Working in an Academic Lab#
These positions are a great way to gain some research experience and to gain exposure to what life working in a research lab at a university looks like. They typically hold titles like “Lab Manager”, “Research Assistant”, or “Research Technician”. In all cases you will be an assistant to the lab, helping with data collection and cleaning, reviewing manuscripts and grants, and generally helping the PI (principal investigator, who is in charge of the lab and your boss) with their research. These are great positions that sometimes lead to having your name on publications and generally create a firm foundation for an eventual Ph.D.
On the note of Ph.D., these positions will normally include you interacting with Ph.D. students, giving you a first-hand look at what life as a Ph.D. student is and what the process of completing a Ph.D. looks like. While normally not directly stated, the expectation with most of these positions is that you will work in the lab for 1-3 years before applying for PhD programs. Your PI and other graduate students in the lab will also help you with your application and can act as references for your application.
These positions often get posted on job boards but it can also be worthwhile emailing a PI directly to ask if there are any openings (check out emailing potential advisors for some ideas of what to include in your email). You can also look at a large R1’s job listings, for local positions (say UofC, Northwestern, UIC, etc for around Chicago). That said, some job boards to look at include:
These are also sometimes posted on society listservs
These positions will also sometimes get posted on general job boards like Indeed.
Finally, if you think that a PhD is in your future, do check out the applying for a PhD program section as there are some practical things you can do now to prepare for an eventual application.