A graduate research assistant is a graduate student with good records hired by the university professor. These students are hired for conducting part-time research on all the academic projects that are related to the student's thesis research. Rarely, a senior undergraduate student will be provided with research assistantship. These graduate research students need to have a bachelor's degree, usually this should be related to the research topic of hiring professor.
These research assistants need to have extremely good spoken and written communication skills; they should be able to demonstrate excellent time management skills for working on independent basis, as well as under a supervisor. Sometimes, they will have to work on and contribute on collaborative research groups. Depending on the kind of field study, a professor will expect the research assistants to help in analyzing, collecting and compiling of research materials on different research topics and editing the manuscripts before publication.
Sometimes graduate research assistants will have to perform clerical work, such as photocopying articles, organizing files, stacking the library and typing notes. These assistants will discuss the time-frame of their employment beforehand with the department or professors who have requested for assistance. The duration of their employment will depend on the deadline of the project. However, the start and end date will be the same as the term start and end date of the university.
This work not only gives the students extra income but also some professional experience for their future career. If good work is done by the assistants, then the university will offer them a waiver in their fees and get their work published. If you are a graduate and looking for a part-time job, then this will be the ideal profession for you. You can check the possibility of this job at your university. However, always remember that whenever you apply for a job anywhere, you will have to write a cover letter. If you have no idea about how you need to draft a cover letter, then here is an example graduate research assistant cover letter that will help you ahead.
Your Contact Information
Ann Shapiro
2142 Columbia Road
Golden, CO80401
Mobile: 303-215-5637
E-mail id: s.ann@example.com
Employer Contact Information
Mr. Bobby Tyree
Pennsylvania University
1152 Stiles Street
Bethel Park, PA15102
Date:
Dear Mr. Tyree,
My experience with the Columbia University as a Graduate Research Assistant has prepared me properly for a better position as a research assistant that you have currently in your department. I am highly excited regarding this position, and I would request you to consider my resume for this opening.
At present, I am studying different concepts in the department of Chemistry at Stevens College. My professor, Mr. Richard has recommended this contact to me and hence I am applying for this position. As per my professor, I have strong dedication towards this field, strong work ethics and extremely good performance only in this specific course and I would prove to be the best candidate, which I completely agree to. Moreover, I am hassle-free and very easy to work with, I have great enthusiasm to learn new things and I never consider any work as large or small.
I would appreciate it if you give me a chance to meet you in person, and discuss more about this job opening and the new possibilities that I will be bringing along with me. I will give you a call next week for a follow-up, but if you wish to contact me then you can give me at call at 303-215-5637 or e-mail me at s.ann@example.com. Thank you for giving me your time and going through my application.
Sincerely,
Ann Shapiro
Your Signature
Enclosure: Resume and Reference
This is how you can write your own cover letter, but make sure that you personalize it and not simply cut paste the same thing. Check your letter for grammatical mistakes and typos before sending. Good luck!