If you enjoy conducting research or are planning to apply to PhD programs in the future, you may want to secure a full-time, paid research position after earning your bachelor’s degree. These positions are an excellent way to sharpen your research skills and strengthen your applications for graduate school (while getting paid). However, these positions are quite competitive and can be hard to find. In this article, I will provide tips for finding such positions, including when and where to apply.
When to apply?
Although you can find research-oriented job openings any time of the year, the best time to apply is usually in winter. Professors often post their recruitment ads in January, February, or March (possibly even as early as December or as late as April) for positions that start in the summer or fall. Students who wait until after they graduate to start applying are likely to miss out on good opportunities, so apply early.
Where to apply?
There are several websites with listings for research-oriented jobs. Some are more general, listing all different types of jobs. For these websites, you can narrow your search by using keywords such as psychology, research, research assistant, research associate, clinical research associate, lab manager, lab coordinator, or any combination of these. Other websites are dedicated specifically to psychology post-bacc research jobs. For those websites, you can simply browse through the list. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Search specialized websites that list psychology post-bacc research positions, such as the Duke University Psychology & Neuroscience job websiteopens in new window (filter by “paid job”), the Psych Grad search—lab positions Wikiopens in new window, the Psychology Job Wikiopens in new window, the Psychology Job & Internship Opportunities pageopens in new window, the Clinical Psych Grad School job forumopens in new window, the Pathways to Research & Doctoral Careers pageopens in new window (filter by the behavioral science research area, or education or health, depending on your interests), the Psychology Job & Research Opportunities pageopens in new window, and the Harvard Psychology Job Boardopens in new window.
- Search standard job search websites, such as Indeedopens in new window, Monsteropens in new window, Career Builderopens in new window, and Idealistopens in new window.
- Use LinkedInopens in new window. Update (or create) your profile and search for positions. Make sure your profile is complete (including a professional picture and details of your education, employment, and research experience), and set your profile to “open to work.”
- Search job/career websites of any college or university at which you might want to work (e.g., University of California jobsopens in new window).
- Search websites for government jobs, either at the federal level (e.g., USAJobs websiteopens in new window) or the state level (e.g., CalCareers websiteopens in new window).
- Search higher education employment websites, such as the Higher Ed Jobs websiteopens in new window and the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium Jobs websiteopens in new window.
- Check out organizations that are likely to need research assistants, like educational testing organizations (e.g., ETSopens in new window), clinical trial companies, health organizations (e.g., hospitals, Kaiser), market research companies, and other research organizations (e.g., Gallupopens in new window, rand Corporationopens in new window, WestEdopens in new window). Go to these organizations’ websites and find the jobs/career section.
- Search career center pages of professional psychology societies, such as Psi Chiopens in new window, the Society for Personality and Social Psychologyopens in new window, and the Society for Research in Child Developmentopens in new window.
- Sign up for job listservs, such as the Yale Psychology DEI listservopens in new window (email to join this listserv) or the Post-Bacc Job Email Listopens in new window.
- Apply for a Post-Bacc Intramural Training Awardopens in new window through the National Institutes of Health.
- Use the job search database offered by the career center at your undergraduate institution/alma mater.
Additional tips
Now that you know when and where to apply, here are a few additional tips to make your search as successful as possible:
- Identify professors (and research labs) that you may want to work with and follow them on social media (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, etc.). Many professors/labs post their job openings on social media.
- Ask professors and grad students you have worked with if they know of any paid research openings or if they have any suggestions for you to find a paid position.
- Apply to as many positions as possible. Ultimately, it is a numbers game.
- Check job search websites for new listings regularly (at least weekly) and apply as soon as you see new postings.
- On sites that will allow it, sign up for “job alerts” to receive emails when new job ads are posted.
- Some jobs require a 2-year commitment. Be willing to make that commitment, even if it means delaying your applications to grad school for a year.
- Perhaps most importantly, be open to relocating, if possible. The more flexible you are about where you are willing to live, the better your chances of finding a position.
Good luck on your job search!
About the author
Joanne Zinger, PhD, is an associate professor of teaching in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she teaches courses in social psychology, research methods, social relationships, human sexuality, field study, psychology fundamentals, personality, and industrial/organizational psychology. She completed her PhD in social/personality psychology at the University of California, Riverside in 2005, and her postdoctoral studies at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, in 2007. Since arriving at UCI in 2007, she has won several awards for her teaching, including Professor of the Month (2009), Professor of the Quarter in the School of Social Ecology (2010), Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research in the School of Social Ecology (2012), UCI Lecturer of the Year (2012), Outstanding Professor in the School of Social Ecology (2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014), Professor of the Year in the School of Social Ecology (2012, 2017, and 2018), the UCI Black Leadership Advancement Coalition Bridge Builder Award (2017), the Social Ecology Dean’s Honoree for the Celebration of Teaching (2019), and UCI Professor of the Year (2024). In addition to her teaching activities, Zinger is the director of the Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychological Science at UCI.
