When is it reasonable to start getting research experience? (Computer Science)

At what point do you think it’s reasonable for students in computer science to start looking for research experience? I’m planning on going to a public research university in the fall. Would it be reasonable for a new student to ask professors if they’re looking for any help with projects, or should they get a few (or a lot of) classes under their belt first?

I know this probably seems like a dumb question, but I’m still a little fuzzy on how students actually help with research. Like if they start out just copying off papers and running errands and learn a little bit as they go or if they’re expected to be able to jump right in and actually make a contribution from the get-go.

I suggest the first thing that you do is read the webpages for your department and the faculty pages to see what kind of research is going on. Then you can ask professors and your advisor about their research and how to learn more. You can also see what clubs there are to join as some may be active in research activities.

CS research labs don’t usually have student copying and running errands. Humm, some example of early job my kid has was manipulating and preparing data and formatting it so the grad students could use it. Later involved problem solving using, devising algorithms to make things run faster, writing code to build something.

I looked at webpages of current professors and their research like you suggested, and I guess helping with research may not really be appropriate for a new freshman (or at least this freshman since I could even really understand a lot of what was on the webpages). I’ll definitely ask around once I start school and everything, though. I’m planning on joining the cyber security team and the robotics club, so it’s not like I’ll have nothing to do that relates to my major. Thanks for the info!