Experience with RA positions

[AuldReekie]

One of my offers involves working 20 hours a week as an RA for one or two Professors.  As I've never worked with or for a faculty member before so I'd be grateful to hear anyone's experience as working as a Research Assistant. 

 

I'm aware that the work done and environment varies greatly depending on who you're working with. It certainly seems like a better offer than TAing half time, but I'm just a little bit nervous at the prospect!

 

EDIT: Hopefully I put this in the right forum. From what I gather from existing PhD students at the program if you're lucky you'll work on research together the aim of co-authoring. Although again this seems to vary greatly. 

Edited February 25, 2015 by AuldReekie

[victorydance]

What exactly do you want to know about?

[Coach04]

I've worked as an RA for a few professors before and it really isn't that scary. You're right that tasks vary a lot depending on the professor though, but most of the stuff I've ended up doing has not been that hard. Things I have done as an RA are literature reviews, proofreading and commenting on manuscripts, coding/cleaning data, running some analyses, making graphs and tables for papers, looking up references, formatting the reference list of a paper etc. Other people I know (we are all in psychology) have helped with running experiments. Sometimes you do get lucky and the professor lets you have more input on the project and you will get to be a co-author but this varies a lot and often depends on what stage of the project you come in on, (i.e. if you are just doing things to tidy it up at the end then it will be unlikey you will be a co-author but if you are heavily involved from the beginning then you might have a chance in being co-author).

[zephyri]

I love working as an RA, because my supervisor is excellent.  Can you find out who you will be working for?  That might help you make up your mind. In general though, I'd take it, because research hours can be scheduled at your convenience, whereas TAing requires coming to campus 3+ times per week, sometimes attending class and/or leading Friday sections (depending on how your school structures it). If you serve as a TA or lead instructor at least twice during your PhD, you will be set in terms of teaching experience.  Having RA experience can help you get publications, and shows you can be a serious researcher (which is what the PhD is all about).

[rising_star]

Being an RA totally varies based on who your supervisor is. I mostly had easy-going supervisors who would give me tasks to complete and a time frame in which to do them. Then, I'd prepare a summary or memo and report back to them on what I'd done.