It is more important, these days, to be a general computer literate than specializing in a particular project.
Research centers have their own quirks and like to do thing their own ways.
Here are some suggestions to become computer literate. Learn a programming language well and do as much practice in it as possible. Java is becoming popular as a general programming language. At the Computer Science Department at Queens College in New York City, Java is taught as the basic programming language instead of Pascal, C, etc. Learn to use Windows and applications and accessories associated with them for desktop and laptop computers at advanced levels, including Windows programming, macros, etc.