Research Experience

[cookie91]

A few questions pertaining to research experience...

When Ph.D programs look at your research experience, is it more important that you have a certain number of hours, or that you worked on something for a longer period of time? For example, someone who started RAships during their undergrad would probably have worked about 10 hours a week at the lab (right?)...whereas someone who did it as a full-time job would be doing it for 40ish hours a week. Let's say in both cases, the length of the commitment was 2 years. Are they looked at as the same by admissions committees? Further, is there a set minimum on years of research to be completed before which it would be unrealistic to apply to Ph.D programs?

I ask because I'm concerned about my lack of research experience. I'm finishing my undergrad in Psych in May, and aside from a low GPA (expecting ~3.25-3.3), I know the research is a major issue.

To be honest, the whole "research experience" part of applying mystifies me at this point. Obviously I understand its importance and why it is required, but how does one obtain such experience? How do you know what field of expertise you want to go into? The only class I've taken thus far that has given more than a cursory overview of symptoms of psychopathology is abnormal psych. Based on that, I can rule some things out--but I couldn't imagine choosing a specific topic on which to join a lab, work as an RA for 2+ years, and eventually write a dissertation on. What if my interests are broad? Do I just choose one that seems the most interesting to me? What if my research interests change during my RAship? Would the time spent on that topic have been wasted?

Also, is it crazy to do a Master's program and an RAship simultaneously? Columbia's Psych degrees offered through the Teachers College seem to be right up my alley. (If anyone has had any experience with Columbia's Master's program, any info will be appreciated!) It just seems odd to me to spend time as a research assistant when the outcome is so unpredictable. Do I give up the next 2+ years of my life in hopes that a school will think my research experience is good enough? By "give up," I mean "do unpaid work." I don't see how I could get a paid position with my credentials--I'll only have participated in a semester of labwork, and taken some related courses (i.e., stats, research & methods...)

Are RAships competitive positions?

Sorry to ramble, I just have SO many questions. Thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this through.

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[LHDMMD]

When Ph.D programs look at your research experience, is it more important that you have a certain number of hours, or that you worked on something for a longer period of time? For example, someone who started RAships during their undergrad would probably have worked about 10 hours a week at the lab (right?)...whereas someone who did it as a full-time job would be doing it for 40ish hours a week. Let's say in both cases, the length of the commitment was 2 years. Are they looked at as the same by admissions committees? Further, is there a set minimum on years of research to be completed before which it would be unrealistic to apply to Ph.D programs?

You're looking at it all wrong, IMO. It's quality and not quantity. I've worked full time as an RA and in terms of publication and presentations have nothing to show for it. I volunteered and worked in psych labs during grad and undergrad and have poster presentations and an unpublished master's thesis to show for it. Schools look at if you made a RELEVANT contribution to a lab.

To be honest, the whole "research experience" part of applying mystifies me at this point. Obviously I understand its importance and why it is required, but how does one obtain such experience?

Work and volunteer?

How do you know what field of expertise you want to go into?

If you're asking this you're not ready for a Ph.D. at this time.

The only class I've taken thus far that has given more than a cursory overview of symptoms of psychopathology is abnormal psych. Based on that, I can rule some things out--but I couldn't imagine choosing a specific topic on which to join a lab, work as an RA for 2+ years, and eventually write a dissertation on. What if my interests are broad? Do I just choose one that seems the most interesting to me? What if my research interests change during my RAship? Would the time spent on that topic have been wasted?

I suggest you try to get as much exposure as you can to your interests and go from there.

Are RAships competitive positions?

In my experience, very competitive.

 

[JennaDaisy]

This is great advice LHDMMD!

I completely agree, quality over quantity. I have had multiple positions and the ones that have gotten me the farthest are the ones where I was with the lab for a long time and gained in depth skills rather than the ones with only a couple hours a week. Professors had actually recommend me to remove my lower commitment RA jobs from my CV since my other experiences over shadowed it. And definitely don't go to grad school until you are sure about what you want to research and have some experience with that area.

