Unpaid Research Work

[medguy5367]

Can this be listed as "employment" on the application? (I am doing the UCalgary app right now).

 

 

I did research for 2 summers, 3 to 4 months each. Because of this, I did not have a job and my "employment" section is a little light. Would it be alright to list this as employment, even if I did not get paid for it?

[HBP]

Don't think so.

[future_doc]

Research is reasearch, no? Why does it really matter where it is listed? Adcoms will see that you were engaged during this period of time and therefore, unavailable for employment, no? What am I missing here?

[medguy5367]

Someone told me that having strong employment activities are really important...

[changster]

Not really, it depends on how you spent your time, doesn't have to be paid work.

[bpatient]

I have no employment, will this be a problem?

[shannn]

How do you guys pay for school??

 

If it weren't for my employment, I'd never be able to finish undergrad with a full course load each year.

[medguy5367]

Student loans + Bursaries + Scholarships

[Brainz]

^ some people don't qualify for any of those,.

[Prothrombin]

Sort of a related question, but if you're working in a lab as a paid research assistant can you put that under both employment and research?

[thatonekid]

Don't think so.

+1

 

Sort of a related question, but if you're working in a lab as a paid research assistant can you put that under both employment and research?

That's what I'm doing. But for the employment I'm focusing on my job and for research I'm focusing more on the project itself. I figure I have space on my app to do this and if the adcoms don't care they can just skip that entry.

[bloh]

I personally would advise against doing that. You're grasping at straws, confusing the readers and ultimately annoying them once they figure out what's going on.

[shannn]

generous parents, lol. the only time I've worked for pay was the summer after first year...and I maaay do paid research this year, but we'll see. it could be too many hours per week. oh and I have academic scholarships that are not based on financial need.

 

Can they adopt me?

[Evan Fitz]

When I was working in the pathology lab for a hospital, we hired quite a few people who were either just out of college or were still in college. Also, environmental remediation labs have a high rate of hiring students. You might also try submitting your resume to a metal finishing shop that has a lab. They usually pay pretty well and will give you the essential lab experience you will need to move on to bigger and better things.

[thatonekid]

I personally would advise against doing that. You're grasping at straws, confusing the readers and ultimately annoying them once they figure out what's going on.

I guess it depends on what you're actually doing. In my case, the "employment" part and the "research" part are actually 2 different projects all together. They just happen to be related to each other. It's hard to say what someone should/shouldn't do since everyone's different.

 

Point is, if you think it's 2 seperate things, make it like that. If not, then just put it under research or employment, but not both.

[Leon]

No, it wasn't paid so I wouldn't count it as employment.

[bloh]

I guess it depends on what you're actually doing. In my case, the "employment" part and the "research" part are actually 2 different projects all together. They just happen to be related to each other. It's hard to say what someone should/shouldn't do since everyone's different.

 

Point is, if you think it's 2 seperate things, make it like that. If not, then just put it under research or employment, but not both.

 

You are arguing semantics; it's the same activity. Ultimately, you can do whatever you like but my advice still holds - decide which category it fits into the strongest and emphasize it as that. The reader isn't stupid. They'll realize it was a paid activity that also fell under employment and will judge it accordingly. In my opinion, placing it twice does nothing more than patronize the reader.

[thatonekid]

You are arguing semantics; it's the same activity. Ultimately, you can do whatever you like but my advice still holds - decide which category it fits into the strongest and emphasize it as that. The reader isn't stupid. They'll realize it was a paid activity that also fell under employment and will judge it accordingly. In my opinion, placing it twice does nothing more than patronize the reader.

I see where you're comming from, but my point is that nothing is clear when you're discussing things over the internet. I've spoken to quite a few people in real life about whether I have 1 or 2 activities. All the med students I spoke to said that it was most definitely 2 completely different things that I did and would be much more clear if they were listed as 2 seperate things. Honestly, looking at my sketch, the 2 entries don't resemble each other at all.

 

Anyway, I'm not trying to argue or anything. The real point I'm trying to make is that a person should do whatever they think is best for their application.

[DXO]

I'm pretty sure that last year they advised applicants NOT to post a single activity under multiple sections. I can't remember where I read this, but I suggest you look through the application materials before doing such a thing.