End The Job Search... Start With Research!
What I Learned From My Summer Co-op Position At McMaster
Last February, in the midst of my second year of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University, I began applying for my first ever summer co-op. It was a long and winding road, but after countless applications and emails, I came out with an offer to join the Higgins research lab. I took my time deciding on whether to accept, with questions like “Is research really something I’m interested in?” and “What sort of skills will I need?” drifting through my head. For advice, I consulted some friends that had previously spent a term in research. I was surprised to hear that their feedback was less than enthusiastic. For some, the extended months on a quiet campus wore them down; for others, the project work was tedious or unengaging.
Despite the warnings, I decided to take the job, hoping that my experience would be different… and it was! I loved my summer co-op, where I spent four vibrant months researching a new material for supercapacitor applications. It was filled with independence, curiosity, and camaraderie. In this piece, I’ll give a review of my own research experience, providing the context and nuance that I wish I could have received during my own job search. I have tried to be honest, including both the ups and downs of research as I experienced it, but ultimately, I would recommend research as a great co-op option!
Learning the Ropes of Research
Let’s start at the beginning. The first step of any good research project is reading... lots of reading. No matter the project, most of the first month is spent working through papers (and the occasional YouTube summary) to get a solid understanding of important topics. Unfortunately, reading research papers is not the same as reading a good book; they can be dense, verbose, and tough to work through, especially at the start of the co-op term, and especially if you didn’t sleep well the night before. Every student has a different take on reading papers – personally, I am much happier in the lab, working with my hands. But, like it or not, reading is critical to starting off in research. Some of my strategies for reading were to set daily goals (e.g., two papers before lunch) and try to find holes in the literature that my research could fill in. This helped with my motivation and attentiveness while reading. But even tips and tricks only go so far, and some days will just be slogs.
Eventually, though, reading gives way to active days of experiments and chemistry. This, of course, is the lab element of research. Part of what makes ‘labbing’, as my colleagues and I deemed it, so exciting is that it manifests all of the literature content into a tangible format. This transition is incredibly fulfilling. Over the term, I went from reading about a molecule to making it in the lab to testing it in a practical application. I loved the continuity of the project throughout the term, and seeing how far I was able to get from paper to practice gave me a real sense of accomplishment. It’s true that lab days can sometimes drag on and be repetitive, but the thrill of testing new theories and finding new results always trumps tiredness, and by the end of the research term, you will build a full picture around your original project.
I was able to present my project at a research poster in my final week, and it was such a rewarding experience. Looking at the poster now, I can smile knowing that both reading and ‘labbing’ culminated in something new and valuable. Not only that, but I have developed a deep, nuanced expertise on a project that I led, which will serve me well in future job searches.
The Research Environment
Here’s another lesson that I learned quickly as a researcher: If you desire a successful research project, you must let the research dictate your hours, rather than your hours dictate the research. For this reason, workdays often fall outside of the typical 9 to 5 range.
Despite even the best intentions to end early, research will find a wrench to throw into your carefully scheduled day plans. I often looked a week in advance to book the necessary machines and organize my daily goals. But some experimental steps could take multiple tries to get right, and every missed attempt added more minutes to the day. This can be frustrating and stressful, especially when you are still at the lab at 8:30pm instead of singing karaoke with your friends (true story). But hold tight! I can promise that it is worth it to end up with a completed project, even at the expense of a couple grey hairs.
Something else that makes the time pass faster is the company of coworkers. Relative to some of the massive engineering companies out there, labs have a very small, young workforce. In the right lab environment, this is an ingredient for an amazing co-op. Small groups make the job feel more personal and supportive. I can only speak for the Higgins lab, but I have friends in other research groups with similar experiences. Whether you are creating an experiment, reading a paper, or analyzing some data, grad students are always open to answering questions and making suggestions. Even better, all research co-op students are individually paired with a specific lab member as their mentor.
A good mentor becomes a teacher, advisor, sounding board, and teammate. You are bonded by the pursuit of a common research goal, with all the celebration and sorrow that comes with striving for it. That creates a powerful mentor-mentee relationship that can last beyond the four months on the job. To me, these friendships (both with mentors and colleagues) are some of the most special parts of the research experience.
Research vs. Industry
Research or industry? That’s the ultimate question for most engineering students facing co-op decisions. It’s a question I learned more about in my co-op as well. The distinctions between the two are manifold, but there were two big ones that I noticed while working in the lab.
I. Scope
Our supervisor, Dr. Drew Higgins, stressed that each researcher should be aware of and motivated by the WHY? behind their project. My project’s big picture was that supercapacitors can be used in modern electric devices like electric vehicles (EVs) to prolong battery life. But there is a huge gap between making a small amount of material in a lab setup and applying it in the newest Tesla model. Since research sits so early in this process, its scope tends to be limited to the scientific lens. Meanwhile, questions about the financial or legal or social implications, which are so integral to engineering today, are not always the focus. As someone intrigued by those aspects, I may be more suited to industry. At the same time, I am grateful to have gained a perspective on the humble beginnings of many engineering solutions, which has equipped me with an insight that I can carry forward to an industry position in the future.
II. Independence
Despite the limited scope, research offers student opportunities that are hard to come by with industry. And the best part about that is the freedom to carve out your own project from start to finish. Research is naturally open-ended, so it encourages new ideas. Every member of the lab is, in some way, studying something that has never been done before. As a co-op student, I was invited into this spirit of curiosity and innovation, and I ended up finding my own molecule to study as a supercapacitor material. At every turn, I was encouraged to improve it, learn about it, and champion my own project on it – all while being paid! This is an opportunity that I don’t imagine to be available in industry, where clients' needs and company plans dictate the work you do. Having a say in my project made it much more interesting and I loved showing up to work everyday. It also justifies the long days and longer papers, because there is an exciting goal in mind.
Wrap-Up
During co-op applications, research can often be seen as a Plan B to engineers. In a discipline like ours, where profit and practicality are the markers of success, research can seem too short-sighted or small-scale. But my experience taught me that a good research term has tons to contribute to an engineering education, by nature of its close-knit community and room for independence. After a co-op in research, I feel like a more confident, organized, and aware engineer. For this reason, I think research is a wonderful way to set foot into the STEM workforce for the first time, where you can learn about the working world in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Not to mention, professors can be less stringent about past STEM experience than industry employers!
For any student considering research in the future, my best advice is that you find a lab with a topic that fascinates you and go from there. You can email grad students or professors, look through lab sites, attend research nights – anything that helps you find the right fit. McMaster has one of the most robust undergraduate research networks in Canada, so there is no shortage of options. If you love your project, the days will fly by and the work will come naturally. And who knows - if it goes well, you might even get your name on a research paper!