. It's very possible to work as a research assistant in the UK for a year or so and an amazing life, career, and educational experience. I did it awhile back; hopefully, I can give you some ideas on how to approach it, but I'm not an expert on all things British....
When I was in my junior year of college, I decided to study abroad in England and before I headed across the pond, I wrote to a faculty member at the same University, expressing my interest in his research and inquired about the possibility of some sort of internship within his group. It took a couple months before I heard back, but they invited me in for an interview. I'd worked as an RA previously which helped. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity and another faculty member mentored and taught me about the specific field. I loved England so much that I went back to grad school there and did my master's- it wasn't in the same department that I interned with but I stayed in touch with them. Towards the end of my degree, I dug up some details on how to get a work visa in the UK and asked them if they had any positions open in their research team. They had an opening and offered me the job once I shared the work visa info with them. Of course, it was kind of a hassle for the department to sponsor my work permit- lots of paperwork, and they had to say that nobody in the entire EU could do the job so they required an international candidate, some silly American like me
I had a special type of visa that enabled me to stay a year ( non renewable) gaining work experience. My visa almost fell through, but they pulled it off somehow. And I got to stay another year and work in my specific research interest.
As I mentioned this was years ago (10+) but you still have to jump through the same basic hoops- figure out how to get a visa and convince the department to hire you. A lot of the university departments advertise job openings on their websites. I'd cruise through those and try writing to specific faculty. There are lots of international students in the UK pursuing graduate courses as well as all the brits aiming to get experience for ph.d's, so there is lots of competition for the spots. I simply lucked out.
Here's a link to UK's work visa info- it might be a good place to start so you can get idea if you need a work visa and which specific one is the best option. I'd definitely look into that before you approach the department.
Work in the UK - GOV.UK
And the UK offers loads of postgraduate programs, some are taught courses and some are degrees earned by research. I'm often tempted to go back there for a doctorate and am happy to answer any questions about studying over there, specific schools, life in England etc. Good luck!!!!