I think most people begin with volunteering and then later working in a lab. Just realize though, even once you are offered paid positions you wont be making a whole lot of money. RAships do tend to be very competitive. Sometimes people find luck in taking an independent research course for credit; it tends to be easier to find a supervisor, you get course credit and you get lots of experience that will go a long way on applications.

 

[cookie91]

Thanks for all the advice!

You're looking at it all wrong, IMO. It's quality and not quantity. I've worked full time as an RA and in terms of publication and presentations have nothing to show for it. I volunteered and worked in psych labs during grad and undergrad and have poster presentations and an unpublished master's thesis to show for it. Schools look at if you made a RELEVANT contribution to a lab.

Can you elaborate on what schools consider to be "relevant" contributions? Does this go any further than getting published and presenting posters? I am definitely relieved to hear that it is quality over quantity, though.

Also, what did you go to grad school for? I am considering a master's thesis to help my odds (maybe not right away, just trying to start planning).

Work and volunteer?

Right, but how do you effectively search for these opportunities!? Job postings on a school's website? Do you look at each school's openings individually?

I suggest you try to get as much exposure as you can to your interests and go from there.

What's the best way to gain exposure? Reading up on studies that have been conducted in my fields of interest?

In my experience, very competitive.

I imagine it would be easier to get an RAship position at my undergraduate institution, as I have connections to professors there. It is in a remote location from home though, so I was hoping to come back east in search of opportunities.

If I did a master's, would it up my chances of being granted an RAship at that particular university?

 

[cookie91]

I think most people begin with volunteering and then later working in a lab. Just realize though, even once you are offered paid positions you wont be making a whole lot of money. RAships do tend to be very competitive. Sometimes people find luck in taking an independent research course for credit; it tends to be easier to find a supervisor, you get course credit and you get lots of experience that will go a long way on applications.

Thanks for the reply. Right, I expected that the pay would be minimal, but something is better than nothing. Also, my school offers the independent research courses that you mention--I (stupidly) completely overlooked how valuable they could be. When you say "you get lots of experience that will go a long way on applications," do you mean that because it is somehow high-quality experience when it is offered in this particular setting? Or just that it would bolster my application in general? Either way, I'm glad you brought it up; it's definitely something to look into.

 

[syzergy]

Can you elaborate on what schools consider to be "relevant" contributions? Does this go any further than getting published and presenting posters? I am definitely relieved to hear that it is quality over quantity, though.

You don't necessarily have to have presentations or publications to get into grad school but they're definitely favorable (at least in reputable journals). I think relevant contributions means you're not just doing basic data entry. Actually being part of a research team and helping develop studies, doing some data analysis, or participant interviewing are all examples of great opportunities.

Right, but how do you effectively search for these opportunities!? Job postings on a school's website? Do you look at each school's openings individually?

I found all my research positions by using connections with projects I've already been on. Usually the studies were ending so I asked the profs if they knew of any of studies that needed RAs. They would give me some names and I'd email to profs and mention that I was currently working with so and so. I pretty much always got the position so I'd definitely recommend using your connections as opposed to just randomly applying.

I imagine it would be easier to get an RAship position at my undergraduate institution, as I have connections to professors there. It is in a remote location from home though, so I was hoping to come back east in search of opportunities.

Like I said, you might be better off staying where you have connections. A lot research requires RAs doing the 'dirty work' and people want to hire people they can trust to do a good job. Props if you can get someone to vouch for you.

You can try moving out East but I imagine it's going to be really hard to find a position because of the extreme competition.

 

[syzergy]

Thanks for the reply. Right, I expected that the pay would be minimal, but something is better than nothing. Also, my school offers the independent research courses that you mention--I (stupidly) completely overlooked how valuable they could be. When you say "you get lots of experience that will go a long way on applications," do you mean that because it is somehow high-quality experience when it is offered in this particular setting? Or just that it would bolster my application in general? Either way, I'm glad you brought it up; it's definitely something to look into.

