be a research assistant

2/3 of my job applications went to this place because they have a lot of openings for research assistants. They have interesting projects that I would really love to be in.

But…

I don’t know how to swim! If ever they hire me, I would only be the one who’ll need a life vest everytime we go out to sea. I’m a microbiology major while the projects are more suited to ecology majors.

But…

If they decided to hire me, I’ll make it a point to learn how to swim and I’ll compensate for not being an ecology major by working like one.

So, hopefully, they’ll hire me. And I’ll stop worrying and thinking that I’m not fit for the job. As long as something can be learned, anybody can do it. Aja!

For 2 weeks now, I’ve been sending applications for the position of RA in the Marine Science Institute of UP Diliman. Last Thursday, I was interviewed by one of the persons who leads one of the proejcts I’ve applied to. Since MSI is in Manila and I’m still at home in Aklan, the interviewer decided that she will conduct a video interview with me through Skype to save me from the expense of flying to Manila just for the interview.

The interview was fun and a learning experience for me. It was the first time that I’ve used Skype. Days before the interview, I was so nervous because that kind of interview is new to me. A lot of things could go wrong to an online interview. Something may go off with the internet connection, with the camera, with Skype itself, etc. There are a lot of factors that I can’t control. Compared to a personal interview, an online interview, for me, is more nerve-wracking. But now, that the interview was over, I’ve realized that it also have a lot of advantages.

One could dress-down on an online interview. You only have to worry about your top and forget about the rest. Your interviewer can’t see the lower half of your body so whatever color your shoes have or whether you’re wearing denim pants or shorts, it won’t matter. And I don’t know, I felt more relaxed during the oline interview than I was in my other personal interviews.

I’m still waiting for the rsult of that interview. For the meantime, I’m also waiting for another schedule of interview through Skype and one phone interview. Good luck to me.

Well this isn’t going so great. I’ve had three interviews for these sort of positions and whilst I got very positive feedback from 66.6 recurring % of them I still have no job. Something may come up in August though so fingers crossed.

When I first thought of this goal, what I have in mind was an assistantship on a microbiology-related research. I’m a microbiology major and so I’m naturally gravitated to those stuffs. Now, I would still jump on the opportunity to work in a related research if it comes up but I would also be open with researching in other field like social sciences for example.I don’t have the qualifications for those kinds of research but I think I could learn the ropes especially if I’m really interested with the topic. They may be different from what I am accustomed with but I guess the methodology in the physical and biological sciences is similar with that in the social sciences. Of course, I have to convinve the senior researchers first to accept me. =)
Anyway, for now, these are just thoughts running in my head…

Well, I’ve technically been an RA since October, but this job is quite unlike any other I’ve had. Firstly, I have no set hours when I’m supposed to work. Second, there are no due dates except for EVERYTHING in March. Therefore, I have a really hard time finishing anything. It isn’t a habit for me to just start working on a project out of the blue. This whole thing is making me worried about this career since working on these types of projects is probably what I’ll always be doing.

I would love to assist in the researches done by the microbiology division of my university. Unfortunately, right now I don’t have any idea how to go about this. While browsing the job-related pages of the school, I have yet to see an announcement for a micro graduate to be a research assistant. I wonder why…