PhD/PsyD Postbacc RA Positions

[amethyst_summer]

Hi everyone! I just graduated in May with a B.A. in Psychology. I'm now looking for more research experience before grad school (most likely Clinical Psych Ph.D., possibly Psy.D. as well) because I only had research experience during my senior year.

I'm looking for research assistant/research coordinator (and other similar positions) in NYC, as that's where I currently live. I'm looking for research preferably about psychiatric disorders/developmental disorders or research with children but at this point I'm pretty open to anything.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places/organizations in NYC to look at for positions? I've looked at the big hospitals and submitted a few applications but it seems to be hard to get through without a connection, which I don't have. I've also been looking at Indeed/Glassdoor/Simply Hired/etc but not too many RA positions have been popping up recently.

Is it worth it to cold email PIs as well? I've heard that you shouldn't ask outright for a position but simply state that you're interested in their research and ask if they have any advice (not sure if this is true). I've also looked at some lab websites at schools (NYU/Columbia) but the labs usually mention that RA positions are unpaid and tend to be more for undergrads. I would obviously prefer a paid RA position, but in order to get research experience should I consider a part-time unpaid RA position (part-time so I can have a paid job on the side)?

Thanks in advance!

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[Temperance]

This forum has RA postings from time to time: Post-bacc RA Opportunities

If you subscribe to the Cognitive Development Society listserv, then you will see RA postings in cognitive or developmental psychology on occasion.

Do any of your professors at your alma mater know that you're looking for a job? They may know someone who needs an RA.

Are you open to moving out of the New York City area? RA positions are competitive, so it may help to broaden your search geographically.

 

[amethyst_summer]

This forum has RA postings from time to time: Post-bacc RA Opportunities

If you subscribe to the Cognitive Development Society listserv, then you will see RA postings in cognitive or developmental psychology on occasion.

Do any of your professors at your alma mater know that you're looking for a job? They may know someone who needs an RA.

Are you open to moving out of the New York City area? RA positions are competitive, so it may help to broaden your search geographically.

Thanks for your reply! I will definitely check out that form and the listserv. A couple of professors who agreed to be references for me know that I'm looking for a position but I haven't specifically reached out to them (or other professors) regarding positions they might know of--I'll consider this as well.

I'm from NYC originally and living at home, so I would prefer not to move because living at home helps to save money before grad school. I also figured that since NYC is a big city with more universities/hospitals/organizations that would be helpful with my job search. However, I have been seeing RA positions in other areas (Boston, Philadelphia, etc.) so I've been starting to consider if making a move would be better. Overall I would prefer not to though.

 

[Temperance]

I'm from NYC originally and living at home, so I would prefer not to move because living at home helps to save money before grad school. I also figured that since NYC is a big city with more universities/hospitals/organizations that would be helpful with my job search. However, I have been seeing RA positions in other areas (Boston, Philadelphia, etc.) so I've been starting to consider if making a move would be better. Overall I would prefer not to though.

Post-baccalaureate RA positions don't have great pay, but it is possible to live on one's own on the salary while being frugal, even in metropolitan areas. Depending on if you have student loans and how big the payments are, you should be able to save for graduate applications and eventual travel for interviews, as well. It probably helps that you're very, very unlikely to be moving to an area more expensive than NYC.

 

[deleted343839]

1. Focus your search on the big-name academic health centers with strong research programs. Don't overlook specialty institutions that are research powerhouses (eg, Memorial Sloan Kettering).

2. Don't just look in psychiatry/behavioral science departments. Also look at opportunities in public health, health services research, health disparities, community health, etc.

3. Also look at pharma.

 

[amethyst_summer]

Post-baccalaureate RA positions don't have great pay, but it is possible to live on one's own on the salary while being frugal, even in metropolitan areas. Depending on if you have student loans and how big the payments are, you should be able to save for graduate applications and eventual travel for interviews, as well. It probably helps that you're very, very unlikely to be moving to an area more expensive than NYC.

All good points! I definitely need to do more research into RA positions in areas other than NYC. However, I'm hesitant to move without a job lined up and I know a lot of organizations tend to prefer local candidates, so that's a hurdle I'm not really sure how to approach (besides letting them know I don't expect relocation pay?). Thanks again for your insight!

