Summer Research Pay and Expectations
It is our intention to give each UST summer research student the opportunity to earn the full summer stipend that is set aside for him or her. That amount will be $3,750 per student this summer (before taxes). With a few exceptions, each student will be able to earn the same amount regardless of whether the source of the money is a Young Scholar award, work study, an industrial benefactor or another outside agency. In the best circumstances this would be paid to you as a stipend, a grant given to you in order to help you with your expenses of the summer and to contribute to your tuition for the next school year. The summer research opportunity is first and foremost an educational experience for you. The learning and growing that you do as a scientist will be much more valuable than anything you could do financially for yourself this summer. We hope that you will take full advantage of that opportunity and appreciate that you benefit in proportion to the effort that you put into your project.
However, the way that you will be paid seems to be inconsistent with this idea of a scholarship or professional stipend. The pay schedule is set up on an hourly basis. Since the University handles the money, administrative policies impose certain rules on how all student workers are paid during the summer. This is unfortunate since it seems to suggest that a research assistantship is the type of position in which a person punches a clock and is rewarded by hourly wages. We feel that notion is contrary to the spirit and purpose of the enterprise. When there is an important experiment to be done a good scientist does not postpone it just because it might run a few minutes beyond "quitting time". We think of you as much more than hired labor. You are not our "go-fers", but rather our junior colleagues. As faculty we are extremely interested in the science that we do here, but your development as scientists is equally important to us. So, although the University has this bookkeeping process that gives the appearance that you are hired help, that is not our attitude toward you at all.
Where does this leave you? This seems to put you in a funny position. On the one hand we are asking you to immerse yourself in your project without concern for the clock and on the other hand the University wants you to turn in time sheets for the hours you work. It is an apparent contradiction like the dual nature of light that we are all just going to have to live with. Yet, there is a question of fairness and accountability that still remains. How much time should you be expected to work and how do you count your time for the purpose of getting paid? Let's try to clarify what is expected of you with regard to some specific issues.
Daily starting and quitting times and lunch. Most people start at 9:00 am and leave at 5:30 pm. An hour for lunch is reasonable. Although this means that you are physically on the job for 7 and 1/2 hours rather than 8, record 8 hours of work on your time sheet.
Vacation and total days of work. We expect that you will be working in the lab or library for the equivalent of 11-12 work weeks. If you want to take a vacation in the middle of that time, that usually can be arranged. Talk to your advisor a few weeks in advance to make sure that the timing does not cause a problem and schedule the days that you will work instead.
Personal absences. As much as possible keep a factual record of the time on your time sheet. If you take off some time for personal reasons, talk to your research advisor about it. If you are gone for an hour for a dental appointment, for example, that isn't a problem. He or she will probably tell you to count it as time on the job. If you need half a day to get your car repaired, work a little longer at the end of the summer or put in a few extra hours at another time to make up for it. But, in any case let your advisor know what you are doing so there is never any question that you are doing what is expected of you. Be somewhat cautious about how you record it on your time sheets. We cannot submit time cards showing over-time; nor can we pay you more than the money allotted for the summer. If you have any questions, talk to your advisor.
Memorial Day, July 4th, and other National Holidays. The labs will be closed these days. The faculty will probably be home with families and you probably won't want to work those days either. If a national holiday falls within weeks that you are working, do not count it toward the 60 days of work.
Homework. Occasionally you will be taking your notebook home to write up results, to plan for the next day's work, or to do some calculations. There are also times that you will be reading books, manuals or journal articles at home. Do not count that time as officially "on the job". That is part of being a professional scientist. It may be true that a detailed accounting of hours would make your hourly rate look rather puny, but you are getting experience that is really invaluable.
Final Report and Poster. Each student will prepare a written report with help from their advisor summarizing the results of the summer's work. The money associated with the final pay period of the summer will not be released until this report is completed to the advisor's satisfaction. Students will also prepare a poster summarizing their work. The poster session is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, August 16.
Continuing Your Research. Student researchers are expected to continue their work during the academic year following the summer. Research is most effective when practiced continuously during the calendar year, as opposed to a concentrated summer of work followed by nine months of inactivity. In fact, some projects can only be performed successfully if carried out on a regular schedule 12 months per year. Many projects will not be complete at the end of the summer, thus extending the project into the school year provides the opportunity to bring your project to its proper conclusion. This will also help you prepare your work for presentation to an external audience such as the National Conference on Undergraduate Research or American Chemical Society. Your time commitment during the academic year may involve registration in a chemistry research course, or simply meeting with your advisor weekly to collect additional data and discuss results as your schedule allows. You and your advisor can discuss this during the summer.
Research credit. At least two credits of research (CHEM 491) are required for any student who wants to earn the ACS certified BS chemistry degree. A summer research experience satisfies that requirement.
