Pro – More work, more experience

Another way of looking at it is a part-time post puts you in a position to do something else to build up to full time. As well as my part-time RA post, I did some private tutoring. Both of these can now go on my CV and I’d say I have a broader range of skills because of it than if I had been working on just one thing.

Con – Does workload equal contracted hours?

Sometimes, there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. In the case of being responsible for the daily running of a research project on a part-time basis, it may be that from time to time the demmands of the project don’t fit with the particular days you have set aside for the job. Sometimes, the workload and working pattern don’t quite match. In this case, you need to be very organised and flexible. Working late or shifting your working pattern to reflect the change in demmand (for example, human participants who aren’t available for testing on your usual project days) might be necessary. I would often find myself doing things outside of their set days because some tasks just couldn’t wait until my next days for that project. In this case, flexibility is key.

Pro – A way in to teaching?

Lecturing may not be on everyone’s agenda, but by already being in and involved with an academic environment but not having all of your time accounted for by your post, you are in a good position to be flexible with your time and perhaps even pick up teaching hours. Once you’ve volunteered for one thing, you’ll probably be remembered and included in emails asking for help in the future.

As I said in the Part 1 of this post, juggling multiple part-time jobs was tricky at times, but I learned more than I ever expected to from a year of being incredibly organised and on the go. I debated turning down a part-time post for pretty much all of the “con” reasons mentioned here, but I’m very glad I didn’t. If I had, I wouldn’t have been able to find out about all of the “pros”.

For this post I thought I would share my experience of the pros and cons of a part-time research post. Initially I was apprehensive about how I would manage in such a post, but in the end it really has turned out for the best.

Pro – better than nothing

Ok, this is an obvious one, but considering how difficult securing a post can be, a part-time post can be just as beneficial as a full-time post in terms of gaining experience, making connections and learning new skills.

Con – Finances

Another obvious one, but a part-time post won’t pay as much as a full-time post. Although it might not be ideal, if you can find a way of making it work for you the experience and skills you gain from a part-time post might end up being worth some time spent budgeting. You could find other ways to supplement your income, such as evening or weekend work, teaching or private tutoring. Furthermore, you’ll be adding to your CV by having something alongside and it could show future employers that you’re able to effectively manage your time and work hard.

Pro – Right place, right time

You could see a part-time post as a foot in the door. If your supervisor or another researcher has funding for another part-time project you’re in the right place to find out about it quickly and go for it. This was partly how I ended up with my contracts.

Con – The expert juggler?

If you’re not already, you become good at staying on the ball for each different commitment, especially if you’re working in multiple posts. At times this can be tricky but take it from me, it’s a juggling skill that will stick with you over time and ultimately be a great benefit and improve your time management skills massively.

I’ll upload part two in a couple of days, but I would be really interested in hearing if anyone else has their own comments to add to this. I realise that this approach isn’t for everyone, but I’m very glad I took the chance and went ahead with it. It did all pay off in the end because I have recently started a full-time RA post (hurrah!). What do you think? Does anyone else have any other opinions to add?

Thanks to social networking sites, it seems that it is easier than ever before to share information with people with similar interests. Coupled with the increase in smart phones in the past few years, people have access to this information in an instant, no matter where they are. From a personal point of view, I’ve found that scanning through Twitter on my phone to kill time has actually broadened my psychology interests. In just a few clicks (or jabs at the screen!) you can find links or comments posted by psychologists or organizations about current events, new developments in the field or interviews with researchers. Even better, it doesn’t take hours of scouring the Internet to find it, it all pops up on your homepage to be read whenever and wherever you like.

Now I realise that Twitter has been around for a long while now and I’m a relative latecomer to it all, but I think the way it helps us to share current news in psychology is changing the way we can access and keep up to date with the field. As well as sharing information, it’s also another way of connecting to others working in a similar area. The interview I read on the bus was via a link that someone else had passed on from someone else. Surely if it’s getting easier to connect with others in the field and keep up with new developments, that can only be a good thing, right? What does everyone else think?

Oh and just in case anyone is interested, this is the link to the interview: http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=24&editionID=200&ArticleID=1847

Use your contacts

You might find that asking your supervisor or personal tutor yields some possible options for gaining work experience. For example, while I was running my dissertation project, I got involved with another project of my supervisor’s so I had more than just my dissertation to talk about in an interview.

Shadowing

Write to local psychologists or researchers and ask if you could observe them working for some time, even if it’s only a day. This will give you an insight into what their job involves and could help you make valuable contacts for the future.

Get involved in local organizations

Local charities may be keen to take on enthusiastic people to help. You could volunteer with outreach schemes or even get involved with any campaigns they might be running. Even if the subject area isn’t identical to the one you want to get in to, the general experience of juggling tasks, working efficiently and problem solving will help in the future.

As a Research Assistant, I am mostly responsible for the general, daily running of the research project. This means that, depending on what stage the project is at, I could be searching the literature for information about experimental tasks, designing test materials, recruiting participants, collecting data, entering data or running data analysis. I report back to my supervisors to update them with where the project is up to, action any tasks they would like me to do and to discuss any issues that arise during the project or decisions that we need to make.

Being responsible for the general running of the project also means that I deal with the logistical issues of running the experiments as they arise. I may be liaising with technical staff to set up computers to run experimental tasks or booking testing rooms. I may be phoning potential participants to arrange testing times or to conduct screening interviews, designing the layout of paper-based questionnaires or nipping out to the supermarket to buy the materials I will need as stimuli in an experiment. These are more like the day-to-day duties, the sort of tasks I do on a daily basis to keep the project moving. Some of these days will inevitably be longer than others, especially when testing sessions run in to the evenings, but I generally manage my own working hours and can arrange the time as the need arises.

So, as for what a Research Assistant actually does, the answer is that it differs on a daily basis. Overall, the job involves the daily running of a project, but that in itself isn’t consistent. The daily structure of my job changes as time goes on and follows the evolution of a project from start to finish. I’m currently nearing the end of a project at the moment so will be experiencing what happens when a larger project starts to wind down over the coming weeks, so I’ll let you know what that is like as I find out for myself!

Don’t be the only person to read your CV

No matter how many times you read your CV and think it’s perfect, a fresh pair of eyes might be able to spot something you missed. Ask a careers advisor, colleagues, or your personal tutor to have a look at your CV with a critical eye and be prepared to make changes. If possible, try and find someone in a similar role to your would-be line manager because they may know what your potential employer is looking for.

Get reading!

If you are applying for a job in a particular research lab or with a particular researcher, start reading their recent papers so you will be able to ask and answer questions about them in an interview.

Sell your skills!

Even if you have limited formal experience directly related to the job, consider the skills you have gained during your studies and how they would relate to the work. For example, if you worked whilst studying, you will probably have gained some valuable time management skills. Group work for assignments will have enhanced teamwork skills. Managing those last-minute computer errors when you were collecting data for projects will have no doubt helped you build some problem-solving skills!

Show willing

Show willingness to learn new skills or techniques for a position if you don’t have them already. For example, I knew that my programming skills were basic when I applied for my job, but I made it clear that I was willing to improve them and worked hard to make them better.

Good luck!