Has anyone been an assistant to any of the professors as far as helping with their research projects, doing some of their grunt work etc?

I'm comming back to school for another degree, and I desperately need some type of lab assistance and exposure to procedures/tests that are used in a science lab.

How does one go about this?

5/31/2008 8:41:06 AM

Start bothering professors in the department you're interested in. Ask if they have any leads on research jobs (not research assistantships, just research jobs) in the department (as in do they have any available or do they know who you should ask). Somebody somewhere does the hiring and knows what to do about those. If you're lucky, somebody will have the $$ and need to hire you. If not, they'll probably keep your resume on file.

5/31/2008 9:34:50 AM

Most of the time if you approach a researcher and offer free help they are willing to take it. Just make sure you have the time to do it properly (more than just a couple of hours a week) and are willing to wash glassware, make solutions, enter data, etc... If you want to be paid for your work, than that probably won't happen.

Just start emailing people in your department or a department you are interested in...

You can look through the hr website at ncsu.edu, but most of the positions require some or lots of lab related experience.

[Edited on May 31, 2008 at 11:19 PM. Reason : .]

5/31/2008 11:18:04 PM

this is called grad school

6/1/2008 1:15:29 AM

I got a departmental email at one point, and found my former lab job that way

it really is best to ask people in your department

6/1/2008 1:46:07 AM

Quote :

"this is called grad school"

[Edited on June 1, 2008 at 6:20 AM. Reason : .]

6/1/2008 6:19:57 AM

I'm not really interested in grad school right now. I do want to do research, but even the worst jobs (cage cleaners etc) are asking for some type of lab experience.

Thanks for all the advice, though!

6/1/2008 7:58:25 PM

I was a summer lab assistant a few years ago, I just asked my professor a few weeks before the end of the semester if he needed any help with research over the summer. The pay wasn't that great, but I got a good reference from it and some good experience to put on my resume. It was on Centennial Campus too so I was just able to take the Wolfline to/from work.

6/2/2008 10:03:35 AM

Quote :

"this is called grad school"

This is called how to get IN to grad school. Previous lab assistant research not only gets you great faculty references, but it exposes you to the work, and lets you talk about mroe than just that neat class you took.
As for finding professors, I did it through my advisor, and found out who was willing to take undergraduate assistants first. There are a lot of professors who are really nice, but won't use undergrads.

6/3/2008 11:00:59 AM

I'm not an undergrad. I already have a bachelor of science in poultry science, I just decided I want to get the new minor in Biotechnology while it's new, and before I get a real job.

6/3/2008 7:20:51 PM

you should go for the masters, not a minor

6/3/2008 9:07:07 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/sci/705495869.html

6/3/2008 10:08:53 PM

Yes. I worked for Dr Eric Davies in Botany and had an awsome experience. At first I did grunt work like clean glassware and mix gel stocks but after I got comfortable running the PCR, isolating RNA/DNA the position became fun. We found a novel gene in tomato and I went all over the country to present.

If you show you are there and genually interested in the research project then the professor will have an easier time letting you on board. Dr Davies was very interested in wound response, or the genes turned on when plants were under stress. Research whatever department your going into and visit the professors websites to see their research focus.

Forgot to say - I worked in this lab when he had one of the best PhD candidates in the department leading the lab. Your experience can be good or bad based on the person you work with every day so ask if you will be working with a grad student and meet him/her for lunch. In my experience, the PhD student was incredible at teaching and mentoring and we still remain friends today, went to his wedding, etc.

[Edited on June 4, 2008 at 9:55 AM. Reason : add]

6/4/2008 9:52:24 AM

Wow, thanks for all the experiences/advice!! I've contacted several professors already and am waiting to see if they know any researchers looking for some help.

Masters- I'm really not prepared financially or mentally to take on this challenge. If I went back I want to make sure I'm 100% into it. Right now the Biotech minor/certification can open a few doors with less time and money to put in.

