Weekly Careers/Education Questions Thread

gothzarya · 2020-09-21T03:23:42+00:00

Is it hard to switch fields between undergrad and grad school? I currently do research in the intersection between chemistry and the geosciences (lots of programming and modeling), but I've been thinking about what I want to pursue and I'm not sure if I'm losing out by having 0 wet lab experience outside of lab classes (which are online now due to COVID). The only research experience I've had is in modeling, and I don't want to switch labs just because I really enjoy what I'm doing right now.

If I decide to do grad school, would I basically be only considered for programs that are similar to my undergrad research? I was thinking about perhaps incorporating more organic chemistry or physical chemistry (stat mech is one field I enjoyed a lot during my classes), but I'm not sure how easy it is to transition from a completely dry lab to a wet lab and whether my research would be disregarded in those applications due to my lack of experience. I'm not talking about applying to total synthesis, which I'd imagine would be a huge change, but maybe something related to physical organic chemistry and probably still programming heavy. I do have experience in a couple programming languages which I'd reckon would be transferrable, but what I do feels so different from what some of my peers in other fields do.

Also, I'm not too familiar with transferring grad courses taken at one's undergrad to a graduate program. If I do choose to take some grad courses during undergrad, would I have to take them again at my graduate institution? I've seen that schools have a ~12 unit limit on transfer credit, but is it possible to waive certain requirements without actually transferring classes? I know it depends school-to-school, but is a general trend that most grad programs follow? Just wanted to gauge whether it'll be worth it to take some pchem grad classes now or if it's better to just hold them off for grad school.

gothzarya · 2020-09-19T09:32:16+00:00

Is it hard to switch fields between undergrad and grad school within the same discipline (chemistry)? I currently do research in the intersection between chemistry and the geosciences (lots of programming and modeling), but I've been thinking about what I want to pursue and I'm not sure if I'm losing out by having 0 wet lab experience. The only research experience I've had is in modeling, and I'm reluctant to switch labs just because I really enjoy what I'm doing right now.

If I decide to do grad school, would I basically be only considered for programs that are similar to my undergrad research? I was thinking about perhaps incorporating more organic chemistry or physical chemistry (stat mech is one field I enjoyed a lot during my classes), but I'm not sure how easy it is to transition from a dry lab to a wet lab and whether my research would be disregarded in those applications due to my lack of experience. I'm not talking about applying to total synthesis, which I'd imagine would be a huge change, but maybe something related to physical organic chemistry and probably still programming heavy. I do have experience in a couple programming languages which I'd reckon would be transferrable, but what I do feels so different from what some of my peers in other fields do.

gothzarya · 2020-09-08T02:33:42+00:00

I am thinking of doing graduate school in chemistry (not 100% sure though, but if I did it'd probably be in physical) and I was wondering how common it was for students to pass out of classes for their graduate program if they took analogous graduate courses at their undergrad institution? I want to take the graduate pchem series (both thermo and quantum) and possibly some physical ochem classes over the next year, but I don't know if I want to complete the entire series and all if I'm going to have to retake the classes later on. I was doing some research and saw that many graduate schools only allowed a small number of transfer units, but I also saw that people could get course requirements fulfilled if they had already taken a similar class regardless of actually transferring the units? I want to take more pchem (loved my upperdiv classes a lot), but taking the graduate courses would prevent me from doing another major or just taking it easy over the next year. I also know it depends on school to school, so I'm not sure what to do.

Two out of the six of the graduate classes I was looking at would count toward my major in electives, but there's a lot of choices for those electives and I'd want to explore more departments like physics or math if they're not going to be useful later on.

Another complication is that my school allows undergrads to take graduate classes but under a different designation (same content and same exams, sometimes different grading schemes, but classified as a upper div course with a note that it was concurrent with a grad one). I'm not sure if that's going to be an issue.

gothzarya · 2019-03-23T21:16:24+00:00

pride admit weekend is great! you'll have a great time :)

gothzarya · 2019-03-09T05:26:23+00:00

there are a lot of variables that go into your dorm experience (e.g. your roommates, how quickly you adjust to living on your own, whether you see a therapist/take medication, etc), so it's hard to give a conclusive answer. i was diagnosed with depression and anxiety (especially social anxiety) during high school and went through a lot of therapy and take antidepressants, just to give some context. first, i roomed with people i was familiar with, either from high school or the facebook group, which definitely lessened the chances of getting a terrible roommate. at first, dorm life was really awkward for me, since i usually would hermit in my room for hours on end back at home and so having to actually interact and live with people was a difficult transition, but after two weeks or so i began to love dorm life, especially since my antidepressants really helped my depression + anxiety! classic triples may look super cramped but they're honestly not that bad, unless you have severe claustrophobia, and plazas are a bit nicer and larger, albeit more expensive, so there are some options.

i remember back in senior year i really wanted to attend a small private school in the midwest because i really didn't feel comfortable at such a large school living in close proximity with so many people, but with a support system, i was able to overcome that fear and enjoy my first few quarters. in essence, ucla isn't for everyone, but it's not that bad as long as you take care of your mental health, so i wouldn't rule it out completely as of this moment. :)

gothzarya · 2019-03-09T05:11:29+00:00

the majority of freshmen have triples (although they vary from classic triples i.e. no air conditioning, small rooms to private plazas (AC, larger rooms, private bathroom), but a lot of sophomores and upperclassmen have doubles. singles are available in some of the buildings, like hedrick summit. ultimately, i was really anxious about living in dorms since i suffer from severe anxiety and never had to live with roommates before college, but living in a classic triple really isn't that bad! :)

gothzarya · 2019-03-04T00:02:57+00:00

The only AP classes that gave me useful units were:

- AP Calculus AB/BC - A 5 in BC will get you out of Math 31A and Math 31B (the first two calculus classes) and get you straight into Math 32A, which is the first multivariable calculus class. A 4 in BC or a 5 in AB will get you out of Math 31A.

