Seeking research assistant position!

[Psipi140]

Hi!

Long story short, I got rejected by 40+ programs over the course of two years and was left feeling a bit dejected but want to get back on the horse. I am on the hunt for a research assistant position (volunteer or paid) and am wondering if anyone knew anyone in the Boston area who might be looking for help in a lab. I am reaching out to labs, sending emails, and making calls but the responses I have gotten so far have said to try again in the summer.

Best,

Andrew

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Koogy]

Hi!

Long story short, I got rejected by 40+ programs over the course of two years and was left feeling a bit dejected but want to get back on the horse. I am on the hunt for a research assistant position (volunteer or paid) and am wondering if anyone knew anyone in the Boston area who might be looking for help in a lab. I am reaching out to labs, sending emails, and making calls but the responses I have gotten so far have said to try again in the summer.

Best,

Andrew

Try the VA. I'm at a va, where I am in 3 different studies (1 paid, as a coordinator, 1 paid as an RA, 1 unpaid as an RA). Boston VA is pretty strong in research so there should be plenty of teams looking for lab rats. See if you can learn when their grand rounds are (free training for area clinician). Go to a few of those and use them as a networking pad,
Ask the presenters if they know if anyone looking for assistants. Network if there is a local medical center affiliated with a university, try the same there too as they have grand rounds as well (in nueropsych, psych, medicine, etc).

 

[smalltownpsych]

http://www.bu.edu/psych/research/labs/ The very first link said that they were recruiting for their team and it looked like they are doing cool stuff. It only took me a few minutes to find this. You can start looking at all of the area universities' sites and contact the psychology departments to find out what you need to do to get in. Good luck with the hunt.

 

[Meliorism]

I've actually seen a good amount of research assistant positions and internships in your area from http://lists.cogdevsoc.org/listinfo.cgi/cogdevsoc-cogdevsoc.org if you subscribe, you get email notifications of opportunities. Good luck!

 

[chicandtoughness]

Hi! Also located in Boston and can connect you to some people. PM me.

 

[whypsych]

Hi! I'm jumping in on this thread. I have a similar concern as the original poster.

I'm trying to find a volunteer, part-time research assistant role and will do any work from data entry to clerical to lab work.

I am applying to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall and have not done Psych research in about 5 years, so I want to get some more experience in a research environment.

I'm in New York City. Do you have any ideas of how to go about this or who to contact? I would be so grateful for any feedback.

 

[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

Isn't SDN members not allowed to help with job postings? Just curious if we are allowed to help out.

 

[Meteora]

Hi! I'm jumping in on this thread. I have a similar concern as the original poster.

I'm trying to find a volunteer, part-time research assistant role and will do any work from data entry to clerical to lab work.

I am applying to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall and have not done Psych research in about 5 years, so I want to get some more experience in a research environment.

I'm in New York City. Do you have any ideas of how to go about this or who to contact? I would be so grateful for any feedback.

Look into different colleges/universities, find their psychology research page and look for labs that are doing work you're interested in. Most of them will have their own websites, and information about whether they are looking for RAs and how to apply.

 

[CheetahGirl]

If you haven't already, try Columbia, Mount Sinai, Manhattan Psychiatric, NYU, New School, and 3 NYC VAs for paid research coordinator positions. (There are so many medical centers here, like Albert Eistein Med Ctr/Jacobi in the Bronx, or NY Presbyterian in Manhattan, all training facilities that do research so in need of coordinators.) I see opportunities pass thru my doctoral program listserve all the time, so I know there's much out there. If you don't find one in psychology, look for behavioral medicine, or even other fields of patient care.

@PsychMajorUndergrad18, we can assist, give advice about job leads. We just can't do your work for you (i.e., homework help).

Good luck!

Hi! I'm jumping in on this thread. I have a similar concern as the original poster.

I'm trying to find a volunteer, part-time research assistant role and will do any work from data entry to clerical to lab work.

I am applying to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall and have not done Psych research in about 5 years, so I want to get some more experience in a research environment.

I'm in New York City. Do you have any ideas of how to go about this or who to contact? I would be so grateful for any feedback.

 

[whypsych]

Hi guys. @CheetahGirl, thanks. I have tried some of those. Unfortunately, I have some limitations -- I have a full time job (10 to 7), so I am attempting to get volunteer, part-time research experience. I am open to almost anything in the Psych world, just so I can get a bit of research experience. I'm trying to get back in that world before I apply to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall.

I know opportunities like this are limited, but I'll happily do remote work, data entry, or nights and weekends.

 

[CheetahGirl]

Hi guys. @CheetahGirl, thanks. I have tried some of those. Unfortunately, I have some limitations -- I have a full time job (10 to 7), so I am attempting to get volunteer, part-time research experience. I am open to almost anything in the Psych world, just so I can get a bit of research experience. I'm trying to get back in that world before I apply to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall.

I know opportunities like this are limited, but I'll happily do remote work, data entry, or nights and weekends.

You know, what drives me nuts is that there are researchers out there that need you (especially if you're volunteering your time/i.e., unpaid positions). Have you ever thought of making a flyer and posting it on social media (like Facebook) and/or going to the volunteer/media office at Mount Sinai (for example) and asking if you can post it where they have message boards (you know the kind, looking for roommate, looking for study volunteers, etc.). Also, what about psychology departments of universities around here (CUNY, Hunter, NYU, Fordham, Columbia, etc.)? Like I said, if it is not in psychology, behavioral health or even medicine will work. You mainly need to learn how conceptualization of a study goes from an idea to patient implemented intervention/clinical trial (...as long as you get the overview of the experience, data entry is fine). No one is expecting you to run a clinical trial, although if you are involved in one, it helps.

Doctoral programs will, but don't really want to teach you all the nuts and bolts behind every aspect of research, so they look for folks with experience who have gotten their hands 'wet' with some aspects of research. I had many years of experience writing grants prior to doctoral training, and it was highlighted by interviewers during postdoc interviews. So you want to get as much exposure as possible, because IMO, the real work is the clinical work, and the research supports that, so get as much nuts and bolts training so you can spend time on your clinical expertise rather than fretting about how to develop your own independent research.

If those messages come up again soon in my email, I'll PM you (you're in NYC, right?).

BTW, I love your avatar - what a sweetie.

 

[deleted343839]

This isn't a super active forum but it's another resource: http://clinicalpsychgradschool.org/pbacc.php

 

[futureapppsy2]

@whypsych, what type of research are you interested in?

 

[polarbearscafe]

Hi! I'm jumping in on this thread. I have a similar concern as the original poster.

I'm trying to find a volunteer, part-time research assistant role and will do any work from data entry to clerical to lab work.

I am applying to PhD/PsyD programs in the fall and have not done Psych research in about 5 years, so I want to get some more experience in a research environment.

I'm in New York City. Do you have any ideas of how to go about this or who to contact? I would be so grateful for any feedback.

I agree with futureappsy2. What I did was search for professors who did research I was interested in and contacted them to ask for work opportunities. I imagine you can also reach out to institutions (e.g., medical centers, VAs, etc.) to ask about jobs in general. But if you are interested in research, I recommend getting experience in that topic as it would make your application stronger. Also, as the market is currently not optimal, you can also get a job and then get volunteer research experience if the topics don't match up.

Hope this helps!