where to look for research oppotunities?

[peaceandpeace]

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Hi, all.

I am a sophomore finishing up my first two years at a community college. I have very limited experience with research, coming from a financially disadvantaged background. I graduated high school in 2001, had to work to support myself and my family between then and 2008. These were mostly non research gigs, now I want something different than I have done before.. and possibly apply for PhD programs instead of going to medical school, given that I don't have to take out loans if I do go for a PhD. Thats a plus.
Any advise where to look for research opportunities? No requirement for salary as long as its OK enough that I could support myself and pay off some of my student loans accumulated during the last three years, a bit at a time. I am living on 1500 dollars a month now. Also I don't want to overwork myself, so I'm only taking 6 credits this semester, work hours between 30-35 per week is alright with me.

Thanks to you all.

 

[bucks2010]

Hi, all.

I am a sophomore finishing up my first two years at a community college. I have very limited experience with research, coming from a financially disadvantaged background. I graduated high school in 2001, had to work to support myself and my family between then and 2008. These were mostly non research gigs, now I want something different than I have done before.. and possibly apply for PhD programs instead of going to medical school, given that I don't have to take out loans if I do go for a PhD. Thats a plus.
Any advise where to look for research opportunities? No requirement for salary as long as its OK enough that I could support myself and pay off some of my student loans accumulated during the last three years, a bit at a time. I am living on 1500 dollars a month now. Also I don't want to overwork myself, so I'm only taking 6 credits this semester, work hours between 30-35 per week is alright with me.

Thanks to you all.

Just a heads up, but the bolded part is a terrible, terrible reason to get a PhD. And generally speaking the job market sucks right now. But I won't go into all that.

It sounds like you're looking for a position as a research technician. In that case, check out the websites for any local universities, medical schools, university-affiliated hospitals, etc. Beware that it may be tough finding positions like this on a pt basis but it may be possible. You could also look up labs that are affiliated with local universities and send out some e-mails/make some phone calls expressing interest. This method will probably have a lower rate of return, though, given that funding for research projects is generally tight and a PI is unlikely to take you on without having a huge need for you (they supposedly love volunteers though).

Good luck!

 

[peaceandpeace]

Thanks for pointing out directions. I'd agree its not the perfect reason to go for a PhD, nonetheless its one of the factors I consider when making decisions
after living on 1500 dollar a month for quite long, (basically the last decade).
I've done a bit of tutoring, however I was getting tired of answering the same questions over and over. I think medicine interested me a lot as in "what am I gonna see today, is it going to be something different?" Living on my own, takes tolls on my "boldness'" ( I didn't have much anyway), even it helped me hone my survival skills. However, being older and much more mature, just this past two years, I slowly came to realize I might not like the perspective of huge loans just like many of the medical graduates.
If thats the sole reason going for a PhD program, I'd say forget it myself. however, I do believe my capacity could in someway, maybe put into better use. The daily grind of being a physician can largely limit what you can do as far as research goes...

Just a heads up, but the bolded part is a terrible, terrible reason to get a PhD. And generally speaking the job market sucks right now. But I won't go into all that.

It sounds like you're looking for a position as a research technician. In that case, check out the websites for any local universities, medical schools, university-affiliated hospitals, etc. Beware that it may be tough finding positions like this on a pt basis but it may be possible. You could also look up labs that are affiliated with local universities and send out some e-mails/make some phone calls expressing interest. This method will probably have a lower rate of return, though, given that funding for research projects is generally tight and a PI is unlikely to take you on without having a huge need for you (they supposedly love volunteers though).

Good luck!

 

[warypremed]

It's going to be hard-pressed to find an RT position without no BA. Research technician positions are for those with a BA. Very little funding is around for undergraduates if any. Anything you might get will probably not be enough to pay off your loans. Sorry 🙁

Do you not have a current job right now? If you do, and if possible, I would keep it, but if you can work less hours, spend that time volunteering in a lab to start gaining research experience. Are you transferring to a 4 year university? If you are I would also look into any positions for undergraduates that ARE paid, then divide up your hours accordingly with that position and your other job. A lot of the times, those positions are mundane: autoclaving, washing dishes. Usually there's opportunity to move up, but I have a friend whose had a job like this for 2 years and is still doing fairly menial tasks. I think it depends on a case by case.

But otherwise, you're really not going to find an undergraduate research position that'll pay $10/hr to make $1500/month. 🙁 Unfortunately, it's just the way it goes. Someone else may have heard of opportunities I haven't. I recommend finding scholarships too... do you attend an NIH MARC institution/are you a minority?

http://www.nigms.nih.gov/minority/marc.html

If you're looking for a summer internship, there may still be some around whose applications are still open. I would Google.

 

[kansaskid]

Email researchers at your university, tell them you're interested in working in their lab. It doesn't have to be a hardcore researching position. I did this, worked 30 hours/week in two different labs (15 and 15) and got to see some valuable stuff. Don't give up hope! Good luck, I feel ya on needing just a little bit of extra assistance when you're from a more disadvantaged background.

 

[30Percent]

You're not going to get research opportunities until you transfer to a university. Once you're a university student you'll be able to email professors to see if they need help in their labs. I don't know of any professors who took CC students rather than their own university students.

In terms of doing research in the industry(like a biotech company) its going to be rough without a bachelors.