<p>Hello everyone. So I was planning to take the fall quarter pretty slow to sort of get a feel of what I can/can't handle in terms of work load. One of the really important things to me is research. That being said, should I wait to apply for a position this fall, or just wait until winter comes around? Reason I ask is because I know that some professors require a certain time commitment (some cases being 3 quarter commitment). I'm just worried because I feel as though applying in the winter will reduce my chances of getting a position.</p>
<p>Also, are lab/tech positions offered? Can I use work study? Any and all thoughts are appreciated.</p>
<p>Research labs don’t operate based on the academic year. It doesn’t matter when you start. Professors would prefer that students start during the summer since there usually aren’t classes or other commitments to get in the way of your training. It’s perfectly fine during the school year if you can commit something like afternoons + weekends. Once you’re established in the lab, you can pretty much set up shop there, living in lab and ducking out occasionally to go to class while your experiments run.</p>
<p>As for the long-term commitment: yeah, it’s a nice idea, but if you really hate it, you can bail anytime. We’ve had undergrads we wanted out after two weeks, but stuck around for months just to get the experience on their CVs. Not fun for anyone.</p>
<p>Hey astrina! I’m also trying to find research opportunities at school. Do you have any suggestions since you’ve worked in research labs? What sort of research do you do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Just find the professors’ bios, read their research subjects, and see if you are genuinely interested in their research. If so, contact them and they may set up an appointment to meet with you.</p>
<p>It depends on the PI (principal investigator / the professor). Some of them expect you to just volunteer your time at their lab, so you’ll have to search carefully for one that is actually going to pay you.</p>
<p>Generally, have a decent resume that lists your qualifications, etc. Find the professors’ emails, and email each of them (don’t make it sound like spam though).</p>
<p>I went in without any skills, but at the time my PI was a brand-new assistant professor who couldn’t afford to be picky about what kind of workers he took. Your resume’s probably pretty scant at this point in life, but listing your lab skills (preparing solutions, use of equipment, instrumentation, cell culture, whatever) and relevant lab grades is the most helpful thing you can give them.</p>
<p>Some labs may give a pop quiz based on what you told them you could do, so don’t stretch the truth.</p>
<p>One of the biggest misunderstandings that all premeds have is that any position in a lab will look like “research”.</p>
<p>This is totally wrong. If you want to actually do research, ask for a research position, NOT a lab tech position or a stockholder w/e. Jobs like that are just like jobs at OVT.</p>
<p>Um, my starting salary was something like $1000 for the summer since I couldn’t get 199 credit. During the school year, I’d get credit instead. My Pfizer internship was paying around $20/hour by the time I left. TAing for the chem dept earned about $1500/quarter.</p>
<p>my bad, the current rate is about $1470/quarter for chem ugrad TA positions and $1230 for graders. i guess it was probably a bit short of $1400 when i did it. </p>
<p>but can you believe columbia’s GRAD STUDENT TAs earn less than ucsd undergrads? it’s $1500/semester here. 15 weeks! cheap ivies…</p>