At UCD, the grad professors (and/or their grad students) usually post research positions (paid or not-paid) through their internship career center website. I believe it is open to everyone to see. It is my own experience that when they post it, they really need someone to work, therefore would prefer someone who is living in Davis, and/or currently attending UCD.
In the past, as a grad student here at UCD, I have posted some of these, and personally would prefer someone local, and most likely a student currently enrolled at UCD due to their availability, and the resources they have open to them as an enrolled student (library access, interlibrary loan, student ID#, etc). This is just for a volunteer student researcher.
To find a paid research position at any school is really hard. Money is always limited, and PI's have to preferentially pay the tuition/salaries of their grad students in most programs. At UCD, thats at least $21,250/yr + tuition fees. In a lab with more than one grad student, you can see how that will limit the desire to pay another person who is not enrolled in an academic program.
If you find a lab that has a lot of money, they are probably working on some hardcore NIH or NSF grant, so they will need someone with a lot of research experience to do what the have to do. So they would probably find a person who specializes in that area already (e.g.: some tech with experience).
My suggestion is to start off with a volunteer position, and work your way up to a paid position. Professors are always eager to keep good labor
😉 . Like with most undergrad degrees (my degree included), it is relatively challenging to find a good paying job. These days you will probably need a lot of prior research experience and/or a graduate degree to get into a decent research job.
As an undergrad, and post-bacc I didn't find it hard to find volunteer research positions at any school. I submitted emails to professors at UCSF and UCB, and all replied. The most important thing is to find something that you are interested in, rather than finding what you can get. You will not get anything out of research if you hate what you are doing. There is no point in doing research if that is the case. Unless you are planning to apply to an MSTP, then research is merely icing on the cake. If you didn't like your research, you won't know it well, and if asked during interviews, they will see right through you...which could count against you. Conversely, if you loved your research, you can talk forever about it....and that shows your knowledge and dedication to that aspect...which is a good thing
🙂
Anyway don't give up, keep looking, I know there are those that pay and have less of a requirement, but its just harder to find them. Good luck!
