Clinical neuropsychology...Ph.D OR Psy.D

[ashleefish]

I want to become a neuropsychologist but I'm having trouble finding an answer to problem I am having. Do I go to school for a Ph.D or go to school for a Psy.D. I want to be in a hospital working with patients. I don't want to have a private practice or anything. I just don't know if I go to a regular graduate school or if going to medical school will give me more of an appeal because I will also learn about every other type of career in medicine. I just want to make sure I do the right thing.

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[erg923]

Well first of all, you CAN'T be a neuropsycholgist by going to medical school. To be a clincial neuropsychologist requires one to have a doctorate in clincial or counseling psychology (Psy.D or Ph.D.) and a two year post-doc fellowship in clincial neuropsychology. So about 5-6 years for the doctorate plus 2 more for the fellowship. Psy.Ds. and Ph.Ds. in clinical psychology are equally eligible for a fellowship in clinical neuropsychology after the doctorate. However, to get to that point, you will want to make sure you have adequate practicum and research training in your doctoral program and have a solid internship in order to be competitive. Post docs in neuro are pretty competitive. Too many interested folks and not enough post-doc training sites.

 

[myelin]

Hi Ashleefish,

You can do it either way, PhD or PsyD. Graduate school, not medical. In order to become a CN, you will need to complete a 2-year post doc. In order to obtain this, you must have completed a 1-year APA approved predoctoral internship. In order to get the 1-year predoctoral internship in neuropsych, you will need to come from a PhD/PsyD program that is well versed in neuropsych (courses and research). With that being said, I see more PhD programs that offer the required neuropsych training than PsyD.

Specific information can be found here.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

The vast majority of nuero psychs I've seen are Ph.D.'s, though there are Psy.D's out there.

 

[erg923]

I dont know what the real ratio is in neuro, or the base rate ratio of Ph.D psychologists to Psy.D. psychologists is in this country. I would think that Ph.Ds still out number the number of Psy.Ds, but not sure. I also don't know of too many Psy.D programs with formal neuropsych tracks. I think that will explain alot of it. Perhaps the typical Psy.D is not attracted to neuro because of the circumscribed nature of the work. (i.e., not alot of therapy or treatment) Not sure, just speculating.

 

[myelin]

Indeed erg. I've had a passion for psychology for quite some time but was unsure of eventually conducting therapy. Then I found NP and have felt at home ever since.

 

[PsyChris]

The Virginia Consortium has a specialized tract for Psy.D. Neuropsychology.

 

[Neuro244]

Well first of all, you CAN'T be a neuropsycholgist by going to medical school. To be a clincial neuropsychologist requires one to have a doctorate in clincial or counseling psychology (Psy.D or Ph.D.) and a two year post-doc fellowship in clincial neuropsychology. So about 5-6 years for the doctorate plus 2 more for the fellowship. Psy.Ds. and Ph.Ds. in clinical psychology are equally eligible for a fellowship in clinical neuropsychology after the doctorate. However, to get to that point, you will want to make sure you have adequate practicum and research training in your doctoral program and have a solid internship in order to be competitive. Post docs in neuro are pretty competitive. Too many interested folks and not enough post-doc training sites.

How much money do you get paid during your fellowship years to become as a clinical neuropsychologist?

 

[WisNeuro]

Ranges, I had seen 37-52k when I was applying.

 

[Neuro244]

Ranges, I had seen 37-52k when I was applying.

When were you applying? Also, what is the entry level salary of a clinical neuropsychologist? I read online that its 77-80k, does that sound accurate to you or no? I live in california, so I'm thinking it might be higher. Whats your opinion on the entry level salary for a clinical NP?

 

[LETSGONYR]

How much money do you get paid during your fellowship years to become as a clinical neuropsychologist?

There is a range, but from my experience, most sites followed NIH guidelines (currently around $42k for first year fellows and $44k for second year fellows). More information: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/research/funding/general/nrsa-fund-guide

It's not a perfect system- it's not a lot of money, especially in a high cost of living area (e.g., someone in NYC or San Fran earning the same as someone in Nebraska or Montana), but most sites I've seen are comparable to those numbers. You can also google "_____ hospital neuropsychology fellowship" to see what specific sites advertise.

 

[Neuro244]

There is a range, but from my experience, most sites followed NIH guidelines (currently around $42k for first year fellows and $44k for second year fellows). More information: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/research/funding/general/nrsa-fund-guide

It's not a perfect system- it's not a lot of money, especially in a high cost of living area (e.g., someone in NYC or San Fran earning the same as someone in Nebraska or Montana), but most sites I've seen are comparable to those numbers. You can also google "_____ hospital neuropsychology fellowship" to see what specific sites advertise.

