Help! Best choice for getting a "foot in the door"?

[simplybaroque]

Long story short: I have a pretty crappy application package, so I am taking 3 years to work full-time while also getting a master's in counseling. My intended goal is a PhD in Counseling or Clinical Psychology (in that order of preference). I plan to get involved in research at my master's degree institution.

However, for my full-time job (because hey, a master's degree is expensive) I also want to work in something related to mental health and psychology. Since it's nigh impossible to actually do psychologist-related stuff without some sort of official doctoral internship or licensure, which of the following options (these are actual positions I've found and am applying to) would look best as a "get a foot in the door" attempt?

1. Mental health technician. I know it's more of a psychiatric nurse position, but the direct exposure to mentally ill patients should prove some interest, right?
2. Research coordinator at a non-psych lab (probably more neuro, biology, wet lab stuff...)
3. Residential counselor or milieu therapist assistant - basically working at rehab-type centers to coordinate group therapy.
4. Administrative assistant at a psychiatric hospital.

Help? Too many options, not enough guidance from those around me

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[Chyby]

For the Clinical Psych programs, don't they want you to have research potential?

If you chose the administrative assistant position how are you going to achieve the requirement of research potential? Or maybe even publish a paper or two?

 

[QAsPsych]

I believe the original poster will get his research via the master's program, is what he is saying. The job is to pay his way through but also hopefully boost his chances. (OP may be female, apologies if so)

Assuming you aren't interested in doing brain/bio stuff, OP (I am making that assumption because you expressed counseling as a preference over clinical), I would probably take option 1 which might give you some interesting and varied relevant experience. If you are interested in the brain/bio side, then option 2 is probably your best bet. Option 3 is a good choice if you are especially interested in research on therapy. I would only take option 4 if it paid double your next best option (which it probably won't). YMMV, one older graduate student's opinion, void where prohibited, etc.

 

[Chyby]

I got the part where he or she will get some research experience from the master's institution. That was not actually my question.

Why don't you make a list with pros and cons related to money, personal interests, work schedule, opportunities, free time to do your research outside the job, their flexibility to your academic needs.

I am on the same position as you, but I am an international future applicant. Thank Saint Lezak that in my country I could get licence to practice under supervision after Bachelor's Degree so now I volunteer at neurosurgery ward taking care of patients, doing lots of research to get published work, go to class and in the afternoon I go to an administrative type, crappy and stressful job I don't like at a Clinical Research Organization. It doesn't give me a boost to the application because I am not involved in research but it gives me lots of money to survive. So money was the first thing I've looked at. And most of the time, for me, doing a job that I hate is frustrating and exhausting. I have many opportunities to work 8 hours shifts as a ABA tutor but they pay me half the salary I have at my current 4 h part time job. I even had to drop out a masters program and go to another one because I couldn't attend all classes because I had to go to work and my professors don't give a **** if their students have to work to survive. I just couldn't change my work schedule absolutely everyday to be able to attend. In my country we usually have masters' classes scheduled in the evening, starting from 5-6 PM. That is everywhere except that program I've tried to attend.

If you want a top considering only the clinical experience you will get:

1. Mental health technician: it's probably the one that will get you exposed to lots of psychopathology. No matter how many books you read, you will learn the most when you will se the patient. Keep in mind that you will have access to their charts, consult notes, maybe psychological evaluations, medical decisions. Will you be present during consults? Shadowing doctors and other mental health professionals helped me a lot at the beginning of my practice. I've learned a lot starting from bedside manners, more medical knowledge, how to approach the patient, diagnosis, how to communicate bad medical news, etc
2. Residential counselor or milieu therapist assistant: it gives you some exposure.
3. Research coordinator at a non-psych lab: it will be a boost to research skills in general but not directly related to psych.
4. Administrative assistant: lots of paperwork

 

[simplybaroque]

Thanks for the feedback! I've been in an admin capacity (worked in the finance and marketing world for the past 4 years) so the admin assistant job is kind of a fallback - if I need to money, it's easy to acquire. I was actually leaning towards the mental health tech job myself, so it's good to see that even though it's more of a direct care/nursing job, it still looks favorable to PhD programs. And yes, I'm more interested in the therapy side than the neuro/bio/genetics stuff. End goal is to work as a psychologist in a university (or something with not-severely-MI adolescents), and I hear they favour Counseling over Clinical

 

[deleted343839]

End goal is to work as a psychologist in a university (or something with not-severely-MI adolescents), and I hear they favour Counseling over Clinical

Do you mean in a university counseling center? If you look at the training of counseling center staff you may be surprised at how many clinical PhDs you find. However, it is true that counseling centers favor job applicants with practicum and internship experience at college counseling centers. You can get that as a clinical or counseling psychology student (though making sure that a given program offers sufficient opportunities to do this is key).

Some counseling master's programs have practicum placements at university counseling centers. That would be great experience.