University Student Researchers

Read research articles produced in the lab: look for studies published by the Primary Investigator. Also reach out to current researchers to see what types of research are being done in the lab that haven’t been published yet.Identify your own unique research interest, and how this interest relat...

I think this depends on the school where you obtained your undergraduate degree. Some schools focus on teaching lecture material relevant to Psychology. I would say the greatest preparation for me were my lab classes and those in research methods. These classes helped me understand the research p...

I interviewed with a PI at CUMC Dept. of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics. It was a Skype interview that lasted about 1 hour. It was mainly going over the group's research work, so I would highly recommend reading the research group's recent publications (about 3-5). Come equipped with question...

I worked typically 9-5, and the first hour was spent in a seminar, workshop, or lecture. I would usually either meet with my supervising professor or grad student, or get to work on whatever part of the problem I was trying to solve. I was doing theoretical biophysics research, so a lot of my wor...

Hi, that is a great question! Whenever you are preparing for an interview with a research lab, it is important to read the principal investigatior’s current project and prior publications. Be prepared to talk about what interests you: why this lab, and what do you hope to gain out of it? Perhaps,...

You get assigned a specific project in your research lab that you spend most of the summer working on, other days you just shadow or help one of the PhD students/Post-Docs in your lab. The projects varied greatly by lab so it's hard to say but in the biochemistry lab I was in we were doing basic ...

I was an undergrad researcher in a condensed matter group, as well as a nuclear physics group, and worked for a cumulative 3 and a half years. At the undergrad level, what the PI is looking for is enthusiasm. As long as you seem excited about the work (and have decent grades), you should be good....

Looking at Excel spreadsheets with a lot of data, putting that data in SPSS, analyzing it, and writing reports with a lot of charts. I also assist with any research requests that come from the President of the college or the Provost. I am also called in to assist different committees and boards s...

Understand past research done. Understand the role you play when on a team. State your impacts.

Doing hands-on research with renowned professors. Having a lot of free time. Different tasks each day. Working on a team. Flexible hours.

While most students the sciences majors have a research requirement (Biology, Marine Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, etc.), obtaining these positions is not typical of the normal process you would encounter for a job. In preparation, I would suggest scanning the bios of professors on t...

In preparing for hands-on lab work, I read many primary literature on my research topic to gather a strong foundational knowledge. In the first semester doing hands-on lab work, I acquired the lab skills necessary to carry out an experiment, albeit in piece-meal. Also during this time, I applied ...

The coursework is rigorous, and highly prepares you to take on research around your sophomore or junior year. In fact, most faculty will recommend that you finish your lower-division requirements of the major before pursuing research, since this knowledge is crucial for any Marine Science related...

Depending on the department, you won’t be able to get your hands on too much human flesh from the clinical side of things, but I worked in the morgue cataloguing all these formalin-fixed heart specimens & was largely unsupervised; if I got my projected daily workload done, I left for the day. It’...

In a typical day, you spend 8 hours in research, then have the rest of the day for free time. This varies a little depending on which stage of an experiment you may be in. I think it was a healthy balance for me; I had enough time to go out with friends and spend time with family in addition to m...

It is crucial to pay close attention to detail both during experiments to follow the procedure exactly and when writing it all down afterward. It is also important to be able to think critically about what may be going wrong when something isn't working like it should, and be able to interact wel...

An academic-year research requires a commitment of 100 hours of research throughout two semesters. In many cases, the students will spend more than 100 hours working. A summer research can be half-time (20hr/week) or full-time (40hr/week), from mid-May to the end of July. Work varies depend on yo...

Before you go into your interview, know what kind of research you will be participating in. Your interviewer will be asking you questions relevant to the job to gauge if you will need additional training before beginning. It also helps to look into past research the professor you will be working ...

Plan out weekly schedule of times I planned to be in the lab doing physical work. Schedule times for special equipment usage or training to use specialized equipment on campus. Attend weekly research presentation meetings with advisor and other graduate students. Participate in monthly Rawlings e...

Very well! At the time of me joining the program, I was one of the few Fiber Science majors representing the scholarship group, and it definitely encouraged more students from non-traditional backgrounds to take advantage of the program. If anything, Rawlings teaches students that research can be...

