graduate researcher

research assistant

postdoctoral fellow

teaching assistant

programmer analyst

University of California Los Angeles

There are many capable and ethical people that work there but unfortunately there are many people that make you wonder who is in charge of the hiring process? Your experience will depend on who is in charge of your department. Some people are happy and many are not. In management positions there is a great deal of pressure to put in 10+ hours of work per day with low compensation for such a hefty contribution. 

Favors are done for some people while others get shafted on a regular basis. This inequality creates a stressful and somewhat hostile work environment. Morale is extremely low and management creates an atmosphere of "Us versus Them" with the labor, thereby destroying any chance of teamwork or a positive work environment. Many of the lower level managers are usually good and try to make the best of the situation with their subordinates but they struggle to bring up the morale with their limited amount of authority.

Do not expect your contribution to  be appreciated. Even if you were able to perform virtual miracles on a regular basis. If you are not a friend of someone in high places, you are considered nothing to them. Many of the awards that are distributed are done for the benefit of the one presenting the award and not for the recipient. They are willing to lose any employee regardless of their contribution even if it cost them billions of dollars. This policy of "everyone is expendable" gives the upper management a great deal of power to keep subordinates from speaking out against any inequalities or unfair policies and work practices.

The only logical explanation for all of this is that there is either a great deal of corruption or a great deal of incompetence at the highest levels of management. For example, the UC President was caught hiding nearly $200,000,000.00 for some dubious purpose. See article:

California auditor slams UC President’s office over $175 million in hidden funds 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/25/california-auditor-slams-uc-presidents-office-over-175-million-in-hidden-funds/

On the incompetence front there is this example of millions of lost taxpayer dollars:

UC Financial Incompetence Exposed: $156 Million Computer System Now Costs $504 Million

http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/uc-financial-incompetence-exposed-156-million-computer-system-now-costs-504-million/

These two examples are merely the tip of the iceberg.

And that brings us back to the question, corruption or incompetence? I would contend that both exist throughout the UC and at all of the individual Universities. Though in many cases it seems to lean more toward the corruption side with so many instances it would take years to compile the data for a team of researchers. 

What I have observed is intelligent yet corrupt people at the top with a mixed group of management below them exhibiting either a high degree of functional capability coupled with a high degree of loyalty to their new boss's leadership (for fear of losing their new job) or a lackey who is not competent in the job they were placed but will never cross their new boss because they know they cannot get another comparable job, ever thankful to their new masters.

The benefits of this hiring practice for management are twofold: keeping the upper echelon protected from the labor force with a thick insulation of middle management while providing a slap in the face to the many highly capable, upwardly mobile members of the labor force thereby making their so called superiors inferior and reinforcing the impenetrability of the glass ceiling they have created. This practice leads to an enormous downturn in productivity, efficiency and morale. All the while the cost to the students and taxpayers continues to rise year after year. Perhaps the state auditor should hire a team of ethical investigators to look into this?

I created basic design tutorials for the Microbiology, Immunology and Micro genetics students at UCLA to show them the fundamentals of the Creative Suite programs (Illustrator and Photoshop) so they could properly utilize these programs to produce papers, PowerPoint presentations and posters for their classes.

As the classes progressed, I learned to alter my instructions to better suite the students learning abilities. I changed the terminology to make it easier for them to follow along and I constantly changed my practice projects and images to better suite the students for practical use in the science program they were in. Meaning, we focused on typography for the students that were required to create large posters at the end of the year and we focused on appropriate image adjustments for students that were required to submit papers at the end of the year. We did also cover what is acceptable image adjustments/manipulation in the scientific arena as well, because certain changes would compromise their data and thus make it obsolete and unacceptable.

I did not have a great deal of interaction with all of the instructors of the courses. There were a few that stayed in the classroom to learn from the tutorials as well so they could help the students after I left. Those instructors were also very helpful in adjusting the points of each tutorial to better suite each classroom I went into.

The hardest part of my job is getting started. I get a little nervous at the beginning of each class, but about the 3rd or 4th sentence into my opening remarks and I’m confident and back on track. I try to get the students to interact with me and with each other while staying on task as well.

The most enjoyable part of my job is after I’m done with the tutorials and I can answer questions or work with students one on one and listening to another student help out a friend and using the correct terminology, functions and steps I just covered. That’s when I know they were really listening and really soaked up at least some of the things I’ve taught them that day.

