graduate assistant

postdoctoral fellow

senior police officer

research assistant

graduate researcher

The University of Rhode Island

As an RA, there is no typical day at work. You could have days where you do nothing related to your job, and you can have days where you can't get away from it- and the responsibilities are many. Office hours and on-calls take up a lot of the time, and are the main reasons why it can be hard to balance a social life with the professional one, on top of academic responsibilities. 

Still, the experiences at URI are worth it, as they are hugely applicable to other fields of work, and can really help one to get knowledge in event planning or emergency preparedness to name just two skills. Still, it isn't good to just take the job for the benefits- there is a huge responsibility with the position, sometimes even making sure a resident doesn't die. It can be a lot, but if you're up for it, it's an immensely experiential and satisfying job.

Management completely depends on which building you work in. Some are "chill," some are the complete opposite. It's a mixed bag, but they are all fair people, and as long as you do the work, you'll get along with any of them fine. Farther up from direct supervisors does leave something to be desired, as there is a distinct feeling of apathy towards you as an individual RA, though they are working on this. 

Workplace culture is what you make it. There can be years where coworkers are your best friends, and years where the building turns into a clique filled mess. 

The hardest part of the job is failing. There will be times when you don't have the power to help someone, and seeing them fail can be either demotivating or motivating. Work-Life-academic balance can also be difficult, but this is another skill that the job aids in improving.

Entry level employees will begin as sale associate and student helper with textbooks. Projects include beginning and ending inventory on merchandise such as clothing, food items. Textbook projects consist of processing returns both books from major publishers and online vendors. End of semester often staff prepare for textbook buyback during final exams. Shift include the main bookstore, snack shop, Ramzone (opens during basketball, football games and information session season for freshmen. Student employees are asked to have flexible and open schedule changes. 

Job at this company recruits student help than full-time help. Job requires employees to have knowledge in the sale dept, textbook and customer services. At times bookkeeper will ask student to assist in a/r payments when business is slow in the middle of school year. Training at new task maybe tough at first, but our supervisor do their best to give clear instructions. Getting to know all staffs is a good to start. Projects sometimes do not get finished on time due to bad communication among team members. 

Job good for part-time workers and students who don't mind team work, learn how to use the graphical software that manages textbook database and cover staff at different dept when needed. You will learn new tasks the longer you stay. Having the ability to communicate well, have patience, maintain positive attitude, attentive to details is a must.  

Credentials: 2 years of experience as sales associate & 4 months of shipping/receiving

Holding a Residential Advisor position is being a resources for all residents in the residence hall. Dealing with issues based on social or personal matters. As well as noticing and reporting incidents, maintenance work, or documenting issues of residents. From this position I learned how to manage time and organizational skills from balancing school work and my job role. The advance in communication and listening skills have also provided me to develop into a better skilled employee. Dealing with issues on a neutral plane and understanding reasoning behind actions is also what I had gained from my job role. Working with fellow students also was provide learning aspects. As others could pick up skills or habits of another co-worker or help and suggest things to other co-workers. The hardest part of the job is expecting the most random incidents to occur at the most random times of the day. However once my phone rings I address the manner in a professional way and find a solution as possible. The most enjoyable part of my day is having residents look up to me as a role model and providing them with a safe living environment and providing them with the necessary guidance throughout their day. Developing a relationship with the residents was a number 1 priority and doing that by being open to conversation, greeting every resident that I see everyday and being available to them as much as possible, I feel as though I have done my duties and beyond for my role.

As a research lab assistant, I would go into the lab for 5 - 8 hours. While at work I would run trace vapor detection tests on a thermochemical sensor designed by my professor, practice surface modification techniques such as XRD and lithography, build and design a system to effectively test the detection capabilities of the sensor. I also performed extensive research into porous polymers which could be used as a functional preconcentrating layer on silicon based sensor, in order to optimize detection limits. My co-workers consisted of a graduate student who oversaw the project and numerous undergraduate researchers like myself. The hardest part of the job was troubleshooting a computer program used in the lab to calculate the flow rates passing over the sensor. Calibration of the mass flow controllers had to very accurate as it was critical to determining the detection limits that our sensor could achieve. The most enjoyable part of my job was working in an intellectually stimulating environment while surrounded by driven, kind, and intelligent individuals.

