What the benefits of doing research as an undergraduate in college?

Doing research during your undergraduate is something I would always recommend for students who plan to pursue higher degrees, or even students who might pursue (and are undecided at the moment). Let me explain:

a) Suppose you are planning to do graduate studies: It will give you a glimpse of how research is done and what are potential avenues or topics of current interest. Many times, as undergraduates, students want to find a solution to something or are passionate about a subject without knowing much about things already addressed. When you get to do research under the guidance of a professor, you actually get to see what research has already been done in this area, and then you get to see what are some of the open questions. If you are researching for a professor, you would get to see what are the complexities in scientific thought one has to go through from making a hypothesis to providing a theory and/or solution. This research process itself is not quite as easy as I thought it would be in my undergraduate. Just learning about how to do research would give you a chance to see whether this is a route you want to take in your graduate studies.

b) Suppose you are not sure of graduate studies: Similar to before, you get to see in a small glimpse about how things work in research. Maybe it would motivate you further because you would find your passion in a particular topic or it may make you realize that perhaps research is really not something you are interested in. This clarity, itself, is a big boon for undergraduates because it helps in making your career decisions rather than blindly jumping into something.

One of the best things about doing research under a professor is that you get a recommendation letter that says more than just- "This was a great student in my class with good grades." The professor gets to know your capabilities much better when you work with them and are able to say much more about you. This is something that can make a big difference in getting into graduate school.

It is an important skill set. Research can expose you to parts of your field that can help refine your goals. Everything you learn in books are theoretical. What you do in research is an application of theory. That application of theory can help you identify which parts of your discipline you are more interested in.

I can tell you that it looks great on your résumé. In my case, it opened many doors. I could meet teachers, collaborate writing papers and participate in conferences. It also helped me building a good background which then I used when doing my master's degree. I suggest you doing research at college, it's a great experience.

The main benefit is gaining experience with researching anything and everything. By honing your skills as you learn new material in college, you advance your ability to more quickly adapt to the working world as a professional at anything. The internet has virtually demanded that all of us become research fools. Frankly, there is no limit to the positives gained from doing research as an undergraduate. When you go for advanced degrees, 70% of your time will involve research.