1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Graduate Assistant do? |
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 What field is your job in?
Medical Research
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What is your job title?
Graduate Assistant
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Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I am currently employed by the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. This institution is considered a branch campus of Penn State University. The University enrolls approximately 85,000 students and employs more than 10,000. The College of Medicine is located on a rural/suburban campus along with a large hospital in Central Pennsylvania. Thus, the campus functions as a hospital, medical school, and biomedical research facility.
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How long have you been employed in this position?
21 months
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How many hours do you work a week on average?
40-50 hours
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Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
As a graduate assistant, I work in a biomedical research laboratory. I attend some classes as a graduate student, but I am employed by my department, where I am required to work at least 40 hours per week. The research is focused on genomic instability aspects of cancer, and we use zebrafish as a model (using humans would be quite unethical). I am responsible for designing and executing experiments and maintaining the laboratory both as an independent researcher and as a member of a team.
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What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
$23,000
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What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
23000
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Please
list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation,
sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
health insurance, employee discounts, free educational opportunities
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Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
undercompensated
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2. Work environment! |
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Does
your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this
something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
My job entails working with a broad range of individuals, including administrators, laboratory managers, doctors, technicians, medical students, undergraduate students, and others. I spend 80% of my average day working with the supervisor, technicians, and students in my laboratory. If a specific experiment requires it (for equipment usage or other reasons), I can work alone on nights and weekends. I work more closely with one technician on one specific laboratory project, but interact with everyone throughout the day. The ability to work as a team is something I thoroughly enjoy, as it keeps me busy and condenses responsiblity for some aspects of the work. Because the work is so collaborative, it is essential for me to get along with my co-workers and supervisor and to complete my assigned tasks. Interacting with other professors and doctors allows me to learn effectively and network as well.
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Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
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Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
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Describe
your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what
you like/dislike about working in it
The medical campus is comprised of only a few buildings, including one main building that contains the key hospital, medical school, and biomedical research facilities. The department/laboratory that I work in is located on the seventh floor. The department is comprised of a wing of research laboratories and offices. Two small rooms in the basement of the building house the research subjects (zebrafish), so I am constantly traveling between my lab and these rooms. The laboratory itself is a large room (maybe 1000 square feet) divided into three areas (two of which are "labspace" for all kinds of laboratory work and the other area is desk space for the employees and students). Unfortunately, space is at a premium and things are quite cramped in the lab. The desk space is a narrow rectangular area with desks spaced only inches apart (barely enough for a laptop). I like the cleanliness of the work location, but I dislike the amount of working space. The facility is located about 20 minutes from my residence, but my commute is typically more than an hour long each way due to a lack of parking spaces in the vicinity of the main building.
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Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
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5 Income
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3 Work Environment - co-workers
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4 Work Environment - supervisors
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7 Benefits
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6 Hours
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2 Level of responsibility
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1 The actual "work" you do at your job
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8 Job Title
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3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours? |
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If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
The main thing I would recommend is to work in a laboratory as an entry-level technician or intern first. Several molecular and animal care techniques are used in the lab that should be somewhat familiar to a beginner graduate assistant. When deciding on a career path in the biomedical sciences, one must first examine their career goals and how involved they want to be, as there are various professional levels in this field. It may be more appropriate to some to attend medical school before becoming involved in medical research. This is expensive and takes a great deal of committment. Other individuals might feel that Ph.D. is more appropriate if they do not have any clinical aspirations and are comfortable writing grant applications. More attainable goals might include earning a masters degree and working as a technician or as a laboratory assistant. Once one knows what they want, they should commit themselves (time and energy) into attaining their goals. It is a lot of work, in terms of long hours and intellectually challenging situations. If one is in it for the right reasons, it is well worth it.
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What
skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a
position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social
skills, organization skills, technical skills)
One must have good communication skills. Writing and recordkeeping are essential to success as a biomedical scientist. The research reports and publications must be crystal clear so that they can be replicated and verified by other laboratories. Presenting one's research at conferences and informal lab meetings is important, so good speaking skills are necessary. Of course, technical skills are a must-have. This goes without explanation. One must be able to read well and understand protocols and the "language" of research/science. The ability to pay attention to detail is absolutely needed in this kind of work (reactions are often done on microliter scales- literally a pinhead-sized volume). One must be able to organize data results and experimental setups, but flawless organization skills is otherwise not a requirement.
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Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Absolutely.
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What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Before starting in a laboratory, take biology courses in college or post-graduate work. It will be essential to understanding the broad picture of the work. It would help to read a book or two about how to be productive as a biomedical laboratory technician. I wish I had known this before I started, as it would have saved a lot of time. It is absolutely necessary to be dedicated to one's work and to know why the work is being done. It is not about money, but about the greater good of contributing to our scientific knowledge-base and helping those with a very difficult-to-treat disease. If one doesn't want to help make the world a better place for everyone, do not even start working in a job like this, as it will be frustrating and depressing at times. So in a nutshell, know what you're getting into before you start.
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