Going back.

[clinco]

I'm twenty-eight and I graduated from college in 2009. I majored in biology and chemistry. Unfortunately, since then I've done various odd-jobs and been employed as a...bartender. What's worse, I have no research experience save for brief field study. I didn't really have any well-defined goals throughout college, except some vague ideas of medical school.

I've decided that I want to go to graduate school, and I have a serious interest in tropical conservation ecology, especially integrated with zoology.

Right now I feel very distanced from my educational background, and anxious about how far removed my job has been from anything I hope to pursue in graduate school.

Does anyone have any advice on good ways to pursue a graduate program or, if that's not possible, get back on track? Would I be completely out of line in hoping a strong statement of purpose would suffice for acceptance without research or a related interim job?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[newms]

Would I be completely out of line in hoping a strong statement of purpose would suffice for acceptance without research or a related interim job?

Not out of line at all. My situation was kinda similar to yours in that I was out of undergrad for a few years and didn't have much research experience. I think having a statement of purpose that was focused on what I wanted to do in grad school helped a lot, and I know that is what caught the attention of the prof whose group I will likely be working with. What you could do to increase your chances of writing a strong SoP is to read papers in the area that you're interested in. By reading papers you'll help to get a better sense of what you're interested in and of what is current in the field. You'll also be able to write a more focused and detailed SoP if you have good background knowledge of current research. Good luck!

Edited April 23, 2011 by newms

[UnlikelyGrad]

Does anyone have any advice on good ways to pursue a graduate program or, if that's not possible, get back on track? Would I be completely out of line in hoping a strong statement of purpose would suffice for acceptance without research or a related interim job?

Do you live near a university of any sort? If possible, take some classes as a non-degree student--if possible, classes taught by someone whose research you find interesting. Impress the professor (go to office hours!!) and try to land a gig doing part-time unpaid research.

If you follow this path, it may be a while before you're ready to apply for grad school...you're probably looking at the 2013 application season at the earliest...but at least you will have something more interesting than bartending to keep you occupied in the interim. (I'm not saying you should quit your job in the interim, but it shouldn't be the focus of your life.)

BTW, I think it's not uncommon for people to work at menial jobs before deciding what they want to be when they grow up. On orientation day, my department had all the incoming grads stand up to introduce themselves. One stood up and explained that after undergrad, he'd sold mattresses for a couple of years...another shouted out, "Hey! I delivered mattresses before I came here!" We all had a good laugh over that!

[newms]

Would you be able to get good letters of recommendation from professors who taught you at your undergrad?

[clinco]

Thank you both for the surprisingly quick responses.

newms: That's wonderful to hear.

As far as specific papers, I've been scouring journals for awhile now so in that regard I think I'm in good shape.

It's been two years since I've contacted any of my undergraduate professors, so I'm somewhat worried about that. If that's not a problem, I could get good letters of recommendation. I had good relationship with professors in both departments, and some philosophy professors as well.

UnlikelyGrad: I'm not near a university (or almost anything else for that matter). The non-degree approach makes a lot of sense since I could make new contacts and I'd love to get some research experience. I'm willing to wait to attend, but if I can help it I'd prefer to get back in as soon as possible and take the more direct route.