Hello!
I'm a recent B.S. graduate that's trying to look for work in a research lab in the interim of trying to get into a masters, then further on Med School. It took me about six years (an extra two years after I walked at commencement) to officially graduate because of financial issues and personal family issues but I have been applying to research lab positions throughout the time. Most if not all the positions I applied for were one that I fit the criteria for: didn't require the degree I now have (High School diploma and above was all that was asked), I knew how to do most of the lab procedures needed (Western/Southern blots, ELISA, gram staining, and a whole bunch of others), and though my solo lab career hasn't been extensive I was an intern for Diabetes research team in Portugal, in which I mostly operated independently. The only reason I haven't reached out to them again was because they are only really accepting interns in a 3 month rotation outside of their post-docs and I need a paid position with the amount of financial burdens I have now. Especially if I required to relocate (I live in Southern CT for reference, commutable to NYC which I've done a lot for work and school). So that has left me applying for positions via Indeed or university career sites themselves, with no success.
With that bit of background, I'm considering starting to just cold email professors of interest, is that a viable route? More importantly what do I include in the cold emails I send out, do I preemptively send out my transcript? I'm a little hesitant to do so since my undergraduate GPA is quite low. I'm currently on the DIY-post bacc track, retaking classes I'd previously gotten D's on. As of recently I have been doing better, scoring B's and high C's as a start, but a large swathe of my undergraduate career was marred by a sever mental health decline and personal family tragedies. It wasn't an accurate representation of how well I could do in science and I'm trying to leave that part of my life behind me.
Any advice that could be offered about cold emailing or just getting research jobs as a whole would be great. If you need to know any more information from me for clarity's sake, please ask.
Thanks for your time!
I'm a recent B.S. graduate that's trying to look for work in a research lab in the interim of trying to get into a masters, then further on Med School. It took me about six years (an extra two years after I walked at commencement) to officially graduate because of financial issues and personal family issues but I have been applying to research lab positions throughout the time. Most if not all the positions I applied for were one that I fit the criteria for: didn't require the degree I now have (High School diploma and above was all that was asked), I knew how to do most of the lab procedures needed (Western/Southern blots, ELISA, gram staining, and a whole bunch of others), and though my solo lab career hasn't been extensive I was an intern for Diabetes research team in Portugal, in which I mostly operated independently. The only reason I haven't reached out to them again was because they are only really accepting interns in a 3 month rotation outside of their post-docs and I need a paid position with the amount of financial burdens I have now. Especially if I required to relocate (I live in Southern CT for reference, commutable to NYC which I've done a lot for work and school). So that has left me applying for positions via Indeed or university career sites themselves, with no success.
With that bit of background, I'm considering starting to just cold email professors of interest, is that a viable route? More importantly what do I include in the cold emails I send out, do I preemptively send out my transcript? I'm a little hesitant to do so since my undergraduate GPA is quite low. I'm currently on the DIY-post bacc track, retaking classes I'd previously gotten D's on. As of recently I have been doing better, scoring B's and high C's as a start, but a large swathe of my undergraduate career was marred by a sever mental health decline and personal family tragedies. It wasn't an accurate representation of how well I could do in science and I'm trying to leave that part of my life behind me.
Any advice that could be offered about cold emailing or just getting research jobs as a whole would be great. If you need to know any more information from me for clarity's sake, please ask.
Thanks for your time!
