Finally got in only to discover I forgot everything
I graduated undergrad in 2023 with a degree adjacent to biological sciences. I had applied for PhD programs my senior year, but didn’t get in anywhere so I took a job in industry to get more research experience to beef my app.
Even though I was ultimately interested in pursuing bench/wet lab work, I took a research assistant position at a think-tank because it paid substantially better (I’m talking roughly 15k+ more annually than any lab tech position).
Now nearly 3 years later after applying again, I’m 2 months into a new bench lab tech position at the same University that accepted me into their PhD program this fall. I’m so grateful, however the problem is so far in my new position I’ve noticed I don’t just feel rusty after being out of academia for 3 years, I feel utterly incompetent. It’s like somehow I’ve forgotten all my undergrad curriculum and critical thinking skills since spending the past 3 years in a job I didn’t enjoy.
I’m extremely worried for when classes start in the fall. I also feel like something’s wrong with me that in 3 years I’ve lost all I learned. For those who were forced to take a significant gap in between undergrad and graduate school, did you feel this? If so, how did you cope?
I’m worried even though I’m now “better on paper” in terms of experience to get into a PhD program, I’m actually less qualified than before given I can’t remember stuff from basic intro courses. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.