Allopath or Ostheopath

At one time I served on the Health Professions Committee. One of our jobs was to interview all the would be health professionals and write a University Letter of Recommendation. After reviewing the list of medical schools a student planned to apply to one of the questions we commonly asked was, "Since you have applied to both types, what is the difference between allopathic and osteopathic medicine?" Our experience was that if you don't know the difference and why you wanted to be at an osteopathic school you would not be accepted following the interview.

As earnest young scientists begin to prepare for the Fall hiring season I have already suggested they prepare research plans. Today I ask them, "What is the difference between the Research University, Masters Comprehensive University, Primarily Undergraduate Research Active College or University, Primarily Undergraduate Non-research Active College or University, or Community College?" In reality you are unlikely to be covering all those bases. (If you are, Stop! You need to begin by figuring out what you want to be before you shotgun out dozens of applications that will be ignored because they don't serve any specific institution you are applying to.)

I know you need a job as your postdoc mentor does not have money to keep you on forever and there are new young minds that need shaping in that hood you occupy. But, please don't waste your time applying to East Podunk Cosmetology College with your stem cell research plan attached because they need some who understands hair dye chemistry and you still have hair.

More realistically, if you dream of working in the lab training your students yourself, and RO1 is probably not for you. If you don't really care if you do the lab work and you know you will have the Nobel by the time you are 40, a MCU or PUI is not for you. Sure if you pull in a couple of million in grants and publish five papers in Science or Nature Chemistry in your first three years the RO1's will realize what they missed and call you up, but the reality of the resources and mission of MCU and PUI institutions generally will not allow you to achieve such success. So, even if you get the job, you will be unhappy and so will your colleagues.

Today, put your research plan aside for a moment and look into the real working conditions at the type of schools that are out there. Imagine that you will be there for the rest of your days. Will you be happy? Will your colleagues? Getting an offer is all about if you fit the institution, accepting it is all about if it fits you. Don't waste your time applying if the fit won't work for you.

Make a few notes on why the types of institutions that fit do fit. They will come in handy in your philosophy statements which I will cover later.

T.S. Hall