Having Trouble Getting Research Experience

[ElephantGirl]

Hello,

 

I'm having trouble getting into a research lab and would like opinions on how I could improve my chances. I got my BS in chemistry last May at a large university in the Midwest and moved to a big city on the coast with my long-time boyfriend, a current grad student. I wasn't sure which field I wanted to pursue after graduation so I decided to wait a year before applying for grad school. I planned to get research experience here; there are at least four nationally ranked schools within approximately an hour of my location. However, I've been highly unsuccessful so far.

 

When I first got here last August, I became interested in computational chemistry so I looked around and found a single job in the field that I almost got (went through several interviews) but ended up getting passed over. I ended up going to work at a small chemistry company but I knew that wasn't what I wanted to do permanently. I thought that perhaps I was uncompetitive due to my chemistry major (most people that I see on comp chem lab rosters seem to come from physics or CS backgrounds), so I am taking a programming class at a local community college (pretty well known in the area) and am doing very well in the course.

 

I recently quit my job (very difficult work environment) and started looking for a full time lab tech position. I emailed a couple professors, stated my interest to work in their lab, attached a resume and cover letter, and inquired about available positions. One of them told me to look at a particular lab at University X; the other didn't respond. I then emailed the professor at University X as well as two others; in my cover letter I said that I was interested in either paid or unpaid work. The lab at University X never answered; one of the others already said "no".

 

Am I doing something wrong in the way I'm looking for labs and/or contacting professors? I might not be Marie Curie but I have a solid 3.6 GPA from a school that's well ranked in chemistry, I'm offering to work for free, and I'm still not receiving any interest. What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks in advance for replies!

[msocean]

There are tons of people applying for those positions.  My experience has been that the professors always have students who need work to meet their cost of living expenses.  So the professors I know will always try to help those students first.

 

Another avenue to try is the university job board.  Some departments also have their own job board on the university website.  You may also want to see if there are any Facebook sites for the university grad students or departments as they can be a wealth of information.