Michigan State University

Professorial Assistants are required to spend 8-10 hours a week in the lab. I know some of my peers complete this by spending 2 or 3 days in the lab for longer periods of time and some, like me, are often in the lab every weekday. I often exceeded my 8-10 hour requirement to gain more training an...

Conduct some research on the Professor you will be interviewing with and his/her project so that you can ask questions and convey interest in their work. Also, think about what you want to get out of your professorial assistanship. Are you considering a career in research? Do you intend to pursue...

For us, we have short (1-3 hour) shifts which are great because they fit easily into our schedules. Each shift consists of monitoring and guarding one of our three pools. You’re usually on a shift with at least one other guard unless It is a closed team practice or something of the sort. We have ...

I have heard various experiences from my friends who are PA's. Some are seen as only "dishwashers" or simply put, people who are capable of menial tasks. In this case, I would advise looking into other labs and reaching out to a different professor about joining their research team. That being sa...

This is entirely dependent on your class schedule, eagerness to learn or contribute, and flexibility of the lab you are working in. Some PA's spend the minimal amount of time required to be in the lab to recieve a paycheck every other week. I have spent more than the required amount and have been...

Curiosity, responsibility, and self-motivation are key traits for any successful PA at MSU. As far as skills, I had almost none when I entered my lab. My highschool was not focused on teaching laboratory skills so I had not even worked with a pipette when I came to Michigan State. If you are work...

I have enjoyed experiencing a professional work environment and gaining the trust and respect of my colleagues. I also get very excited to learn new techniques and try new things such as extracting metabolites from cancer cells or grinding mouse tumors for metabolomic analysis. I would say the do...

I don't know any other university that has anything similar to the Professorial Assistanship program. In fact, it was one of the main reasons I chose to attend Michigan State University. Other schools offer research opportunites, should students approach professors or pitch research ideas to a fu...

Attend your classes and don't fall behind. If you can "scrape by" or "make it work" by not attending lectures, it can often become very tempting to skip class. However, spending time in class, even if you are not taking notes, is very valuable because it forces you to spend time on the material a...

Biomedical engineering prepared me well for my internship as a in clinical operations. Engineering courses gave me a background in problem solving, critical thinking, and critical analysis while the biomedical courses gave me a better understanding of pharmaceuticals, biology, and chemistry.

Our interviews are set up more as a test, where we hop in the water and show off our lifeguard/ swimming skills. It is important to be able to swim full lengths of the pool as well as performing multiple types of saves These tests are not set up to be majorly difficult so, as long as you’re alrea...