MRI presentation done; rant about undergrad life

Other than the HUGE brain fart I had in the middle of one of my slides (where I could visualize the answer but could not make my mouth work), the presentation went fine– I finished a few minutes before class ended, steered away from the heavy physics and math, made it almost exactly 45 minutes, and hopefully taught some new things. I don’t remember what I said, but I remembered more of my notes than I thought I would. And, explaining the various MRI photos I had in my presentation was an added “wow, that’s interesting!” oomph, I thought.

Another thing I learned is that if you have a choice, don’t cover a topic that everyone knows a lot about, because if they grill you, it’s hard on the presentation (and maybe the presenter). Cover a topic that’s basically new (and possibly interesting) to most people, so that everyone can learn something and the grilling is at a minimum, that way the pace of the presentation isn’t interrupted too much and you don’t loose your track of thought. My brain fart happened when I was trying to explain physics but lacked the skills for it. Instead, I said something (probably not that intelligent, ugh) and moved on. We had a mini-discussion in the middle of a .ppt presentation and tangents, while cool, might make it hard for everyone to get back onto the track of the presentation.

But this is a milestone of some sorts, because it marks the end of projects to do in my first graduate seminar. I made it! And I wasn’t as lost and confused as I thought I would be at the beginning! I was in this class for the experience, and ended up really glad that I stayed in despite a week of being sick and two weeks in Europe.

This leads to my main gripe about undergraduate studies: time. I would rather sweat my way through this graduate class than suffer through Biology 101, mainly because in this seminar type of class I could grow into any topic I chose as long as it had something to do with the title of the class (Physiological Methods in Research). The class is two hours once a week, so time is used efficiently; discussions are mature in that graduate students usually know what’s confusing, what’s not, and know when to move on. Usually. Compared to Bio 101, grad student discussions are like whiskey to Tom Waits.

Ah, Bio 101. In Bio 101, there were lab hours and lecture hours several times a week. Do we really need a full 10 hours of week of Bio 101? And most of that time seem wasted to me. Also, I didn’t understand why we needed to be in a laboratory setting physically if half the time, it wasn’t actually necessary to be there and I could do the busy work– in less time— at home. Bio 101, the bane of my existence.

There is also the time in class that can be used differently. In two hours of my grad seminar we can cover the concepts and methods of two research articles using two different methods. We can discuss electrophysiology and MRI efficiently and maturely in two hours. But, in two hours of Bio 101, half of that two hours is consisted of constant confusion, argument, and multiple explanations that lead to… more confusion. There’s lots of arguing because one person just couldn’t add another viewpoint to his/her cognitive map or that questions with hellaciously obvious answers were being asked constantly or that people didn’t manage time correctly while discussing things. In Bio 101 it always seemed like a concept map of basic biology vocabulary took 20 times longer to do than necessary. Cue ripping out my hair because we have five minutes left to finish this stupid poster and you guys are all still arguing over what “synapomorphy” means! If I could have opted out of Bio 101 and instead take another grad seminar in its place, I would have dropped Bio 101 like a plate of Ebola, but The Management prevents me from making that kind of switch.

And get this: I missed three weeks of class but I got to stay in my grad seminar and make up the work, YET I was advised to drop Bio 101 because missing that much time would ruin my grade. It’s stupid that my ass in that roller-chair gives me a grade regardless of whether I was bored out of my fucking mind. As if the contents of my brain had no relevance whatsoever.

It’s rather difficult to do undergraduate research unless you have someone who has time to teach you how to do the physical techniques and unless you have a whole year of at least 20 extra hours per week, outside of class & work, to do your study. I remember that one semester where the ultimate objective was to learn and do a BrdU study along with 12 other units of class (by the way, this is possible if you don’t ever sleep). I’m still not sure how people can do research on top of 12 units of required classes (and the work that goes with that). Because of class load, undergraduates (where I am) usually don’t even have the time. But I’ve found it pretty easy so far to gain access to labs as a volunteer/student, and over the past 1.5 years I’m now working in a third lab but have met a lot of awesome people along the way.

The grad students I’ve talked to usually have 6-8 units of class, if that; they’re required to be in the lab and they’re given the time for it. Today I learned that the male grad student’s only class is the seminar we’re in together. His only class. All TWO UNITS of it. I walked behind him screaming “LUCKY BASTARD” in my mind.

Generally, I would rather have been required to choose either between working in a genetics lab or taking a genetics class. Hands down, I would choose lab time if I had the choice and left the lecture to those students who learn through memorizing. Instead, my undergrad career has been trying to take all the required classes, some of which were time-wasters, and wondering when I would ever get the time to obtain real lab experience (not just sitting in a lab).

So let me just say this: half of undergrad life is a big waste of time, and in essence you’re required to waste that time even though you know you could use that time better. The other half– the half that gives you classes with fun field trips, fun lab times, gives you electives that includes a grad seminar or two– that’s what’s cool.

At the end, I hope my genetics lab volunteering will help me obtain a real job working in a lab somewhere. Volunteering earns me no money, and my loans are running out, so I must find a full-time job. After that, I hope to launch into a graduate career. Even the grad student I’m working for has worked in a lab for four years before she went back to school.