I usually went for a run or to the gym (which is free on the campus) around 7/7:30, then went to breakfast with other URPs (undergraduate researchers) around 8 (meals were also free). I got to the lab around 9 and started my experiments, which required that I clean and boot up rigs connected to b...

My work in a lab at Williams absolutely prepared me for work at CSHL. Also, the work ethic you learn at Williams, as well as the focus on reading and interpreting scientific literature, is fundamental to success there. Overall, I felt very prepared by Williams for systems neuroscience work at CSH...

Highlight your experience with experimental design and analytics.Kreiman Lab values diversity and hard work, so as long as you’re accepting and professional, you’ll fit into the team. Specific skills/knowledge will give you a leg up, I.e. MATLAB, but I learned it mostly as I was starting. The lar...

Every day is up to you. I woke up at 6 to take the train and arrived at 8:30. I wrote code in my quiet cubicle for about 3-4 hours before lunch, then returned for about 3-4 hours to get as much work done as I could. Dress code is casual, and interactions with graduate student supervisors/lab PI i...

The physicians you will work with in the Dept of Hematology and the Vascular Anomalies Center (VAC) are very approachable and fun to work with. They are looking for organized candidates that will jump into clinic/patient rounds with them, ask questions, approach patients to discuss research, and ...

Study coordinators at BCH are responsible for the regulatory IRB submissions, the data collection, and the coordination of the patient visits. Often the day-to-day will vary, but can include any/all of the following: consenting patients (with the MD) to a study, scheduling patient visits, leading...

It depends on the research project. On my projects (looking at an overall project) it was usually 1-3 weeks of data collection, another 50-70 hours of data analysis, 20 hours of prepping a presentation for a conference. But that doesn't include literature reviews, coming up with a hypothesis and ...

My degree helped me to do interdisciplinary work with other fields. I worked a lot with the geology and environmental science/Earth science department because it helps to have botanist on field excursions and putting plant ecology in perspective in regards to project about rocks or water. You can...

You are expected to be in the lab 8 hours a day with half an hour lunch; your PI dictated the project and what experiments would you be performing during the 10 weeks. Occasionally we would attend department seminars and program lunches and dinners too.

Think about your motivations for joining the project as well as what you hope to get out of participating in the researchPractice your answers with a friend, it will help you to hear your answers and work on talking at a normal pace.Remember to stay relaxed during your interview and to think your...

This depends on who your advisor is, however, being a student researcher at Earlham allows you to gain hands on experience. The professors at Earlham frequently allow you to have a hand in planning and executing the experiment(s). There is a good deal of independence and the advisors expect you t...

-Make research on the laboratory's published papers-Learn about the people who work at the laboratory-Bring questions regarding the position and your potential roll in the laboratory

Make sure you have checked the interviewer's (Professor's) website and have familiarized yourself with his/her research work. You should be prepared with the list of the topics you are interested in and the reason for it . Be confident during the interview.

I did research for credits and to gain some experience on how research is done. I did research for about five months along with 15 credits of coursework. It was pretty difficult to manage research with the coursework. For research you need to do some repetitive things until you find and confirm a...

I looked at the websites of several professors at Columbia and I emailed those who I thought I'd like to work with. I was an undergraduate at Columbia studying physics and I only emailed physics professors. Those two points probably helped me out a lot in getting responses.

I mostly worked with a post-doc. I'd check in with her before starting my work, which would last 1-4 hours a few times a week. The work was fairly low-key. If I ever had questions I could ask the post-doc as well. She was very helpful and generous with her time in answering any questions I has ab...

I did not interview. The research was part of my study abroad program at the MBL. Their program, Semester of Environmental Science, runs every Fall. The first half of the semester is composed of daily field and lab work to learn the foundations of research methods in ecology. The final six weeks ...

It really depends on the nature of your project! Most consist of about 1/3 fieldwork and 2/3 labwork, but it really depends. I was examining nitrate pollution from septic systems into groundwater, and it was a field intensive project. I installed wells in the backyard of a home and collected wate...

Go to your undergraduate research center and ask about the fellowships they have. Universities usually have fellowships that pay students to work in a lab during the school year and might even pay you to work for the summer.I know there is MARC and IMSD but you can ask other students who've done ...

