Job Advice!

[psychout129]

Hi All!

I am looking for some advice and am hoping some of you can help. I am graduating undergrad in a few weeks and have been looking for positions for the upcoming year to get some more experience before I apply to PsyD programs.

Here is my debate: 1 option is to be a volunteer research assistant in the psych dept of a reputable hospital. The research sounds interesting, and it sounds like there will be opportunities for presentations/publications. However, it is unpaid which is not ideal and only part time.

The 2nd option is a full-time position as a Behavioral Technician in a well-known child psych practice. The pay and benefits are great, and this is exactly the kind of place I would want to eventually work in long-term, however it is a fully clinical position with no research involved.

So now I am wondering: which position would look better for Grad school? I know PhD programs want to see a lot of research experience, but I have heard that PsyD programs don't care as much about that? I should also mention that I already have about 1.5 years of experience in a social psych lab, so it's not as if I have zero research under my belt.

Sorry for the long post! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[deleted343839]

I'm going to repeat an SDN mantra: don't limit yourself to applying exclusively to PsyD progams when there are many good PhD options for aspiring clinicians.

Now, with that out of the way, in general research experience is more valuable, and that's true even for PsyD programs (at least the reputable ones.. can't speak for the weaker programs). But of course you also need to have a way to put a roof over your head and food on the table. I wonder if the clinical job would allow you to flex a little (maybe work 30-35 hrs/week) so you can still get some volunteer research experience maybe one day per week?

 

[WisNeuro]

Now, with that out of the way, in general research experience is more valuable, and that's true even for PsyD programs (at least the reputable ones.. can't speak for the weaker programs).

I think most of the weaker Psyd programs only care about the level of federal student loans you can secure to line their pockets. Agree with MamaPHD here. Clinical work pre-grad school is of little incremental value. Most of it is fairly low level and does little to actually prepare someone for clinical work. The research work is much more valuable in terms of prepping your app and giving you a taste of grad school level work.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I would agree with MamaPhD in that the research position would look better to more programs, but folks will certainly understand your need to earn a living. And I would second the suggestion to see if you could somehow make both work.

The benefit to the paid position would be less about improving the competitiveness of your application directly, and more perhaps about allowing you to see a bit of what the real-world practice of psychology might look like day-to-day.

 

[undertoad]

If you can't find a paid research position, I would try to do both. I work full-time in behavioral support for adults with ID/DD and also volunteer in a couple of research labs at the university I attend. It's definitely a balancing act, and it requires some flexibility on the part of my employer (we're staffed 24/7, so I am able to work a mix of nights and mornings and start my "weekend" during the traditional work week). Sometimes it sucks - I don't have any real days off, and I put in a lot of late nights - but the end goal is worth it. If you can make a similar arrangement, I think that might work well for you, especially since it would exhibit capabilities in both the research and clinical domains.

 

[psychout129]

All great advice, thank you so much! I agree that if I can somehow do both the clinical and research work that would be the best. The problem is I wouldn't be able to do this particular research position as they require a 20 hr/wk commitment and a lot of it takes place in the mornings when I would be working. I could theoretically continue volunteering at the social psych lab that I am already at. The only reason I was not super thrilled about that idea was because I was feeling sort of unproductive at that lab-- my job was basically just to run the studies with no opportunity for presentations or publications. So do you still think it's worth it to continue at that lab just to show how much time I've spent doing research, or is there no point of a research position that won't have much to show for it?

 

[deleted343839]

I think it's still worth a try to negotiate a bit. If you can put in 15 hrs/week at the psych lab and 30/week at the clinical job, wouldn't that be a good outcome? All they can do is tell you no. If that doesn't work out, perhaps you could approach the PI in your current lab and see if there might be an opportunity to step up your role there?

I know it can feel awkward to negotiate, but the vast majority of opportunities that have come my way (including my current job) were the direct result of sticking my neck out somehow.

 

[psychout129]

I think it's still worth a try to negotiate a bit. If you can put in 15 hrs/week at the psych lab and 30/week at the clinical job, wouldn't that be a good outcome? All they can do is tell you no. If that doesn't work out, perhaps you could approach the PI in your current lab and see if there might be an opportunity to step up your role there?

I know it can feel awkward to negotiate, but the vast majority of opportunities that have come my way (including my current job) were the direct result of sticking my neck out somehow.

You are right. I guess I will have to learn to be a little more assertive

 

[Indiana_Jane]

I worked full-time and volunteered in a lab after undergrad (2 years) and it paid off immensely! It's definitely a juggling act, but it is worth it in the end. I struggled at first with working less because I felt like I needed to work more (and make money!) but ultimately the research experience was worth more because it helped me secure a spot in a PhD program. I also applied PsyD and waived my acceptance during my first year post-bacc. I would encourage you to really investigate the differences between the programs - they are huge! There are several funded, reputable PsyD programs, but some report terrible outcomes & will cost you a fortune. I'm so glad I waited for the right program, even though I felt like I was behind other peers who knew what they wanted to do while in undergrad. Worth it to take your time, acquire experience, and plan well.


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[smalltownpsych]

Don't have anything to add other than to second all the above advice. See what you can negotiate for and try to make work. Research experience > clinical experience all day long at this point in the process. I went to a good PsyD program and the people with more research experience had an edge over those with "clinical" experience. The reality is that the types of clinical experience that we get before the doctoral practicums are minimally useful. I had none and thought I was behind since so many in my cohort had "worked in the field". Two months later as we discussed our practicum experiences is when I realized we were at the same exact point in our learning curve.

 

[psychout129]

Thank you everyone! I am definitely getting the message that I should keep on doing research Honestly, taking the clinical position wouldn't even be because I think that would look good for grad school, I've just volunteered at this place before and loved working there so getting a job there just seemed really perfect. But I am going to see what I can do about fitting some research into my schedule as well!

 

[deleted343839]

I think it's very normal to be eager about working in clinical roles. It's a win-win if you can do this in the context of research (eg, working as a research interviewer). I do think that if you haven't been exposed to working much with the general public it's a good idea to make sure you really want all that "face time." But that's more for personal decision-making than to impress an admissions committee.