 

[amethyst_summer]

1. Focus your search on the big-name academic health centers with strong research programs. Don't overlook specialty institutions that are research powerhouses (eg, Memorial Sloan Kettering).

2. Don't just look in psychiatry/behavioral science departments. Also look at opportunities in public health, health services research, health disparities, community health, etc.

3. Also look at pharma.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'm definitely interested in working at an academic health center but (and please correct me if I'm wrong!) it seems to be hard to get a job simply through applying through their career portals (I've applied through their portals several times, generally haven't gotten anywhere) and I'm not quite sure how to get a foot in the door otherwise since I don't have any connections. I've had a couple of interviews when I was able to send my application to a person directly (such as when the position posting included a contact link), but that's not necessarily the norm. Would directly emailing a PI working in a lab at an academic health center be considered rude or a faux-pas?

I'm open to those other research areas as well (public health, health services research, etc.) but don't have a ton of experience in those areas (besides some coursework and a couple slightly relevant internships) so I'm not sure if anyone would consider me a strong candidate for an RA position in those areas of research. But I will definitely look regardless!

I have pretty much no knowledge of how pharma works, so any advice in that area would also be appreciated!

Thanks again for your help!

 

[biscuitsbiscuits]

Columbia lists a lot of paid RA jobs in various fields here: Loading Content

I've applied to a few jobs through this site and have actually heard back from people, so it seems to be active.

 

[Temperance]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I'm definitely interested in working at an academic health center but (and please correct me if I'm wrong!) it seems to be hard to get a job simply through applying through their career portals (I've applied through their portals several times, generally haven't gotten anywhere) and I'm not quite sure how to get a foot in the door otherwise since I don't have any connections. I've had a couple of interviews when I was able to send my application to a person directly (such as when the position posting included a contact link), but that's not necessarily the norm. Would directly emailing a PI working in a lab at an academic health center be considered rude or a faux-pas?

There are a number of factors that may be affecting how you're going through the career portal. Your application may be getting screened out by human resources, who wouldn't necessarily be familiar with technical details of the position. Some portals automatically sort applications based on how you answer some of the questions and on how many keywords you hit in your cover letter and CV, so you may have been sorted to the bottom of the pile depending on your responses. The job may already be spoken for, and the posting is there due to organization requirements. For the latter, I've seen cases where someone specific was getting hired, but HR needed a posting to be made so they could get the new employee onboarded. It could also just be that you're one of 50 to 200 applications for the position, and it'll take a while and a LOT of applications before you land one.

I've known people who had success through cold emails to PIs, but I'll leave it to the PIs on the board to speak to that.

Connections are helpful but not necessary. It's a hard process, though. Best of luck!

 

[_Sunny]

Hi, I have some ideas. I'll send you a private message!

Edit: For some reason it's not letting me send you a message? See if you can send me one first if you're interested.

 

[amethyst_summer]

Columbia lists a lot of paid RA jobs in various fields here: Loading Content

I've applied to a few jobs through this site and have actually heard back from people, so it seems to be active.

Thanks for your reply! It's good to know that you've heard back from people when applying online. I've only applied to a couple of postings at Columbia so I think I'm getting prematurely discouraged, especially considering that it can take a while to hear back.

 

[amethyst_summer]

There are a number of factors that may be affecting how you're going through the career portal. Your application may be getting screened out by human resources, who wouldn't necessarily be familiar with technical details of the position. Some portals automatically sort applications based on how you answer some of the questions and on how many keywords you hit in your cover letter and CV, so you may have been sorted to the bottom of the pile depending on your responses. The job may already be spoken for, and the posting is there due to organization requirements. For the latter, I've seen cases where someone specific was getting hired, but HR needed a posting to be made so they could get the new employee onboarded. It could also just be that you're one of 50 to 200 applications for the position, and it'll take a while and a LOT of applications before you land one.

I've known people who had success through cold emails to PIs, but I'll leave it to the PIs on the board to speak to that.

Connections are helpful but not necessary. It's a hard process, though. Best of luck!

Thanks yet again for all of your advice--I really appreciate it! All of those are good points to consider and I'll make some time to go through my CV and other application materials to look at the kinds of keywords I'm using. I think your last point is also particularly relevant, as I've heard that postgrad jobs can be a game of numbers and that you have to send out many, many applications to eventually land one. I'll also keep thinking about reaching out to PIs.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!