BMB classes helped a lot by teaching you basics behind different lab techniques, concepts, and research ideas. This foundation helps you understand and troubleshoot experiments in the lab as well as asking good research questions and developing independent research ideas.

I think that my major prepared me well by allowing for me to explore different pathways-- which is how I ended up at NCSU in a soil chemistry lab. In the environmental sustainability major, I was able to take courses in which the professors encouraged my involvement within projects that were of i...

First, make sure you are comfortable and confident with the information you learned during your undergraduate degree. It is alright to not know everything.Second, I would suggest you look up and identify some of the professors as potential advisers. If you are set on a specific professor but they...

During the first few years you will be taking classes, TAing and working/learning in your graduate lab. The following years will be more intense lab work and lots of writing.I would normally get to lab between 8-10 am in the morning depending on how late into the night I had to stay in order to f...

As a Graduate Research Assistant(RA) you are supposed to work on a project; and that project can be either an external funded project or your own thesis work. If its an external project, a weekly or fortnightly report need to be relayed to the client about the progress achieved. Hence, this requi...

Graduate Research Assistant is a position which is offered by Professor to help them with their research or if you go to him with proposal for your thesis or doctorate research.Interview preparation should be not done like exams it's basically you are trying to convince person that you are the ri...

Having multiple job positions or study+assistant job,it requires good amount of time management skill. And if you don't have you will learn that. If you don't manage it well generally you will do bad on any one part so you have to be prepared for that.Daily life:Research work: You should expect m...

It's just work, work. As a graduate research assistant you are also a student so you attend classes in the morning and afternoon. When you don't attend classes you'll be doing your own research at the lab, or working on your professor's research projects. Other than that you do literature review ...

Proactive/Willingness to get things done. Get done with tasks faster. Communicate well with your professors. Update the professors about your work regularly. Present/publish your research as many times as possible at various conferences.

The interview was informal but the faculty interviewer was interested in what I wanted to do with my degree, what my teaching background was, how many hours a week I could work, and whether I had any research experience .Make sure you are knowledgeable about your degree process and have a roadmap...

My position as a fellow at PNNL was pretty similar to being a graduate student/research assistant in your home lab/group. You come in and work on your projects during regular working hours (which can be flexible), attend some interesting seminars, and interact with other staff scientists and inte...

An RA at PNNL usually makes between $50-60K depending on experience.

PNNL is an institute that pushes for publications. They are looking for candidates with experience in scientific research and writing, if you have papers published, that’ll make you look really good to them. If not, highlight your research experience and expertise and any relevant project you are...

BMB classes helped a lot by teaching you basics behind different lab techniques, concepts, and research ideas. This foundation helps you understand and troubleshoot experiments in the lab as well as asking good research questions and developing independent research ideas.

I think that my major prepared me well by allowing for me to explore different pathways-- which is how I ended up at NCSU in a soil chemistry lab. In the environmental sustainability major, I was able to take courses in which the professors encouraged my involvement within projects that were of i...

I interviewed with a PI at CUMC Dept. of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics. It was a Skype interview that lasted about 1 hour. It was mainly going over the group's research work, so I would highly recommend reading the research group's recent publications (about 3-5). Come equipped with question...

Be prepared to speak about your interest in the position, the skills it will afford you, and what most excites you about the opportunity. Be honest about your previous experience, and display a willingness to learn and seek training opportunities if you were to be hired. Typically entry-level rol...

It varies depending on your research project. My topic was pertaining to anticoagulation. During the summer, I spent half of my time studying and shadowing Grady's anticoagulation clinics and the other half of my time collecting data. Now as the school year as started, most of my time is spent an...

I perform computational research, so most of my work consists of programming and modeling. I have previously developed a model of the K-State reactor core using Monte Carlo methods, and I'm currently working on developing a model to calculate human cancer risk estimates from low-dose radiation. H...

Review what topics have been covered in all the courses you've taken. Don't exaggerate; if a professor is willing to sit down with you for an interview, it's probably to see what they'll need to teach you before you begin working rather than to decide if they want to hire you. Have a good idea of...

Look up the people who work in the area you are interested in and align your interests with theirs. Professors like to work with students who are passionate about the research they are doing. For example, if you are interested in Swine nutrition, look at the publications by the professors in the ...

