Getting to Do Unpaid Research

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Merissa87

Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
356
Reaction score
1
It seems like it is soo hard to get research opportunities. Professors at my school said they would help me out but they keep B.Sing me. I also checked BCM and UT-H websites and they have opportunities for research techs (cleaning, making agar, autoclaving, etc.) but to do research you have to have a master's degree. How did people here go about obtaining research opportunities??

Members don't see this ad.
 
It helps if you take a small seminar class, that way you can get to know the professor personally and try to set something up. I also know people who have just e-mailed every faculty member. Some professors also only take upperclassmen, I assume by the 87 in your name you are still a freshman.

When picking a professor, look at the success of their undergrad alumni too. If they went to top schools, usually that means the professor gives the students meaningful projects.

Try not to get a job making agar and cleaning dishes. I had one of these jobs and it went nowhere and was meaningless.
 
thanks for your advice. I might just have to start going through the directory and e-mailing everyone, lol. And I'm a junior, I graduated HS very early. Thanks!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
In addition to taking small classes & knowing a professor to refer to you other ppl/work in their lab you may want to look at some other ways too.

Do you know anyone currently doing research? not that I think I *got* my friends positions, but there were a few student positions open in a neighboring lab who grad students used to hang out w/ the ones in my lab & I told my friends about it & to talk to the PI....

Also if there's a Bio office which coordinates the Work Study Students, you might be able to ask them for a list of professors & what research they're doing if it's something that interests you, look up a few of their recent pubs, do your research on them, then approach them...It would help if you were to get a referral from some one else in the dept (like putting you guys in touch, but cold- emailing works too)

Sign up for undergrad research if your school offers it. You research the prof, send a few emails back & forth, then if it works for you set it up

IMO, I wouldn't blanket email everybody asking for lab experience, find out what they do, why you're interested send out the email setting up a time for you to stop by the lab, wait for a No thanks, or a week w/o a reply before moving to the next on the list...
hth
 
Most of my peers here say the same thing. And i suppose it is pretty darn hard to get research if you dont actively seek it out. Most of these people wait around for a class professor to offer them a spot, or an advisor to pass the word along to colleagues that theyre interested in research. Niether will work, or at least not in a timely fashion.

I decided i wanted to do research, that night i spent on the internet and learned as much as I could about the research going on at my school, made a list of professors with projects i was interested in, and even read some recent publications for some. The next day i just walked over to their offices, started knocking on doors and asking if they had room for me. The first few were genuinely full, but impressed with my methods, and as I ended each conversation with a thank you and "can you point me to someone who might be able to help me" I made my way through the department and eventually got a spot. I wasnt so sure it was the place for me, so had a long conversation about the work going on in the lab, and felt it was in my best interest to shop around. By the end of the day I had three positions, did more research on their work, and was researching by the next week. Im still in the same lab, have publications, and a killer recommendation.

Also, last semester when i was displaced by hurricane katrina i took a similar course of action, while i was moping around having evacuated to georgia, and unsure about the future of my school and city, i decided the best idea was to use this time to my advantage (IOW get more research experience), so i looked up a few schools i was interested in, checked out their classes, but most importantly looked up their current research, sent emails out to professors, and within a week was enrolled in the undergrad program, researching within their graduate rotation program, and had a plane ticket paid for by my PI.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. My point is, put yourself out there and ask around. Your not going to find research unless you actually look!
 
sunni said:
Also if there's a Bio office which coordinates the Work Study Students, you might be able to ask them for a list of professors & what research they're doing if it's something that interests you, look up a few of their recent pubs, do your research on them, then approach them...It would help if you were to get a referral from some one else in the dept (like putting you guys in touch, but cold- emailing works too)

great idea! thanks
 
Does your school have an honors program or some other opportunity to write a thesis? While I was emailing a bunch of professors, the fact that I was looking for a lab that would give me a project to write a thesis about made me stand out, I think. I was able to tell them right away that I would work in their lab for 2 solid years including a summer. Professors would be more inclined to take you on if you show commitment and the interest in writing a thesis or paper. Obviously you can't be too picky about the professor if your school isn't just handing out research opportunities...

You could also look into other nearby schools. There is a medical school near my undergrad campus and I know many students who found research opportunities there. They like students who will work hard for no money.
 
Merissa87 said:
great idea! thanks

id recommend not going with the emails. Emails are quite easy to blow off, and it doesnt say much for your determination. Go out there and see them face to face and shake some hands. You might start with the departments office, but for the most part thats not their business so literally going door to door and asking professors about their research and open spots will work better. Find a few you like, and read up on them and their work. Theyll be impressed. Good luck
 
My advice would be to find a new faculty member. They don't have much money to work with so they are looking for people who are cheap labor.
 
I got a contact through a current professor at one of the local med schools. He sent out an email to his faculty and one person responded. Some of the professors at the med school are actually enthused with undergrads who are eager to learn. Additionally, my school had tons of "summer" research positions with faculty. Usually you can get credit for as well. I am at a large institution with many resources at hand so I'm lucky in that regard. But I also chose that school for the VERY same reason when I transferred in.


Don't put down the emails. It gets you out there and I have stumbled upon some great contacts via email.

:luck:
 
If you are young, pitch yourself as someone who can make a long term commitment to the lab. PI's don't want to train you in the lab if you are only going to stay the summer or a semester or some even a year.
 
