I really liked how much independence I acquired over the time I worked here. The lab was extremely supportive and I truly learned a lot about the fields of genetics.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Research Assistant
June 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I was a research assistant to a graduate student of Dr. Doug Jerolmack's Sediment Lab. I learned a lot from my advisor about the research process, and I eventually took over the project when he left. I loved the flexibility & freedom I had to plan out my day and the support from the Sediment Lab throughout the Summer.
What I wish was different
I wish we had a bigger budget!
Advice
Show initiative.
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Research Assistant
June - July 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Seeing what research is like
What I wish was different
More engagement
Advice
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Facilities Trades Supervisor
May 2016 - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Really getting a feel for day to day life in an office. I loved my supervisor, Walt Molishus, and how he clearly defined tasks and goals for our projects over the past few summers.
What I wish was different
I wish they had provided technology for us to use. We had to use personal laptops and it was a bit of an issue that we had to work around due to Macs not being compatiable with certrain programs that we needed to run work on.
Advice
Go in with an open mind. The people are warm, welcoming and resourceful. This is an excellent employer where anyone can make valuable network connections on a daily basis.
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Lab Technician
May - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
What I wish was different
Advice
Take advantage of the ability to pursue creative projects.
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Residential Teaching Assistant
July - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
It was super relaxing and fun, but also It was a great learning experience because I never learned python prior to this job.
What I wish was different
nothing! Maybe longer because we all had such a great time getting to know the other ESAP RTA's
Advice
this job is perfect for freshmen!
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
May - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Learning and creating knowledge.
What I wish was different
Impact
Advice
Find a project that excited you
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Summer Research Assistant
July - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I thoroughly enjoyed working in the field and having the chance to analyze the data that I was collecting.
What I wish was different
I wish it was closer!
Advice
Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.
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Campus Tour Guide
June - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
There was a great community of tour guides and I enjoyed meeting other students from Penn who I had never met before.
What I wish was different
The weather was not ideal for touring in the summer.
Advice
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research assistant
June - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
The people
What I wish was different
The research was pretty mundane
Advice
Try to push your comfort zone and take risks
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Scientific Researcher
July 2018 • Palestine, TX
What I liked
The opportunity to work as a NASA scientist, albeit contracted through the university was an amazing opportunity and one i'll never forget.
What I wish was different
I wish I had known that I would be working long hours each day of the week with little access to things outside of work.
Advice
A piece of advice that I'll provide is if you're signing up to do research, be willing to sacrifice massive amounts of time towards it.
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Research Assisstant
June - August 2020 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I enjoyed the flexibility of working on my own hours.
What I wish was different
I wish that my expectations were more clear.
Advice
Reach out to your professors to see if they have openings for research.
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Undergraduate Researcher
May 2020 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Active and healthy network of researchers; mentoring from postdocs and PI.
What I wish was different
Advice
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archaeology field hand and official field photographer
June 2019 • Wilkinson, MS
What I liked
I liked all of it. I had been down in Mississippi on this dig the summer before and was offered to come back this year as the field photographer.
What I wish was different
Nothing
Advice
If you are working/interning for an organization you had been at previously, see what other opportunities you can get from it. During mine we opened an museum exhibit based on the work being done and I was hired as the event photographer. This internship allowed me to gain more archaeology training as well as official hired photography work.
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Biostatistician Intern
June 2018 - May 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
The people were very nice and helpful. Flexible schedule and remote position. They taught me a lot. Useful to my major and I learned two new programming languages. Helped me get a full time position at UPenn.
What I wish was different
I wasn’t paid until August. I wish I was paid earlier in the summer.
Advice
Show interest and ask if you can continue your internship through the school year.
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Earth Sciences Research Assistant
June 2019 - August 2020 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Ability to work remotely, ability to work on independent research project
What I wish was different
Would have liked to get paid for my independent project rather than just the data management tasks I performed for my official research role
Advice
Independent project development is valuable regardless of whether you get paid or not
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
June 2020 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Have the chance to explore topics that interests me and learn.
What I wish was different
More structured.
Advice
Really need to find a short-term goal yourself and well-utilize the flexibility.
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Research Assistant
June 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I liked how easy it was to apply to PURM and that most of the labs participating were open to inviting students back for the fall. I also liked that it pushed me to try a different area of research which led me to finding my new passion - gerontology.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Research Specialist
April - September 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
The variety of lab techniques learned, and the willingness of the PI to help the interns and get us involved in the research process. The PI was very experienced.
What I wish was different
The lab felt isolated outside of working with the PI and the other intern. I wish we had more social interaction with more of the labs or scientists at UPenn.
Though many lab techniques were learned over the course of the internship, the variety of work on a day to day basis was low. We did not have a lot of time to practice certain techniques we may have needed practice with unless they were assigned for work.
A paid experience may have been preferable, as we had overtime hours at times, and the work was taken extremely seriously.
(This is purely from my experience from one of the many labs at UPenn, and does not reflect all labs!!!)
Advice
Don't be afraid to ask your PI questions to make sure that you're doing the right thing or if you're thinking about a concept the right way. Speak out about techniques you observe and want to learn.
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Undergraduate Researcher
June - August 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I liked the independence allowed for the research projects.
What I wish was different
I wish we had more input to which research group we would be working with.