There is no typical day really, it varies with your specific project. The things you can expect include working with animals to take care of them or to collect data,entering data into some computer software, reading manuscripts to research techniques and methods or to review literature for a stud...

Bullet point my qualifications as the pertain to the job description. Find anything you can online that tells you about the people you are interested in working for, what motivates them, what are their passions and values. Find ways to work these into statements about yourself.

First of all, take the python data analysis courses. You need to be moderately comfortable with a coding language and analysis techniques but know that you will still always be learning how to code more efficiently and how to analyze data more effectively. Then, look into what their research is a...

A day doing research as an undergraduate will differ wildly depending on what part of the school year you're in and how long you have been on the project. During the summer students typically go full-time and will attend all-group meetings with peripherally related projects, which will inspire an...

In my experience, it completely depends on what you can handle. You are very in control of your own work load. If you get passionate about your project it can be easy to get carried away but there may also be weeks where you are very stuck and so don't do much work at all. In the summer, I enjoye...

I've had two different research experiences on campus so far in my college career. They are similar in the general structure of day-to-day work. Typically, you work from 9 to 4 or 5. Some days you get off a little earlier if you complete the daily tasks or reach a point where you can't progress a...

Be familiar with the work of the group you would like to join and identify ways in which your graduate research and interests match. Think about projects you would like to pursue as SRA, how these relate to the underlying scientific program of your target group and also how your proposed work at ...

I would strongly advise that you be able to talk about both your past experience working in research as well as what relevant topics you've learned in university. If you have software experience, definitely mention it. It is very important that you understand how to write a succinct yet informati...

Generally you'll be applying for a position with a specific lab - be prepared to talk about any previous experience you might have with the type of experiments/analysis that the lab uses. Additionally, look through the lab's publications and prepare some questions about the experiments/analysis, ...

It varies from lab to lab and program to program - as a research assistant for the Daniel C. Sonderegger Perception Science Program, my daily activities consisted of giving short presentations on basic vision science or helping answer program members' questions about vision science lectures, then...

The days really varied depending on where I was in my experiment. However, most days I worked from 9AM-3PM working on several tasks such as transformations, protein isolation, prepping samples for sequencing, etc. Some days I also attended different events where I got to hear about the different ...

When I was in the process of applying for an undergraduate research position at ASU, I made sure that I thoroughly researched potential professors whose areas of interest aligned with mine. Once I narrowed down to a few professors who I would like to work for and whose research I would like to le...

I worked in a microbial ecology lab, so the type of work I performed there will be different compared to other research labs. For me, a daily day will consist of checking on my bacteria to see if they grew and if so, isolate the colony onto another type of medium. Depending on how many isolates I...

My major is directly tired with the work I do. Although I have learned many new schools on the job, the foundation was entirely provided by the classes in my major. Understanding of basic modeling and econometrics is necessary to any economic research, and all economic research, although more com...

The day in the life of a research assistant is very independent. Depending on the professor you may either have scheduled weekly meetings, or unscheduled meetings. Outside of those meetings you will be left alone for the majority of the time, during which you will do the research you and the prof...

To prepare for an interview to work as a research assistant (for any professor or research job), it is important to understand the research interests of the professor as well as the various steps and processes involved in that research. It is important to read several papers that professor has wo...

First do some research and maybe read a couple of papers from the lab if you're interested and talk to people who are currently in his lab, if possible. You might not necessarily understand the research when you first read about it but it shows interest and initiative. Schedule to meet with Prof....

Get more information of the professor and read her papers related to your research. Get more information about your research like what is the most advanced technology in this area? what should be improved in this area? In the interview, if you have your own ideas, it will impress the professor a...

The professor didn't require us to arrive at the lab every day. She just requires us to submit a weekly report and show her your results in the last week. And we should have a group meeting every two weeks.For me, mostly I arrived at the lab at 9 a.m and work on my own job. Then at around 12 a.m,...

It's most important to read about the research done by the professor and the research group! Depending on your goal (independent project vs. helping others and learning about research) it may be more important to try to come with specific ideas about what you want to work on. That said, it's ok t...

Look into the project you're applying for. Try to get an understanding of what kind of research is being done and why. If you feel like you need more information, you can even look at the principal investigator's Northwestern faculty page to see their previous work and publications. Don't worry t...

