Working as a research assistant at CHOP has been one of the most meaningful experiences I have had. I liked that I could not only experience the work environment at a prestigious institution but also learn many new things in a short time period.
What I wish was different
One thing that I wish could have been different was my research experience itself. Although I learned a lot from my internship, it was really difficult to understand and grasp concepts about topics I had zero knowledge about. While I helped with different projects, it would be better if I was assigned to help on a single project.
Advice
I would highly recommend anyone looking to get involved in research to apply to multiple job and internship positions through Handshake or Linkedin in advance to secure a position early on in your undergraduate career!
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Research Assistant
May 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I love how independent the research was and also the opportunity to work with my peers and grow our skills.
What I wish was different
Advice
Grow your network. I was able to get this opportunity from meeting someone new and it ended up being something that I want to continue doing after graduation.
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Student Researcher
May - August 2022 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
The research that I was involved it was incredibly enriching and taught me the intricacies of dry lab research!
What I wish was different
I wish I could do it for longer but I had to come back to Cleveland!
Advice
Be flexible with research! It's not always a linear process and the ability to learn, grow, and acknowledge your weaknesses is critical.
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Clinical Research Intern
June - August 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I loved working at CHOP for many reasons. The hospital system in itself is so impressive and I worked with some of the most caring and passionate people I have ever met. One of my favorite parts was knowing that the work I was doing was directly contributing to the benefit of patients. As well, it gave me a complete inside point of view of the inner-workings of a hospital and I have a completely new-found respect for hospital workers both in the ER or behind a desk in social work.
What I wish was different
During COVID, a lot of it was virtual. I was blessed to be able to go on site at all, but I do wish I had been able to to the office more than I did.
As well, the onboarding process was very long and excruciating and had some effects on my internship but my co-workers and I definitely made the most of an uncontrollable situation.
Advice
If you work at CHOP, start the onboarding process as soon as possible to make sure that you maximize your time. As well, talk to everyone you can while working there. I met so many people working jobs that I had never heard of before, and you might find someone working your dream job that you did not know about.
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Clinical Research Assistant
May 2021 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I liked the freedom of creating my own hours and being very independent.
What I wish was different
I wish it had been a bit more collaborative with other researchers and assistants.
Advice
I would advise that people try out different types of research or labs until they find one they want to stick with.
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Student Clinical Research Assistant
May 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
In addition to learning from the principal investigator on my specific study team, the internship had weekly seminars that exposed me to a variety of researchers at the Center for Autism Research and at CHOP in general. It broadened my perspective on what it means to conduct research while allowing me to learn some of the specifics of clinical research such as methods and rationale behind behavior and linguistic coding. I really appreciated the many opportunities it gave me to engage directly with some of the researchers at CHOP.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Academic Associate
May - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I liked how I could see how the Emergency Department worked and got to interact with the Physicians and nurses.
What I wish was different
I wish the research study has been more in depth and hands on.
Advice
Be proactive about what you want to learn!
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Research Intern in the Fetal Surgery Department
June - August 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Working on the artificial womb project!
What I wish was different
I wish I had a few more weeks to enjoy Philadelphia and take advantage of all the culture and history that is there.
Advice
Have personal goals or objectives for your internship. It will help guide how you spend your extra time and allow you to access the unique resources at the organization. Don't be afraid to share your list with your internship supervisor or mentor as they may be able to help you fulfill them.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
January 2017 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Loved my team and the mentorship they showed me. They truly were like a second family and their enthusiasm for science showed!
What I wish was different
In person research over the summer of 2020 would have been ideal. Also experierenced a pay cut and role change due to COVID-19. Principally, I just wish there was more stability/respect for me and the work I do.
Advice
Engage with CHOP's resources! They're unqiue and extremely helpful.
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Research Tech
July 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Highly motivated people. Great Science
What I wish was different
nothing
Advice
Great place to be
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Plastic Surgery Research Assistant
April 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
There were several opportunities to shadow surgeons, different departments, physicians of any kind!
What I wish was different
I wish I had more in depth projects to work on.
Advice
I recommend getting as much as you can with the shadowing experience. It can open different doors as far as relationships and career options.
