Oberlin College

Circulation Clerk

September 2022 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

The atmosphere and style of work

What I wish was different

Advice

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Economic Research Assistant

June - August 2018 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

Hands on experience with real life data. Working with professor.

What I wish was different

Better and more frequent communications with professor.

Advice

Be curious and don't be afraid to ask.

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STRONG RA and OUR assistant

June - August 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed getting to work with a new generation of STRONG scholars to help facilitate their transition into college, allowing them to feel comfortable in the identities here, and being able to lead them and plan events that made them excited about college and research. I also enjoyed getting to interview people for the office of undergraduate research and hearing about the research they did on campus to share with others on social media. Being able to showcase other students achievements and learn how to run social media was exciting and I loved how interested people became in others research after reading or seeing their interview,

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time and a more concrete idea of what I wanted to accomplish and do before I started the jobs so I could have gotten more done and make interviewing students about their research a more permanent part of the OUR social media pages. I also wish I could have planned more trips that appealed to the STRONG scholars so they could get to know more about the surrounding areas of Oberlin.

Advice

I would advise people to apply to jobs even if they don't believe they have all the qualifications or are unsure if they will be able to handle the workload. I did not think I had the public speaking skills or leadership skills to handle being an RA for the STRONG program. As a former STRONG scholar myself, I looked up to my RA because of the incredible job she did and felt like I could never live up to that. In the end, I was a very different RA than the RA I had but still a good one. I did my best to ensure they had fun, felt safe, and had the resources they needed to succeed. I believe I became a person they felt they could rely on, and in the end, that's what was most important. This program helped me not only build a network of people I could one day count on but allowed me to be a resource and reliable person that they too could count on.

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Computer Science Research Assistant

June 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed doing new and interesting things applying skills that I had learned in my classes and acquiring new skills. I liked studying something that hadn't been studied before in the way I was studying it. Both of my projects combined social science and computer science to varying extents, and as a Politics/Computer Science double major, I really enjoyed the combination.

What I wish was different

I would have enjoyed being around more people, even if they weren't working on the same project. There was a lot of time spent working alone.

Advice

Try to split your time between two projects if you are doing summer research. I worked with two different professors, and enjoyed one project much more than the other, but I did not know which one I would like more when the summer started. Just because one project isn't fun doesn't mean you don't like research, and it's worth it to try to get as many different experiences as you can within a field, because a given academic field tends to be very broad.

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Computer Networking Assistant

June - August 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I worked with very friendly, helpful people and learned a lot about things I didn't even know I wanted to learn about.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoy research a lot

What I wish was different

School meal options are limited and expensive

Advice

Summer research is a great opportunity, since lots of major conferences occur then, which are great changes to learn more about opportunities outside of Oberlin, as well as purse your research here.

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Social Science Research Assistant

June 2019 • Philadelphia, PA

What I liked

I really enjoyed that I could make my own schedule. I worked 20hrs/week and could complete those hours at times that worked. I also really enjoyed the work I was doing because it was a lot of transcription of oral histories and I learned so so much.

What I wish was different

I wish all the research assisstants had had more clearly designated roles because sometimes I felt as though people were not doing anything partly because they weren't sure what exactly to do. So maybe the flexibility of scheduling alongside more structured tasks.

Advice

I would say that if you're interested in being a research assisstant (especially if remotely) to be sure you are capable of holding yourself accountable. Nobody is going to force you to do your work, so you have to make sure you're equipped to undertake it.

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Living Machine Operator

March 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

level of independence and freedom

What I wish was different

I wish i had been trained better

Advice

its a great job and I love working there!

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Geology Research Assistant

May - August 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed the independence of getting to work on a specific project on my own and learn about new research techniques in the geosciences.

What I wish was different

I wish that I had gotten to spend more time on the project and that my mentor was around more often than was possible (we had to communicate remotely for the first month).

Advice

It is important to put together a research plan before starting and stay organized with notes while also allowing for flexibility throughout the allotted time.

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Student Union Office Assistant

May - September 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed the social atmosphere of being in an office with other people as well as interacting with the many people who passed through. The organization of the office was also excellent; before I came in there was an outline of tasks and dates to be completed by throughout the summer, so I always knew what I should be doing. Most importantly, I loved the creative freedom I was given when putting together advertisements for events in addition to genuine value of my input in various discussions about Student Union programs/policies.

What I wish was different

I wish I had been in the office during the school year when it's busier. On extra slow days it would be very quiet and a little lonely.

Advice

It is important to listen and be in the know about what is happening in the office, espeically if you're a student wondering about how student union programming is organized throughout the year. Overall, the people in that office are incredible and work intensely hard, so the students have amazing events to attend all year long. I would advise people to be patient within an office setting too and be appreciative of all the work happening around you.

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Student Researcher

June 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

As someone who is interested In sensory neuroscience research as a career path, it was great to harness real life experience in a sensory lab.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Stacks Assistant

June - August 2019 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

How no one was checking over my shoulder at every moment, how I could pick one task to complete from a few options, how many books I saw and the variety of books (and now better understanding of libraries and library services). I was on my feet for a while.

What I wish was different

Improved pay and quality of work. I was doing repetitive tasks. I wish a robot did my job instead of me: I felt like an extension of the Excel spreadsheet I was working on, and that's not especially motivational. A robot could one day do my job and get less frustrated over it.

Advice

Get ready to do repetitive self-motivated work! Get headphones and get ready.

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Research Assistant

May - August 2018 • Riverside, CA

What I liked

It was research greatly relevant to the work I have been doing and coincided with many of my interests. It was very flexible, I was able to work from anywhere as long as I had my laptop. I got to spend a weekend with the community that was leading my research as well. I was able to set my own schedule and travel throughout the summer.

What I wish was different

I honestly liked everything about my research, it would have been helpful to have more deadlines despite the fact that it was self driven

Advice

It's important to make a schedule for yourself and stick to it especially if the work has a strong independent focus. You need to know yourself well to find a work habit that is effective for you.

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Summer Conferences Assistant

June - August 2018 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I liked the straightforward nature of the job. It was mostly moving things or checking buildings. I enjoyed working with my fellow conference assistants and managers.

What I wish was different

Nothing.

Advice

It is restorative to have a straightforward physical job in between or during years of school.

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Biology Research Intern

June 2018 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed being seen as a real scientist, working on my own project. I thrived off of being able to leave work at work and go home and relax and not worry about things. I enjoyed the chemistry of it all, the procedural techniques and the gratification of receiving results. I learned so much.

What I wish was different

I wish that I was able to be paid for the overtime I worked.

Advice

It is an amazing opportunity to do research during the summer, gain experience and see if this is the field you really want to enter. I found it to be a life changing experience that showed me what I really want to do with my life. An extremely transformative time.

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Student Researcher

June 2018 • Oberlin, OH

What I liked

I loved learning more about the research community, in Oberlin and beyond, as my research advisor was an excellent mentor and resource for information about research in graduate school and beyond.