You will typically work out a schedule with you principal investigator or supervising lab tech. You can work that around your course schedule and other extracurriculars. As for the work, in my lab, I worked largely independently in the lab. Some days, I would make agar and other solutions and pou...

Demonstrate an interest in the research work. Prepare examples of previous research or investigative experience, or in the case of none demonstrate a desire to gain work experience in this area. Discuss familiarity with Excel or other programs.

Make sure you are able to relate your career goals and academic interests to the type of work that is associated with the position. For instance, I am not an economics major, but I am keenly interested in the economic development of Metro Detroit, so work primarily focused on Metro Detroit's econ...

First, I made sure that I identified the professor I specifically wanted to work with and I made sure than I read up on the lab and familiarized myself with some of their recently published articles. Next, I made sure that my resume was up to date and accurately reflected my previous lab experien...

You can usually make your own schedule and work whatever hours work for you. My senior year I had two days off during the week, so I would work about 12 hours a week in the lab. It is possible to work full time or part time, however, the more time you can devote to the internship the better. It h...

Be aware of the work and research they are conducting. Understand what the objectives are. If you walk into an interview and have almost no clue of what the purpose of the grant is, what the research entails, and how you can play a role. Then you're in a tough spot and will more than likely not b...

I would say that having a genuine and growing interest in Economic Research is most important. Preparing yourself to express that interest in the interview is naturally also important. Finally, having performed strongly in a prior or ongoing economics course is helpful and, of course, professiona...

Find your interests Read the Professor's research area and interest and find the common fields Read some of his publications Be ready to explain your most relevant work or research in detail Advertise yourself!

Depends on your advisor and the project. Sometime you have to work from early morning to late at night, sometime it is just a regular morning to afternoon job. You have to read papers, do programming and simulation, doing lab works and working with different instruments, etc. and having weekly or...

It's different for everyone depending on which project you get put on. I was working with Dr. Shi doing experimental optics, whereas my colleagues were working in biology labs doing various bio work related to curing cancer. A typical day included coming in at 9am and aligning the mirrors and pri...

It prepared me somewhat. While there are no direct things, knowing how to code in Java and C helped me transition to coding to Bash and Ansible. The parallelism I learned helped me when learn about the parallelism that Ansible works in when "pushing" programs to other computers remotely.

First. You will definitely want to research the specific lab you will be joining. It’s crucial that you tailor your qualifications to the lab's research focus. It’s not enough to be at the top of your class or have outstanding letters of recommendation from your professors (although sometimes thi...

It’s an incredibly busy hospital in the heart of Boston and the Longwood Medical Area so you are very much thrown in at the deep end. This is not a bad thing, the work of a Research Assistant is unique and there is so much to learn. Certainly you need to have a really good eye for detail and be a...

Read the job description and list experiences that are relevant to the position, so you are prepared for the interview. I would also refresh your basic microbiology knowledge, and read papers that lab you are interviewing with has published. For an entry level position (especially in a lab), most...

Most days I would complete the same set of tasks. I would arrive to the laboratory and start processing the samples that were collected from patients the day before. The samples would incubate in a broth enriched culture for 4 hours, and then be plated to select for certain types of bacteria. The...

Being on the phone with him, transcribing his notes and also conducting research and reading papers when not on the phone.

Have a general knowledge public health issues regarding preventable conditions like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. Familiarize yourself with basic lab equipment like centrifuges and pipettes. Emphasize your attention to detail and organizational skills.This is a great position to get...

It is a benched base research position. Typically in the morning we receive blood and urine samples from study participants. We organize, register, and process them. A large portion of the day isn't spent physically preparing samples with pipette and analyzing them for quality and discrepancies.

At the beginning, we have a goal for this three-month internship. So, at the beginning, we read several papers for preparation. We did this for around two weeks.The next step for us is to start to think about the project. In this period, it is just like traditional research process, we read paper...

Your day will vary based on your mentor/assigned research project. I had a research project to work on as well as assisting two graduate school students with their research.For my research project I looked at the effect of Indomethacin administration on the intestinal microbiome of neonates. In a...

You can prepare for this position by having a lot of undergraduate research experience. I would say that having research experience (at least two years is ideal) is more important than having stellar grades. Be ready to talk about your research in the following ways: what projects have you worked...

