Ornithologyexchange
Job Overview
The Hobson Lab at the University of Cincinnati is recruiting 1–3 contractors to serve as field assistants, referred to as "postbacs," on our Monk Parakeet sociality and cognition project. Postbacs are individuals who have completed their undergraduate degree but have not yet started graduate school. The role involves collecting data, running social experiments with captive parakeets in large outdoor flight pens, providing animal care, and receiving training in professional development skills such as computational analyses in R, scientific writing, grant proposal development, and conference presentation. This position supports high‑quality data collection and serves to launch postbacs into future successful careers.
Dates
Data is collected year‑round. Initial positions are for six months, with potential extensions up to twelve months. Most new positions for this announcement will start in August–September 2025. The lab will continue recruiting in future.
Duties
Animal care, including catching and handling captive parakeets. Social observation and data collection on social interactions. Running social experiments. Managing outdoor weather conditions and ensuring safety in outdoor flight pens. Working independently and as part of a team under lab supervision.
Qualifications
Interest in social interactions and sociological research questions. Keen observational skills and patience for long periods of quiet, attentive observation. Ability to differentiate between color markings on birds (red, green, blue, etc.). Experience with animal handling, especially birds, is desired but can be trained. Willingness to provide animal care for the captive population; previous animal care experience is a plus. Completion of an online CITI training course prior to starting work, with documentation of completion. U.S. citizenship is required due to university regulations.
Location
Texas
Compensation
Shared on‑site housing for crew members. Monthly stipend of $1,000 to start. Travel support up to $500 for travel to the field site.
Application
Applicants should be prepared to answer questions about their interest in the project and relevant experiences, upload a current CV in PDF format, and provide the names of 2–3 references who will be contacted for finalists. Highly qualified candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis.
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The Hobson Lab at the University of Cincinnati is recruiting 1–3 contractors to serve as field assistants, referred to as "postbacs," on our Monk Parakeet sociality and cognition project. Postbacs are individuals who have completed their undergraduate degree but have not yet started graduate school. The role involves collecting data, running social experiments with captive parakeets in large outdoor flight pens, providing animal care, and receiving training in professional development skills such as computational analyses in R, scientific writing, grant proposal development, and conference presentation. This position supports high‑quality data collection and serves to launch postbacs into future successful careers.
Dates
Data is collected year‑round. Initial positions are for six months, with potential extensions up to twelve months. Most new positions for this announcement will start in August–September 2025. The lab will continue recruiting in future.
Duties
Animal care, including catching and handling captive parakeets. Social observation and data collection on social interactions. Running social experiments. Managing outdoor weather conditions and ensuring safety in outdoor flight pens. Working independently and as part of a team under lab supervision.
Qualifications
Interest in social interactions and sociological research questions. Keen observational skills and patience for long periods of quiet, attentive observation. Ability to differentiate between color markings on birds (red, green, blue, etc.). Experience with animal handling, especially birds, is desired but can be trained. Willingness to provide animal care for the captive population; previous animal care experience is a plus. Completion of an online CITI training course prior to starting work, with documentation of completion. U.S. citizenship is required due to university regulations.
Location
Texas
Compensation
Shared on‑site housing for crew members. Monthly stipend of $1,000 to start. Travel support up to $500 for travel to the field site.
Application
Applicants should be prepared to answer questions about their interest in the project and relevant experiences, upload a current CV in PDF format, and provide the names of 2–3 references who will be contacted for finalists. Highly qualified candidates will be contacted on a rolling basis.
#J-18808-Ljbffr