I notice that OP is already attending, but hopefully my answer will help other people thinking about applying!
Have you been in one of these positions?
I'm currently a full-time lab manager. I'm leaving in a few weeks to start an Educational Psychology Ph.D. program at my top choice school.
Did it/or do you think it helped your chances of getting into a PhD program?
I think it helped immensely. I got interviews everywhere I applied, had an extremely successful application season, and got accepted to all of my top schools. I learned so much more about research, academia, my interests/goals, and being a graduate student than I ever did during my years as an undergrad RA. I'm also a lot better at talking about research and thinking critically about it.
How close was the lab you worked in to your actual research interests?
Pretty close. Some projects in the lab aligned closely with my research interests, others did not. I had the opportunity to start my own study based on my research interests (but that was also connected to the PI's interests), which helped a lot. My interests also developed quite a bit because of being part of the lab, so i'm now interested in doing some related work.
About how many positions did you apply for?
A little over 100. My interests are in developmental psychology, but I also applied to clinical RA jobs, ABA therapy jobs, etc. - anything that would hire someone right out of college with a psychology degree.
What are interviews for these like (if they are done)?
Most of the interviews I received were for lab manager positions. They were conducted over Skype and they mostly asked questions about my research experience, research interests, and future plans/goals (lab manager/RA positions want to hear that you plan on attending a Ph.D. program in the field - job postings often list that the job is intended for people with this goal). There were usually 2 rounds - the first with the current lab manager and the second with the PI. A few interviews were panel interviews with the PI, lab manager, grad students, and postdocs. There were some situational questions and questions about my technical/problem-solving experience (a lot of these positions are programming-heavy, and more are becoming that way). I also remember getting asked what I like to do for fun for a lot of my interviews. For the clinical research position interviews, I actually had to travel to the location to interview there, and I was not reimbursed for travel expenses.
What is your advice for someone applying to these positions?
Apply for as many positions as you can find, because they are EXTREMELY competitive. I'm pretty sure that working in the labs of 2 of the top researchers in the field, along with having straight As, were two major factors in the large success I had both getting job interviews and PhD interviews. If you are going to interview with a lab, read some of their papers and come up with insightful questions about their work (as well as other questions about the lab and position). Think about how you would solve different problems that might come up in a research position, such as dealing with an underperforming RA or dealing with a technology issue, so that you can answer these questions when they come up in interviews. You will have more success in getting your application looked at if you directly email lab managers/PIs asking for openings. Subscribe to listservs in your field, as there are tons of job openings there that have you directly email the lab manager/PI instead of applying on an HR site (which is basically sending your resume and cover letter into a black hole - a lot of positions on HR sites are already spoken for). Tailor your cover letter to each lab and talk about your skills and how your experiences helped you develop these skills (the top skills I saw labs look for are organizational skills, communication/interpersonal skills, and attention to detail). Oh, and programming experience will help a LOT for jobs in experimental labs.
grilledcheese1 got a reaction from neur0cat in Let's Talk About Lab Managers/Paid RA Positions
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grilledcheese1 got a reaction from Gvh in Interview/Interview Invitation Thread