Alright ill check that out. That's nothing for all those years of your life. I'm on my way to applying to med school this July, but am now contemplating it after all these years, so im confused.

 

[LETSGONYR]

Alright ill check that out. That's nothing for all those years of your life. I'm on my way to applying to med school this July, but am now contemplating it after all these years, so im confused.

The typical neuropsych fellowship is two years... there are NIH guidelines beyond that, but that's typically for research positions and/or for other fields. Yes, the stipend is low for people with our level of training, but it's liveable and income increases drastically once those two years are over. I was just saying.... if you're curious about postdoc salaries, that's a good place to start. NP stipends are generally in line with postdoc salaries in other fields.

MD's make more, but the training and job responsibilities are very different.

 

[WisNeuro]

When were you applying? Also, what is the entry level salary of a clinical neuropsychologist? I read online that its 77-80k, does that sound accurate to you or no? I live in california, so I'm thinking it might be higher. Whats your opinion on the entry level salary for a clinical NP?

I was a fellow several years ago. As for entry salary, depends on the setting. VA, looking at 86-90 depending on the locality adjustment. I don't think California is necessarily all that much higher since there is kind if an over supply.

 

[Neuro244]

Behavioral neurology would be the neuropsychology analog in medical specialties. Though some people see this as a dying specialty. I'd argue it's a morphing specialty.

I would strongly consider medical school for the following reasons:
median income for a psychologist ~70-80K
median income for a specialist physician ~ North of 200K with many specialists earning in the 300-500K range.
job supply much higher for physicians thus easier to get a job where you want to get a job
stronger lobby
public support for physicians is much higher than for psychologists . . . note, OP did not even know that neuropsychologists are not physicians . that's not a knock on the OP. It's very common.
if you are a marginal student for psych, you will not get into a funded phd program. You will go psyd and the cost is ~the same as medical school. This is stupid. I can think of very few scenarios outside of being independently wealthy, having nothing better to do and lacking the ability to get into a funded phd program for doing a PsyD.
- if you do go the funded phd route, to achieve similar levels of success (financially, this is mostly unlikely . . . but you can do pretty well), you need to be more to the right of the bell curve in ability and execution than a physician.
- the educational path to success is much more clear for a physician. Matching for a US based medical school student for internship and specialty is easier than it is in psychology. Fellowships are abundant in areas of specialty.

If you do choose the neuropsychology route, the game is thus:
- funded phD program
- pick a good neuropsychologist graduate school mentor/lab (clues to this . . . ABCN certification, lots of top tier journal publications, extensive, or if young [present], NIH grant history).
- publish a few papers (at least) in graduate school
- attend division 40 internship
- attend 2 year division 40 consistent fellowship