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Assitant for Clinical Reasearcher
June - August 2018 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Exposure to office work, lab research, and in-person care for patients in the hospital
What I wish was different
I wish I had more of a say in the projects that I worked on, I had an amazing experience, but the largest project I worked on was horribly organized and I don't want to contribute to that again.
Advice
Make sure you have your commute planned out!
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REU Student
June - August 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I was able to attend multiple seminars a week to learn about different careers and public health research being conducted at CHOP. We were given free housing for the summer, and I loved having the opportunity to explore Philadelphia when I was not at work. I was given a lot of freedom to conduct my project, but also a lot of help whenever it was needed. It was great to work with world-renowned researchers and have my brain stimulated each day!
What I wish was different
There were a few days where I had a lot of downtime (which could be seen as good or bad). I usually tried to use this downtime to research grad schools or careers I was interested in and met with co-workers to hear about their career paths and gain advice from them. I also used a few days where I didn't have much work to do to go to local universities and meet with their graduate admissions.
Advice
Be open to any new experience! Going into the REU I thought I had my mind made up about what careers and graduate programs I was interested in, but this summer gave much more insight about the realities of applying and getting into graduate school. Also, get out and explore the city when you're not at work, I went to professional sports games, watched fireworks on the 4th at the museum of art, and ate delicious food at Reading Terminal Market, Philly has so much to offer!
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Infection Control
January 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Being able to work at CHOP
What I wish was different
Advice
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
June 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I love the supportive environment and seeing the ins and outs of research projects.
What I wish was different
I wish I had more time to sit in at meetings to get a more holistic picture of the project.
Advice
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Research Assistant
July - October 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
What I wish was different
I wish I had gotten paid for the position.
Advice
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
August 2017 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I was given the independence and resources to participate in and design my own experiments for one of the projects I was working on. I learned more about the organic research process, in all of its unpredictable but rewarding aspects.
What I wish was different
Having a more organized structure and more guidance to the projects themselves would have helped ensure efficiency and minimal waste of time, money, and resources.
Advice
Research comes in many forms, and your experience in one type of research setting does not determine the nature of every research job or field that there is. Additionally, the people that you work under make a huge difference in your view of the field/job itself. When applying and interviewing for research positions, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Making sure you find a good mentor, so that any skills and information you learn is reliable and useful, is key to having a good research experience.
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National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) student
June - August 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
This REU location is unique compared to others in the sense that the research is taking place at a hospital rather than an academic institution. I loved seeing the direct benefits my research had for children, adolescents, and young adults. I value my summer experience through the NSF REU program because I was able to immerse myself in cutting-edge research, learn about various types of technical equipment, and use new data analysis software. This experience has better equipped me for pursuing a PhD in Psychology.
What I wish was different
Advice
You should be an effective independent worker that can also collaborate with a larger team, and overall enjoy contributing to and conducting research.
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Psychologist Research Assistant
July 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
Besides the research being very interesting, the schedule was very flexible; I was able to work remotely when I wanted to or come down to the research center at the hospital and work at a cubicle. My Principal Investigator also gave me a lot of opportunities not only to "just be a part of the research team" but also opportunities for publication (both a journal article and poster abstract).
What I wish was different
The funding is pretty limited and most of the research assistant positions are unpaid.
Advice
These types of jobs are not very well advertised. Instead of shuffling through job postings or LinkedIn, utilizing your personal network or reaching out directly to PIs that you're interested in working with usually results in more success.
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Biology Research Intern
May - August 2019 • Philadelphia, PA
What I liked
I loved interacting with the patients, doctors, researcher and lab techs. I love swing each perspective in trying to find a cure for cardiology defects in children.
What I wish was different
Honestly, nothing. This experience was so beneficial. I got to see an actual surgery of a doctor fixing a valve in the heart.
Advice
Never give up applying for internship. I applied on handshake for a psychology internship at CHOP. She referred me to a Biology internship at CHOP on cardiology defects. I applied for another research on Mitochondrial DNA which I got and now I am doing my senior capstone with CHOP. It's truly a dream come true and the greatest opportunity.
