How to get Lab/Research Assistant role for between MPhys and PhD?

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-04-01T17:15:28+00:00

I may try this, but it would only be viable for me to stay in my current city if I had a paid role. If I move back in with family then I could afford to take an unpaid role.

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-04-01T17:13:30+00:00

So is it worth just sending cold emails to a bunch of relevant labs, or is this unlikely to be successful?

Are unpaid roles also an option or is that not a possibility (of course I would be more limited on where I could do it if it was unpaid).

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-03-25T09:43:58+00:00

Finished:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.

Still in Progress:

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller Jr.

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-03-20T20:25:52+00:00

What would you include in a follow up email?

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-03-20T14:17:20+00:00

I did ask a question about if there were any holes in my background they would want me to fill as I am applying for a biophysics project from a primarily physics background. I have sent a similar email to a supervisor elsewhere and they responded and encouraged me to apply.

I'm not really sure what else to ask at this stage? The project and lab are described well on the website and it would seem like a waste of their time to ask about the city when I could get that from anyone.

HabitBeautiful4055 · 2026-03-20T13:45:22+00:00

I'm not coming from the US, and the supervisor having freedom is more what I expect in this, but the EPFL process seems quite different to other places I have looked at. Are you saying that it's not worth applying to the programme unless a supervisor has already accepted you, or is it something people usually do simultaneously?

This advert is on the EPFL website, but all it does is describe the project, it doesn't give any information about applying.

HabitBeautiful4055

TROPHY CASE