Thank you very much for your feedback Jon,it's highly appreciated. My scenario is this: I received my B.A. in Psychology from CSUN back in 2013, and along that journey decided I don't want to be a therapist. Before that however, when I first started college, I thought for sure I want to be a psychologist (Masters/doctorate degree) and practice, but changed my mind due to not wanting to listen to peoples problems. I then said I'll do medical school but then got discouraged in my 2nd year of classes by these two guys who told me about all the difficult courses I'd need to take to become a doctor. At that point I said screw it, I'll do something like chiropractor/physical therapist, but starting is only 70-80 k which is much less than what I want to make for the years I put into school. However, I started taking classes that would fulfill some requirements for these careers but wasn't satisfied with the salary. I then started CSUN and did psych major, got my B.A. as I said, and then said maybe i'll do pharmacy. I tried to avoid all the hard sciences and still wanted to make big money, but realized that there's no way around them. I then decided upon graduating that I should be a doctor, and I'm not interested in pharmacy. The thing that brought me back to this field though is the money. I mean I don't hate medicine/the sciences, but I also don't love it/have a passion for it (like most people who are doctors). It's not bad overall, but I don't love it you know, I don't mind it, but I had no interest in any of the pre-med school courses. Anyways, since I changed my mind a few times, it took me 9 years and 3 months to get an associates,bachelors, and do all my med school pre-req courses. In that time I wasted 3 years or so because of uncertainty. Now that it's time to study for the MCAT, I find myself questioning things and if I've been this miserable just getting through these pre-reqs, If I should dedicate another 4 years to be a doctor, and then on top of that another 4 year residency for neurology, which by the way is one of the lowest paid specialties (ranked 16th/22), with an entry level salary of 180k (vs. radiology ~350k). So at this point I'm thinking I wanna do something I enjoy, but If I go for neuropsychology, or start over and go for neuroscience Ph.D, I don't want to get a Ph.D for some of the reasons you mentioned above. At this point I feel lost, stagnant, and questioning if I should move on and be a doctor, since the money is the biggest thing moving me forward. Let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Thank you very much for your feedback Jon,it's highly appreciated. My scenario is this: I received my B.A. in Psychology from CSUN back in 2013, and along that journey decided I don't want to be a therapist. Before that however, when I first started college, I thought for sure I want to be a psychologist (Masters/doctorate degree) and practice, but changed my mind due to not wanting to listen to peoples problems. I then said I'll do medical school but then got discouraged in my 2nd year of classes by these two guys who told me about all the difficult courses I'd need to take to become a doctor. At that point I said screw it, I'll do something like chiropractor/physical therapist, but starting is only 70-80 k which is much less than what I want to make for the years I put into school. However, I started taking classes that would fulfill some requirements for these careers but wasn't satisfied with the salary. I then started CSUN and did psych major, got my B.A. as I said, and then said maybe i'll do pharmacy. I tried to avoid all the hard sciences and still wanted to make big money, but realized that there's no way around them. I then decided upon graduating that I should be a doctor, and I'm not interested in pharmacy. The thing that brought me back to this field though is the money. I mean I don't hate medicine/the sciences, but I also don't love it/have a passion for it (like most people who are doctors). It's not bad overall, but I don't love it you know, I don't mind it, but I had no interest in any of the pre-med school courses. Anyways, since I changed my mind a few times, it took me 9 years and 3 months to get an associates,bachelors, and do all my med school pre-req courses. In that time I wasted 3 years or so because of uncertainty. Now that it's time to study for the MCAT, I find myself questioning things and if I've been this miserable just getting through these pre-reqs, If I should dedicate another 4 years to be a doctor, and then on top of that another 4 year residency for neurology, which by the way is one of the lowest paid specialties (ranked 16th/22), with an entry level salary of 180k (vs. radiology ~350k). So at this point I'm thinking I wanna do something I enjoy, but If I go for neuropsychology, or start over and go for neuroscience Ph.D, I don't want to get a Ph.D for some of the reasons you mentioned above. At this point I feel lost, stagnant, and questioning if I should move on and be a doctor, since the money is the biggest thing moving me forward. Let me know what you think, thanks.

My opinion--If money is the biggest thing moving you forward, don't do psychology. It won't be any easier than med school/residency, and you'll earn less (on average) when all is said and done. Even as a neuropsychologist, you'll spend a good amount of time "listening to people's problems," in addition to learning much of the hard sciences you don't seem to enjoy.

Honestly, I'd say aim for something related possibly to finance or thereabouts. The road to making money isn't necessarily any easier via that path (it's never easy), but there's a very high ceiling, and there's substantially less schooling required.

 

[Neuro244]

I agree. Sounds like you've got a bit of an existential crisis going as well. Might consider getting out in the work world a bit. Business/sales/medical device sales/etc. it would be hard in my opinion to be successful in a phd science discipline focused on money. Maybe a public health/mba route focused on health care administration ?

Let's say I do get an MBA focused on health care administration, what essentially would I be doing as my job? That means I'd have to start from the bottom though, and I'm already 28 and have used up most of my years when I was the most driven. I mean I'm still driven now, but I'm getting tired of waiting for the payoff. It seems like it takes forever to become a physician and begin making money. Don't get me wrong, I get along with people very well and people like me, but at the same time, it's like how freaking long does it take. I don't know if I'll have the mental stamina to go back and start from the beginning to pursue something in business.

 

[erg923]

I'm already 28 and have used up most of my years when I was the most driven. I mean I'm still driven now, but I'm getting tired of waiting for the payoff.

Insert grumble sound here and something along the lines of "kids these day..."

 

[erg923]

The managed care industry LOVES MBAs. I think a focus on healthcare admin is probably not something they care all that much about, frankly.

 

[Applicant786]

Having worked for a doc who seems to be only in it for the money, I would suggest you take a path other than MD. You'll end up hating your job, and depending on the sub-field you go into, might not make enough to cover the loan burden. Honestly, one of the easiest ways to make a lot of money in the science field might be in the pharmaceutical industry (a lot of people have strong feelings about this, which is another discussion entirely). Drug reps can make decent salary, and there's also a lot of money to be had in clinical trials. A contract research associate (CRA) can make a starting salary of around 60k, with room for growth. If you get promoted higher up the ladder in project management, salaries become even larger. You will work crazy hours, have high stress, and travel a lot, but no one said making money was easy.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Let's say I do get an MBA focused on health care administration, what essentially would I be doing as my job? That means I'd have to start from the bottom though, and I'm already 28 and have used up most of my years when I was the most driven. I mean I'm still driven now, but I'm getting tired of waiting for the payoff. It seems like it takes forever to become a physician and begin making money. Don't get me wrong, I get along with people very well and people like me, but at the same time, it's like how freaking long does it take. I don't know if I'll have the mental stamina to go back and start from the beginning to pursue something in business.

