USA-2018-FBKCA-W
United States of America - California - Bay Area (Berkeley/San Francisco) University of California Berkeley - College of Chemistry Organic Chemistry - Research Internship January 2018 - June 2018
Some of the best universities of the world in terms of ranking are located in the United States. My first advice to every student considering applying for one of them for an internship is « Go for it! ». You’ll get to experience the Modern American Dream: a land of unlimited possibilities, high living standards, excellent teaching, fantastic landscapes and efficiency-driven society. Do not hesitate to aim for the best, even if you do not consider yourself to be the best student of your home university. At the time I applied for Berkeley it was ranked number one in Organic Chemistry worldwide and even though my grades weren’t bad they were not the very best and I did not have formidable previous experience at another prestigious university on my CV. All you need is to apply. A formal email to the Professor of your choice is sufficient. Keep it short but make sure to say a little about yourself such as interests, previous experiences and achievements and most importantly: why did you pick him/her precisely? Do not send anything to vague or impersonal. Say why you absolutely need to go work for this Professor. And of course, attach a short resume and recommendation letters from previous Professors or employers. You will usually get a response within a week or two.
Once you are in you will have to deal with a massive amount of administrative procedures which aren’t always self-explanatory. Take some time to deal with it since important stuff as your visa might depend on it and ask for advice via email in your host university. You will not be the first international student they’ll host there and they are usually pretty good at explaining complex procedures step by step.
Apply early! Getting a visa takes time and you don’t want to wait until a week before your flight to receive it. Six months beforehand is perfect, three is an absolute limit.
The University of California Berkeley is a public university (in opposite to private universities such as Harvard, the MIT or Caltech to name a few) who has a long history of political commitment and student protest marches which made into a place where debate, self opinion and critical thinking are very high thought of and encouraged amongst students and researchers. You’ll get a unique chance to find out what makes you unique and what it is that you really want to do and you’ll get a chance to actually do it.
Besides, Berkeley is located on the east side of the Bay Area which makes San Francisco accessible in 45 minutes. Take either the BART (the mostly underground train connecting all places around the Bay) or Uber. Public transportions are fairly expensive and can be quite nasty past certain hours so Uber might be the best solution for most trips, especially at night or with a larger group. Within Berkeley you can easily ride a bike to go for example every day to Campus.
The weather is mostly good with temperatures between 15ºC and 25ºC, some rainy days during the winter and mostly sun between April and October. Not really good enough to go swim in the Pacific Ocean (which is ice cold on this spot of the coast) but really pleasant on an everyday basis. The legendary fog of San Francisco, who goes by the name Karl amongst the locals, is usually present in The City itself but rarely in Berkeley.
The city of Berkeley is fairly small and gives the impression to only exist because of its prestigious University. Hence, there is not so much stuff to do around there. But if you go to nearby Oakland or cross the bridge to San Francisco you’ll be overwhelmed by the amount of possibilities in term of culture, dining, drinking, dancing, sports and so much more. No matter how unique you think your interests are, just google it and you’ll find a bunch of people who are interested in the same weird thing and who will be happy to share it with you. So open up, be prepared to be a long time on the road or in public transportations, and go meet some new, positively crazy people. Oakland is to be approached with a little more caution since some areas can be sketchy so google the address of this amazing hipster brewery serving self-made IPA (Indian Pale Ale) and chili cheesy fries, Uber there, have a great time, and then Uber back. First Fridays street festival is a must see.
Food in California is the best you’ll get in the US. Fresh fruits and vegetables are easy to find since they grow there (go to Safeway or the Berkeley Bowl). You’ll also be able to eat delicious asian and mexican food. Try the Buddhist Temple on Russel Street and their Sunday morning Thai brunch or go for very high end sushis at Kamado’s. Do not be surprised if people stand lines outside of good restaurants since it is the way it is done there. Lines usually move fast and are a sign of good food and service. Do not forget to add tip and tax to the prices on the menu! The base tax rate in California is 7.5%, but it can go up to 10% depending on the city and tip should be set between 10% for mediocre service and 25% for an outstanding service. You might have a hard time finding decent bread and some products you are used to such as Muesli but there is plenty out there to satisfy your appetite. Good quality meat and fish are very expensive though.