I would make coffee upon arrival, go through voice and hard-copy mail and distribute as necessary; make sure overnight faxes were delivered and machines were ready for use. Checked daily schedule to determine if the doctor would be in the office and what materials he might need for upcoming appointments or speaking engagements. Answered phones, relayed any urgent messages by phone or pager; set up meetings and appointments; compiled expense reports; composed letters and emails on doctor's behalf; conducted Internet research; made sure doctor's credentials were in order and any dues paid; fulfilled requests for medical literature; sent copies of recently published articles to all co-authors and updated doctor's Curriculum Vitae. Checked stock of office supplies and placed standard orders upon need or special orders upon request of staff; utilized UCLA Purchasing and Accounting software to ensure orders were delivered and paid for promptly. Greeted guests and patients; assisted with medication refills; maintained confidentiality of sensitive information. Acted as gatekeeper to in-demand individual; interacted with media, publishers, vendors, and medical staff. Arranged for payment of Human Subjects and tracked all department budget expenditures. Ensured all travel needs were in order (plane tickets, cars, hotel, speaking venue, itinerary). This job helped me become more adept at multi-tasking. I had marvelous co-workers with whom I still stay in touch. I supported a brilliant individual and his staff. The hardest part of the job may have been remembering not to feel badly about myself when my boss seemed to be able to learn things with a quick perusal. (Being detail-oriented, it made me feel great to catch some details he sometimes overlooked.) The most enjoyable part of the job was that it was different every day. I also enjoyed when he was out of the office because I was able to listen to music while I worked.

During the first four years of college I was employed as a work-study student at the financial aid office, which proved to be journey that would establish my work ethic and skills. Initially I started in Document Management, handling all incoming documents from students regarding financial aid. These documents were to be scanned and appended to the student database for review. This was my first job I ever had and it taught me basic work ethic: punctuality, professionalism, time management, and maintaining a healthy relationships among my peers.
Over the years, my duties expanded into those not specified in my job description. I would run simple errands for my supervisor, make deliveries, and assist peers in other departments. By the last two years, I was now assistant to the Outreach Coordinator and taking on whatever tasks were needed by me. I was managing a stockroom, creating powerpoint presentations for my supervisor, creating expenditure reports, and assisting with on campus meetings. 
      My workload was always manageable and never too stressful. However, the most difficult aspect of my job was balancing my duties as a student and my responsibilities at work. At times it seemed impossible, especially around midterms and finals. Fortunately, my supervisors always worked around the schedules of students and would grant time off for studying if it was absolutely necessary. 
      The most enjoyable part of working in the financial aid office was growing up with my peers. We truly became a family and I felt that I could go to them regarding any issue whether it was work related or personal. Furthermore, I am very grateful for this opportunity because it laid the foundation for the exceptional work ethic and skills that I possess today.

I am in charge of running a team of 4 other managers. This job is extremely detailed oriented. Coach Savage is a man of details, when you do something just the slightest different than how it was done before he gets angry and corrects you. This has forced me to teach my managers and myself to be extremely detailed oriented, everything has to be done at a certain time and just the way coach savage likes it. Organization is key to succeeding in this job, players all rush in at once and begin asking for new gear, pants, etc... Along with this coaches will randomly ask for equipment during practice. In order to do all these tasks quickly we needed to be extremely organized. 
 
 Throughout this job I would constantly need to have my phone by me and turned on loud. Because at any moment someone on staff could call/text and ask a question or give me a task to do. I constantly got these calls because they could rely on me to complete that task. This whole job is about being proactive and having good time management. I preach to the managers that whenever you are working there is something you can do. I think that I am unbelievably great at time management because of this job. This job requires so much time at the field that you need to create a schedule for your whole day beforehand. If I was working that day I would plan out a certain time to eat, study, relax etc... Then once at the field I would need to plan out the times in which I would need tasks completed by. 
 
 This job put so much pressure on me. Since I am the one who is in charge of the other mangers, I would be the one who got yelled at if something did not go the coaches way. The only way to succeed at the job is to be able to handle the pressure.

UCLA is a very large public institution whose different schools/colleges/departments can take on a different character, depending on the people & leadership of the department, and also to a lesser extent the academic discipline studied there.

A typical day would involve setting some time aside early morning for email (universities love the email!) to help plan the day. Much of the work was managing multiple on-going projects, managing the day-to-day operations, putting out fires, and dealing with countless external and internal constituents/stakeholders. So, a morning run-down of email helped adjust priorities for the day/week as necessary.

I would say I learned a lot about what many job postings mention as a requirement: the ability to manage multiple projects, shifting priorities, ambiguity, etc. In admissions, everything is date & deadline oriented. So, not only was there pressure to meet the deadlines, but the ramifications of a slip-up could have significant PR impact, so those were to be avoided at all cost. We even had a 'Warning Wall' of sorts, with newspaper clippings of other institutions that had made such slip-ups. Just a reminder to keep us vigilant!

