My work schedule was flexible and the majority of the stuff I did was online so I could work from home if I wanted to. Also, this job allowed me to be paid for following my passion and work with the higher-ups at UNL to improve the environmental footprint of the campus.
What I wish was different
When I wasn't in meetings, I was in a cubicle and just sat inside almost the whole day. I wish I could have been outside more or had to opportunity to move more often.
Advice
Make sure to communicate with your coworkers on what projects you all are working on and who is going to what meetings. Overall, the job is amazing and the people are great to work with.
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Senior Conference Assistant
May - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
The community aspect of this job is very important, so I got to meet some really awesome people, and we still keep in touch!
What I wish was different
I was on-call for about 80 hours a week. I didn't get calls that often, but it was kind of nervewracking to have to be ready to answer calls all the time.
Advice
You will be tired, but this job is very rewarding! The professional experience is very valuable and the community is irreplacable. Plus, the free room and board are really helpful.
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Lab assistant
May 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
Learned A LOT. Got to work with cows. Got to assist in cow ovariectomies and assist in blood processing to see why certain heifers develop though puberty in different ways.
What I wish was different
Wish I would work with the cows more outside.
Advice
The first few months of working here you don’t know a lot and not many trust you to learn new things fast. Most of your time is spend doing the dishes and autoclaving, maybe some organizing or checking on the mice. You will eventually get to doing the more interesting, sciency stuff but only after being treated like the undergrad assistant you are.
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Resident assistant
May - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
Nice, easy job. Great coworkers! Good deal for people needing summer housing who are broke.
What I wish was different
A lot of duty - I was on 35 days of the whole summer. Also Selleck is pretty nasty.
Advice
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Additive Manufacturing Research Assistant
April 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
This is a unique job for an emerging field in engineering. It combines many aspects of engineering into one job.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Research Technician
May - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
The people I worked with
What I wish was different
Advice
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
June 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I really enjoyed getting hands-on experience in research; it's always hard to tell if you would like something to be your career until you get knee-deep in it. I also loved the team aspect of it, and working in pairs for 8 hours can really let you get to know a complete stranger. Another, unexpected aspect of this job was that it opened a lot of questions up in my mind- looking at a map of Lincoln and questioning what other health indicators vary from census tract to census tract was thrilling for me.
What I wish was different
I wish there would have been a bit more direction, since we were operating largely on our own and it wasn't always super easy to get a response from the graduate students supervising us.
Advice
Expect the unexpected- you never know what will happen in the real world during research.
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Research Assistant
May - August 2019 • Denver, CO
What I liked
I liked that I was able to do my work remotely and didn't have to be at the university to get things done. Communication with the professor I was working with was very easy, which I appreciated being so far from Lincoln. Most of what I did was collect data from the JSTOR database and digitalize it using Excel.
What I wish was different
I wish what I was going to be doing had been made more clear at the beginning of the summer, as I ended up doing something completely different than what I had initially been told.
Advice
Get to know your professors! This position was recommended to me by a professor I'd had a few times, and I worked with another professor in the department who was very kind and easy to work with.
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Desk supervisor
January 2017 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
The ability to work within a team structure and take on a leadership role
What I wish was different
I wish there would have been more structure within the team to ensure the desk operations would have the opportunity to run as smoothly as possible
Advice
If you have the opportunity to take on a leadership role go for it; it looks great on a resume as well as giving you real-world opportunities on working with and managing others
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
June - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
My schedule was flexible so I could take classes.
What I wish was different
There isn’t a lot of structure.
Advice
Talk to professors, and it isn’t that hard to get a UCARE project, but it’s really good experience.
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Intern to the Assistant to the Chancellor for Government and Military Relations
January 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I loved learning more about my university and getting to interact with state senators at the Capitol .
What I wish was different
Advice
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Student Worker
April 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
EVERYTHING. The faculty and staff at UNL are amazing.
What I wish was different
More morning availability if I have later classes.
Advice
Always take a student worker position on campus as a way to network with people in other departments. Introduce yourself. You never know where things could elad.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
April 2018 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I enjoyed the hands on work and learning how to conduct research in my field.
What I wish was different
I wish that the position would have been compensated. I also wish I got to see more of the other research going on in my department.
Advice
Make sure you have adequate time to devote to this position. It is easy to fall behind.
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P3 Engineer
May - August 2019 • Fremont, NE
What I liked
Employer was helpful and sought to help me learn new things.
What I wish was different
N/A
Advice
Look to make connections, networking pays off.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
May 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I loved doing paid research at the university! There is a great community with challenging but doable work, and even though I am not far in my physics education, I was able to have valuable input with the team.
What I wish was different
I wish I had more interaction with my research professor - he was busy, and often not in town. Still a great guy though!
Advice
I would recommend you find a professor you like and approach them about their research; or, if the faculty member isn't as important, find a department that you feel fits you best! There's often open positions for all years where you might not expect there to be.
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psychology research assistant
May - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
created a close working relationship with mentor
What I wish was different
that I had more time to prepare the paper and presentations, but I understand it was supposed to move fast
Advice
stay ahead of due dates and deadlines
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Government Documents Librarian
June 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I loved my co-workers and the positive work environment.
What I wish was different
I wish that I had been able to have more variety in what I did in the office.
Advice
It's okay to branch outside your comfort zone! You might find something you are really passionate about!
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Office Assistant
May 2019 • Lincoln, NE
What I liked
I liked the challenge of working in an office doing behind the scenes work. I did a lot for University Housing that people don't think happens and it was rewarding.
What I wish was different
I wish I could have been paid more. I put in a LOT of hours and took work home with me. It would be nice to feel compensated for my hard work.
Advice
Face challenges head on. They aren't going to go anywhere on their own, you have to work through them.
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Facilities Management Intern
May - August 2019 • Ogallala, NE
What I liked
I loved being in a different environment, meeting lots of new people, and getting brand new experiences.
What I wish was different
Nothing
Advice
Everyone should take a class or a summer job at Ceder Point Biological Station.