6/4/2008 11:00:41 AM

^^what a cocksucker that Davies guy was

6/4/2008 7:06:21 PM

Quote :

"what a cocksucker that Davies guy was"

really? He was one of the funniest prof's I ever had. He always did gallop poles when the class would not participate which was unique. At the end of the semester he did a gallop pole on the class' favorite bar on hillsborough and he took the whole class (over 21) to EV and bough the first drink.

6/8/2008 12:52:13 PM

Quote :

"Wow, thanks for all the experiences/advice!! I've contacted several professors already and am waiting to see if they know any researchers looking for some help. "

They have dozens of students email. - I would suggest going to meet them in their office. Youll be ahead of 90% of the students trying to get a lab position that way.

6/8/2008 12:54:08 PM

what do people think about the biotech minor?

6/11/2008 9:10:50 PM

Quote :

"really? He was one of the funniest prof's I ever had. He always did gallop poles when the class would not participate which was unique. At the end of the semester he did a gallop pole on the class' favorite bar on hillsborough and he took the whole class (over 21) to EV and bough the first drink."

yea, he was funny at times but he always told the class how stupid we were, and had that-nose-in-the-air British attitude.

6/11/2008 9:24:07 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/sci/716129770.html

Here you go

6/11/2008 9:53:22 PM

OMG, Thank you so much! I'm e-mailing them right now!

6/12/2008 11:22:31 AM

"Your experience can be good or bad based on the person you work with every day so ask if you will be working with a grad student and meet him/her for lunch"


That's the truth. I did undergrad research (started off as a lab assistant-) for almost 2 years. While the professor was awesome, and the research was great, one of the grad students was a complete ass. I hated going into the lab because of him, and tried to work it out so that I was only there when he wasn't.

6/12/2008 12:25:43 PM

make sure you make it CLEAR that you have BIG trouble with english. Guaranteed to put you in top running

7/2/2008 6:24:23 AM

^hahaha too true

7/3/2008 9:29:31 AM

i was in biological engineering as an undergrad, and i got my first job with the department through an email that was sent out to all the undergrads. that was doing analytical testing of GMO samples. this job was kinda boring (repetitive) but i liked it because i learned a lot about spectrophotometry and ELISA assays, (and other biological lab equipment... i am an expert micropipetter) plus the guy i worked with was really funny.

i got a job as an undergraduate research assistant the next year because i worked hard in my classes and one of my professors asked me if i would help out with a project they wanted to start (i'm sure it helped that i had already worked for the department)
then i spent a year and a half working on a biofuel conversion system (photocatalytic conversion of methane to methanol) i did everything from research & lit reviews to designing and building the system to testing and redesigning the system. unfortunately we didn't get much to work with before i left for grad school so i didn't get much experience with sample analysis in this case.

in grad school i am studying industrial design and i got a job my second year as a graduate research assistant the same way i got the job as an undergrad research assistant... i basically worked hard in my classes and let it be known to my professors that i was interested in getting a research job if they had one available. at this job i run ergonomic testing... using EMG electrodes to measure muscle activity of certain tasks. we also record force, pressure, stress levels and subjective data. the study i am working on now is evaluating different design choices for a product that will be coming out on the market soon. in this job i have learned many different software and equipment systems for measuring muscle activity, skin response, force readings, and pressure distribution. plus i've learned a ton about ergonomics and universal design.


so my advice is to put forth an effort in your classes, get to know your professors, and let them know you will work hard and want to work for them. once you get one job for the university it gets easier to fall into other research studies. you may have to start off doing grunt work or repetitive mindless tasks... but eventually you can move into more indepth independent studies.

good luck

7/4/2008 1:54:49 PM

just meet some professors and start asking if the need field/lab assistants. if you're in engineering, almost all assistants are paid. if you're a field/lab assistant in engineering and not getting paid, I'd say you're being screwed.

other majors are hit and miss with pay.

7/7/2008 7:55:13 AM