Relevant research experience or less relevant work ex?

[nuraV]

Background: I am international student in the US doing undergrad. However, due to my visa stipulations, I can only do unpaid volunteer type work for non-profits or other research oriented organizations. I was able to find some decent nonprofits that offer cs/aiml roles, but was wondering if this type of work ex was worth it to invest time in. My other options are to do research with profs that is potentially more relevant (like aiml+finance research for ex).
So, generally, would this type of relevant research in quantitative finance be worthwhile?

 

[MikeLawrence]

Is the research paid? How does it compare to the non-profit work?

Can you go back to your home country and get more relevant work experience?

 

[nuraV]

Is the research paid? How does it compare to the non-profit work?

Can you go back to your home country and get more relevant work experience?

the research is unpaid, and will likely be more relevant to quant-finance/aiml than the non-profit work, but my main concern is that admissions will view it unfavorably compared to traditional work exp. Also, going back to home country isn't feasible option, due to lack of major quant related options and expense.
Any other suggestions? Again, thank you for the help!

 

[fabiantum]

I would go for the research (I did the same), it should serve you better in the long run.

 

[nuraV]

I would go for the research (I did the same), it should serve you better in the long run.

would you say the prestige of the professor or the university matters, or just that I do relevant work? thanks for the help!

 

[fabiantum]

It could help a lot if the professor is known and you are working on something of great value.
But the relevant work should be sufficient if you learn from it. My research project was a GPU implementation of a model selection test for machine learning, and then later co-authorship on another statistical test.

 

[MikeLawrence]

Of Course the prestige of the professor and university matter.

It comes down to a judgement call. You know the situation better than us. Take the opportunity that seems to be the best. Research isn't bad, it's just that you have to be able to defend it in detail. If you can, and you like the project, go for it.