<p>Recently I've had a resolve after struggling for the past few weeks about what I wanted to do and I've decided I want to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The problem is I reached this decision too late and this Fall I will be a senior. I've read that research experience is probably the most important criteria for graduate school and at the moment I have none of that, only work experience. It seems highly unlikely that I will find something before I graduate in 2014 so what my plan is at the moment is to finish my last year and then take a year off from school and find a job as a research assistant in industry or university and then apply to graduate school. Would finding a job like this be hard? Would one year of research make me competitive enough for programs like that of UCSF's pharmaceutical sciences PhD program along with a GPA of ~3.44 and a GRE qualitative in 80th percentile and verbal in 70th percentile?</p>
<p>I've also thought about a post-bacc but I really don't want to pay for it, though I am open to volunteering. What should I do that's best?</p>
<p>You still have time for this year, a whole year ahead. Ask labs that you are interested in if you can join. No point in giving up before you even ask.</p>
<p>I suppose I can still try, but from what I understand, undergraduate research usually requires the applicant to apply the previous academic year.</p>
<p>At my school many professors were willing to take on volunteers in their labs. There’s no harm in asking,and if you can find something before you graduate, you may be able to continue with it post-graduation.</p>
<p>If you can’t, then finding a job as a research assistant would be a good alternative. You could also find a job as a lab tech and try to involve yourself in research projects in your lab by assisting others with their projects, if you can’t have your own. I would start looking for anything you can ASAP though, even if you’re still a student. You may be able to find something part time now that could turn into full time when you graduate or perhaps still continue part time.</p>
<p>Although 30 years ago, I graduated with a BS in biology with neither grad school nor job prospects. After two years teaching high school chemistry, I went to the local medical school and applied for a job as a lab research tech. The pay was very low, less than a teacher, which is pretty bad in my state, but I actually got to use my degree and do research. I was even published in scientific journals for my work. My life took a different direction, but I think if I had applied for graduate school in that program, I would have had a shot to get in. It was in the department of pharmacology, a Ph.D. program, at the medical school. The technician who I was replacing was going off to med school, which she finally got admittance to post undergrad after working in my lab for a few years. My coworkers were post docs and grad students in the pharmacology department. I moved to the genetics department, and there, my coworkers were med techs and master’s degree students in genetics. As I was not trained as a med tech, just had the biology degree, I could not advance in that job, but I really enjoyed it and wish I had taken more lab related courses, like microbiology, to be better prepared for that work. Since you’re still in undergrad, I would advise you, if you have time, to take courses that would give you lab skills so that you would have a better shot at a job as a lab research technician in a variety of fields. While doing this job, you will get to work with professors, get good recommendations, and improve your chances at admittance to a graduate program, perhaps even one with funding. I would even recommend getting med tech certification, if that is available through your school, because your pay rate as a technician will be much higher than someone with just a BS in biology. Good luck!</p>
<p>Several ways, that require varying levels of commitment.</p>
<ol>
<li>Get a full-time job to pay the bills, and then volunteer part-time in a research lab.</li>
<li>Find a full-time research assistant or research associate job. Many universities hire them, but so do pharmaceutical companies and other industry companies. This will only be possible if you have a BA in the lab sciences, though.</li>
<li>Find a full-time job as a lab/research coordinator for a university research lab. This usually involves a greater level of responsibility than #2, but also a greater involvement in the administration of research and not just the lab tech duties. In both #2 and #3, you can typically take graduate-level classes for free.</li>
<li>Do a post-baccalaureate research program, like Hot Metal Bridge at the Univesity of Pittsburgh or the postbacc program at the NIH. These programs typically pay you a stipend; you work as a research assistant and are given some kind of professional development seminars.</li>
</ol>