Great experience to understand what research is like
What I wish was different
Advice
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College Teaching Assistant
July 2021 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Being a TA was an amazing experience! I got to interact with many students and learned a lot about the course content in the process of teaching labs, recitations, and running office hours.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Resident Assistant
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Really enjoyed getting to know the students I worked alongside. Decent amount of down time to work on personal projects. Not very difficult work but fulfilling, especially scheduling and pulling off fun events for the kids.
What I wish was different
Wish the hours weren't 24/7 on call basically. Traveling blocks didn't work very often but its okay, I survived :)
Advice
Really take the time to get to know your RA partner as well as the kids you'll be looking over. If you are able to figure out a schedule in the beginning, it will make life much easier on both parties
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SURF
June - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I was able to pursue something I wanted and still get paid for it.
What I wish was different
I wish it was possible to earn while working this job.
Advice
Manage your time wisely and meet with your professor often.
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Economic Research Assistant
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Learned a lot and did a lot
What I wish was different
N/A
Advice
Don't be afraid to ask your professor if you're interested in research
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Computational Finance Research Intern
June - July 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Worked in team, had close contact with a professor (William Hrusa), had a lot of freedom and flexibility with the direction of our project.
What I wish was different
Pay was quite low
Advice
Come in with a few ideas for a research project, otherwise the first few weeks can be spent floundering.
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Precollege Teaching Assistant
July - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
It was great to work with high school students interested in the field of architecture, with no prior experience. It was amazing to see how much goes into the learning process and revisiting the base principles that are pushed to the back of your head when you are further along in the professional program.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
May - July 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I liked that I could design my own working schedule.
What I wish was different
I wish I had a more hands-on role in the research
Advice
If you are doing research for the first time try to take the initiative to get as involved as you can and don’t be afraid to ask questions
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Assistant Researcher
January 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I had a lot of communication with the professor, and ideas were interesting.
What I wish was different
I was given more challenging work.
Advice
I would make sure the professor better knows your expectations.
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Research Assistant
June - July 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
The applications of concepts
What I wish was different
More challenging problems
Advice
Be open to new ideas
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Undergraduate Researcher
July 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I enjoyed the freedom I had to pursue a project of my making and design within the goals of the lab group.
What I wish was different
I wish I had been able to spend less time exploring the research space and getting ahead on a specific research goal.
Advice
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Research Intern
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I liked the independence to work at my own pace and having occasional opportunities to check in with my research professor.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Software Engineer
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Very flexible work hours and I got to work on a project that was important to me.
What I wish was different
Advice
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College crew
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
The people most of the time
What I wish was different
Wish I got more applicable experience
Advice
It was alright but loving furniture for a whole summer was not the best.
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Undergraduate Researcher
May - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
It was easy to find a professor to research with through the physics department.
What I wish was different
I wish the pay could be a little better than $9.50 an hour.
Advice
Take the opportunity to do research!
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TEF Technician
September 2018 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Moving between rooms keeps you on your feet and introduces a new way of solving problems with each new day.
What I wish was different
A lot of tasks involve redundant re-checking of rooms to find problems before they are an issue, but repeated checking can get boring after a while. Swapping tasks regularly would help keep things fresh.
Advice
Get some shoes for walking! This job requires a lot of movement around campus and you will be on your feet for quite a while.
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Summer Resident Assistant
June - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I gained a lot of interpersonal skills and communication skills.
What I wish was different
At certain times the job was very demanding and required you to work long and odd hours.
Advice
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Executive Communications and Media Relations Intern
May 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
What I wish was different
Advice
Ask people on your team for advice about your career! They're a wealth of knowledge and even if their career paths differ from what you want to do, they can still offer relevant tips or even just information to help you figure out what you don't want to do - it's all valuable information.
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Resident Advisor
June - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
Other team members and superiors were friendly
What I wish was different
Nothing
Advice
Bond with other team members, especially those in the same house
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
April - October 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA
What I liked
I liked that the position was very flexible in terms of when I could work and what work I did. I worked with the research team and they allowed me to work on things that I was interested in and were very attentive to my needs. They wanted to make sure I learned a lot throughout the summer, and I did!
What I wish was different
I, personally, realized that research is not for me. It was a great experience, but I would not be interested in continuing on in a field that would be similar just because it didn't interest me. This is still very useful for me because I did not know if I liked research work before I started working for my lab. It is good to have this piece of mind moving forward.
Advice
I would advise that an upcoming research assistant be very patient with tedious work. In my experience doing research, I found that sometimes a single project can take months to build and then more time to execute, so it is important that you like working on big long-term projects.
