is extremely important. And unfortately, I lack this and it's too late to do this at this point.</p>

<p>What is the best plan for someone who wants to go for graduate school in Molecular Biology? Btw, I can't attend grad school starting Fall 2012, I plan to start it Fall 2013 or Fall 2014. It seems my best options are...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Work as a lab technician for a year for a company outside of acadamia, and ask my employer for a letter of recommendation. </p></li>
<li><p>Work as a lab associate for a univeresity for a year, and ask the principal investigator/employer for a letter of recommendation.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Now, given my situation, these are my best two options right? Out of these, it seems #2 is far superior to #1, correct? Will I meet the qualifications for #2? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>This seems like an unfortunate situation. Pure science degrees these days seem to be less than worthless esp. bio and chem. </p>

<p>I hope you are not trying to get a Ph. D in microbiology as you run the risk of being stuck in post-doc limbo land and being over qualified and under appreciated. A Master’s will probably be you best bet. I suggest asking your advisor what you should do. You prob have to end work working as a lab tech somewhere making $12/hr.</p>

3

<p>I enjoy science, learning, and doing research…I know science degrees aren’t the best paying. Most people with Bachelor’s degrees make ~50k while I’ll be making $35k at most. Btw, lab techs make $17/hour not $12/hour.</p>

<p>So of the two options, which is my best bet?</p>