The past week I’ve had the opportunity to listen to seminars, workshops, and symposia, speak and network with top researchers in my field, and learn new strategies, theories, and discoveries in entomology. I’ve been in Reno, Nevada at the 2011 Entomological Society of America’s Annual meeting.
I presented a poster on my research (parasitoid wasp diversity in urban agro-ecosystems) and received incredibly insightful and constructive feedback on my work. I am actively looking for doctorate programs, and ESA was an incredibly valuable opportunity to speak with several potential advisors as well as students from their labs. This first impression will really help down the line (in the next few weeks) when I choose which schools/labs to apply to.
Among the conversations I had, several were on the different opportunities available to those who hold a phD in entomology and ecology. Understanding how state and private university assignments differ, the opportunities available in industry, and the ongoing and ever changing systems of sharing the knowledge gained by research has really helped to develop my own understanding of the field of entomology, and how it can relate to EVERY OTHER SCIENTIFIC FIELD.