If you don't think you have the stamina for an MD/DO, then you won't have the stamina for a doctorate in psychology, either. As I mentioned above, the timelines between the two types of training (i.e., physician and psychologist) are roughly equivalent.

I agree with what Jon Snow mentioned above RE: sales. That would probably have the lowest bar to entry and a very high ceiling, although the job security may be lower and stress levels higher than some other areas. Could always do sales or something else in business (e.g., marketing) for a couple years, have your company help pay the tuition for a solid MBA program (many of which require work experience), and then go from there. You'd be done with all that and well on your way right around the same time you'd be finishing med school if you went the MD/DO route (which, as others have said, has the potential to make you rather miserable if you're only doing it for the money).

Or like I said above, there's always finance/accounting. Both have the potential for six-figure income with experience and a managerial position.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I want to be a rockstar but I really don't like playing music that much and am not that talented at it, but I hear they make a lot of money and get the hot chicks. What should I do?

 

[WisNeuro]

I want to be a rockstar but I really don't like playing music that much and am not that talented at it, but I hear they make a lot of money and get the hot chicks. What should I do?

If Nickelback can do it, so can you. Nickelback is the Fielding of rock.

 

[smalltownpsych]

If Nickelback can do it, so can you. Nickelback is the Fielding of rock.

Awesome! Can I do it all online? I don't want to travel either.

 

[WisNeuro]

Awesome! Can I do it all online? I don't want to travel either.

You don't even need that. If you pay extra, we'll just make you sign a piece of paper saying that you promised you tried really hard and read a lot of books, and that all of your friends like to talk to you about their problems. That's pretty much all it takes.

 

[Neuro244]

If you don't think you have the stamina for an MD/DO, then you won't have the stamina for a doctorate in psychology, either. As I mentioned above, the timelines between the two types of training (i.e., physician and psychologist) are roughly equivalent.

I agree with what Jon Snow mentioned above RE: sales. That would probably have the lowest bar to entry and a very high ceiling, although the job security may be lower and stress levels higher than some other areas. Could always do sales or something else in business (e.g., marketing) for a couple years, have your company help pay the tuition for a solid MBA program (many of which require work experience), and then go from there. You'd be done with all that and well on your way right around the same time you'd be finishing med school if you went the MD/DO route (which, as others have said, has the potential to make you rather miserable if you're only doing it for the money).

Or like I said above, there's always finance/accounting. Both have the potential for six-figure income with experience and a managerial position.

I know that the timeline would be roughly equivalent to doing medical school. However in medical school, you are required to know everything about every topic and the amount of information that they throw at you across different subjects such as a genetics,biochemistry, pathology, and histology differ vastly from what you would focus on during a PhD for psychology. These would differ the most in levels of difficulty and levels of interest that I have in the material. Moreover you will still deal with a lot of information I am sure in a PhD but at least you get to focus on specifically the material that you're interested in studying once you work on your dissertation and I already like psychology to begin with.

You can choose to be a clinical neuropsychologist and opt out of doing Psychotherapy right? My goal is to make roughly 90,000 after taxes and if that takes me about 10 to 12 years to get there after starting then I'm fine with that.

I've come to the realization that money is not my only motivation and that's why I wouldn't go down the business or Finance route because I have no interest in them whatsoever. I do have an interest in the sciences. More specifically I love neuroscience, I enjoy Anatomy, the psychology of consciousness, sleep, and Altered States.

Do any of you know of any neuropsychologist that I could shadow in the Los Angeles area?

Any helpful comments or ideas based on what I just said would be helpful. Feel free to message me as well so we can talk privately.

 

[Kadhir]

Well, there are a few misconceptions in that post but I don't know it's entirely worth starting a discussion on them. To summarize- the options are between med school, clinical psych grad school, neuroscience grad school, PT school, chiropractic school, etc. Money is not your only driving force, but you have hard and fast salary goals. You'll wait 10-12 years, but you're also getting tired of waiting for the payoff (a situation which is, btw, the definition of graduate school).

Suffice it to say that I can see why you're confused. This is completely fine. But you do need to recognize what you value the most and start from there. Talk to family, talk to friends, see a career counselor and/or reach out to past advisers. There is no condescension intended here- we all have our times of doubt. It's really hard to provide any useful advice without knowing exactly what it is that you want, which may very well have nothing to do with neuropsychology.

