I participated in the Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) program and I was able to gain research experience and enjoy the sights of Colorado. The program staff was extremely helpful and supportive and this experience allowed me to further develop my research technique.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Research assistant
May 2023 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Research experience around meaningful issues.
What I wish was different
Higher pay
Advice
Getting research experience as an undergraduate is a great opportunity and sets you up for success if you have research goals in your future.
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Content Creator and Marketer
July 2023 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I love that I get to work remotely, it's very hands-on and I get to think of a lot of ideas by myself and share it with the team. I also get to create creative projects, such as graphics, videos, photos, etc.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Mechanical Engineering Reseach Assistant
May - August 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Computer Aided Drafting experience, working with a team, working on a project from conception to working model
What I wish was different
Advice
Do not take the artistic and engineering freedom for granted. Be as creative and engaged as possible.
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IT Analyst
February 2022 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Automating work with programming
What I wish was different
I wish I had more opportunities to work with software.
Advice
Treat customers like you would want to be treated.
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Full-Stack Software Engineer
August 2022 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to project manage because I know it is an extremely useful skill for future projects. I loved facing new challenges when presented with features I have never created before. What was most satisfying is knowing that my code will be used by others.
What I wish was different
I wish there was more organization and forethought about the project from the client. If I knew how to scale out how long a feature on the project would take, I could accurately describe the amount of time it will take to complete the project. However, because of this, I learned how to project manage much better and understand the time it will take for a new feature.
Advice
When responding to a client, we might think we only have two options either 'yes' or 'no'. This is not the case, it is okay to be honest with your client and state that you are not sure about a feature and will get back to them when you research how long and if you're able to make it.
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Political Science Research Assistant
October 2020 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Being in touch with Professor David Brown and working closely with my group.
What I wish was different
Nothing, I had a great experience.
Advice
Apply! I was always intimidated by the idea of internships because I had never had one and I figured no one wanted to hire someone without experience. I think assisting and contributing projects at your school is a great and easy way to start!
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
May - August 2021 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I learned new skills and practiced existing skills that were applicable to an engineering career, such as circuit design, PCBs, CAD, and 3D printing.
What I wish was different
It was somewhat disorganized, and I didn't always have a lot to do. I wish the people I was working with would have been better at assigning me tasks.
Advice
Research can be pretty frustrating sometimes, and things rarely go to plan. You have to be willing to scrap ideas a lot.
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Assistant researcher
May - August 2021 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Meeting new people and working with a new programming language: Python. Also learned a lot about climate modeling and how to be a researcher.
What I wish was different
I wish it would've been in person.
Advice
Be sure to ask any questions to your mentors and assigned professor, they are always helpful and understanding.
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Undergraduate Researcher
June 2021 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
My mentor was extremely helpful, and I gained a lot of useful experience learning how to research and problem solve!
What I wish was different
I wish my project had had less setbacks so that I could've come out with a better conclusion.
Advice
I would recommend setting an expectation that there will be setbacks. Research never goes to plan, and that is ok! Just still dive in and try to come out with the highest quality product you can create.
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Executive Administrative Assistant
May 2016 • Boulder City, NV
What I liked
Being an integral part of the team and contributing in my own unique ways.
What I wish was different
The pay, wish it wasn't minimum wage.
Advice
This position is best suited for a extremely organized person who has enough time to hold a job during the school year.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
June 2020 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
-flexible hours, great mentor, making tangible impacts
What I wish was different
-wish I could have had opportunities for more authorship
Advice
-I was hesitant to go to for this job, but I am so glad I did and took a chance on something that I had no prior experience with
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
March 2019 - August 2020 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I really enjoyed working in the lab, until COVID began. Even then working in Bioastronautics Lab online was still enjoyable. It was a lot of fun being able to contribute to research from home and still learn about flight display design and lunar dynamics.
What I wish was different
I wish COVID didn't hit, as do many people. This really threw a wrench in the works since the research I was working on was practically halted since we could not conduct human subject testing, which is the main type of research that I had been doing.
Advice
Speak up! If you are interested in something - anything - simply talk to someone who is involved in it to learn more and ask how you can get involved. That is how I was able to get my research position. After class one day I simply went up to my professor and expressed my interest in his research and he sent me down the right path. In weeks I was in the lab learning new things and all as a sophomore. Now I am a senior and I could not imagine how different my education would have been without that opportunity.
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Math Tutor
June - August 2020 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
What I wish was different
I wish I could tutor face-to-face like before the pandemic happened.
Advice
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Student Archival Assistant
May - August 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Flexible work schedule and there was always something to do
What I wish was different
Less repetitiveness
Advice
You have to be detail-oriented and able to do a similar task multiple times or work on the same project for weeks
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Team Lead Disability Services
August 2017 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I love the flexibility my job allows between work, school and personal life.
What I wish was different
I wish I could have had more interaction with our student.
Advice
Get to know the department, not just the people you work with, connect with others outside of your circle :)
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Digital Marketing Intern
October 2018 - February 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
Strong training programs in place.
What I wish was different
Projects were scoped and then disregarded due to poor planning.
Advice
Agency style work environment, bureaucratic.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
May 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I loved the independence to take care of my research project goals. I was given the freedom to synthesize and then test drug analogs on cells. I saw with my own hands the process of drug design, synthesis, and testing!
What I wish was different
I wish I had a better long-term plan for my experiments. This was likely the result of me not asking for help when I should have.
Advice
I would say the most important thing is to go all in, and never be afraid to ask for help when you need it. In research and in school, you are there to learn, and it’s easy to forget that. If you focus on learning new things, everything else will fall into place.
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Resident advisor
July 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
It was really nice to get to know all the in-coming freshman and letting them know what the college experience was like
What I wish was different
If the program was longer
Advice
Make sure what you know the purpose of the job and you have to enforce rules when you have to
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Gardening Supervisor
May 2019 • Boulder, CO
What I liked
I managed the student-led garden on campus over the summer and had a lot of fun doing it. The university was very helpful and it was fun to do engineering and environmental projects with my free time. I also liked growing all of the yummy food.
What I wish was different
I wish I had been more organized and more outgoing to get more students involved.
Advice
Constant communication is the key to making a project successful.
