CHEM 3951

Since this is a course for research, I can give some tips on my experience finding research here a the University.

You can take all the classes you want in any subject but you won't gain an "understanding" of what's going on. Historically, research and experimentation was where you learned about your field, not a class. The class only provides the tools to go about understanding your area of interest. This applies to any field. To gain any appreciable understanding of your field of interest, you have to jump into it with research and self-investigation, not stare at it from the outside.

IF you're interested in research, start early if you can. If you know what you're interested in (proteomics, natural product synthesis, spectroscopy etc.), then find professors and read their research descriptions. Read some of their publications. Schedule meetings with the professor or some of the grad students/postdocs so that they can tell you more about their research and future goals. If they can not accept you at the time, don't be discouraged. Continue to show interest if their research really interests you. You have to remember that when a professor brings in a new student into his/her research group, they are essentially investing in your work in the lab. The best way to show that you will be a successful research assistant is if you show enthusiasm.

Other things to consider when choosing a professor is his/her funding, personality/expectations, the nature of the work, the size of the lab, how many projects he/she is involved in etc. You need to assess if you're the type of person that needs full structure when doing investigations (hands-on), or like flexibility (more hands-off). There is nothing wrong with either; it's up to personal discretion. You should assess if you can deal with working in a glove box all day, or if you like open-air bench work. You should consider if you will ever interact with your PI or if you're going to always work with a post-doc. You may like this, you may not.

Not quite following the guy who said this was a waste of time. The whole point of taking an introduction to research class is to learn how to research, or work at a bench-top. No idea why you would take a research class or even major in chemistry if this type of stuff is a waste of time to you. Try looking for a mentor early as some professors are not good with responding to emails.

If you can, do this in the biology department where you get a grade. What you get is what you put into it

A waste of time, but all the assignments are easy.

Individual research means you make the grade!