Hey all,
This is Justin here
and I will be reflecting on my internship so far. Compared to my peers, my
experience thus far has been quite the atypical one, filled with much uncertainty and
stress. So please keep your hands, arms and legs inside the carriage at all times
and enjoy the ride.
I discovered the
hard way (over the past 4 weeks) that supervisors are not always stellar at
handling their email inboxes. Week 1 swings by and everyone seems to have
sorted out their projects with their supervisors. Meanwhile I have yet to have
received a response from my supervisors about lab meeting times, details of my
project, relevant readings and what I can do in the lab. At that time I figured
that maybe this is normal, since it is still the start of the semester.
Week 2, 3 then 4
swings by. Everyone else it seems, are already well established in their
projects, somewhere through data collection and already analysing results.
Meanwhile, I was as clueless about my project in week 4 as I was in week 1.
After several persistent follow up emails about lab meeting times, details of
my project, relevant readings and what I can do in the lab, I have yet to
receive any email from my supervisor. At this point I am feeling the pressure
and stress from being behind my peers by 4 weeks of work despite trying my best
efforts, and especially with work from other courses piling up. It was then I decided to speak to the
coordinator of the internship course - she was incredibly supportive and
understanding of my circumstance and with her help, I at long last received the
awaited email from my supervisor. Eventually, I was set up with one of my
supervisor's post-docs who was very helpful in setting me up in the lab.
A visual representation of my internship so far
Supervisors are
human too - they have research grants to write, research to carry out, lectures
to prepare and deliver, meetings to schedule, other commitments to fulfill, and
importantly, they have their own personal lives. The reality is that even when trying
your best in coming prepared (not saying that I was 100% perfect god-tier
student on my end), research is a collaborative process and how you navigate
your relationship with your supervisor and the research team will shape your
experience. Research is often not a straightforward process, and the same can
be said in reconciling interpersonal dynamics in and outside the academic area.
What started with
anticipation of quality sessions with rats, turned into a rollercoaster of
navigating student-professor dynamics. There are several things I would note to
myself and to my loyal readers that have read this far on how to points to
consider when undertaking an research internship or deciding post graduate
research (for prospective interns and honours student):
- Consider supervision style: hopefully being the keen psychology/science student that you are, you were drawn to your supervisor of choice out of interest in their field of research. One important factor that can be overlooked is the supervision style of the professor. Commit to having at least some face to face interaction with your prospective supervisors as that is the best way to find out what kind of person they are and how easy it is to build rapport. It may be worth when talking to prospective supervisors to address that point directly and ask them what their supervision style is, or how they have managed students in the past. Also, having some sort of face to face interaction with prospective supervisors can indicate a lot about
- Set/Identify expectations early: all supervisors have their criteria for what makes a great student researcher. Identify what they are early and it will give you more certain and ground as you undertake research under the supervisor.
- Touch base with your peers: undertaking research can be an uncertain process. Getting to know your peers and talking about your experiences can help you orientate yourself and support each other. More than likely, you are not the only one experiencing what you are experiencing - and if you are, its a good sign something might be wrong and to go seek some help.
- Embrace the learning experiences: as chaotic, uncertain and stressful as my situation was, I learnt a lot about navigating myself around the research environment. No matter what your experience may be, you are bound to learn something that should inform you better about what research is like.
Despite the significant stress and uncertainty I have felt for some period, one perspective is that all of it was for the better. The point of the internship after all, is to get insight and experience doing research in a non-consequential environment. A good fit internship would have been the most comfortable and stress-free. But it is the badly fitted ones that feel uncomfortable that forces you to do something about your situation, and in the process learning how to deal with it better when the consequences really do count.
That's it from me,
thanks for reading
Justin
Wow Justin, you certainly have had a crazy ride so far! What I find really interesting in this internship is just how different each and everyone's experiences are. It can definitely be challenging at times but it feels like I've taken away more from the first 5 weeks of this course then I have in most of my degree! Like you said, these are things that will inevitably arise and I also do think it's an awesome experience to be able to do it such an non-consequential environment.
ReplyDeleteI think you have handled your situation really well and we are all lucky to have such supportive peers and course coordinator! Good luck with your proposal writing, looking forward to hearing more about your project!
Mikayla :)
Hi Justin,
ReplyDeleteSure sounds like you've had quite the experience so far! I think one of the key points you made is to commit to meeting prospective supervisors face to face. This makes a lot of sense, as you want to make sure that you'll be able to work well with your supervisor. It's highly unlikely that you'd accept a job offer in the real world without first meeting the people you'd be working for. Meeting this way before hand would also allow you to establish with them what you can expect from them, and what they expect from you, which is really useful information to consider when choosing a supervisor.
I would also say that it's a good idea to try and get in touch with other students who currently have, or have previously worked with, any prospective supervisors, so that you can hear their perspectives on the type of supervisor they are.
You seemed to be taking all the obstacles thrown your way in your stride, and are taking the opportunity to learn more about how research is conducted, as well as what kind of supervision works well for you. Hopefully this information will be useful for the rest of your degree, and good luck with the rest of your project!
Alex