This density plot show that most science co-op jobs are posted on day 14 of each term.
That said, Victoria employers tend to post their co-op jobs later in the term. These will be a mix of 4 and 8 month positions.
In addition, many labs on campus don’t post jobs on the co-op portal as they expect that interested students will take initiative to reach to them individually. I recommend writing an email to the faculty members who are doing research that is interesting to you.
Finding a researcher
Not every researcher will post a job on the co-op portal, but many will have funding to hire students for the summer. Here are some links that list different researchers in the various departments who hire students:
You should send a brief note where you ask to set up an informational interview with a researcher or a senior lab member to discuss summer opportunities in the lab.
In this email, say what it is about the projects that this lab is working on that are compelling you to reach out. Let them know your GPA and whether you are NSERC-USRA eligible. Don’t attach a resume or transcript yet, but be prepared to provide this information at the meeting.
You may need to be persistent and send the message twice – I would recommend waiting a week before reaching out a second time.
There are more non-bench careers in biotech beyond sales and marketing than many people realize.
Biospace published a list of 10 positions that don’t require any lab work. These include:
Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Clinical Research Associate
Technical Writer
Business Development Manager
Medical Science Liaison
Project Manager
Business Systems Analyst
Quality Assurance Specialist
Medical Affairs Manager
Medical Sales Representative
You may find BioPharmGuy‘s historical list of 10,000 entry level biotech jobs to be helpful in understanding what types of jobs are out there to start your career and what qualifications are needed. Beware – it is one huge page meant to be perused on a big screen!
Searching for a co-op job can be a long and frustrating process; especially for those looking for their first co-op. With little relevant work experience, it can be hard to stand out from the pack.
I have found during my job searches, the key to success is perseverance and being open-minded to all opportunities that could help you grow personally and professionally!
My first co-op job search consisted of applying to 20+ jobs before landing my first interview. I mean it when I tell you that it took everything I had to keep writing cover letters on top of regular school work and other life commitments. Sending off application after application is a gruelling process and the lack of response from many companies, even to notify of rejection, makes it hard to stay motivated.
For those looking for their first co-op, my biggest piece of advice is to keep sending off those applications, seek help to improve your application, and stay open to any opportunity that could benefit you in the future. While searching for my first co-op, I applied for many jobs in diverse areas. If you are anything like me, I had no idea what types of jobs were available for me as a student getting a degree in science.
This is a perfect opportunity to see what is out there! I have always been interested in the science of human health, so I started out applying for jobs in biotech labs and research institutes. I quickly realized that these positions require much more experience than I had at the time by the lack of responses I was receiving. I decided to broaden my scope. I started applying for jobs in the lab or field that would provide me with the basic techniques and knowledge required to obtain positions in the future that aligned closer to my career goals.
I got my first job as a microbial ecology research student working at Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada in Saskatchewan. This 8-month work term provided me with extremely valuable fundamental lab and field skills on top of a thorough understanding of how scientific research works.
While I was hesitant to move to a completely new city to work in a field that did not initially align with what I thought my interests were, I found the research extremely fulfilling and the lab techniques I learned put me at an advantage when I came back to UVic labs.
Most importantly, by taking a risk and applying to a job completely outside my interests at the time, I gained the valuable experience needed to find my next co-op working as a Research Assistant in immunobiology at the University of Calgary. The research I completed here was much closer to what I see myself pursuing in my future career and it was only possible because of what I learned working in agricultural science during my first co-op.
I will be starting grad school at the University of Calgary all because of the small but significant steps each co-op term helped me climb to build my knowledge and skills.
Overall, I know searching for a co-op can be a frustrating process, but with perseverance and an open mind, the interviews and offers will follow! It only takes one and then it gets a lot easier from there!
Guest writer: Elliott van der Wee, Science Co-op Peer Mentor and Biology Co-op Student
Searching for Co-op jobs is hard – especially for your first placement. Writing an application that will get you an interview is even harder.
DON’T WORRY! You can reach out for help in a few ways you might not be aware of.
Your Coordinator
You may not be fully aware of what your Co-op coordinator can do for you. You may feel that you could use some help if you are struggling to get interviews with employers. Your coordinator can help you with your application!
Try reaching out with question or feedback on your cover letter and resume before submitting an application. Your coordinator has a lot of experience on what can be done to improve your application to give you the best chance of getting an interview.
Have an interview? Reach out to your coordinator again for help preparing for your interview. Your coordinator may have knowledge or resources about your employer that can help you prepare.
Co-op Peer Mentors
Undergraduate students with Co-op experience (your co-op peer mentors) are another tool to help you with applications and prepare for interviews. They know some of the struggles you are facing as you look for Co-op placements and offer a more accessible means to communicate with someone (in the form of a peer, rather than your coordinator) about your Co-op experience.
You can send them drafts of your cover letters and resumes for feedback and questions. Students often have a better chance of being a successful candidate after implementing feedback from these resources. Reach out to them at scicoopmentor@uvic.ca.
Working as an undergraduate in a lab on campus will look good on your resume, and will help you connect core concepts across classes and departments. The process of getting into a lab can feel like an intimidating, unknown goal. It’s broken down here into steps that you can work on over the course of your term.
Step 1: Figure Out What You Like
It’s crucial that you have an idea of type of research you want to do. Try to get an idea of what piques your interest. Go to guest lectures on campus, read Nature, watch TED Talks, read science books on the Amazon best seller list; whatever. The point is to be like a sponge: absorb as much as you can and you’ll naturally find yourself drawn to certain subjects.
Step 2: Find Some People Who Like it Too
UVic has clubs for each scientific major. Getting involved with these groups will allow you to learn more about your interests and meet students who are already working in a lab and who know if any labs on campus are hiring. Surrounding yourself with people who are interested what you’re interested in will keep you excited and in the know about new research in the field. You may also be able to find out which faculty member is the clubs “sponsor” or “advisor”, which brings us to step 3.
Step 3: Find a Professor Who’s Doing Something Related to Your Interest
You probably won’t be able to find a professor who’s researching exactly what you’re interested in. However, that isn’t your goal. Your goal is to find a research lab where you can learn and begin to understand common techniques and theories in your field of interest. You may want to work in a very specific field of genetic engineering, but any lab where you have to figure out how to use restriction enzymes is going to be incredibly helpful to you.
Getting any hands-on experience and truly grounding your understanding of the basics is what’s going to help you get a solid start.
UVic Science departments have individual pages for each professor that describes the type of research they do, the classes they teach, and provide links to recently published papers by the professor. Read these pages. These will be immensely helpful in quickly figuring out whom you do and don’t want to contact.
Step 4: Get a Hold of a Few Professors and See if They Have Lab Space
Once you’ve chosen a few professors, send them an email expressing interest in “sitting down and talking” to give them the impression that you want to meet with them in person – say whatever feels natural to you.
Chances are, you aren’t going to hear back after the first email, but don’t be discouraged! You know how busy your semester is? Now multiply that by responsibilities like applying for research funding, having a family, supervising grad students, and planning lectures and you’ll understand why your email may slip through the cracks. So email them again! And if they don’t respond to that, call and leave a brief voice mail. You want to be tactful, but don’t give up after one email. Don’t be afraid to persist until you get an explicit answer as to whether or not they’re willing to talk.
Depending on your field, there’s always a newsletter that your can add your email address to. Industry newsletters usually have a section for job postings. Even if you don’t see a job that you think you’re qualified for, this is a great way to see who’s hiring.
