Entering the Scientific Life

Soon, it will be the end of my third week of graduate school, and something that I've been looking forward to for a long time is about to happen. I'm going to be entering my first lab rotation!

This Monday, I start doing real rubber-gloved scientific work in an honest-to-god laboratory doing actual straight up science--not just technician work, but my own mini-project. And, as if that weren't incredible enough, if my data is usable strong and I learn the entire project and write my own article on what I found, my professor will name me as a co-author on the actual paper for the whole project! As in: A real scientific journal, suckas! Unbelievable!

I was incredibly lucky to find a rotation like this, and for those who don't know, a lab rotation is like dating a laboratory for three months to gain experience to see how you like the work. If you're on track, you do three of these before you start on your thesis, at which point you choose a lab to stay in for good. So this is going to be my first foray into real scientific work. It's all about to start, so find your helmets and review your evac plans!