<p>How likely would a freshman be to get a research position as a paying job? I have had 2 years of original research under my belt, in thanks to my STEM preparatory high school, so would this give me an edge in landing a job? If so, how much would I be paid weekly?</p>
<p>Pay varies. Expect minimum wage or a couple bucks more. Most research positions aren’t paying. The ones that are tend to be work-study or involve busywork. </p>
<p>Hi, I’m a 4th year grad physci grad and just got into the stanford MD track (only want to give some background and cred on what i’m saying - nothing else). I highly recommend joining CURE at UCLA (if ur not already in it). They offer one-on-one mentorship from senior/junior undergrads for fresh/soph. Go to their meeting and ask around if anyone has a research position that is paid, and then ask if they’ll be willing to mentor you. They offer CV revisions/general advice. </p>
<p>Or join the UCLA biomedical research minor. Dr. Ira Clark is amazing at helping undergrads get good research experiences. </p>
<p>That said, paid research positions are usually not for independent projects. Typically, labs pay you only to have you work as a technician… essentially they’ll teach you a skill (PCR, Western blot, IHC or IF staining) and then you’ll repeat this task over and over again each day working through thousands of repetitive cycles. If you’re looking to build a research related career, this type of position is not very productive. </p>
<p>I highly recommend staying with unpaid research to have a chance at getting an independent project. Be proactive and ask ur postdoc/PI for an independent project. If they don’t give it to you, leave the lab and look for another lab that is more supportive. The whole point of research as an undergrad is to learn and prepare for ur later career in research (if ur looking into that). PI’s and MD’s don’t do technical work, they are responsible for vision. And you learn about research vision by completing an independent project, which is likely unpaid (b/c of what it offers as a learning experience). If u publish ur independent project as first or second author in a journal with a decent impact factor, it will also look far better than a paid technical employment.</p>
<p>Though I did OK at UCLA, in hindsight I’d tell my freshman self to follow the below steps:
- Ask yourself what science topic in bio class did you enjoy reading/studying the most? Be honest, if you don’t like studying science, then don’t do research! Do what you enjoy and are passionate about, that’s number one. </p>
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<li><p>Look up which labs at UCLA that are well-known for research in that topic. Sometimes this can be the lab of the department chairman/vice-chair. Or of a “distinguished professor.” BUT most professors without chair or distinguished designations are great as well so the key is to look for a good lab. CURE at UCLA helps with this b/c theresyou can ask around about how supportive a lab is. Having a good mentor is very very important in research. How well-known ur PI is in his/her field of study also affects the weight of ur recommendation letter when u apply to med/grad school… obviously having the rec of the dept chair puts weight (but this shouldn’t be ur main focus). </p></li>
<li><p>Look up papers they’ve published (search the PI’s name is Pubmed or NCBI) and read them as best as you can. This is where CURE at UCLA helps a lot. If you make it through the applications and get a senior mentor, ur mentor will help you a LOT with reading papers.</p></li>
<li><p>Prepare a CV. A senior CURE mentor can help with this.</p></li>
<li><p>Email the PI (essentially ur cover letter) detailing ur high school GPA, SAT/ACT score, research experience, technical skills in the email and attaching ur CV. I work at a lab and my PI sends lab researchers emails from students… being upfront with your strengths in the email itself is the best way to get urself a spot. </p></li>
<li><p>Repeat until you get into a lab (you may need to send up to 20 emails so don’t get discouraged if u dont get into the first lab u apply to).</p></li>
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<p>The biomedical research minor also helps with the above steps. </p>
<p>Of course, getting paid for an independent project at a well-known lab is most ideal.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>