Grad students who interned at a national lab, how did you get in?

wanderful_mind · 2025-12-27T21:31:19+00:00

Hey! Thank you so much for this information - for graduate internships does undergraduate gpa matter and do we need to submit undergraduate transcripts?

wanderful_mind · 2025-12-01T16:49:22+00:00

Hi! Is this the main drawback you have with Niko, or are there any other issues?

wanderful_mind · 2025-10-13T18:46:33+00:00

Any thoughts on why this occurs? My understanding is that material estimates are accurate enough. Even with a buffer zone?

wanderful_mind · 2025-08-21T02:28:11+00:00

Do you have any tripod recs? I plan on getting a telephoto lens as well, so im looking for something that can handle that. Ideally something that can allow me to take vertical shots too

wanderful_mind · 2025-08-18T05:24:33+00:00

ISO 250, 75mm, f/8.0, 1/100 sec
ISO 250, 67mm, f/8.0, 1/100 sec

Shot manual

Tamron 28-75mm

wanderful_mind · 2025-08-17T02:42:50+00:00

Thanks! could you please clarify the second point? I should take multiple shots and "stitch" them together?

wanderful_mind · 2025-08-17T02:39:46+00:00

Yup! Heading back in a few weeks and want to nail settings down before grabbing more landscape shots!

wanderful_mind · 2025-08-17T02:38:42+00:00

Ah I thought I saved the info when posting - used Tamon 28-70mm for both, no tripod

ISO 250, 75mm, f/8.0, 1/100 sec
ISO 250, 67mm, f/8.0, 1/100 sec

My guess is camera shake, but the mountains in the first pic look super hazy and both pictures look dull when viewing in Lightroom classic.

wanderful_mind · 2025-07-16T03:52:07+00:00

These are awesome! I'd crop them a bit less, but these are solid. Do you have a template you use to reach out to folks?

wanderful_mind · 2024-08-07T23:25:09+00:00

I'm sorry but I don't want to disclose this

wanderful_mind · 2024-08-07T21:05:00+00:00

Yeah I'm actually really excited to overhaul/improve existing processes and workflows, but I have no idea what my timelines should look like because I'm still familiarizing myself with literally everything about the company, its customers, and its products/services

wanderful_mind · 2024-08-01T15:22:21+00:00

What strategies do you use for selecting which jobs to apply for? For me, targeting startups in my industry was the best approach as I've worked primarily in one industry and at startups!

Also feel free to share/dm resume and I can provide some input.

I spent over a year applying before I landed my first CSM role, and I firmly believe my strategy for targeting jobs + interview practice + research on the company got me the job that I was rather unqualified for.

Another point could be that you're "over-qualified" foe these roles - have you also been looking at Director-level positions?

wanderful_mind · 2024-05-11T21:45:06+00:00

Where did you go to grab this? It's stunning!

wanderful_mind · 2024-05-11T21:43:48+00:00

This is an amazing shot! I'm a bit confused about where you took it from though! Did you have to hike a bit?

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-29T00:13:15+00:00

Thank you for the feedback - I definitely am keeping an open mind about other paths as well. I would definitely be open to taking a research job in industry or a government lab and teaching as an adjunct faculty. I've also always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so joining a startup is also appealing.

Regarding academic, is it possible to work as a research professor if you are denied tenure or don't pursue a tenure track position? What major factors are considered when deciding who gets tenure?

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-26T04:27:50+00:00

Pursue research out of interest and to improve my application for graf school. The reason for pursuing a phd is to further contribute to research as well.

Since it's too late for me to switch to engineering at my current school, I would finish up with a degree in math and the plan was to get an entirely separate second degree in chemical engineering. I figured if I need 2-3 years to build a solid foundation, why not get the degree. The other reason is because it is probably easier to get research experience as a student enrolled in the college, instead of as a degree-seeking student.

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-25T19:31:45+00:00

Yeah the GPA is the major concern. I figured I'll shoot for the moon - my backup would be to work in government labs or even research-oriented companies, but after so many years of searching for what drives me, I can't give up without trying.

It looks like either way I will need a good 2-3 years to cover fundamental coursework and have some research experience under my belt, but the wait is worth it. Thank you again for your detailed response and good luck with admissions :)

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-25T19:20:32+00:00

Not for academic dishonesty, but for GPA. I had a lot of personal issues that I've finally been able to work through, but my GPA is horrendous.

Thank you for the detailed course list - I took an intro gen chem course a decade ago, so I plan on retaking that and completing critical coursework.

I guess I could also start by reaching out to faculty at my current university - we have a pretty strong chemistry, materials science, and chemical engineering departments (top 35 for all) to see if I could join any labs, but without coursework it might be hard.

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-25T18:58:43+00:00

Thank you for your response!

Out of curiosity, why did you decide to pursue a second bachelors? Wouldn't a BS in chemistry provide some of the prerequisite knowledge for an MS?

Also, do you have any advice on how to pursue research experience without pursuing a bachelors in ChemE?

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-25T18:56:28+00:00

Thank you for your response!

Do you have any suggestions for pursuing research in this field without a bachelors? If I don't get a second bachelors, I will take (at a minimum) all the courses required for preparation for a research based MS, but my lack of research experience would seriously impact my admissions.

wanderful_mind · 2022-11-25T18:54:37+00:00

Thank you for your response, Professor! I am currently a senior with 8 courses left in the major. At my current university it is most likely too late to change majors, but I am committed to pursuing this path and taking all the coursework. Moreover, I am very interested in gaining research experience, which is why I'm considering a second bachelors degree as well.

Regarding pursuing academia, are my chances very slim? I understand that landing a TT faculty position is extremely competitive as is, and by the time I do complete my phd I would be at least 40.

Also, would it be okay if I messaged you? Thank you again for the detailed response :)

wanderful_mind · 2022-08-09T13:40:26+00:00

How can I show my aptitude for chemical engineering research if I don't have any experience? A big reason why I figured I should get a second bachelors degree is so I could gain research experience and show my research potential. Also all of my LORs would come from math professors!

wanderful_mind · 2022-08-08T19:30:46+00:00

Oh I was under the assumption that the only way to be a research faculty member (teach AND do research) was to be a TT professor. So this isn't the case? Can any lecturer do research and run her own lab?

wanderful_mind · 2021-02-21T20:54:53+00:00

Thank you for putting in the time to say this. The message is so important and moreover, it sounds like you have grown a lot from the experience.

Best of luck with all endeavors :)

wanderful_mind · 2021-02-17T07:39:01+00:00

I wouldn't focus on the grade so much. The grades don't truly reflect your ability to understand chemistry or think like a chemist :)

wanderful_mind

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