It really depends on the lab! It depends on the kind of research the lab does, the size of the lab, the current projects in the lab that you can assist with, the lab’s capacity to train you, but also, what your goals are! While some positions are more fixed, research can be quite flexible and projects can change or add new aspects tasks.
Typically, you don’t start with your own project, but instead get trained while assisting other lab members. In the beginning, you will likely start with reading papers, shadowing other lab members, going over tutorials, completing online training (e.g., ethics training to work with human subjects), equipment safety training, etc.
After on boarding, you may assist lab members with participant recruitment, subject handling, or data collection. Some more examples: help clean or organize or manage data, run (part of the) data analysis, or make stimuli for the experiment.
You may also be asked to help with more logistical aspects of running a lab, such as helping with setting up or updating the lab website or lab wiki.
Once you’ve found your footing and things are going well, you can ask if there is room for more responsibilities and/or your own (side) project. They may say no, but if you don’t ask you certainly won’t get it!
If you are thinking about doing an honors thesis, let your PI know early on! This allows them to plan for it and find ways for you to learn skills that that will be useful for your thesis.
Before you consider applying to labs, look at your calendar. Do you have 10 hours a week that you can devote to something else? Are your grades good and will they not suffer when you devote 10 hours to something else? If the answers are yes to both, that’s great! If you are not sure or say no, then please be honest with yourself if this is the right time. Don’t overcommit! It will stress you out and it may frustrate the PI or the lab member you work with because you are chasing deadlines/under deliver.
That depends on the position! It can be hourly, part time, or full time. Typically, an hourly research position is at least 5 hours/week but typically more towards 10 hours/week. A part time position will be 2-3 days, and a full time position will be (you guess it) 5 days.
Pro Tip! When you are invited to discuss more about the position, one think you want to ask before committing is whether you are expect to work evenings, early mornings, or weekends. (And decide if that works for you or not.)
I don’t think there are strict rules, but people typically expect you work for at least several months or one semester. Ideally, you would stay longer. When you join a lab as a research assistant or volunteer, the PI and their lab will invest their time and resources in you and learning you things. It will take time for you to learn new skills, so be patient! Especially technical skills take time to learn.
If you really don’t like it and are unhappy, then of course it’s ok to leave the lab. Just be aware that leaving (or ghosting) the PI/lab after a month, looks unprofessional and makes the PI feel like you wasted their time and efforts. (see also Leaving the lab gracefully).
For your mentor/supervisor to write a good reference letter, they need to have enough experience working with you and give concrete examples of what you did during the time in the lab. If you work 10 hrs/week, I suggest you work at least 1 semester (or 1 full time summer) in the lab before asking for a reference letter. But ideally, you’ve spend at least a year or more time in the lab.
You typically start as a volunteer, working in this position for a semester. If things go well and you like the work and you want to stay, then let your PI know! You can then also ask if you can transition to a paid position, for example, apply for the RAY program to get paid hourly or apply for a scholarship.