I had a fantastic relationship with co-workers. People had pretty well-defined roles & responsibilities, but they all revolved around the same goal so the collaboration was constant and very collegial. My closest colleagues I consider friends to this day.

Working in the Administrative Office in the University-Student Union allows me to be able to work in a positive, team-oriented, ethnically diverse and culturally pluralistic environment.  I have gained much job experience while concurrently gaining my B.A., Paralegal Certification, and M.A. A typical day as a special projects aide involves working for a very positive group of supervisors and directors who strive to make the Union a place to gain skills while working around my academic schedule.  I am assigned a plethora of spontaneous administrative projects, as well as coordinating the 
Board of Directors and it's sub-committees.  I also am in charge of the new hire orientation process, which keeps me busy as there are over one hundred student assistants working at the Union.  My co-workers in the Administrative Office are a mix of full time staff and student assistants like myself.  The hardest part of the job is not being able to work full time, as twenty hours per week is the maximum allowable hours to accrue, because academics comes first.  The Student Union does not compensate enough to make a living, so that along with the part time status are the only down sides.  The full time staff treat their student assistants with dignity and respect. They strive to make the Student Union a very hospitable environment where students are able to gain valuable work experience.

A typical day at work includes answering the main telephone line, directing personell to their proper destination within the office, answering emails related to occupational health training, and data entry of completed trainings and accounts payable. The most important things I have learned are appropriate office etiquette, prioritizing job tasks, and most importantly, what makes a positive work environment. Working as the front receptionist, I consider myself to work for all 65 employees in the office, even though my working title is within the admin department. Every single employee there, including my direct supervisors, have been extremely helpful and encouraging in my work. They are always willing to answer questions and guide me further with the tasks I have been given. They are all the exact definition of good management in my opinion. 

The most enjoyable part of this job is coming to work everyday and being able to interact with the employees of the Office of Environment, Health, & Safety. I have never enjoyed working somewhere so much in my career. The hardest part of this job has nothing to do with the day-to-day tasks. They are all manageable. The hardest part will be leaving that office. It will be very difficult to leave a place of employment that I love going to everyday. 

If anyone were ever looking for a job in the Los Angeles area, I will always direct them to this office first.

This was a very exciting time to be working at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute as the Doris Stein Eye Institute was being constructed and opened during my tenure. This allowed for much needed clinical and office space so the Institute could expand.

I learned complicated testing techniques to evaluate clinical eye movements and vestibular health.  This provided real-time data to the Director of the Ocular Motility Lab for diagnostic and treatment purposes.  Some immediate improvements in patients' lives were achieved through surgery based on measurements I obtained which was very gratifying.

The Division Head and I performed research on test subjects to study vertical eye movements.  It was difficult to capture vertical eye movements using approved methods so vertical eye movements needed to be studied using funds and methods approved by several NEI/NIH grants.  It was very stimulating and interesting work.

I had no challenges or barriers in this job; I learned constantly and was given many opportunities to put this new education in place and found my job fascinating and I was easily engaged every day.

I would not have left this job but Los Angeles became an unsafe environment during the early 1990's to raise a young child so I made the decision to relocate to Illinois to be closer to family.

•	Design & maintain SQL databases for research studies; write queries, functions, views, stored procedures for data access. Expertly performed database migration from FileMaker to MS SQL.
•	Develop and maintain web applications/services in .NET environment for Internet and Intranet sites. 
•	Design customized applications according to department’s needs. 
•	Administrate UNIX (Red Hat Linux, UBUNTU)/Windows/Mac servers and maintain department’s network.
•	Setup/maintain SENDMAIL, FTP, Apache, IIS, SSL Certificates and Darwin streaming server. Implement server upgrades, maintenance, fixes, and vendor-supplied patches.
•	Acquired skills to establish and maintain cooperative working relationship with other staff members. 
•	Directly supervised data entry team and ensured database quality. Worked with researchers/statisticians to generate customized reports. Write programs and scripts to perform calculations and manipulate data formats.
•	Successfully cut project cost by implementing open source software. Took charge over procurement processes in dealing with hardware vendors and ensure to acquire the finest hardware (servers) at their optimum value.
•	Successfully implemented payment module to receive online transactions.
•	Acquired skills to process EEG data using Brain Vision Analyzer and other brain modeling software. Develop applications to represent EEG data on brain maps.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 11 salaries reported	$42,472 per year
Research assistant 4 salaries reported	$72,075 per year
Postdoctoral fellow 9 salaries reported	$65,236 per year
Teaching assistant 11 salaries reported	$4,846 per month
Programmer analyst 1 salary reported	$30.00 per hour

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