<p>i'm curious, out of those who are planning on going to grad/med/professional schools, how many of you have research or internship positions as of this moment? how did you manage to get those positions?</p>
<p>i just can't seem to find one in this huge ass institution as well as the lawrence berkeley nat'l lab. i have asked 4 professors on their labs, and they all have some undergrads already or aren't accepting any. and off-campus internships are a pain in the ass because of having to get a work permit from the us gov't... i still have some summer opportunities available, but i'm getting jittery about falling behind the sea of pre-meds already in research labs (i'm going for grad school btw).</p>
<p>everyone i asked seemed to have just emailed a bunch of profs and were picked in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>oh crikey, is it really that difficult to find undergrad research opportunities there? eeeeeeeeek....</p>
<p>yeah i'm pretty picky about choosing a research position because i really want to focus on my interests for grad school. i'm using research.berkeley.edu to locate some, but most of the positions don't even come close to what i want to do. </p>
<p>it's not that it's hard to get a research lab; i just began searching for it way too late, partly because i'm a transfer student.</p>
<p>TwylaBloo: In terms of research opportunities, Berkeley offers a wealth of them. The Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program offers research opportunities in different fields, from nuclear engineering to political science, integrative biology to law. Refer to the link (<a href="http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/index.html</a>) and you'll see opportunities available for Spring 2006 (though most of the deadlines have ended).</p>
<p>ah i see, thanks...</p>
<p>the thing is, you have to be determined and consistent. for my first semester this year i applied to so many workstudy jobs, got a lot of interviews, go rejected by like 15, and finally got accepted into one at the pmb lab. that experience led me into URAP this semester, and im applying to more next semester. generally you should think of doing: lab assistant --> research assistant --> independent research (mcb 99/199 or w/e course # it is for your science major). its hard to jump into a research assistant spot or independent research from nowhere (unless you are in upper division already). the grudge work comes first... heh</p>
<p>twlaboo: Go to <a href="http://mcb.berkeley.edu%5B/url%5D">http://mcb.berkeley.edu</a> and get on their mailing list. They send out opening lab positions.</p>
<p>Thanks, I'm only a senior in high school right now but if I go to Berkeley I will certainly check that out!</p>
<p>Old topic, but probably helpful for perspective students.</p>
<p>I agree with what sleepisabliss said. It's very difficult to land the first workstudy job/research lab position, but once you have the experience it will be easier to score other jobs/position. I also had to apply and be interviewed several times before I landed my first work-study job; but I learned from each unsuccessful interview because it gave me real chances to practice and improve upon my interview skills, to make a good impression and whatnot. Catch 22 situation.</p>