<p>Hi.
I'm interested in applying for a research opportunity next semester. However, I heard often times students end up washing dishes the first few months. I don't really want that. </p>
<p>I know it may be a necessary step to take, but I heard there are some ways a student can find a good professor who will actually help you publish papers and give work to do..
Any tips? How do I find profs like that? Do I just hope to be lucky or what?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>sNo research lab (unless it’s totally desperate) is going to take on an untrained, inexperienced undergrad who has no track record in a research and no immediately usable skills and then trust that student with an important experiment. (It’s different if you have lab experiences and some desirable skills. But even then, it takes some time to learn how the lab operates and to teach yourself the nuances on what’s happening in that particular lab.)</p>
<p>You’re too much of a risk and a huge potential liability (for getting injured, for trashing a experiment which may have taken weeks or months to develop, or for damaging very expensive equipment).</p>
<p>You have to be willing to put in your time doing some grunt work to prove yourself first. (might be washing dishes, might be doing inventory, might be being the lab go-fer, might be being the one who comes in at 5 am to feed the animals everyday) Grunt work may last a few weeks or a whole semester. </p>
<p>The prof, lab manager, post-doc or whoever is tasked with supervising you will want to see some proof you’re even gonna show up regularly first before they start investing their valuable time in training you. (You’d be surprised how many kids never show up after the first couple of weeks.)</p>
<p>The supervisory individuals also want to get a feel for your abilities and whether you’re a psycho or total klutz. (Remember these people are going to be working with you, possibly for several years. They want someone intelligent, dedicated and reliable who can get along well with the rest of the team.)</p>
<p>However, you can legitimately ask any lab you interview with if there is the potential to move up in the future and participate in a meaningful way in the research of the lab.</p>
<p>And you can ask around the older students in the department for “good” places and PIs to work for. Bad PIs and unhappy labs get a reputation pretty quickly.</p>
<p>^Yes, they do at D’s UG and not for cleanning, which si done by cleanning personnel.
From D’s experience, it was much easier to obtain internship at her college than at any other place, even at the place where she has worked before and had great LOR’s</p>