Emailing PIs for NIH Technical IRTA / No research experience

[bugmento]

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I've been emailing PIs whose labs I read about and find interesting, but out of the 10 I've emailed so far, only 2 have responded to say that their labs are full / they aren't hiring, while the rest just didn't respond at all. I don't have any previous research experience, which I am upfront about, but I was hoping to get into research through this program, because it seems like all research jobs require previous research experience to apply and from reading past threads, it seems like the IRTA program is there to help people get into research. It's kind of disheartening to spend time reading about these PIs current labs, read over their recent publications, and write an email to them only to get no response. Does anyone who through your own personal experience or anecdotally know anyone who got an IRTA position without any previous research experience, or any tips / suggestions?

tl;dr I have no research experience and am trying to get a Technical IRTA position at the NIH, any suggestions?


thanks

 

[ilikeargyle]

Aren't they phasing out the technical IRTA? It's essentially the same as a postbaccalaureate.

Did you finish the online application and/or are you including reference information when you email with your CV?

I emailed many PIs twice (once before I completed, again after I completed my application). You can also try a third email if you are very interested in the PI and want to be persistent. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. Some investigators have no interest in hiring IRTAs, funding issues this year have forced investigators to re-allocate their budget, and some investigators just don't respond/check their email. Other investigators aren't necessarily in charge of hiring the IRTAs; often times staff scientists may be in charge and the PI is just the final stamp of approval, especially if it's a big wig. It's also still somewhat early / it's the holiday season, so PIs may be on vacation, and for a lot of the institutes, budgets haven't necessarily been finalized yet. If they say no you can also ask if they know of anyone at NIH with similar research that he/she thinks may be hiring. Some are nice enough to forward your CV onward or suggest a few names.

Are you saying you have NO research experience at all? Hit upon your lab-based coursework, exposure, quick to learn, etc.

 

[cpi89]

I can tell you that nearly all of the investigators in NIAID know their budget for the most part. It's always tentative, but now is as good a time as any so I wouldn't worry about that. They The key is to email a lot of people. 10 probably isn't going to cut it. But don't just mass email, pick labs your interested in, express why you're interested in them and keep emailing. There are many many labs at the NIH, so you have a lot to choose from. And even then, it might not pan out. In my case I emailed a ton of people and then one day I got an email from a PI that I hadn't even contacted and now I work for her. If they say they don't have room, ask them if they have any colleagues that do or to send your CV out on a listserv.

As far as your lack of lab experience, most PIs understand that even with extensive undergrad experience that post-baccs come pretty fresh faced. Even if you have substantial research experience, it will likely be a completely different field with completely new techniques. I went from fungal epigenetics in undergrad to biodefense research, so that's almost as good as never having done research before. Emphasize your familiarity with lab work through coursework. I know at least one post-bacc that had no research experience and got a position, so it's perfectly possible.

Also, focus your efforts on tenure-track investigators. Intramural budgets for tenure-track investigators were not cut much by sequestration (In fact, they were increased for my lab) and they like to generally take on as many trainees as possible before their tenure reviews.

 

[bugmento]

Aren't they phasing out the technical IRTA? It's essentially the same as a postbaccalaureate.

Did you finish the online application and/or are you including reference information when you email with your CV?

I emailed many PIs twice (once before I completed, again after I completed my application). You can also try a third email if you are very interested in the PI and want to be persistent. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. Some investigators have no interest in hiring IRTAs, funding issues this year have forced investigators to re-allocate their budget, and some investigators just don't respond/check their email. Other investigators aren't necessarily in charge of hiring the IRTAs; often times staff scientists may be in charge and the PI is just the final stamp of approval, especially if it's a big wig. It's also still somewhat early / it's the holiday season, so PIs may be on vacation, and for a lot of the institutes, budgets haven't necessarily been finalized yet. If they say no you can also ask if they know of anyone at NIH with similar research that he/she thinks may be hiring. Some are nice enough to forward your CV onward or suggest a few names.

Are you saying you have NO research experience at all? Hit upon your lab-based coursework, exposure, quick to learn, etc.

yeah i finished and submitted my online application with my 3 references a few months ago. I say in my emails to PIs that my online application is complete with the required references, but no I don't include my references in my CV. I guess I'll try that, but honestly I get the sense that once they read that I don't have research experience, they don't even bother opening my CV

You mean you emailed a PI again after they didn't respond the first time? I'm wary about trying this because I interpret the no-reply as a "f*** off, i'm not going to hire you." Also for one of the PIs who did respond to say that she wasn't hiring, I did email her back asking if she knew anyone else who was hiring (per a suggestion from another thread) only to get no response, which I took as a "no."

yeah I have never been involved in any kind of research. I did take the pre-med required labs, ie chem lab, organic lab, bio lab, etc but those are already listed under my coursework on my application.