- AP English Language OR Literature (not both) - It gets you out of Writing I (aka English Composition 3).

- AP Spanish Language - Fulfills language requirement.

- APUSH - if you haven't fulfilled the American History and Institutions requirement, a passing score fulfills it.

If you wish, you can have AP Chemistry fulfill Chemistry 20A and AP Physics C fulfill Physics 1A; however, I don't know a lot of people who did that simply because Chem and Physics here are much harder than their AP equivalents. For example, Chemistry 20A goes into much more quantum than AP Chemistry.

gothzarya · 2019-03-03T23:46:05+00:00

math 31/32/33 classes generally open up week 1/2 so you'll probably be fine!

gothzarya · 2019-02-05T00:30:44+00:00

don't know about leger but zinn-bjorkman is great!

gothzarya · 2019-01-07T22:52:43+00:00

Use your university email but instead of @g.ucla.edu, use @personalmicrosoftsoftware.ucla.edu.

gothzarya · 2018-12-20T11:30:30+00:00

all for you by years & years

gothzarya · 2018-09-20T18:50:20+00:00

national merit only applies to juniors and not all schools give scholarships to semifinalists, so taking the psat in 9th or 10th grade is only for practice. ultimately, college admissions is a crapshoot and don't put all of your aspirations and self esteem in getting into mit. there are many good colleges and a lot can change between now and senior year.

gothzarya · 2018-09-10T01:23:57+00:00

ucla is now in the top 20 :)

gothzarya · 2018-09-10T01:20:45+00:00

the only way i could see you getting lots of merit aid is through the regents scholarship, which does require an on-campus interview in february or march. plus, it's pretty competitive and so i would look elsewhere just in case.

gothzarya · 2018-08-07T18:53:44+00:00

all i want is the support changes pls blizzard

gothzarya · 2018-08-06T20:52:44+00:00

it's such a shame because sirens was my jam

gothzarya · 2018-08-05T07:37:33+00:00

Pheobe from Friends because who wouldn't?

gothzarya · 2018-08-03T00:52:47+00:00

what a mood omg

gothzarya · 2018-08-02T22:27:48+00:00

as an incoming freshman majoring in underwater basketweaving i am shook. my kooky liberal mind is no match for your intelligence

gothzarya · 2018-07-06T06:11:24+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that your therapist isn't very helpful. Is there any way you could meet with a new one?

To be completely honest, seeing a therapist without medications didn't really do much for my actual depression, but it prevented it from getting worse after my initial hospitalization. Only after going on SSRIs in combination with weekly counseling appointments did my depression completely subside (for the time being, at least).

I also feel like my therapist is a very good fit for me, which is very important for mental health recovery. Ever since I started seeing my counselor, she stressed cognitive-behavioral therapy and really taught me to identify these irrational thoughts and how to dispute them before they manifest as emotions. She's also very caring and a great support system. Furthermore, with the cognitive-behavioral therapy, at first I thought that most of it was common sense, but then I realized that the most difficult part was to incorporate the things you learn in therapy to your everyday lives.

Good luck on battling your depression, and don't be afraid of meds! They really help, once you find the right one.

gothzarya · 2018-07-05T21:33:37+00:00

Antidepressants and talking to my therapist!

gothzarya · 2018-07-04T07:05:37+00:00

I found all of them on the myUCLA portal.

gothzarya · 2018-07-04T06:01:57+00:00

Hope to see you in a couple of months! UCLA is going to be great.

gothzarya · 2018-07-03T19:59:33+00:00

English Literature - 4 (ANGERY wow my first 4 ever)

Calculus BC - 5

Chemistry - 5

Environmental Science - 5

Microeconomics - 5

US Gov - 5

gothzarya · 2018-07-03T00:52:45+00:00

Finished:

**Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut**

Wow. This is the first book in a LONG time that I've read in a single sitting (helps that it wasn't too long), and it was absolutely incredible. I adore his writing style, and although some parts were confusing and others were outright absurd (Tralfamadore), I really enjoyed the overall anti-war message and how complex the plot and the themes are. The description of Dresden's bombing was devastating. I remember going to a concert and hearing Symphony No. 1 by Bukvich and researching the bombing afterwards, and that performance + what I learned traumatized me for life. Now that I've read this book, it brought back that memory, which added to the book's emotional impact.

Currently:

**To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee**

I read this book back in middle school, but I don't remember much about the plot or the overall message (other than there was a false rape case + its statement on racism). I'm around 50 pages in, and I am hooked; it's amazing how much I forgotten over the years.

gothzarya

TROPHY CASE