HOW TO BECOME A RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
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Written By: Benjamin Gibert
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While certainly not the most glamorous of professions, being a research associate has some definite benefits when you are starting out your career. It gives you the chance to work alongside established academics and learn the ropes of institutional politics. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for you to absorb new research skills and implement them in a variety of ways. As a budding researcher, there is nothing more valuable than learning new research methods and understanding when and how to implement them effectively.
Being a research associate can be very demanding in the sense that you may not get the level of guidance and structure you might expect at the outset. After all, you are a research associate. You expect to be told what to do and then assume you will have the tedious job of actually undertaking the research. But it doesn’t always work like that. In all likelihood, as time goes by, you will be building rapport with your research director and may get significant responsibilities very quickly. Your role as a research associate will vary wildly depending on who you are working for and the institutional context in which you are working.
Though it might often feel like you’re shouldering the majority of the work and not getting the attention you feel you deserve when the research is published, it helps to remember that the vast majority of academics have taken the same path you are taking. Paying your dues might not be fun, but it can have some tangible benefits later on in your career. Everyone has to start somewhere.
With this in mind, let’s get on to the guide. The following steps are designed to help you along your path to becoming a research associate. They are suggestions, and should not be followed religiously. If something suggested here does not seem relevant to your particular situation, then move on to the next point. This guide is simply designed to help you. It is not a guaranteed method for success.
It is also important to remember that there is certainly no one-size-fits-all for becoming a research associate. The path to becoming a research associate will be just as much about luck and timing as it is about your intellectual capacity. Don’t be devastated if you’re not the leading research associate for an internationally renowned professor in your first year after your degree. Being a successful research associate, like so many things, is just as much about managing your expectations as it is about being bright.
Guidelines for becoming a research associate
Get a degree.
It seems obvious but it’s also the most important step. Research associates are expected to have significant expertise in their field before they even start their job. On top of this, it is very likely that your first research associate job will be at the university where you studied or one that has ties with it. Getting a degree is not only a prerequisite for the job, but it will most likely be the time when you develop the contacts that help secure your position as a research associate in the future.
Choose your field wisely.
You become a research associate because you want to learn about a particular academic field and eventually lead your own research projects. So pick a field that interests you and that you think has a strong future. Funding is essential to most academic research so it helps to know where most of the money is going. That said, be careful of the new hot topic. Academic funding is particularly susceptible to trends. Today’s hot topic might not be getting all that much funding down the line.
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Know your field.
This is another obvious, but important, suggestion. If you want to work in a particular field than you should be well read on the topic and continuously update yourself on the latest developments. This helps you stand out of the crowd when looking for jobs and shows your potential research director that you are both independently motivated and genuinely interested. Knowing your field also makes it easier to identify who with and where you might want to work.
Identify relevant individuals and institutions.
You want to become a research associate. So you need to find out who’s directing the research projects that you would want to work on. This means reading academic journals in your field, identifying authors whose work you enjoy and finding out which institution they are affiliated with. It means locating the right departments and asking around for the individuals that are working on projects you want to be involved in. The more the merrier. When you’re starting out it helps to have a few different people in mind.
Establish contact.
You’re never going to get the job unless the research director knows who you are. Establishing contact with your potential boss isn’t a helpful step, it’s an essential one. Introduce yourself and talk to them about their work and the field in general. This will put you on their radar and, if you followed step 3, demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the field.
Surprise them.
The only way to stand out of the crowd is to offer something different. If you disagree strongly with your potential research director on a relevant issue then don’t be afraid to say so. But make sure that you have a valid reason and can defend your views. This will not only show that you are independent, but also show them that you have the skills and knowledge to defend your views. Logic and reason is an essential component of most of your work as a research associate. Show them you have those skills before they even think you’re looking for a job. If you do it well than the next time they have a problem or read something interesting they might want to discuss it with you. That is a very good sign.
Work informally.
This is not a recommendation to work for free. It simply means that there are simple tasks you can perform to help out with a research project without necessarily being employed as a research associate. Even just doing some background research and making suggestions when you’re speaking informally with a research director can put you on the map. When a position opens up in a research project, who do you think the director will think of? Most likely it will be the person that has already shown their interest, demonstrated their expertise and established a personal relationship with them.
Ask for work.
You can’t expect the research director to be a mind reader. If they don’t know you are looking for work than how can you expect them to offer you a job when one comes up? Once you’ve established contact and built some rapport with them, tell them directly that you are interested in working with them. Ask if there are any opportunities to work with them in the future. Even if they don’t have one immediately available, you will be on their mind the next time a position opens up. They might even be able to recommend you to another research director that they think you would be interested in working with.
Prepare your CV.
Every potential research field needs slightly different skills and experience. Once you know what type of job you might get, it’s time to start tailoring your CV to highlight relevant experience and make yourself look like the natural choice for the job. Play up your strengths and condense your CV to only the things that are important for the job at hand. You might have
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Apply for the job.
The route to your job as a research associate will vary a lot depending on your particular context. Sometimes you will be offered a job very informally as a result of doing some of the things suggested above. Sometimes you will need to go through a more formal application process. Whatever it is, make sure you do what is expected of you. If asked informally than make sure you provide them with all the relevant documents and follow up on the position. If it is a more formal process than prepare your documents and submit them before the deadline. You won’t get a job if you haven’t applied for it!
So there you have it. Some simple steps to follow that should help you in your search for your new job as research associate. Remember, these are guidelines and your context will be extremely influential over your path to success. The most important thing to remember is to establish a personal relationship. Most people like to work with individuals they know, respect and get along with. As a research associate you will be spending a lot of time with your research director so its only normal that they are more likely to hire you if they like you personally and are confident about your skills.
Now it’s time to stop reading this guide, get out there and find that job.
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