Graduate Research Assistant
Pros
Access to collaboration with world-leaders in oncology and cancer research. Access to a large and wonderful library through which any article or book can be found.
Cons
Parking is terrible and very expensive! Living in an apartment in the near vicinity is extremely expensive. Most people, therefore, have to live afar and commute. The traffic is a kiler! There is a lack of organization and taking care of employees' vital needs while there is a barrage of unclear requests and demands on employees to complete. Health insurance is very expensive and mandatory, which seems to me, unconstitutional! Pay is very low. Some of the faculty is very old and they refuse to retire, blocking the advancement of other younger faculty. The goals and targets for research or projects are very unclear. There is no intercommunication between top management and researchers. Research assistants are usually kept out of the loop until the last minute and a barrage of issues are given them for implementation at the last minute, which threatens and hinders completion of projects on time.