Hi all,
I'm 33, and I've been a masters-level clinician for 9 years, mostly in a research-focused role, especially currently. I did split research/clinical work for 5 years after my master's, but my role for the past 4 years has been primarily research-based, although I still do clinical supervision of the master's students who are doing their field work at our site (we have a decent number every semester). I've been wanting to go back for a PhD in clinical/counseling psych, and I'd like some input from you fine, anonymous folks (I've also reached out to mentors IRL and they are supportive, though divided on whether the cost/benefit would be worth it). Between my job and some occasional adjuncting, I make around $75k per year now, with decent benefits, Ideally, I'd love to work for a VA (clinical or clinical/research) or in a TT faculty role, though probably not at an R1.
Stats/experience for context:
GPA: 3.75-ish UG, 3.9+ Grad
GRE: Over a decade old now, so would have to re-take but I scored a 1250 on the old GRE, higher in quant
Clinical experience: In addition to some generic OP therapy fieldwork and some ASD-focused fieldwork in grad school, I did 5 years of ,40 FTE clinical work in the context of an academic-affiliated clinic, mostly focused around trauma, mood disorders, and ASD (we managed to get a big ASD-related contract, so I did a lot of work with that, as I had experience from grad school with that population). I've supervised master's fieldwork students for the past 4 years after that, with only a handful of semesters "off."
Research/publications: 30 peer-reviewed publications, including 10 as first-author--luckily, the PIs here are very supportive and have allowed me to take the lead on some analyses, writing, and systematic reviews, so I've netted some nice FA pubs and pubs in general. Two of those pubs have also won awards, and the pubs are well-cited. Around 20-30 posters/conference presentations. Named as personnel in a couple of large federal grants, including one as co-I. Named as co-PI on a foundation grant and as PI on another small foundation grant. Also have been named in some proposals that were unfunded--not sure if that's worth mentioning?
Teaching: I've adjuncted for some masters-level courses pretty regularly since my master's program and a couple of scattered UG courses.
Other: I've done a fair bit of ad hoc reviewing for legit journals and some service on institutional committees.
I'm open geographically as long as the program us funded and the fit is good. My interests are in psychosocial aspects of chronic health conditions and eating disorders (though my publications align strongly with the former, so I may not apply to any ED-focused PIs. Working on an ED-focused MS now that I will hopefully submit this summer as first author). At this point, I'm really deciding if the costs/benefits of applying (and retaking the GRE, ugh) make sense at my age, though any and all feedback is welcome!
Thanks!
I'm 33, and I've been a masters-level clinician for 9 years, mostly in a research-focused role, especially currently. I did split research/clinical work for 5 years after my master's, but my role for the past 4 years has been primarily research-based, although I still do clinical supervision of the master's students who are doing their field work at our site (we have a decent number every semester). I've been wanting to go back for a PhD in clinical/counseling psych, and I'd like some input from you fine, anonymous folks (I've also reached out to mentors IRL and they are supportive, though divided on whether the cost/benefit would be worth it). Between my job and some occasional adjuncting, I make around $75k per year now, with decent benefits, Ideally, I'd love to work for a VA (clinical or clinical/research) or in a TT faculty role, though probably not at an R1.
Stats/experience for context:
GPA: 3.75-ish UG, 3.9+ Grad
GRE: Over a decade old now, so would have to re-take but I scored a 1250 on the old GRE, higher in quant
Clinical experience: In addition to some generic OP therapy fieldwork and some ASD-focused fieldwork in grad school, I did 5 years of ,40 FTE clinical work in the context of an academic-affiliated clinic, mostly focused around trauma, mood disorders, and ASD (we managed to get a big ASD-related contract, so I did a lot of work with that, as I had experience from grad school with that population). I've supervised master's fieldwork students for the past 4 years after that, with only a handful of semesters "off."
Research/publications: 30 peer-reviewed publications, including 10 as first-author--luckily, the PIs here are very supportive and have allowed me to take the lead on some analyses, writing, and systematic reviews, so I've netted some nice FA pubs and pubs in general. Two of those pubs have also won awards, and the pubs are well-cited. Around 20-30 posters/conference presentations. Named as personnel in a couple of large federal grants, including one as co-I. Named as co-PI on a foundation grant and as PI on another small foundation grant. Also have been named in some proposals that were unfunded--not sure if that's worth mentioning?
Teaching: I've adjuncted for some masters-level courses pretty regularly since my master's program and a couple of scattered UG courses.
Other: I've done a fair bit of ad hoc reviewing for legit journals and some service on institutional committees.
I'm open geographically as long as the program us funded and the fit is good. My interests are in psychosocial aspects of chronic health conditions and eating disorders (though my publications align strongly with the former, so I may not apply to any ED-focused PIs. Working on an ED-focused MS now that I will hopefully submit this summer as first author). At this point, I'm really deciding if the costs/benefits of applying (and retaking the GRE, ugh) make sense at my age, though any and all feedback is welcome!
Thanks!