<p>To be clear, I know that being a happy shiny volunteer won't matter on my PhD (or terminal M.A.) application. :) I have learned that much from reading the many posts on this forum! </p>
<p>What I am truly looking for are jobs and internships that will help me practice my research skills (and any other skills I haven't thought of) to help me do well once admitted into a competitive history PhD program. And of course a nice byproduct would be to snag a few relevant letter-of-rec or maybe even write a chapter along the way! </p>
<p>A few notes:
- I am NOT currently enrolled at university so I can't take advantage of any of the Undergraduate Research Programs that I should have while I was still in school.
- I live on the opposite end of the country from where I got my B.A.
- I do NOT need to get paid or even have a stipend. I am willing to be a slave.
- I do hold a graduate degree in library science. Will anyone see this as an asset or would a prof look down on it for being a vocational degree??
- How does one go about offering up their services as a research assistant to a professor whose research interest you... without actually being a student at their institution?? Is that completely inappropriate? </p>
<p>Any ideas or suggestions for job titles, industries, or general suggestions for me to look into would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>1) Have you written any research papers while you were an undergrad? Any seminar papers? Anything that has primary sources will do- you can take it and work on it so it can be your writing sample.</p>
<p>2) Your MLS is an asset to history programs because you DO have archival and library skills! Most students come in having NO idea how to make the most of an archive or use the library fully from the get-go. You also have a network in place, with libraries and archives, I think, with your degree.</p>
<p>3) What geographical area of history are you interested in? If not US, you should be MUCH more concerned about your languages.</p>
<p>4) Publication or a huge amount of research experience are not really expected from those with only a BA.</p>
<p>5) Any internship or volunteer, or whatever, experience you’re looking for, if you want a rec… remember, your professors will be preferred. But the person should hold a PhD in history.</p>
<p>I can go into much more details about history admissions process but these pointers are just to answer your questions and based on what you have already written in your first post.</p>
<p>The languages part is definitely on my radar!!! This forum made me very aware of that a few years back and scared me enough that I made that a priority.</p>
<p>I have reading proficiency in French and Spanish but know I need to add some others to be competitive. My regional interests are British, European, and US History. And as far as topics, maybe race relations in the America? So I figure if I add in German or Portuguese I will be fine. I’ve already started studying German. That “what” is pretty broad right now and I am hoping as I do more independent research, I’ll find my desired path. </p>
<p>Right now I just feel like my applicant profile is really “blah” and unimpressive. What is the process for becoming a research assistant when you aren’t currently a student? Are jobs like archival assistant or museum docent of any use?</p>
<p>I apologize if my questions are too vague. It would be an understatement to say I don’t quite yet know what I am doing! I an at least 2 or 3 years away from applying.</p>
<p>At this point, you don’t need to pick up German or whatever until you can be sure you know which geographical field you would like to be trained in. For Europe, you would most definitely need at least 2 European languages, usually French and German for the top programs. British history usually just requires either French or German. Latin America always require Spanish and Portuguese. US History, some programs do test for just 1 foreign language or accept a statistics course. At the moment, I would just focus on continuing your French and Spanish.</p>
<p>Since you aren’t sure what you want to do, I would not worry about the PhD program at all. You should at least begin to read books that interest you and find a way to access online journals so you can see where the current research is going…</p>
<p>That said, whatever you want to do in a museum is whatever YOU want to do. It would be something that you’re doing only because YOU want to do. Do what makes you most comfortable.</p>
<p>You’re asking the wrong field here about research. Humanities is largely independent. Sciences are collaborative. That’s why I suggested that you go back to your old research papers and work on them yourself to see if you can improve the paper through further independent archival research or revisions. It really doesn’t just work to be someone’s research assistant. A lot of time it’s useless task for your own benefit. The person wins but not you.</p>
<p>The local flagship university where I am living now allows access to databases to community members when you are in-house for $300 a year. Thus far it has been worth every penny. I also have borrowing privileges. I guess knowing those loop holes is one benefit of my library science background??</p>
<p>My question was prompted by seeing this job posting (no where near my region):
[Research</a> Assistant | Department of History & Politics | Drexel University](<a href=“http://www.drexel.edu/histpol/resources/undergraduate/jobs/Research%20Assistant/]Research”>http://www.drexel.edu/histpol/resources/undergraduate/jobs/Research%20Assistant/)</p>
<p>And reading student profiles on other PhD program websites where the current students have co-published or presented papers or wrote chapters. But from what I can tell, it was done while they were enrolled at a school under a prof at that school. That Dexel listing from a U of Penn prof was the first time I saw something asking for students from other schools but even then, he is still asking for students.</p>
<p>I guess the answer to the question is no, there are no opps to gain research experience through internships or jobs? I don’t mind working alone but I highly doubt I know everything and feel like working under a PhD would give me a chance to learn something new (and show that knowledge in resume/CV format)</p>
<p>Bleh. Back to my books I go!</p>
<p>Well, those are very, VERY rare. And, of course, if you see should an opportunity, apply for it! Unfortunately, though, in general, history is largely independent work. You could cold-call a few departments in your area for any jobs (although most likely will be limited to students), or take a graduate level course and build a relationship with a professor. From there, you will open up your network. It also never hurts to cold-call or just send a cover letter/resume to local museums and historical societies that have historians to see if they need any research assistance (not copying, mind you).</p>
<p>That’s all just the frosting on the cake. The cake itself is… doing the reading and educating yourself about the field and showing that to the adcoms through your SOP when you describe your interests and pose research questions.</p>