I've held multiple paid research positions and they've varied from $12-15 an hour. Not amazing but not bad at all. I'm getting paid to do what I love and it's been a great experience.

Also, I completely recommend doing an independent research study if you have the opportunity. I was able to design and conduct my own study focusing on my specific interests instead of a professors. I did all the data analysis and learned a ton. I was also able to present at a conference and publish my findings in a reputable journal. Completely invaluable and I can safely say, if I do get into grad school, this will probably be the reason why.

 

[cookie91]

Wow, thanks for all the useful info syzergy.

I found all my research positions by using connections with projects I've already been on. Usually the studies were ending so I asked the profs if they knew of any of studies that needed RAs. They would give me some names and I'd email to profs and mention that I was currently working with so and so. I pretty much always got the position so I'd definitely recommend using your connections as opposed to just randomly applying.

This is really good to know. How important is consistency? What I mean by that is, were the studies you took part in all based on the same topic? When a study was ending, how long had you been working on it when asking the profs about other openings?

You can try moving out East but I imagine it's going to be really hard to find a position because of the extreme competition.

On the same token, isn't academia kind of a small world--isn't there a chance that a prof at my current institution (for whom I was an RA) could be aware of a study that needed RAs somewhere else? Or is that just wishful thinking...

 

[cookie91]

I've held multiple paid research positions and they've varied from $12-15 an hour. Not amazing but not bad at all. I'm getting paid to do what I love and it's been a great experience.

$12-15 an hour sounds good to me! I'd be really happy to find a position that paid as much.

Also, I completely recommend doing an independent research study if you have the opportunity. I was able to design and conduct my own study focusing on my specific interests instead of a professors. I did all the data analysis and learned a ton. I was also able to present at a conference and publish my findings in a reputable journal. Completely invaluable and I can safely say, if I do get into grad school, this will probably be the reason why.

That's very impressive. Did you have a mentor or anyone to guide you through the process?

 

[syzergy]

Wow, thanks for all the useful info syzergy.



This is really good to know. How important is consistency? What I mean by that is, were the studies you took part in all based on the same topic? When a study was ending, how long had you been working on it when asking the profs about other openings?.

No problem! I have a bit of experience getting new research experiences and hiring new RAs myself.

I don't really know about consistency. Obviously it's better not to jump around from project to project but some of my projects only lasted a few months so I needed to find other. I usually worked on 2-3 at a time when I was in school. I wasn't a huge fan of the topic of my first research project and quickly joined another lab (while still staying on the first project for another two years).

I absolutely loved the topic in my second lab and because there were multiple professors studying this at my undergrad, all the labs I joined later were on my specific interests. I only joined one research lab unrelated to my interests because I became the lab manager and got paid.

Also, I went to a huge research university so there were a ton of research projects in multiple psychology areas. It might be a lot harder to find projects related to your specific interests if you don't go to a large research school. In that case, I'd recommend joining a related lab.

On the same token, isn't academia kind of a small world--isn't there a chance that a prof at my current institution (for whom I was an RA) could be aware of a study that needed RAs somewhere else? Or is that just wishful thinking...

Yeah, that's definitely an option. You can ask the profs who they typically collaborate with and then contact them yourselves. Definitely name drop your current prof in your email! It's pretty hard to get paid positions so use all the help you can get! Usually, they will contact your prof to get a reference.

 

[syzergy]

$12-15 an hour sounds good to me! I'd be really happy to find a position that paid as much.



That's very impressive. Did you have a mentor or anyone to guide you through the process?

All my paid positions were after I graduated though so keep that in mind. I definitely paid my dues and worked on multiple volunteer projects.

Yes, I did have a mentor throughout the entire independent study. At my school, you're required to do a independent study if you're in the honors college. It's actually a year long class where you develop a study, defend your proposal, collect data, analyze and write a paper, and then defend your thesis.

I used my time off after undergrad to revise my thesis paper for submission at a peer-reviewed journal. I also continued working in research labs and became the lab manager for a few projects.