Research Assistant Position on Resume - Is it helpful?
(Posted in Job Search b/c no one looks in resume section)
If I held a research assistant (RA) position with my finance professor at my undergrad university, is it worth talking a lot about it on my resume? This was about 2 years ago and my professor has since moved to another university.
Current Resume:
(Current) Auditor at XX Tier-1 Accounting Firm
(Past) President of XX Club at University
(Past) Manager at XX (Fast Food restaurant)
Should I take out the 3rd point and put in the RA position there? Or should I put it under activities section? A one page resume is tough! Any feedback is welcome.
i think the research assistant is def more petinent than fast food management? i mean not to knock the management aspect but... what else can you add or shave off your resume? kill the margins some and font sizes and whatnot.. do you have a ton of extracurriculars on there? i have 2 schools, 3 jobs and 4 ECs listed on mine
I would find space for it. If those are the only things on your resume then you shouldn't have much trouble.
I think you have to put it on there. Not that the management is bad, but the research aspect is a plus, as is working with a professor. Use your margins
Personally, I would rather keep the fast food manager section than the research assistant one (really not kidding). As an RA, you're in all probability sitting inside a computer lab doing grunt work/bull shit regressions that no one will ever care about. For fast food, I know you've had to put up with a lot of shit, have lots of physical/mental endurance, and put up w/ really difficult people.
Just my two cents though.
Anybody have research assistant experience on their resume? Need help (Originally Posted: 11/22/2013)
So I was a research assistant over the summer and the tasks I was doing was pretty..monotonous. I was kind of hoping to get some insight into if this is even worth putting on my resume, or if anybody else was a research assistant what their resume looks like for what they did during that. Thanks
Yes it is worth putting on your resume. - Were you recommended for this position by a faculty member/did it require a recommendation? - Did you use or learn new equipment/techniques/software? - Did you utilize qualitative or quantitative analysis? - Will the work ultimately be included as part of a lead researcher's paper in a peer reviewed journal? - Did the work demonstrate deeper understanding of a particular field? - Did you work as part of a team or supervise other more junior RAs? Did you work with someone notable or at a major institution?
You can definitely spin this to your advantage.... Better to have something "boring" than a blank summer on your resume. It will at least make you look smarter than someone who spent a summer scooping ice cream.
Make it sound as technical as possible without going too deep into jargon.
I was only grabbing graphs and summarizing literature. I'm considering pulling it as I didn't have too much of a hand in actual research...more grunt work. Advice?
I was a research assistant during undergrad- the study was really unique, so def highlighted it in interviews. As long as you can speak intelligently about it you're golden
i think it also depends on your research role. i'm doing investment/fundamental research for my advisor next semester.
I had it on my resume (took it off because of other reasons) - people did ask about it in interviews, and an HF manager told me that it was really cool (evidently not cool enough for me to get the role in the end). I did something in the area of illiquidity risk in private equity.
In any sort of research, no matter how monotonous the tasks you're doing, you end up learning a lot about the topic you're investigating, so it's strong experience.
econ/finance research assistant (Originally Posted: 03/17/2007)
I am currently a sophomore and planning to take a couple of classes this summer while working. I have the opportunity as a Research assistant in a topic that i'm interested in. Will this look good on my resume when I'm applying for consulting internships next year?
or should i look for some other work?
Do what you enjoy. It would be even better if the role would allow you to do more than just straight up research. For example if you could also help in the designing, planning, and execution of experiments, that may even look better.
A lot of this is about how you pitch yourself on your resume:
for example, if you were prez of your frat and you had the following on your resume, firms would buy it.:
"Cut damage costs by 50% by implementing new measure to distribute costs evenly across entire fraternity"
gibranmeng...you seem to know a lot about the consulting industry...if you don't mind me asking, are you a consultant?
A research assistant position would look great; of course as the other poster says, it depends on how you frame it. One good way would be to cite any published articles that your professor may publish or be working on at the time (and I mean any little thing, like you checked out a book from the library).
Consulting firms LOVE concrete numbers and data and it would help you tremendously to say "helped with publishing these 3 articles in this and this journal, this issue #".
