Are research assistant positions in undergrad usually paid?

[hopefulspeechie16]

Hi guys, I've been offered a RA position for the summer but it's unpaid at an SLP research lab. Just wanted to know if it's usual for undergrad research assistants not to be payed in this field at the undergrad level? I am expected to work from 9-5.

[Jay's Brain]

That varies by country and field I believe. There are expectations from some larger labs that they prefer paying research assistants just so that they don't fall under any legal issues if something was to happen. On the other hand, there are also a lot of unpaid positions. However, I have never heard of any position that expects you to be there for 8 hours per day unpaid. Usually those voluntary roles are ~10 hours per week.

[MathCat]

I can't comment on whether or not this is common, but expecting you to be there full time for no pay seems unreasonable.

[TakeruK]

I was going to write things similar to the above, but maybe things really are different in the SLP world? I know that I've heard of internships in biology that require you to pay for your own travel to the field site and then work for free all day collecting samples!

 

But for a fun fact, in my field, undergrads are often better paid than graduate students (on a per hour basis but they are only employed during the summer months). One prof explains to me that this is because schools have to pay good wages to keep good undergrads doing research (vs. other summer employment they might pursue). On the other hand, in my field, graduate students are contracted to only work for the school so they don't really have to compete with market rates for our skills, only compete with other schools. 

[MangoSmoothie]

At my uni, the undergrad research positions in SLP are paid with the exceptions of a few volunteer positions. :/ The undergrad positions at my uni were pretty poorly paid though, which is why I didn't pursue a position.

But it seems really unusual to ask you to be there full time for no pay... maybe we can glean a trend from people's experiences.

[ImHis]

Is there an opportunity to co-author the results of your research? Are you gaining academic credits for the position? If not, I think that's asking way too much to volunteer.

[hopefulspeechie16]

There is a possibility to get academic credit and a paper published. But this full time thing is a bit much especially with commuting costs and the fact that I'm unpaid.

The opportunity is a great one though, both for experience and grad apps. 

I know that more of the sciencey fields like biology and chemistry probably have more paying positions due to the amount invested in those topics of research versus SLP, but looks like most undergrads I know who work at an SLP lab are unpaid maybe it's just my school.

[SLP2B2017*]

at my uni almost all undergrad research is unpaid, at least at first, no matter what the department is. it's still a great experience though!!

[SLPosteriorCricoarytenoid]

When I did research I was doing it for college credit. I was technically paying to do it since it shows up on my transcript. Unless you are doing the research for college credit or pay, it is unreasonable for them to expect that kind of commitment with no compensation, in my opinion. I'm sure it would be a great experience, but unless you're financially stable and can devote that amount of time to working for free, I can see how that could be unreasonable. 

 

Similarly, I completed an unpaid internship and it was by far the thing that pulled the most weight and helped me get into grad school. I even commuted an hour each way every day during the summer to do it. It was burdensome at times, but it set me apart from others. So yes, if you can get experience without it putting too much strain on you, go for it!

[mr479]

Agreed. Very unreasonable if there is no compensation other than "experience."