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Hey Everyone!
I see a lot of people asking about how to "get in" to research as an undergrad, well fear not! Your good buddy RogueBanana has made a guide just for you!
So Roguey, how do I find a spot as a research assistant?
I'm glad you asked!
1- Ask A Professor
So there are a lot of ways to start research, the easiest way by far is to ask one of your professors if they need help on any of their research projects. Seriously, my first publication came from just asking the prof if he needed help on any projects. He said yes, and I managed to get a co-authorship out of it.
Now, this method obviously requires:
A- That the professor like you
B- Have a research project they need help on
C- You did well in their class (don't ask your OCHEM prof if he needs another lab rat if you're failing the class!)
Now, if you do extremely well in a class, the professor/TA may approach you and ask you if you'd like to help. Often, professors will ask Laboratory TAs who the "top students" are, and then offer these students a research spot. So just in case you needed another reason to do well in the sciences, there you go!
I have seen this happen, in fact, my best friend and I were both approached by our Organic Chem Lab TA for this exact reason. We both became tutors for the school, and both do research for the professor in his lab.
2- Check the school classifieds
Many times, non-teaching faculty who are conducting research will post advertisements on the school website looking for lab assistants or aides. These positions may even be paid! I've seen quite a few posted on my school website.
3- Email Lab Directors
If you are qualified/slightly experienced in a particular area (most of you are experienced enough in BIO to be a junior researcher) then you can email the BIO Lab director and politely ask
"Excuse me, I was wondering if there were any opportunities to become a student researcher in your lab/department? Do you know of any professors who are working on projects that may need some help?"
This is a bit awkward since you are essentially cold-calling, but I've never known an under-funded state run laboratory to turn down free-labor in exchange for writing your name on the paper.
4- Ask other student researchers
As a post-grad researcher, I have a little bit of pull in my lab (i've been there for almost a year now)
So if a friend of mine needs research experience and they know their stuff, I can usually put a good word in to the lab director and get them a spot.
Be smart with this! If the guy you contact hates you / knows you are inexperienced in the field, he won't risk his reputation to get you a spot!
But it can never hurt you to ask other pre-meds and students "Hey man, does your lab need undergrad assistants?" I've seen plenty of people get their research started that way.
Okay Roguey! I have a research spot, what happens now?????
Well, initially they won't give you anything hard/important because they are going to assume (correctly) you will probably ruin it. Most of your time will be spent doing menial tasks, repetitive things (like cleaning test tubes or pouring solvents) or just following the directions of your PI/Graduate supervisor. This is normal. Once they begin to have some faith in you and learn your abilities they will give you more responsibilities, and you will have a much more significant place in the lab. Feel free to ask questions, the rest of the lab will expect you to know essentially nothing about the practical application of science. You've been stuck inside books all this time after all!
After a few months, If you find that you enjoy research, you might even consider asking your Lab director for your own unique project.
After you spend a couple months in the lab, you will eventually be given a specific task within the project to work on. (My first task was to create the reagents that my supervisor would use for his reactions down the line)
After a few months of doing this, you will be given more and more freedom to experiment and contribute to the lab. At this point, your first project with the lab may be wrapping up.
This brings me to my next point:
RogueBanana, the lab is publishing our work, now what??
Well, a couple things actually.
1- If you've worked hard, contributed to the project and/or made a new discovery on your own, they will usually list you as an author! Congratulations!
2- If you're new, or didn't do much, they may not list you. This is fine! Take a more active role in the next project and show the lab director you want more responsibility.
3- If you weren't listed but believe you deserve credit, talk to the lead researcher (in many cases, this may be the graduate student doing all the leg work for the director.) Whatever you do, don't cop an attitude with them. You don't deserve anything. You are getting valuable experience and points for your medical school app. Anything more is just a bonus. If you can convince them, great! If not, don't push it.
So now you've completed a research project, congratulations! If you enjoy research, you can continue down this path, eventually becoming a first author (running your own project) I recommend sticking with it. Research is awesome!
Or you can sit back and relax knowing you fulfilled another checkbox on your medical school app!
Either way, now you know a little bit about the process.