As the saying goes: "there is no help but self help". I never waited around for some PI to offer me a position. One thing to know, research = slave labor. So don't expect to be paid, or be paid much. Its not because they're cheap, its because research $$ is always scarce. Only reason why people do it because 1) they have to, 2) they like it, 3) both.

You DO NOT have to have a masters degree to do research. I did research as an undergrad, and was involved in many bench studies, and clinical studies. Even ran my own clinical study that involved human subjects. Got publications and so forth. Many other students here have had the same opportunities as long as they looked for it. A masters degree only gets you eligble for a higher pay level in research.

Never email professors unless you they are outside of your area code or something..haha. Always call! I know some people might disagree but not all beginning research positions is washing glassware, and making agar. As someone stated don't do that. It won't get you anywhere. There are labs that will immediately get you involved, others will get you involved more slowly, while there are those that just turn you into a slave doing tedious and unhelpful stuff (unhelpful to your goals). You just have to find them. Be proactive! Good luck! :)
 
Merissa87 said:
It seems like it is soo hard to get research opportunities. Professors at my school said they would help me out but they keep B.Sing me. I also checked BCM and UT-H websites and they have opportunities for research techs (cleaning, making agar, autoclaving, etc.) but to do research you have to have a master's degree. How did people here go about obtaining research opportunities??

I would highly suggest you apply for a Summer Research Program. Most schools offer these types of programs. If accepted, they match you with a professor doing research for the summer. In many cases, you receive a stipend as well. Check with your local colleges and medical schools to see if such a program exists near you.
 
modelslashactor said:
It helps if you take a small seminar class, that way you can get to know the professor personally and try to set something up. I also know people who have just e-mailed every faculty member. Some professors also only take upperclassmen, I assume by the 87 in your name you are still a freshman.

When picking a professor, look at the success of their undergrad alumni too. If they went to top schools, usually that means the professor gives the students meaningful projects.

Try not to get a job making agar and cleaning dishes. I had one of these jobs and it went nowhere and was meaningless.


I would agree with this statement but it also depends on who you work with and how they view your desire to work in the lab. I started off autoclaving then I ended up working with C elegans and oocytes and also genotyping.
 
Merissa87 said:
It seems like it is soo hard to get research opportunities. Professors at my school said they would help me out but they keep B.Sing me. I also checked BCM and UT-H websites and they have opportunities for research techs (cleaning, making agar, autoclaving, etc.) but to do research you have to have a master's degree. How did people here go about obtaining research opportunities??

I guess you live in Houston? :laugh:

BCM has a summer program called SMART
UTMB Galveston also has a research program
UT Houston -???
UHD has SURP (but you may have to be a UHD student)

I would start with a summer program to get some experience and personal connection. That may help you get the research (-related) position later. I don't know about you, but I think research, at least basic science research, is very tedious :laugh:

Good luck
 
Apply for Baylor's SMART program (http://www.bcm.edu/smart). I know a bunch of people that did it and loved it.....free GRE prep course, volunteer ops at Texas Children's and the inside track on admission to Baylor for med or grad school.
 
I'm rather surprised you are having trouble finding some research experience...the first thing I would do is apply to some summer research fellowships...most medical schools with decent research programs have some sort of program for undergrads to try and interest them in their PhD or MD/PhD programs. They are competive but if you apply to enough you should have some success. Mayo's SURF program is an excellent choice for the more medically oriented student...most of the kids in my year were looking for careers in academic medicine. It is a tough program to get into but is definitely something to work towards. MCW has a summer research program that ussually doesn't fill, but housing is kind of a hassle there. Iowa's SUMR program is decent but a bit more competive. Basically my point is most medical schools run similar programs just start searching and do it early as it is probably to late for this year. Once you have a summer of research on your back and some interests it is much easier to get profs at your own university to take interest in mentoring you in their own labs. I will warn you a lot of serious researchers aren't gonna waste their time if they sense you are just looking for a resume boost for medical school, they would much rather train people who are actually interested in their work and a potential career in research.
 
the problem with recommending she apply for summer programs is that almost all of their dedlines have passed, and as she's a junior, this summer was kind of her last chance, though she can go ahead and apply for summer after she graduates, though most of these programs are restricted to undergrads. Therefore shes on her own. NIH and some other programs might have deadlines in early april, but you need recs and will have to get moving with the process quick.
 
I agree with what everyone is saying. My school has two different types of University Honors, the regular Honors and Honors in the Major. I was interested in Honors in the Major because I wanted to graduate with honors and was too late for the regular Honors. Honors in the Major requires more work such as research and thesis writing. I told the assistant chair of my Molecular Biology department that I was interested in this honors program. Luckily, the assistant chair was also my former professor so she was happy to help me out (I often came to her office when I was in her class). She sent out a mass email to my College of Biomedical Sciences and got some responses back. The responses that I got back were either "no more spots in my lab" or "unwilling to train undergrads due to budget and time". I figured my former professor tried so I went online to my college website and found a professor specializing in stem cells. I emailed him and he told me to come to his lab and talk. I told him what my goals were and then I was taken in by a graduate student to work under him so I can learn the techniques. After a month, the graduate student asked me what I was comfortable with so I can start my own project. Now I am beginning to work on my own project with some advisement from the graduate student. I felt lucky that I got accepted into this lab. The principal investigator was more interested in enhancing undergraduate education rather than other stuff.

I suggest you do the same thing. Talk to your professors and let them know your goals. When meeting with the principal investigator tell him/her that you want to undertake a project and possibly write a thesis with it before you graduate. I hope this helps.

Tyler
 
Top