I come into work, and the first thing that I do is take care of any loose ends from any ongoing experiments. Sometime there are time sensitive items from the previous day. Then I answer any emails that I haven't answered. I will then go into starting new experiments. If there is any wait time whi...

Thanks for your question! Here are a few quick tips, but feel free to ask me more: Try to understand the position very well. Find the job descriptions for the position. If you have been shortlisted for an interview and the employer has not sent you the job description yet, please send them an ema...

Come prepared to demonstrate your knowledge and interest in the topic you'll be researching. Even if it is a new topic for you, you should be able to demonstrate that you are a strong researcher by outlining past projects, likely a substantial paper from a previous seminar or a project from a pas...

First, I would email the professor that you are interviewing with and ask what types of projects they are currently working on and what laboratory techniques and skills they utilize. Second, I would read the last 3 recent papers that came out of their lab. You need to come up with specific reason...

Come into lab. Check on my animals to make sure they are doing well and don't need any maintenance. Look at my experiment list and see what I need to do that week. Consult with the professor. Work on experiments. Go to lab meeting. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS.

Interviews for Research Assistant positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign depend on the principal investigator. Some are very open to training students with no prior experience while others want students with more experience for their project(s). It's a good idea to be informe...

So this isn't a question I have much ability to help with. First, because as a Justice Studies major we are all required to take an internship as part of our coursework to graduate, so the school makes sure we'll get at least one internship we apply for.Second, because I knew the people I was goi...

Research research research. A large part was combing through all existing literature on the subject to find out: had our project been done before, if so how, if so when, if so what did they find, if not why, how do we do it, what's the best way to do it, etc. And then once we'd done that we actua...

Living on campus during the summer is relaxing. Usually the work shift is 9:00 AM-4:00 PM but it can vary with professor. There isnt any take home work usually, but that can vary with the professor. Depending on the department and study a lot can change, from what you are actually doing from data...

It wasn't exactly your usual interview process. I had to apply to win a specific fellowship- there was a lengthy written application to develop. There was no face-to-face interview. I was still a student at Georgetown and my work there was in the summer between my junior and senior years.

Make sure you have checked the interviewer's (Professor's) website and have familiarized yourself with his/her research work. You should be prepared with the list of the topics you are interested in and the reason for it . Be confident during the interview.

I did research for credits and to gain some experience on how research is done. I did research for about five months along with 15 credits of coursework. It was pretty difficult to manage research with the coursework. For research you need to do some repetitive things until you find and confirm a...

First of all, you don't need to be very nervous. Most advisors are looking for students who know what they have done for research and how they did it. So what you need to do is to review your CV/resume again. Try to recall what you have done for the projects in details and how/why. If you still h...

You should focus on research experiences when talking with Abt. They will want to talk about your thesis primarily. You could also toss in any research assistantships or other large research projects you’ve worked on, but the bulk of the interview will focus on your research experience and comple...

The average day for a SULI intern at PNNL depends on what kind of project you're working on and who you have as an adviser/mentor. My first summer at PNNL was more lab-intensive so I spent most of my days either in the lab or analyzing data in my office. The second summer, on the other hand, was ...

An RA at PNNL usually makes between $50-60K depending on experience.

PNNL is an institute that pushes for publications. They are looking for candidates with experience in scientific research and writing, if you have papers published, that’ll make you look really good to them. If not, highlight your research experience and expertise and any relevant project you are...

My position as a fellow at PNNL was pretty similar to being a graduate student/research assistant in your home lab/group. You come in and work on your projects during regular working hours (which can be flexible), attend some interesting seminars, and interact with other staff scientists and inte...

I think the biggest skill is the willingness and eagerness to learn and be very open minded when it comes to research and acting on advice from others. Depending on the position or group a student is joining, there might certain skills (technical) the lab would like you have before joining. Also...

Go to your undergraduate research center and ask about the fellowships they have. Universities usually have fellowships that pay students to work in a lab during the school year and might even pay you to work for the summer.I know there is MARC and IMSD but you can ask other students who've done ...

For anyone interested in doing research or even looking into graduate school, I have a quality any professor would love. Being innovative. Research is all about finding answers, and you are not the only person looking for these answers, so finding creative ways to develop your research methodolog...