applying for PhD programs 5 years out of undergrad

[mrfox1]

---

Members don't see this ad.

hey all,

so, I graduated undergrad in 2008 with a psych major (3.7 major gpa, 3.5 overall gpa) with 2 semesters worth of research experience in school. However, I have been working in other industries since then. I am looking at trying to get back in the academia game and just doing some research to see if this is a possibility.

has anybody successfully done this with a profile similar to mine? if so, how did you go about it? I was thinking of taking some classes again as a nonmatric to get back into the swing of things, and then trying to get some more research experience as well. However, i'm not sure if this is a realistic possibility. Maybe the PhD ship has sailed for me? I don't know.

I should say that I don't think I want to be a researcher as a career. I am thinking of splitting my time between teaching (either at a CC or as an adjunct) and working as a clinician (whether at a PP or something else like the VA). I would normally consider doing a MSW instead, but it seems like I would not be able to teach undergraduate psychology courses if I were to go this route. Are their any other options I should consider, in case the PhD is not realistic?

thanks for your responses!

 

[ahpsych]

I think if you are set on a PhD, everyone will tell you that research experience is a must. Two semesters in school is probably not enough for a competitive program, especially since you are now so far removed from that. I think you'll have to demonstrate (through research, volunteering, personal statement, etc...) why you want to get back into the field. Perhaps even more than a new grad, you'll have to show that you understand it isn't all about wanting to help people, or even just a strong desire to teach. I got back into research after having a completely unrelated job, and while it was tough, I had a pretty specific research interest in college and wanted to continue pursuing that. You might have to do some volunteer work to get the experience that you need, as it can be hard to come by a paid RA position (plus I don't know that you are ready to quit your day job and work as a research assistant right now).

Did you keep any ties with professors in the psych department at your undergrad? Does your undergrad have a career center? I'd suggest trying those two avenues if you aren't sure where to get started. Or, if you live near a university, you can also use any connections that you might have there, or email professors whose interests are similar to yours and ask if they might be willing to take on a volunteer. Maybe there are some things that you can do on the weekends or after work, assuming that you are working right now. I think it may be a hard road, and you definitely want to examine why you want to do this, but I don't think your ship has sailed.

 

[fallen625]

I am trying to get back in the field as well after two years of unrelated experience. What I did was secure an RA position related to the field that I want to do research in, quit my full-time job, and I am volunteering close to the field I want to do research in. I am also working with my undergraduate thesis mentor to publish it. I am not sure if this will be successful - but this will be a good way to get started.

Obviously quitting your job now is risky. Ei - if you don't get into grad school, it might get hard to get back in the field and get stuck as an RA. I took the risk because I really really couldn't see myself doing anything else, but that is something to keep in mind. Maybe it would be good to go through these forums and realistically asses your chances. Another alternative is to volunteer as an RA for 10-12 hours a week (but this will reduce your chances of getting in). What were you doing these 5 years, btw (out of curiosity)?

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I would encourage you to read the currently active thread on salary before committing to a new career path. Your idea of PP combined with adjunct CC work can be a rough way to make a living. If you worked a "real job" all these years, it will be especially hard to get used to not having benefits (sick time, vacation time, retirement, health insurance).

Good luck,
Dr. E

 

[empathiosis]

I think you should just go ahead and apply to programs that interest you and with which you think you may be a good match. Carefully construct a good story about what you were doing and how what you have done led you to apply to doctoral programs and why now ...

I graduated with a BS in Psych in 1995, got a master's in another field a few years later and applied to doctoral programs in counseling psychology in 2007 and was admitted to one, a good program with full funding. I did not have a lot of research experience, in fact, I had almost none and I'm not sure what helped me get into my program. I did have a fairly high overall GPA (3.82) and high GPA in the major (3.75) but my GRE scores weren't that great (1280 total) and again, I had had minimal research experience, conducted more than a decade earlier AND I got into a pretty research intensive program.

So go ahead and go for it. Give it a try. Apply to a few programs that interest you. The worst thing that will happen is you won't get in and then you can ask for feedback and hopefully get in on your second (or third) try.

 

[mrfox1]

Thanks for all of your responses everybody. My undergrad does have a large career services department (it is the state university in the Northeast), but unfortunately I did not keep my psychology connections there. This is one reason why I was thinking about taking classes as a nonmatric in order to make those new connections, which can perhaps yield a research opportunity.

Unfortunately my research did not involve working with the Dept. Professor directly, but a postdoc instead. So i'm not sure how much weight that connection has.

Regarding my work history in the past 5 years, well it has been spotty to say the least. I have jumped around different jobs a-lot, mainly because I was not passionate about the industry and didn't envision myself basing my career in that field. This has it's positives and negatives. One negative (though kind of a positive if i go back to school) is that i haven't been earning that much money and I am still living a student-esque lifestyle. So going back for a PhD would not result in a massive downsizing of my living standards. On the other hand, this does make me seem like a flaky individual, which is obviously a negative for such an intense and long program like a PhD. So basically, I have to really prove to the admissions department that I am serious about this path. It will likely take 1-2 years of preparing, I think?

The things working in my favor is that i have an undergrad psych degree with a pretty good GPA at a university with lots of research opportunities. So the option of making new ties and getting involved in research is definitely possible for me. But their is still a-lot of work that needs to be done in order to enhance my reputation.

