How to Prepare for Academia as an Undergraduate
When it comes to figuring out what steps to take in your undergrad to land your dream job, the answer is pretty straightforward for most professions. Want to be an engineer? Get your bachelor’s in engineering. A doctor? Pass the MCAT and finish med school. A lawyer? Pass the LSAT and finish law school. Accountant? Major in accounting and pass the CPA.
For academia, the answer isn’t clear-cut. Those wanting to pursue an academic career don’t have the luxury of wannabe engineers, doctors, lawyers, and accountants who are pursuing fields that are always in high demand of new employees. You can’t just pass the GRE, get your Ph.D. anywhere, and expect to get a good academic job. The field is incredibly competitive, and good academic jobs are hard to come by.
That’s why the first step for many undergraduates in getting the academic job of their dreams is getting accepted into a top-tier graduate program. What many undergrads interested in academia may not realize, though, is that they can use their undergrad education to begin preparing them for academia as well.
Here are three tips to using your undergraduate education to help prepare for your journey in academia. Following these tips will not only help you prepare for a career in academia, but they’ll even help you achieve that first step in getting accepted into the graduate school of your dreams.
1. Take Your Studies Seriously
This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s important to keep this in mind. To be a successful academic, you need to, well, take your academics seriously. Not only will it be hard to get into top Ph.D. programs with anything below a 3.5 GPA, but excellent grades show you have the chops to handle large and complex bodies of text, write high-quality work, demonstrate knowledge of what you’re studying, and be a good member of the classroom. These are all things that demonstrate the ability to be suitably prepared for pursuing academia.
2. Conduct Research and Write — A Lot
Outside of teaching, most of what academics do is conduct research on specific topics in their field and publish that research. This means many hours of reading, writing, brainstorming, drafting, revising, and discussing your research with peers. The best way to prepare for that sort of work in your undergraduate studies is to find opportunities to research and write. Take classes with professors that assign large research papers. Take on an honors project. Complete an independent study course where you have to study a topic and write about it. Seek out opportunities to perform research on topics that interest you and write about them.
3. Find Opportunities to Present Your Research
Once you have conducted research and written a paper, present that research to others. You’d be surprised at the number of opportunities undergrads have to present their research. Do an internet search for undergraduate research conferences. Maybe your university hosts research colloquia events. Ask your professor about conferences and events where undergrads are invited to submit work. Apply for a scholarship or contest where you’re tasked with submitting a piece of work addressing a research prompt or question. The opportunities are out there if you can find them.
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The path to becoming a successful academic can never start too early. The field is competitive and can be difficult to navigate. You’re fortunate as an undergraduate, though, because you have a lot of years ahead of you. If you follow these three tips in your undergraduate career, you should be on a good track early on to pursue your dreams as an academic.
