Next semester I am signed up for 17 units (2 GEs for 7 units, 1 upper division math class for 4 units, and one service learning GE for 6 units that requires 30 hours of community service over the semester in addition to class time). I’ve also been offered an undergrad research opportunity next semester. My would-be mentor told me that it would be at least 4 hours a week worth of research every week. Do you all think that I should take this opportunity, or pass on it? I’m mostly worried about not having enough time for my classes (I really want to maintain straight A’s) and I also don’t have the slightest clue about research. I know my mentor said I’d be reading a lot of papers and conducting surveys and stuff, but I’m not entirely sure about everything.
Are you a first-year student? How have your classes gone this semester?
I always encourage students to participate in undergraduate research if it’s something that you think you might want to pursue in the future. Getting research opportunities handed to you is often a great thing as well, because depending on your field and school, opportunities can be fairly competitive or require a lot of initiative on the part of the student. Also, if research is something you want to pursue, having experience makes it much, much easier to get a subsequent research experience and make it easier to get a paid job in a research lab.
I wouldn’t be too discouraged about not knowing anything about research. Participating in research projects is the main way students figure out what it really entails, and I’ve found that a lot of students don’t really know anything about it until they do it themselves. Your mentor knows that you don’t have a lot of research experience and that you are a new college student (I’m assuming). They’ll help you out, and 4 hours/week really isn’t very much. You are very likely going to have 4 hours/week available. I think it sounds like a great way to get your foot in the door when it comes to research, and a good thing to put on your resume. That being said, if you’re not interested in research, then it’s not that big of a deal if you pass on it.
You’re coursework doesn’t sound too intense as well. Are your GEs easier classes or are they classes that you think you might struggle with (a lot of work/reading, a subject area you don’t do well in)? Is math something you struggle with (and require a lot of extra study or help) or do you tend to do well? I don’t know what the service learning GE entails, but I wouldn’t suspect the class would be too intensive in terms of classwork required, except for perhaps writing assignments or a paper. 30 hours of community service over a 15-week semester is only 2 hours/week. Even if you did it over 10 weeks (the length of a typical quarter), that’s only 3 hours/week. That plus the research commitment is still less than what a typical part-time job would entail.
I would say that if you handled everything well this semester, then I would go for it, unless you are worried about some of your classes and/or have other time-consuming commitments (a job, family obligations, extracurriculars, a sport, club involvement, etc). If you find that it’s really too much work or that your classes are suffering, then you can talk to your mentor about it. They understand that you are a student first and will work with you to make the workload more manageable or understand that you can’t continue working with them that semester. I wouldn’t go into assuming that you’ll just drop it, but if you are really struggling in your classes, then it is always an option.
Thank you for your response! Math isn’t a difficult subject area for me; I’m a math major. This is my first upper division math course, however, and it is entirely proof based and is also the prereq for all other upper division math courses at my school, so it is really important that I do well/understand it. The other GEs are reading and writing intensive. With regards to service learning, the class meets for 6 hours weekly and has a lot of readings that you read in order to apply it to your community service and write papers throughout the semester. The fact that the GEs are reading/writing intensive makes me hesitant to do the research opportunity.
Right now I am in 12 units (discrete math, calc 3, and a GE). I am a first year, and I want to be a math teacher (not interested in doing research in the future). Thanks again!