Having held this title for several years and for more than one university, I thought it was time to share some of the more common features of a paid position as a research assistant aka an RA. You can start off with watching the youtube video I created on my experiences of working as an RA at the University of Ottawa here:

Now, moving on to our article for this week. Below are the 10 facts about working as an RA within academia, particularly in Canada where I live and work for many years:

1. Prioritizes Hiring Students

If you didn’t know, most universities prioritize hiring undergraduate, graduate and phD students for the part-time Research Assistant positions that they have. Faculties and departments often have quotas and would need to justify hiring someone from outside for a paid research assistant position in instances where internal applicants do not want the role or are not competent for it. So, if you are still in school, it is an excellent opportunity that you can take advantage of!

2. Jobs On Internal Job Boards

Since most universities prefer hiring their own students first, the job postings regarding the vacancy for an RA position are made on the school’s internal job boards. Sometimes they are not posted at all and may be awarded to existing students who reach out to the relevant professors who are leading the research projects. It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for circulating emails from your department or faculty regarding these open, internal positions. Only when hiring does not work out with internal applicants, these positions are posted on external, public job boards.

3. Most are Part-time and Contract

Since RA positions are typically funded by research grants for various projects, they are typically not permanent positions but rather contract positions. Some may be semester-long contracts, while others may be 6-month, 1-year or 2-year contracts. Most RA positions offered to students are part-time during the school year and only full-time during the summer semesters or co-op/internship/work terms. However, there are also research institutes who hire full-time RAs on contracts, but we will cover more of that in another article as we are focusing on academic RAs only today.

4. RA Jobs Exist Outside Universities as Well

While this article is focusing on the RA positions within academic, meaning academic institutions such as universities, there are also plenty of RA positions within government, private industry, research institutes, hospitals, clinics and more.

5. RAs are Needed in Sciences, Arts and More!

The term ‘research assistant’ is very generic. While I have personally always worked in the sciences, my husband has worked as a research assistant in the arts. Research happens in all kinds of subject areas, from the health sciences, physical sciences, engineering, nursing, history, business, economics, political sciences, and the list goes on. If you are truly interested in research, look around and there must be some kind of research opportunity in your subject of choice!

6. Wet Lab, Desk Work, Data Analysis, etc.

Even within a given field, RA work can look different depending on the research project they are working for. For example, within the same faculty of medicine, I have worked on projects within wet lab settings doing bench work on tissue processing, and at other times I have done desk work where I conducted literature reviews, performed chart audits of patient medical records and then processed and analyzed the data. So, within the same broad department, try to find the type of project and role that you most enjoy. This might take some time to experience each of them and figure out which one is the best for you.

7. They Pay Well

Typically RAs working within academia do not have a lot of opportunity to negotiate their wages. There is a scale set by the university, often in collaboration with a student/workers union, and there is a scale of how much an RA will earn per hour. Sometimes this scale has different standards of pay depending on if you are in a Bachelor’s program, Master’s program or a PhD program.

8. External Funding

If you are enrolled in university and doing the RA work, you may be eligible for more funding by applying for scholarships! Many scholarships are specifically for students working in research. Many other scholarships may not require that you work in research in your field, however, they consider it an added bonus on your scholarship application. So, do some online research and take advantage of these external sources of funding.

9. Professional Experience and References

Whether you are doing the paid RA role as a student or as an employee, remember that it is a job like any other job and the things you learn and do add greatly to your work experience. Don’t forget to add them to your resume and always stay in touch with the principal investigator so you can request a professional reference should you ever need it.

10. Campus Experience

Both student RAs and those who are only employee RAs have access to the university campus and many of its amenities. Some of these amenities can differ based on your student or employee status so be sure to speak to the HR or administration department or check your university’s website to confirm. Most universities will offer free gym memberships, library access and more for the RAs. It is a great opportunity to use all these campus amenities and resources and just enjoy being in that wonderful university campus environment with the lounges and cafes for some additional years as you work in this position.