I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the work environment
What I wish was different
I wish I would have been offered more hours.
Advice
Be outgoing and energetic and take advantage of the opportunities given on campus.
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
July 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
It was nice to work my own schedule. I learned a lot through the various projects.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Clerical Assistant
April 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
Very organized and efficient work environment
What I wish was different
N/a
Advice
Working on campus is awesome! My employer is understanding of school schedules and coworkers are other students in a range of fields
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university recreation
May 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I loved the community at Washington State University Recreation. They knew that students were taking their whole summer to work and be product and so they made sure that you felt included at Pullman when not many people were here.
What I wish was different
I wish that I had had more shifts to work. There weren't as many job openings as I thought there would be for a college town.
Advice
I would definitely not discourage anyone from doing summer classes because there is still time for fun but you are also still being productive throughout the whole summer and are more prepared for fall course work than if you had taken months off from school and work.
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Fiscal Analyst
September 2017 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
Ability to move up quickly.
What I wish was different
More/better training, management needs some work.
Advice
Research the department you are going into. A lot of openings usually means there is some issues that will arise.
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Research Intern
June - August 2019 • Mount Vernon, WA
What I liked
I learned that I loved doing science! I spent a lot of time doing both fieldwork and lab work, and got a taste for interpreting data.
What I wish was different
Their lab was just starting up, and it was an agricultural research lab so every project lasts several years. Therefore, my work couldn’t come to any kind of conclusion
Advice
Always send cold emails! Also, your job doesn’t have to be directly related to what you want to do in order for it to be valuable. Just think about what kind of skills you want to learn and find any job that matches.
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Microbiology Laboratory Assistant
July 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I have learned so much in this lab and the experience I am getting is invaluable, I have obtained skills that I would have never gotten by only learning the theory. I learned things that are not only related to my major but are very important when getting a full time job, like having good and constant communication with my leaders, be more independent when doing a project. Having deadlines for projects and finish them with a good quality. All the techniques I learned also helped me understand my classes much better.
What I wish was different
I wish I started working here earlier because now I have so many plans to do my undergraduate research and learn other things. The professionals working in this lab have offered me to teach me very important skills for when I am looking for a job. They also have shown interest in helping me with my undergraduate research. However, I will graduate soon and might not have enough time to do all the plans I have.
Advice
When you get to college, get experience working in lab as soon as you can. This helped me learn so much more and have a greater professional network. I also had a clearer perspective of what I want to do now that I will graduate and I also have a more realistic perspective of what the field of microbiology is in the practice and not only in theory.
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Clerical Assistant
January 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
The work environment
My coworkers
My boss
What I wish was different
Nothing
Advice
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Tech Assistant I
May 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
Excellent opportunity to build lab skills and network across departments. I am typically in the School of Molecular Biosciences so the chance to work in Plant Pathology was deeply informative.
What I wish was different
I was only given 20 hours a week at minimum wage and had to supplement with a second job to cover rent. I wish I could have been full time and more deeply focus on the work instead of splitting time between jobs.
Advice
Collaborate with as many labs as possible if you're interested in research to find out what you like and dislike.
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IT Technician
January 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
At this job I was and am able to practice and acquire valuable skills. I have great coworkers and clients, and was able to feel at the end of summer that I had spent my time doing something worthwhile.
What I wish was different
There was a bit of drudgery involved with the specific projects we were involved in, but not so much as to make them unbearable or frustrating.
Advice
Find a job that will teach you useful skills! Unless you've NEVER had a job before, there's not much reason to take one of those, "just-to-pay-the-bills" jobs. Find something different, something that will be an experience! As long as you're not picky, you'll find something.
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Tech Assistant
March 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
Getting useful research experience in a small lab where I get a lot of one-on-one assistance. I am able to analyze my results and make decisions myself (within reason), and I get to apply what I learn in classes directly.
What I wish was different
That I had been trained more thoroughly before being left unsupervised, and that I had more variety in tasks.
Advice
Be prepared to not make any progress for months on end, because that's how science goes sometimes. Also, always pay attention to what you're doing.
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Membership Attendant
May 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I like that school is a priority and we are able to have a choice in our schedule
What I wish was different
Advice
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administrative manager's assistant for WSU Human Development Department
March - August 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I loved gaining knowledge of administrative work and learning about grants and budgets and writing official contracts. I enjoyed being a liaison for the administrative manager and for the department because it felt important and I was able to help ease the workload of my superior.
What I wish was different
I wish I had that job only instead of also being a waitress because I could have been even more available and focused.
Advice
Be very communicative with your superior and always ask questions when you don't know how to do something. Also, you can probably do a lot of things you don't realize with a tiny bit of training so let yourself learn.
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Lab Tech
May - August 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
What I wish was different
Advice
Ideal for those considering graduate school
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biomechanical researcher
July 2015 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I like being at the top of the ladder now behind the PI for research in my lab. Coordinating research being done by younger generations is always a joy.
What I wish was different
I don't think I would like much about my position to change. However, it is hard to move on from such a wonderful experience
Advice
Get to know the professors in your major as soon as possible. Ask for research positions, and if at all possible, stay in Pullman for the summer! It will be easier to get into a lab.
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Field Assistant
May - August 2019 • Marblemount, WA
What I liked
Working outside every day, we would backpack to locations throughout North Cascades national park where we would collect lichen samples for use in a research project.
What I wish was different
Not much!
Advice
Make sure to have personal goals for the summer job/research experience set before you even start.
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Bio Science Aid
May 2018 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I like the diversity of projects that I am able to work on and learning all of the new techniques.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Lead Graphic Designer
May 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
I liked that I was given free reign to learn as much as I could about graphic design. I built a curriculum to train my future team, developed print/marketing services for our client base, and had complete creative freedom on designs I was tasked with.
What I wish was different
I wish there was more structure in my learning. I almost had too much freedom. There was no one at a level above me verifying that what I was teaching myself was accurate or practical.
Advice
Find someone credible on campus to give you a frame of reference or structure for your own learning and the curriculum you build. None of the employees in the department know anything about graphic design.
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Carpenter
May - August 2019 • Pullman, WA
What I liked
Physical labor. I was outside in the sun a lot depending on where we working that day.
What I wish was different
Lots of downtime. Led to feeling like the day was wasted.
