Did you know that you can work during your studies in Finland? The Finnish government allows students to work up to 30 hours per week and no work hour restrictions during summer breaks. Infact there are no restrictions for students who work on a job that falls under their study domain.
Among the many students jobs available for foreign students is working Research assistant. Finnish Universities are research based universities. This means that universities receive funds from Businesses, government and international organizations such as the European Union to work on different research projects, to innovate, test, and explore new ideas that benefit both the University and the project funders.
For any project, different professionals at different levels are involved. These include the following
- University Professors – These oversee the running of the project
- Doctoral Students – Doctoral students are fully paid and earn credits towards their Doctoral Programme. They are recruited specially for the project they work on as doctoral Students.
- Full time researchers – These are full time employed graduates or professionals who are fully paid for their work. They have experience on the project their are working on
- Research Assistants – These are usually undergraduate or masters Students who wok on the project on a part-time basis. They divide their time between their studies and project work
Research Assistants
- They work part time, usually 4 hours a day. However, after earning enough credit units, they can switch to full time.
- They work can earn them up to 15 credits that go towards their studies (Total Credit load is usually 120 minimum for a Master’s student)
- They earn a decent salary of up tp 1000 Euros a month
- They are usually able to do their Masters thesis with the research group they are working with.
- May transition to full time researchers or Doctoral Students at the end of their studies (If the project is still running, or if the department has other projects that need hiring)
- Can use your job to extend your residence permit
How to apply as a research assistant
Research Assistants are usually full time Bachelor’s or Master’s Students Enrolled in a degree programme at a Finnish University. As a Student, you may apply for the job of a Research Assistant either at your University or at any other University in Finland.
The Job is usually within your study domain, so you must have some little experience and knowledge skills in order to be employed, however, sometimes the department is just looking for someone who is willing to learn and dedicate time to work on the project.
Departments which host these research projects will usually post job openings on their department website. they will specify the skills and experience required for each post. Your task is to apply for the research assistant post that fits your profile.
Research Assistant at Tampere University
Tampere University will post open position on their intranet. To access these job openings, you must have access to the university intranet, meaning you must be a student already.
The University will also send this job openings in this daily intranet news summary email. This newsletter like email goes out everyday to all students and university staff. All current job openings will be included in this email.
Students can also visit department or Research Lab website directly to see ongoing projects and open positions. Some departments will post open positions directly on their department website.
If you are ambitious enough, you may also directly contact project supervisors for information regarding any hiring for research assistants. Again, visit your department of interest and look at the ongoing projects. You will get contact information of responsible persons under each project.
You may also visit the university open positions webpage to see all the available openings and look for research assistant posts
Case Examples
- Research Lab: FAST LAB Tampere University
- University Open positions: Alto University Open Positions
- University Open positions : Tampere University Open Positions
What to do as an applicant
- Read the daily Intranet News Summary and look out for open positions
- Visit the Open positions webpage frequently for any new openings
- Contact project supervisors from different Labs and express your interest in working with them.
- Attend University Job fairs and Research and Lab career events
