Ive been graduated from college for almost 2 years now after getting a bachelors degree in psychology. I wanted to work for a bit to gain full time job experience and to get some money before pursuing more education, but it has left me on a tough position. Because of covid, i never really got close with professors nor did i participate in anything outside my coursework because lockdowns made it difficult and while doing undergrad i wasnt exactly sure of the opportunities i had or what i wanted to do. After having time to myself i realized i want to do research and want to gain some experience working in a lab (either volunteer or paid).

My issue is that im having trouble finding opportunities and maybe im searching wrong? Ive looked through job boards for lab assistant positions and couldnt find anything that was within my field (and all i could find wanted masters degree and/or years of experience), tried to email professors to be volunteer lab assistants and got no replies, so im wondering if theres anything online i could participate in or if theres some secret im unaware of.

Im aware im suffering from some horrible luck, but im hoping a little advice will carry me where i need to go! Is there any other opportunities i could search for? Maybe key words im not using? Other than job boards and trying to connect with professors, where else can i look?