Living expenses are one of the unpleasant surprises since they are extremely high. Count $800/month for a shared room and $1000/month for a private room. Eating is around $20 a day for three meals and a coffee break. A pint of beer or a glass of wine is usually $8 and cocktails can go up to 15$ easily. Most night clubs ask for $20 entrance fee. Try the Salsa Clubs which are usually a little cheaper but still offer good quality music and a beginner friendly atmosphere. After partying go buy a giant slice of good pizza in the Italian neighborhood of San Francisco: cheap and delicious!
Finding an accommodation can be challenging: arrive early, book a week in an Airbnb and go apartment hunting. The University will not provide you with housing if you are a visiting student so you’ll have to go on the private housing market. Be careful, always go visit before paying anything and respond fast to any decent offer you might see on the internet. Long term Airbnb proved to be a good solution: go check out the accommodation and then negotiate a monthly price reduction for staying several weeks or months in a row.
Be prepared to put on your best smile as soon as you reach the office or your lab since it is considered rude to show any sign of bad mood or to begin a monologue about your current problems at your work space. No matter how well you slept, how your research or work is going or if you had time for coffee yet, enthusiasm and energy must be displayed all time. Even though most europeans might consider such high expectations regarding your behavior unrealistic and a little hypocritical it is worth the try! It is very pleasant indeed to be surrounded by smiling, energetic and motivated people most of the time. Especially on a Monday morning or when you are struggling with your own work. So give your best and enjoy the experience! Besides that, I have found most people to be very helpful and genuinely trying to find a solution to the problems you might encounter.
Information sharing is a big deal. Most working spaces, offices and labs are built in a way so that people can communicate easily. Employees or researchers are divided in groups, subgroups and teams. Meetings are organized weekly or even daily when it comes to the smallest subgroup you are part of. It is expected of every one to be able to talk relatively precisely about ones current work and to sometimes give a small presentation to show progress or talk about encountered difficulties. Even though you will spend a great amount of your time sitting in a meeting room listening to others, it is very beneficial to your own work and to your colleague’s. On one hand you keep learning from someone else’s knowledge, experience and also mistakes and on the other hand you are given the chance to practice your soft skills and to receive fresh input on your work.
When I say a great amount of time I mean a really huge amount of your time. If you are going to work in a field where efficiency and results are correlated with invested time like for example natural sciences it is not unusual for your boss to ask you to work on evenings and weekends. Especially if you are working on your thesis or an important publication which might benefit the whole group. Most Americans take very short vacation (two weeks a year) and choose to work at least on Saturdays. In an Organic Chemistry laboratory it is not considered excessive to work up to twelve hours a day, six days a weeks.
Even though Berkeley’s reputation is excellent and the amount of publications and reviews the University has produced is tremendous I was personally shocked and disappointed by the quality of the facilities and equipment. Or the lack of it to be more specific. Berkeley labs are mostly very old, subject to security failures and lack some basic equipment and do not offer comfortable working conditions. You might say that all of it is compensated by the skills and intellect of the people working there and I agree but you should keep in mind that the work is going to be hard and sometimes frustrating due to the lack of fundings and equipment before making the decision to go and study there. You will learn a ton and become really good at what you do but it certainly does come at a cost.
Once you are done with your internship or classes take some time to travel through California. Rent a car (some car rentals services such as Car Rental Enterprise do not make Berkeley students pay additional fee for being an underage driver - under 25 - so make sure you go make the reservation wearing your Cal sweater or t-shirt!) and drive down the scenic Pacifica Highway through Big Sur National Park all the way down to San Diego. You’ll get a chance to spend a day or two in Los Angeles. Go back north though Death Valley, Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Enjoy some of the most beautiful nature North America has to offer, camp in wild forests, drink the purest water directly from mountain torrents, hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains and if you are lucky you’ll get to see a bear! Count $70/person/day.
I strongly recommend going to California for an internship or for an exchange semester. You’ll get to experience one of the most modern and dynamic spot on earth from within. You’ll improve both your langage skills and your soft skills in terms of communication and open-mindedness. You’ll get to work with the most talented people in your field and you’ll learn to always surpass yourself. Aim for California, Florida or Texas if you are not a cold-weather person or go to Boston, Washington DC or New York if you feel more comfortable with meter-high snow and blizzard. Berkeley is a very good choice considering the fact that you’ll be extremely near to San Francisco itself. The City is one of the most pleasant I had the chance to live in so far and you’ll meet incredible people out there. For better research equipment and facilities I recommend that you rather apply for nearby Stanford or Caltech. In any cases, be prepared to be thrilled, challenged and amazed at all times and always keep exploring!