 

[bugmento]

I can tell you that nearly all of the investigators in NIAID know their budget for the most part. It's always tentative, but now is as good a time as any so I wouldn't worry about that. They The key is to email a lot of people. 10 probably isn't going to cut it. But don't just mass email, pick labs your interested in, express why you're interested in them and keep emailing. There are many many labs at the NIH, so you have a lot to choose from. And even then, it might not pan out. In my case I emailed a ton of people and then one day I got an email from a PI that I hadn't even contacted and now I work for her. If they say they don't have room, ask them if they have any colleagues that do or to send your CV out on a listserv.

As far as your lack of lab experience, most PIs understand that even with extensive undergrad experience that post-baccs come pretty fresh faced. Even if you have substantial research experience, it will likely be a completely different field with completely new techniques. I went from fungal epigenetics in undergrad to biodefense research, so that's almost as good as never having done research before. Emphasize your familiarity with lab work through coursework. I know at least one post-bacc that had no research experience and got a position, so it's perfectly possible.

Also, focus your efforts on tenure-track investigators. Intramural budgets for tenure-track investigators were not cut much by sequestration (In fact, they were increased for my lab) and they like to generally take on as many trainees as possible before their tenure reviews.

thanks for the suggestions. Can I ask how many PIs you emailed total and about what percentage you got no response from? I know 10 isn't a lot, I've read threads where people say they emailed hundreds, but it's discouraging when the majority of PIs I email don't respond. Yeah I'm not mass-spamming, I spend about an hour reading through each PI's/lab's annual report and recent publications to get a sense of what they're working on, which I acknowledge in my email to them.

 

[cpi89]

thanks for the suggestions. Can I ask how many PIs you emailed total and about what percentage you got no response from? I know 10 isn't a lot, I've read threads where people say they emailed hundreds, but it's discouraging when the majority of PIs I email don't respond. Yeah I'm not mass-spamming, I spend about an hour reading through each PI's/lab's annual report and recent publications to get a sense of what they're working on, which I acknowledge in my email to them.

Probably ~50. Response rate >75% but mostly limited to "no room in the lab" or "don't have the budget".

 

[samsunimomo]

I've also applied for the IRTA, but I received an offer before my final letter of recommendation was in (I had not begun to send out letters of solicitations at this time). He said that I was one of the very few applicants in the system who had the relevant experience and thought that I would be a good fit for his lab. I don't think that having references on your CV is all that important; I do think that having a specific set of research interests and skills in your CV will help a PI identify whether you have what is necessary to be productive in his/her lab.

 

[ilikeargyle]

yeah i finished and submitted my online application with my 3 references a few months ago. I say in my emails to PIs that my online application is complete with the required references, but no I don't include my references in my CV. I guess I'll try that, but honestly I get the sense that once they read that I don't have research experience, they don't even bother opening my CV

You mean you emailed a PI again after they didn't respond the first time? I'm wary about trying this because I interpret the no-reply as a "f*** off, i'm not going to hire you." Also for one of the PIs who did respond to say that she wasn't hiring, I did email her back asking if she knew anyone else who was hiring (per a suggestion from another thread) only to get no response, which I took as a "no."

yeah I have never been involved in any kind of research. I did take the pre-med required labs, ie chem lab, organic lab, bio lab, etc but those are already listed under my coursework on my application.

I say include a list of references along with your CV in the email if you are looking to research in a very similar field and your current/past PI or teacher is established (people know people). It's true that having no research experience may be a disadvantage but joining a lab almost always means re-learning most everything at this point in your education. PIs realize this, they're looking for whether or not you have the coursework/experience to ensure that it's going to be at least a somewhat steep learning curve and you have the motivation to not goof around so much as a newly minted college graduate.

Yes, I emailed most PIs twice. I don't remember off the top of my head how many I emailed (I kept an excel worksheet as I was applying) but it was >25. About ~1/2 never responded, ~1/3 unavailable (leaving, retiring, no funds or space, etc.), and ~1/6 I interviewed with. I got a few inquiries directly from my online application as well.

 

[bugmento]

I say include a list of references along with your CV in the email if you are looking to research in a very similar field and your current/past PI or teacher is established (people know people). It's true that having no research experience may be a disadvantage but joining a lab almost always means re-learning most everything at this point in your education. PIs realize this, they're looking for whether or not you have the coursework/experience to ensure that it's going to be at least a somewhat steep learning curve and you have the motivation to not goof around so much as a newly minted college graduate.

Yes, I emailed most PIs twice. I don't remember off the top of my head how many I emailed (I kept an excel worksheet as I was applying) but it was >25. About ~1/2 never responded, ~1/3 unavailable (leaving, retiring, no funds or space, etc.), and ~1/6 I interviewed with. I got a few inquiries directly from my online application as well.

okay I'll try emailing a PI who didn't respond again. I guess after the 2nd non-response I'll stop though, because at some point I'll feel like I'm just harassing these PIs through email.

 

[Scienceyesplease]

I did a summer internship...I had to email countless number of PIs. Some people just do not respond. Maybe you could find any postbac who are almost done their 2years and need a replacement....maybe linkedin could help find those folks...