I hear more people do cold outreach about being a researcher than RA, and my guess is that 3-10x more people apply for researcher than RA jobs even when they are advertised. I think it’s a combination of those two factors.
My recommendation would be that people apply more to RA jobs that are advertised, and also reach out to make opportunities for themselves when they are not.
I think about half of researchers can use research assistants, whether or not they are currently hiring for one. A major reason researchers don’t make research assistant positions available is they don’t expect to find one worth hiring, and so don’t want to incur the administrative burden. Or maybe they don’t feel comfortable asking their bosses for this. But if you are a strong candidate, coldly reaching out may result in you being hired or may trigger a hiring round for that position. Although often strong candidates would be people I have met at an EA conference, that got far in an internship application, or that has been referred to me.
I don’t think the salaries would be any lower than competitive rates.
I hear more people do cold outreach about being a researcher than RA, and my guess is that 3-10x more people apply for researcher than RA jobs even when they are advertised. I think it’s a combination of those two factors.
My recommendation would be that people apply more to RA jobs that are advertised, and also reach out to make opportunities for themselves when they are not.
I think about half of researchers can use research assistants, whether or not they are currently hiring for one. A major reason researchers don’t make research assistant positions available is they don’t expect to find one worth hiring, and so don’t want to incur the administrative burden. Or maybe they don’t feel comfortable asking their bosses for this. But if you are a strong candidate, coldly reaching out may result in you being hired or may trigger a hiring round for that position. Although often strong candidates would be people I have met at an EA conference, that got far in an internship application, or that has been referred to me.
I don’t think the salaries would be any lower than competitive rates.