Why Undergrad Research Isn’t Just for PhDs, It’s a Skill Accelerator

Introduction

When students hear the word 'research', they only imagine lab coats, decades-long studies, or dense academic papers written in language no one actually talks in. This leads to automatically thinking they are not good enough to participate in research as an undegraduate.

But real research, especially as undegraduate, does not need to be perfect. It can be fast, messy, practical, and surprisingly creative.

If you're studying Data Science, AI, psychology, marketing, or economics, joining a research lab or assisting a professor is one of the best ways to accelerate your growth. There are many reasons for it, in this node we would talk about both the benefits and strategy to get into that position as an undegrad with no/small experience!

Benefits

Before jumping into strategy, we first need to ask 'How would research experience help me? Why would I want to have it?'. That being said, there are many benefits, however we would outline few of them, some of these benefits are for intellectual development, while others directly improve your career. Also, if you have any other benefits on your mind, don't be scared to request an edit and share your ideas!

1. You learn how to work with incomplete information.

   Unlike classroom problems, research questions don't always have clean textbook solutions or structure. You learn to be fine with incertainty, work with varying types and structures of information, missing information and more. Basically you attain a real world experience, where not everything is perfect and structured, which directly improves your personal skills and prepares you for job environment.

2. You learn how to adapt.

   Some of the tools and systems that are used in research environment are not always taught in classroom, same applies to job environment, which is completely fine! However, while working in research, you develop the skill of adapting to new environment and toolset in real time while also working, a skill that you are going to use pretty much anywhere in job sphere too.

3. You build real-world, publishable experience.

   Whether you assist with data collection, running models, writing / reviewing papers - it all stacks up. With detailed explanation of your role and impact on resume, your chances of landing that internship / job are becoming increasingly higher. On the other hand, you are entering a network of research industry professionals with endless employment / research opportunities.

Strategy

So now that we see some of the benefits of getting into research as an undegrad, how can we actually stand out among hundreds, if not thousands of applicants, students like us or even more qualified? In case if you have some experience, that's wonderful, you can use it on some of the steps to show your proficiency and skills. However, if you have low to no showcasable experience, no worries, we will talk about how to become a better candidate!

1. Projects, projects, projects.

If you don't have any past showcasable experience, then your go-tos are projects, however I am not talking about any projects, but those that would capture attention and would seem relatable to the research industry / specific research topics you are applying for. Another way is going through online courses that are project based, however in this case there is no guarantee that someone else might not have the exact same project as you. In my opinion the best way would be using LLMs, such as ChatGPT or Claude to act as an assistant and give you creative ideas, guide you through project and help you. In this way, you would have personal, creative and complex project that captures skills, topics and knowledge that would be needed in your potential research position. This is not just interesting project, but an evidence of a simulated real-world experience and skillset.

To show your projects, you can either mention them and put the links to project in your CV / Resume, or even better create a portfolio with all your projects and put the link on your CV. We will discuss portfolio, CV and such in a separate step.

2. Cold Email, Reaching out to your Professors

The most common way students get research positions is through direct outreach, usually via email. However, not all cold emails are equal, and if you want to stand out (especially without past experience), you need to be clear, respectful, and personal.

The main things to include in your email are - short introduction ( name, major, year ), mentioning why their research interested you ( be really specific, include some details after reading their papers, cite the paper / project with specific paragraph which captured your attention, or ask a curious question that targets part of their research or paper ), show them how you can be useful to their research ( be specific here too, mention certain skills, tools you use, personality traits, make sure they sound relatable to the research you apply for and can be seen as useful for them ).

You don’t need to sound overly formal or robotic. Just be honest and curious. Most professors don’t expect you to know everything, they just want students who are genuinely interested and willing to learn. And even if you don’t get a response right away, that’s normal, follow up once after a week or two.

3. Portfolio, Resume, Online Presence

Once you start building your projects, even small ones, you should begin putting them together in one place - a portfolio.
You can do this in many ways: a GitHub repo, a Notion page, a simple personal website, or even a Google Drive folder. The goal is to show that you’re serious and can explain your work clearly.

Some of the important things to include are - A short summary of each project, tools that you used, results or takeaways ( charts, visuals, mistakes you learned from )

If you are data science, computer science or similar major, you can use GitHub templates for your portfolio. I personally used this video to create it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CLhQdLp8w&t=597s. And if you're more writing-focused, consider turning one of your projects into a Medium article, breaking down what you learned in plain language. This shows reflection, which professors really value.

4. Use Your School Resources and Programs

Many students skip this step, but your university might already have research programs, assistantships, or funding you can apply for, especially during summer or through your department.

Some of the steps you can try are - Looking up your major department's website and check for 'research opportunities', 'labs' or 'faculty projects', visiting your school's Undegraduate Research Office or checking their website, asking your TAs or advisors, course professors to find professors conducting research and looking for assistants.

Sometimes just showing up to an info session or open lab meeting can lead to an opportunity. You don’t have to wait for someone to invite you - ask questions, be present, and be okay starting small.

Summary

As you can see research can lead to a world of opportunities and improve your career and personal traits, on the other it is always a challenge to get that position, considering the competition. I hope you enjoyed this little informational node and got some useful tips, and if you are a student ( even better if professor! ) with some tips and pieces of advice on your mind, click the New Edit to share your ideas!