graduate researcher

graduate assistant

postdoctoral researcher

medical assistant

teaching assistant

University of California, Irvine

A Typical Day at Work:
A typical day in the antibiotic resistance lab involved preparing and analyzing bacterial cultures, performing serial dilutions, and plating samples to observe resistance patterns. I also maintained detailed lab notebooks and occasionally assisted with data entry and analysis using basic statistical software. Routine but focused tasks created a rhythm that required attention to both technique and cleanliness to avoid contamination.

What I Learned:
I learned a great deal about microbiological techniques and gained hands-on experience with aseptic procedures, pipetting accuracy, and the scientific method. Beyond technical skills, I developed a stronger appreciation for the global threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of research in informing public health.

Management:
The lab was led by a principal investigator who was highly knowledgeable and supportive. Day-to-day supervision often came from graduate students and postdocs who were approachable and willing to teach. Management was generally flexible but expected precision, consistency, and a strong sense of responsibility.

Workplace Culture:
The culture was intellectually stimulating and collaborative. There was a shared sense of purpose and curiosity, and people were generally generous with their time and expertise. It was a professional environment, but there was also room for casual conversation and camaraderie.

The Hardest Part of the Job:
The most challenging aspect was maintaining absolute sterility during long and repetitive procedures. Small errors could lead to contamination and compromise an entire experiment. It required intense focus and patience, especially when balancing this work with a full academic schedule.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job:
The most enjoyable part was contributing to research with real-world relevance and seeing clear results from my work. There was a deep satisfaction in watching data accumulate and knowing that each sample and plate brought us closer to understanding resistance mechanisms. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside passionate scientists and learn from their experience.

I spent 3 years at UCI studying to get a masters degree in English. As part of my degree package, I was assigned a teaching role for the entire 3 year period. I taught English/Composition, one section per quarter. This is a fair workload for a graduate student. The pay was satisfactory and we had full health insurance with Anthem Blue Cross. All good. 

BUT I received just one day of "teacher orientation" and was then sent off to teach university-level English/Composition to freshman and sophomore students. Truly, nobody guides you or cares about this class. You could teach anything and nobody would know. There is no auditing. The only thing resembling an "audit" is that in your first quarter of teaching, a teacher slightly more senior than you will sit in on ONE of your class sessions--yes, ONE--and afterward, give you a few items of feedback. This is done very informally. 

You do not have to have any previous teaching experience to do this role. In fact, most of us didn't have any at all. None. Not even tutoring.

We were given an online "course shell" from a teacher more advanced than us, which had exercises and instructions in it, but we had to modifying them all, delete some of them, add our own, with almost no guidance. For all the teachers, the first quarter of teaching is a joke through which you fumble and try to learn from your mistakes, and I feel sorry for the students because they are just practice dummies. 

We had to buy our own books from which to teach.

Most of my students were international students and were learning English--many of them were in extremely beginner stages of learning. We were not trained as ESL teachers whatsoever. The morale was quite low among my colleagues because we didn't know what we were doing and just had to figure it out. Regarding the surprisingly low standard of work submitted by the students, the head of the department literally told the new teachers to, "Lower your expectations." 

This whole thing is a make work project. The students are the ones who lose out. They pay top dollar for low-rate tuition.

During a typical day at work, a student worker will clock in and will be assigned a duty for the day, whether it be bussing, aiding dish room staff, working at the registers, or assisting in serving food. A 3-hr shift earns them a 15-min break, and a 6-hr break earns them an additional 30-min lunch break. 
During my time working there I got more familiar with the process of washing dishes, stocking utensils and cups, bussing the drink stations, bussing tables, serving food, frying fries, cleaning kitchen areas, and taking orders for the deli.
Management made sure to remind workers daily to check the tidiness of their uniforms, keep sanitation and safety priority, and always complete their uniform with a smile.
Even though most of the full-time workers spoke mostly Spanish, I didn't feel too out of place as they openly taught me new skills and their proper kitchen methods. They made me feel welcomed when they referred to me as "mija," or "my daughter," and their gentle corrections encouraged me rather than discouraged me.
The hardest part of the job was trying to learn technical kitchen techniques through observation, with the lack of training and hands-on practice. However, the most enjoyable part was being able to successfully learn these techniques despite the difficulty and being able to aid my coworkers and contribute to the functionality of the dining hall to satisfy customers.

I have been working here for well over 10 years. I decided to leave corporate America for a workplace that offered more security and benefits.  UCI fits the bill.  While the salary alone isn't that great (you can definitely make more $$$ working elsewhere) there are plenty of other reasons to work here.  The benefits are top-rate, there is a pension plan, decent health care and they actually seem to care about their employees.

There are plenty of opportunities for advancement if you move around within the school.  The only time I recall there being a layoff in our particular area was about 10 years ago after the economic collapse in CA.  There was a great deal of 'fat' here anyway and they just streamlined things.

Being a learning environment, they encourage you to try new things and use new tools.  You can take your position as far as you want - at least in my case.

Management is hit and miss as in any work environment.  There are some great managers and some below-average.  The most challenging thing is working with some of the faculty.  Some of them can be difficult and egotistical, but I've figured it out over the years.

Overall, this is a great place to work.  Friendly, challenging and fabulous benefits.  Their hiring has become more selective over the past 5 years or so, but if you are lucky enough to be hired, you probably have a job for life.