Good Luck!
I see a lot of people asking about how to "get in" to research as an undergrad, well fear not! Your good buddy RogueBanana has made a guide just for you!
So Roguey, how do I find a spot as a research assistant?
I'm glad you asked!
1- Ask A Professor
So there are a lot of ways to start research, the easiest way by far is to ask one of your professors if they need help on any of their research projects. Seriously, my first publication came from just asking the prof if he needed help on any projects. He said yes, and I managed to get a co-authorship out of it.
Now, this method obviously requires:
A- That the professor like you
B- Have a research project they need help on
C- You did well in their class (don't ask your OCHEM prof if he needs another lab rat if you're failing the class!)
Now, if you do extremely well in a class, the professor/TA may approach you and ask you if you'd like to help. Often, professors will ask Laboratory TAs who the "top students" are, and then offer these students a research spot. So just in case you needed another reason to do well in the sciences, there you go!
I have seen this happen, in fact, my best friend and I were both approached by our Organic Chem Lab TA for this exact reason. We both became tutors for the school, and both do research for the professor in his lab.
2- Check the school classifieds
Many times, non-teaching faculty who are conducting research will post advertisements on the school website looking for lab assistants or aides. These positions may even be paid! I've seen quite a few posted on my school website.
3- Email Lab Directors
If you are qualified/slightly experienced in a particular area (most of you are experienced enough in BIO to be a junior researcher) then you can email the BIO Lab director and politely ask
"Excuse me, I was wondering if there were any opportunities to become a student researcher in your lab/department? Do you know of any professors who are working on projects that may need some help?"
This is a bit awkward since you are essentially cold-calling, but I've never known an under-funded state run laboratory to turn down free-labor in exchange for writing your name on the paper.
4- Ask other student researchers
As a post-grad researcher, I have a little bit of pull in my lab (i've been there for almost a year now)
So if a friend of mine needs research experience and they know their stuff, I can usually put a good word in to the lab director and get them a spot.
Be smart with this! If the guy you contact hates you / knows you are inexperienced in the field, he won't risk his reputation to get you a spot!
But it can never hurt you to ask other pre-meds and students "Hey man, does your lab need undergrad assistants?" I've seen plenty of people get their research started that way.
Okay Roguey! I have a research spot, what happens now?????
Well, initially they won't give you anything hard/important because they are going to assume (correctly) you will probably ruin it. Most of your time will be spent doing menial tasks, repetitive things (like cleaning test tubes or pouring solvents) or just following the directions of your PI/Graduate supervisor. This is normal. Once they begin to have some faith in you and learn your abilities they will give you more responsibilities, and you will have a much more significant place in the lab. Feel free to ask questions, the rest of the lab will expect you to know essentially nothing about the practical application of science. You've been stuck inside books all this time after all!
After a few months, If you find that you enjoy research, you might even consider asking your Lab director for your own unique project.
After you spend a couple months in the lab, you will eventually be given a specific task within the project to work on. (My first task was to create the reagents that my supervisor would use for his reactions down the line)
After a few months of doing this, you will be given more and more freedom to experiment and contribute to the lab. At this point, your first project with the lab may be wrapping up.
This brings me to my next point:
RogueBanana, the lab is publishing our work, now what??
Well, a couple things actually.
1- If you've worked hard, contributed to the project and/or made a new discovery on your own, they will usually list you as an author! Congratulations!
2- If you're new, or didn't do much, they may not list you. This is fine! Take a more active role in the next project and show the lab director you want more responsibility.
3- If you weren't listed but believe you deserve credit, talk to the lead researcher (in many cases, this may be the graduate student doing all the leg work for the director.) Whatever you do, don't cop an attitude with them. You don't deserve anything. You are getting valuable experience and points for your medical school app. Anything more is just a bonus. If you can convince them, great! If not, don't push it.
So now you've completed a research project, congratulations! If you enjoy research, you can continue down this path, eventually becoming a first author (running your own project) I recommend sticking with it. Research is awesome!
Or you can sit back and relax knowing you fulfilled another checkbox on your medical school app!
Either way, now you know a little bit about the process.
Good Luck!