A typical day at work would include preparing snacks, sanitizing work/play/eating stations, assisting children in problem solving, helping children follow daily routines, direct them to play areas around Providence and keep an eye on them to make sure they are safe. 
I learned to assist young children (between the ages of 3 and 5) how to work through day to day problems. I learned to communicate with them to expand their creative thinking. I learned to be assertive in order to manage a classroom of young kids. 
Management was very understanding about work and school balance. They were very helpful in finding people to cover if I had an extra work load and wasn't able to make it to work. Management was always willing to help and guide me when learning to manage the children. 
Th culture of the work place was very open and understanding. Everyone including children and workers were able to work/learn at their own pace in order to work affectively with one another. 
The hardest part of the job was managing two classrooms at once, which only happen a couple of times.
The most enjoyable part of the job was how rewarding it was to work with children.

A typical  day  involves  menu production of all functions with hands on work and supervision of other staff members efforts.  All menu items must produce with the highest standards of quality, tastiness,  safety and freshness. This must be maintained on every order. 

I learned to use some new equipment.   I also learned a bit more about high volume production.  I think my most important lesson is that all workforce has value and talents that when used to fullest potential with wit and gratitude have extraordinary results.  

The people I met along the way were the most enjoyable part of the job.  Learning to know many people each with some interesting stories to tell was fun.  I also enjoyed and took pride in production of staff meal.   I met many casual friends and some that I will again make contact with
In the future.  

Management at the university was structured, with clear expectations for accreditation and assessment processes. The role required significant autonomy in managing deadlines and data while also engaging in collaborative discussions with leadership and faculty. Supervisors provided guidance, but much of the work involved independent problem-solving and initiative

The workplace culture was academic and professional, emphasizing continuous improvement and adherence to accreditation standards. The environment encouraged collaboration between faculty, staff, and administrators, fostering a culture of shared responsibility for program evaluation. The role required adaptability to changing accreditation guidelines and institutional priorities, making it a dynamic and intellectually engaging position.

Overall, working as an Assessment and Accreditation Coordinator at URI offered valuable experience in data management, compliance, and academic administration, making it a great opportunity for developing analytical and organizational skills in a higher education setting.

It's impossible to receive an offer, unless you know someone of political influence/your presence helps the University meet diversity benchmarks.  The organization sets illegal quotas on diversity
It's a culture of excuses, waste and mess
There's no sense of urgency to fix broken processes.  All problems, even easily fixed ones, are blamed on antiquated State processes
They throw you on the job without the appropriate tools/resources, then get upset when you have to ask for normal things to do your job
If you run into trouble, HR is of no support.  HR still uses typewriters (literally).  They're constantly chasing their tail/making mistakes with your pay/benefits
There's no onboarding/orientation
Don't be baited by a temporary role with the University.  It won't turn into anything permanent, but they'll act like it will.  They'll just use you for their dirty work, then let you go
I've never felt more gaslit in my life

Utilizing specialty dynamic loading devices, we explore the behavior of new materials under extreme conditions.

The classes are tough, but are directly relevant to the field and can be applied to the research being performed. Friendly environment and staff, the lab is more like a family.

Everyone helps eachother with their experiments even though we have our own specialties to focus on. The hardest part of the job is figuring out what story to tell when we obtain data. There is a lot going on in experimental mechanics, searching for the data of interest takes a bit of planning and careful thought.

The most enjoyable part of the job is that there are always new projects. The ability to come up with creative solutions to engineering problems, and designing experiments around something that has never been done keeps it interesting.

The job itself is very fulfilling, the direct staff is amazing to work with, the location where we work is great.  Unfortunately, funding to support our salaries is becoming more and more limited and we don't know if we are going to have a job from year to year - it is entirely based on the grants we write and if we get them.  The staff is very committed to our jobs but it becomes very difficult to remain passionate about our jobs when we don't know if we are going to have them from year to year.  The most enjoyable part of the job is the passion we have for the job itself and what we are doing.  Everyday we get to do something different, whether it be analyzing data, going out on a boat, holding a meeting, teaching a class, etc.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate assistant 8 salaries reported	$21,964 per year
Postdoctoral fellow 32 salaries reported	$59,361 per year
Senior police officer 18 salaries reported	$68,528 per year
Research assistant 18 salaries reported	$39,398 per year
Graduate researcher 5 salaries reported	$26,321 per year

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