Cali is in big trouble financially, and so is the U of C system...my f/t job with them went down the tubes in 2008, when they had to make severe cuts to all of their programs. CA is an "at large" work state, so you can be fired if your shoes aren't groovy enough. Try finding an affordable home, even in a down economy. But don't expect any help from them to find one. Culture? Like to shop? That's the culture. Values? Life behind the Orange Curtain is very...red...crowded, polluted...a shame such a nice place has been so trashed. The sunshine was fabulous, but not the kind they shine up your rear when you interview. Benefits seem great, until you try to actually find a doctor willing to accept you as a patient. I worked directly for an "Assistant Vice Chancellor," (whatever that means) who didn't have much of a clue regarding management, outside of inventing the idea of a "panic phrase" we were all supposed to use if a "weirdo" found his way into our department..."banana pancakes" was the chosen phrase...fitting, as our department seemed more like a zoo most of the time...be sure to ask a lot of questions when you go for an interview...especially about job security...you may have to define what that means for them...

•	Leveraged sophisticated economic expertise, outstanding performance in sales, marketing, account relationship management to uncover deficiencies and improve organizational functions.
•	Develop and maintain a number of computer programs and databases to accurately track financial progress as well as identify potential opportunities which aided in over three million in revenue for 2012.
•	Proactively evaluated competitive activity and business operations and determined recommendations to improve the business school as well as company branding.
•	Responsible and accountable for the coordinated management of multiple related projects directed toward strategic business and other organizational objectives.
•	Solid understanding of the web application development processes (HTML/CSS), from user/layout interface to database structures.
•	Maintain continuous alignment of program scope with strategic business objectives, and make recommendations to modify the program to enhance effectiveness toward the business result or strategic intent.
•	Cooperates closely with IT experts, project engineers and subject matter experts in planning and developing analytical methods for data collection, data variables, storage, analysis, statistics and presentations for Institutional improvement and development.

I can't say enough good things about working at the University of California, Irvine in the capacity of research assistant. In general you work for a professor or research group and perform research assistant functions. Professors are a laid back bunch and are very supportive of your career goals and work hard to include you in all their research activities etc. You are an important part of the team, and never feel left out of the loop for projects you are involved in. The hardest part of the job is juggling your time between various projects and keeping your priorities straight. Meeting important grant and manuscript deadlines can be difficult at times, but because of all the positive energy your supervisors provide, you end up wondering how you managed to do it, and failure is not an option. The most enjoyable part of my job was learning new software and developing new techniques for analysis. This is strongly encouraged by your supervisors, and when deadlines are not present you can experiment with various research options and improve your abilities. I was never at a loss for the right tools for the job, and was able to push myself to do my best work.

Working at UC Irvine was a good first job experience. Due to the fact that they hire many student workers, they are used to training workers on site and were patient with me as I learned. Along with student workers, older full time workers also work at Pippin. These workers were professional, kind, and a joy to work with. They have been working there for many years and taught me a lot about how to work at the different stations at the dining common. The management team was firm and made sure we did our work while at the same time being patient and understanding. There was a great workplace culture. It felt like a family or a group of friends. Everyone got along and helped each other. If ever there was someone (management or a regular worker) who was acting inappropriately, they would be reported and either warned or removed from the site if their offense was bad enough. The hardest part of the job was dealing with very busy times of the day when there were lines of students waiting to get food. I had to learn to work fast but efficiently and to help out in other areas (like the dishroom) whenever needed. The most enjoyable part of the job was helping and getting to know customers. I learned a friendly hello or smile can go a long way.

There is always work to be done at the UCICL. The order of work is very hands-on and intellectually stimulating. Its located on the campus of the University of California, Irvine and operates like small R&D firm/semi-national laboratory atmosphere with professors directing the research and mission of the center. The scale of the experiments are an order of magnitude larger than typical university laboratories. Operating for over 42 years, with quite an impressive track record: currently, it is one of the leading combustion laboratories in the nation for gas turbine combustion and fuel injection research. The staff and students are bright, self-motivated and hard-working for the most part. Graduate students conduct research on a 8 - 5 schedule in addition to their graduate class curriculum. The job provides many opportunities to interface with leading political figures and engineering teams during the normal course of work. The UCICL is very publication friendly and from my experience with lab alumni, graduates are very prepared to work in industry and largely establish successful careers.

Working at UCI offers a strong sense of purpose and stability, especially if you value contributing to a mission-driven, public institution focused on education, research, and community impact. The campus culture is generally collaborative, and many colleagues are deeply committed to their work and to supporting students and faculty.

UCI provides solid benefits, work-life balance compared to many private-sector roles, and opportunities to learn within a large, complex organization. There is also exposure to diverse departments, disciplines, and leadership styles, which can be professionally enriching.

That said, as with many large public institutions, decision-making can be slow, processes can be bureaucratic, and change often requires patience and persistence. Systems and procedures may feel outdated at times, and navigating approvals or cross-department coordination can be challenging, especially with cuts in funding that is happening. 

Overall, UCI is a rewarding place to work for individuals who value stability, public service, and collaboration and who are comfortable operating within a structured environment where progress is steady rather than fast-paced.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Graduate researcher 10 salaries reported	$40,580 per year
Graduate assistant 3 salaries reported	$3,082 per month
Postdoctoral researcher 4 salaries reported	$68,000 per year
Medical assistant 6 salaries reported	$22.22 per hour
Teaching assistant 3 salaries reported	$3,015 per month

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