Research position would look better than nothing, you should go for it, since you don't seem to have any better alternatives as a sophomore...
Should I accept research assistant position? (Originally Posted: 03/29/2010)
So I am starting graduate school this summer and going to earn Master's in Finance. I have been offered a assistantship/fellowship from the school but I have to work 10 hours a week while in school. Is it worth doing the fellowship for the added boost it will give me on my resume? The stipend and discounted tuition are nice but is my time better spent working harder for classwork and extracurriculars?
Do IB/AM care about the job of research assistant as a MSF student? I imagine I will be doing "financial" research during the gig.
Thanks
This is a no-brainer for some of us (I think) older folks; go for the RAship. Besides the tuition, the connections, and the resume-building experience, it will also give you options for a PhD in Finance or Econ if you have any doubts about spending the next 40 years in industry.
Yea totally agree was just looking to see if there are any downsides....The constantly being busy might be attractive to firms.
If you have the cash sitting around, BTW, it might be a good tax move to ask the school to apply your stipend to reducing your tuition. Tuition credits and offsets, IIRC, are tax-free, but your stipend will be taxed as income.
I can't say I agree with IP. What do you want to do? Do you want to be seen as the nerd who went for the PhD? This MSF is to help you into banking right? (not sure if that really will). In my opinion, you need to get real work experience with a premiere firm before you start getting additional schooling (past undergrad). Don't be the dude who passes up on an IB/PE/HF internship because your an RA. Look for an internship that you can see yourself getting hired full-time. Trust me.
Agree with nuts here. The incremental cost greatly outweighs the benefit.
I was in the same boat as you and was offered an RA position during my final semester. I chose to focus on marks and boosted my gpa from a 3.4 to a 3.6 and landed an internship / experience to make up for my lack for work exp, which is exactly what employers are looking for: marks and experience, primarily.
Thats really not an option right now. The RA position would be during the school year and I don't think getting a IB internship while in school is plausible. With a weak market a Master's degree from a good school should always be a plus....Illini what would be your rebuttal to the others ?
I worked as an algorithms TA for our PhD program my Junior and Senior year. They do have a bit of a point- the 20 hours/week probably did have an impact on my GPA, but it was on the order of 1/10th of a full point. I think that at the very least, you'll get a little extra handicap on your GPA from most reasonable recruiters who know about research programs. (Pretty common on the trading floor, at least) For me, being a graduate-level algorithms TA while still in undergrad was a huge selling point for recruiters, but you've got to figure out what kind of research you'll be doing and exactly which professor you'll be working with to figure this out.
If you're not in a target program, there shouldn't be any question about this- you NEED this RAship to have a shot if you want to work on the street. When I was applying for jobs from a non-target, you needed a perfect SAT score, national recognition in your field, and be the first guy to land on Mars to get an offer.
How do you feel about the debt you're taking on? Bear in mind that with a weak job market, the last thing you want is more student debt. The RAship will help keep your tuition under control.
10 hours a week is nothing-- trust me.
You can still pursue a paid/unpaid, off-campus internship in the meantime (provided you're close enough to local boutiques or other firms). Get the best of both worlds that way.
I hate when people say this is a down market. Fact is, companies are hiring. Period. If you want a job, you can get one. Shit I go to a semi-target and know of myself and 5 friends that all got IBD offers.
Thanks IP. The quality of the RAship will be important. I don't mind taking on the debt. I had no debt for undergrad and with a stipend and half tuitiion....I think the debt from a semi-target is well worth it. 25k can't bee too bad for a Master's degree. For undergrad I went to a non-target/good state school and didn't have the opportunities to land a position in AM/IB. I worked for a year but wanted to get into a AM.
Everyone has to make their own decision, I get a kick out of having a Master's degree and bettering the repertoire.
Working as a Research Assistant instead of doing an internship? (Originally Posted: 08/19/2015)
I have a very good chance of working as an RA this coming summer for an Economics professor, and a same-as-anyone-else chance internship-wise. Is working as an RA for an Econ/Finance prof not a good idea if there's any chance at all to do an actual internship?