 

[roubs]

I was 4 years out of undergrad when I applied, I would recommend looking at the more balanced Ph.D. programs because they are likely to be more forgiving of a more modest research background and jumping around fields. (And you don't want a career as a researcher anyway?) I gained my psych experience in undergrad and just used my non-psych experience to highlight that I figured out what I did *not* want to do. Luckily I had remained in contact w/my undergrad connections because I always knew it was a possibility that I would go back to psych. If you worked with a post-doc several years ago I think they would still be a legitimate person to get a letter from.

 

[fallen625]

Roubs, out of curiosity - how did you address this in your personal statement? I am in a similar situation (psychology out of undergrad, unrelated job afters) and I am having a hard time addressing my years in finance in my SOP without sounding negative / unfocused.

 

[mrfox1]

Roubs, out of curiosity - how did you address this in your personal statement? I am in a similar situation (psychology out of undergrad, unrelated job afters) and I am having a hard time addressing my years in finance in my SOP without sounding negative / unfocused.

I know i haven't been through the process yet so take my words with a grain of salt, but perhaps you should just be honest. I mean, what has made you want to go back to psychology? For me, I have been volunteering at a crisis hotline recently, which has reignited my interest in the field.

I would think with cases like ours, they are looking for a passion in psychology. People often do career switches because they were unfulfilled before, so I think it's our responsibility to show why psychology will make us feel fulfilled and why it's a perfect fit for us as people and also why we would be a perfect fit for that program.

sorry for the rambling style post, but those are my (albeit, relatively inexperienced) thoughts on the matter.

 

[fallen625]

I know i haven't been through the process yet so take my words with a grain of salt, but perhaps you should just be honest. I mean, what has made you want to go back to psychology? For me, I have been volunteering at a crisis hotline recently, which has reignited my interest in the field.

I would think with cases like ours, they are looking for a passion in psychology. People often do career switches because they were unfulfilled before, so I think it's our responsibility to show why psychology will make us feel fulfilled and why it's a perfect fit for us as people and also why we would be a perfect fit for that program.

sorry for the rambling style post, but those are my (albeit, relatively inexperienced) thoughts on the matter.

Thanks! To be completely honest I have always wanted to do psychology but did finance b/c it paid well, and I was scared off to do psychology because everyone warned me about how hard it is. This is hard to put in a positive light though...

 

[PHD12]

Thanks! To be completely honest I have always wanted to do psychology but did finance b/c it paid well, and I was scared off to do psychology because everyone warned me about how hard it is. This is hard to put in a positive light though...

Adding to what Dr. E was saying, I know a couple of people who switched from the private sector (finance/law) into psychology. Some of them ended up going back to their earlier careers (including cont. to do legal work) because of how difficult it was to make any money in psychology. You have to be okay working long hours (60+ hour weeks) for 5-7 years of graduate school and then be comfortable with a post-doc salary of between 25k-45k and a starting salary of around 50-60K once you are licensed. You also have to be geographically flexible to succeed in this field (often moving for graduate school, internship, and possibly post-doc and then early career job). You will also jump through many hoops, including getting through the internship crisis. From what i've seen, its a huge adjustment for many people with previous careers and it is particularly difficult if you are not geographically flexible. Many folks will realize that psychology has more hassles than their previous careers (some will stay in the field and some will go back to what they were doing previously).

 

[fallen625]

Adding to what Dr. E was saying, I know a couple of people who switched from the private sector (finance/law) into psychology. Some of them ended up going back to their earlier careers (including cont. to do legal work) because of how difficult it was to make any money in psychology. You have to be okay working long hours (60+ hour weeks) for 5-7 years of graduate school and then be comfortable with a post-doc salary of between 25k-45k and a starting salary of around 50-60K once you are licensed. You also have to be geographically flexible to succeed in this field (often moving for graduate school, internship, and possibly post-doc and then early career job). You will also jump through many hoops, including getting through the internship crisis. From what i've seen, its a huge adjustment for many people with previous careers and it is particularly difficult if you are not geographically flexible. Many folks will realize that psychology has more hassles than their previous careers (some will stay in the field and some will go back to what they were doing previously).

Thanks for the heads up - these forums where helpful in realizing all of this when I was deciding whether to quit my job in banking. It is very nice to have finance to fall back on if necessary.

But with kids coming into the picture in a few months, it is also hard when both parents (my husband is still in finance - but unlike me, he did it because he loves the work) work investment banking jobs. To me the extra 40 hours a week (and doing enjoyable work) are worth the salary cut - at least in my current situation. I do realize that life changes and I might feel differently in 5-7 years when I finish graduate school, but I am past the point of figuring out whether psychology is worth it or not at this point in my life.

As far mr fox goes, I realize that it might be hard to make a lot of money without doing research - but I also don't know how much money he expects / needs from the job. Some people might need less money than others (ei - 50-60k would be good for us because we want to live in the south in the long term, have two incomes - this might be different for someone who wants to live in NYC and is the main provider for their family)

 

[mrfox1]

Hey,

thanks for your responses. I am actually leaning more towards school psychology if I go the psychology route. I know some programs have this as a PhD and some a Masters, so i'm trying to figure out which one is best for someone in my situation. I really enjoy working with special needs kids and teenagers, so school psych seemed the best option.