It all depends on your story. Normally if you can get a name-brand internship, then the RA gig is a bit worse. But otherwise if it fits with your story and you can speak about what you learned from your experience, you'll be fine.
An actual, relevant internship will go much farther than a research gig. Nothing can really replace professional experience imo
Why not both? It may be a little irrelevant, but I remember reading a story on "The Market Wizard" about a currency trader that did both during his summer.
Research Assistant yes or no? (Originally Posted: 09/04/2014)
I was considering assisting a professor at my university with some of the research he helps conduct. His recent articles have been about HF performance, Distressed debt, and stock returns so all stuff that interests me. I feel like I could learn a few things along the way and it couldn't really hurt.(Just don't want to waste a bunch of time doing absolutely meaningless work for shits). Has anyone else conducted research at their university and care to share any experiences?
Thanks in advance
That sounds like interesting stuff: and it really can't hurt. I did research assistant for the Management and Organization department of my school. The research was about cultural variance in negotiations, and my duty was mainly bringing in people and giving them instructions. It was pretty repetitive but the pay was pretty good so I was pretty satisfied.
Are you asking a rhetorical question?
LOL
OP, I hope you like using SAS
I did a much heavier-science research internship, and it was well worth it. There was quite a bit of downtime though which could be useful to you (study for tests/work on essay and apps/etc) or really boring.
At the very least you're going to be getting a killer letter of rec.
Research Assistant Role? (Originally Posted: 07/17/2014)
I just graduated from an ivy and really want to get into finance. Unfortunately, unlike many others, I did not discover that I had a passion for investing and equity research until the end of my college years. This meant that I was not too prepared academically or internship wise to find a great starting position with a formal training program. I found it very difficult to even find places to apply, since many bulge brackets hire out of their intern class, and boutiques prefer finance majors for their skills. I have now just started as a research assistant at a hedge fund. It is a good hedge fund; small but growing (and quickly). Right now I am doing a lot of admin work, and a little help with excel spreads. I am told that if I continue to be enthusiastic, they will teach me other things, and will help me to grow into new roles if there is the opportunity internally.
However, I am concerned that I am stuck in something that may be dead end. It is really important to me to have upward mobility, and find success and fulfillment in whatever industry (hopefully finance) that I am in. While I am learning a lot, I am concerned that I won't be learning enough, or doing enough impressive work to find a new job with more opportunity when the time comes. I am smart, diligent, and also maintain a good attitude about work. If I stay for around two years, they may help me move into a research position, or onto something externally. But my fear is I will stay for two years trying to move up and the fund will not have grown enough, or the research team will still limited to only those who have gone to business school and have years of investment banking experience. And then if I leave but never was able to gain important skills and experience, I will be confined to more admin type roles as a career.
Does anyone have advice? Has anyone been in a Research Assistant role and moved on to work as part of an investment team? Does anyone know anyone that has?
Maybe apply for an MSF/MMS? I'd network, spin the experience and try and finesse my way into a more FO role.
The transition you described is entirely possible and fairly common. But you will have to demonstrate your value and not just wait to be taught. Provided you have the time, you should be using your position to read everything investment-related you can get your hands on: internal write-ups, sell-side research, books on valuation, other investors' ideas, company filings, etc. Try to get as much hands-on experience as possible. Ask questions constantly, without being annoying. Attend meetings and events if you can - try to think of additional ways to be helpful in the research process. As long as you're still getting your core responsibilities done, you can learn a ton even in a menial role at a good firm, just by being smart and observing. If you're allowed to trade a PA, try out your own ideas and learn from what works and doesn't. Talk to your peers about the things they're working on and ideas that interest you. And if you have any specialized knowledge or regional expertise of your own (e.g. from your major or experience), try to leverage that circle of competency in developing some investing ideas or helping with the firm's existing investments.
All this assumes the people you work for are investors you respect, that it's a reasonably research-driven place, and that they're not slave drivers who get pissed off when their model monkey speaks up or does extra work. If you do everything I just described for a few years, you'll have the skillset to be a good research analyst anywhere.
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