 

[lightwater]

Somewhat random, somewhat related question- are students typically paid for neuropsychology externships in the nyc area? I'm guessing no..

 

[PsyDr]

Let's say I do get an MBA focused on health care administration, what essentially would I be doing as my job? That means I'd have to start from the bottom though, and I'm already 28 and have used up most of my years when I was the most driven. I mean I'm still driven now, but I'm getting tired of waiting for the payoff. It seems like it takes forever to become a physician and begin making money. Don't get me wrong, I get along with people very well and people like me, but at the same time, it's like how freaking long does it take. I don't know if I'll have the mental stamina to go back and start from the beginning to pursue something in business.

Your chances of success, if you apply the same degree of effort (I.e., not doing the most basic of google searches or FAQ readings) to a pursuit you claim to be important, is essentially nill.

 

[psych.meout]

Somewhat random, somewhat related question- are students typically paid for neuropsychology externships in the nyc area? I'm guessing no..

I'm not familiar with the NYC-area clinical programs, but in regards to clinical programs in other areas it is generally program dependent. For fully-funded programs, some guarantee a certain stipend as part of the overall funding package through the university and generally require some kind of service (e.g. TA, RA, or clinical work) to maintain the funding. Others will guarantee the stipend funding only for the first couple years when you are still receiving your initial didactic clinical training and working in their in-house clinic. Then, they will have your stipend dependent upon funding from your externships, especially after you earn your masters.

Your chances of success, if you apply the same degree of effort (I.e., not doing the most basic of google searches or FAQ readings) to a pursuit you claim to be important, is essentially nill.

I think you're missing the point. The only goal is making "big money." Cash Rules Everything Around Me.

 

[Kadhir]

Somewhat random, somewhat related question- are students typically paid for neuropsychology externships in the nyc area? I'm guessing no..

Ding ding.

 

[erg923]

MBA rules the world if you want to work for Aetna, UHG, Cigna, Humana, Anthem, etc. You know, those people that are now overwhelming responsible for healthcare policy and management except for having never actually treated a single patient?

In all seriousness though-best friend's wife is MBA at Humana. Has done of alot of actuary work for Humana's ACA plans. Makes good money. Is a hot mess herself. Thinks she can/should assist in policy. In light of our somewhat drunken conversation last weekend, in some sense she's right, but in others she has no clue.

 

[Neuro244]

In regards to pursuing neuropsychology, I am currently in the midst of cold calling/emailing neuropsychologists in the greater Los Angeles Area. I am waiting for replies, but my history in the past with them has been unsuccessful in regards to shadowing them. Do any of you guys have tips/know any neuropsychologists that I could reach out to in Los Angeles, CA that I could possibly shadow or ?

I realize it's in violation of HIPAA to shadow patients, but what about shadowing the NP when they're not doing the assessment, but rather other aspects of the job. Thing such as: what the tests they administer look like, how do they score it/review it, writing up a neuropsychological report on a patient, how they devise possible treatment plans, etc.

As I have posted before, I am contemplating pursuing med school vs this route, but have come to realize that money isn't everything in life. I'd rather enjoy what I'm doing than making a lot of money and not do what I really like. In addition, in med school, you have to learn a plethora of information, and considering my main interests are neuroscience and psychology, I'm thinking this would be the better route. On the flipside, however, you don't really learn any neuroscience/anatomy/physiology during your Ph.D. in clinical psychology (unless I'm wrong), which is one thing I don't like. I realize that if your dissertation or even your thesis (assuming you do a program that offers a Masters first), is on something related to the brain that requires using fMRI or MRI equipment. This would in essence call to your knowledge in neuroanatomy, which is what I enjoy. Is med school worth pursuing if you want to know everything about the brain, but not so much about other systems in the body and a bunch of classes like biochemistry, pathology, histology, etc. I'm thinking maybe during my grad school studies I can read books about the brain on my free time, but who knows if I'll have much time to do that between studying and working on research.

Another question if anybody knows, is what is the entry level salary for a neuropsychologist in let's say an outpatient center in California, straight out of finishing his/her post-doc? What do you antipcate will happen to the salary of neuropsychologists in the next 10 years. FYI, I don't plan on working in a rehabilitation center, or VA hospital as I've heard those facilities tend to have psychotherapy as part of the work (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm more interested in the assessment aspect than the psychotheraputic aspect, would that put me at a disadvantage in the eyes of a possible employer, or no?

I'm in quite a situation here but trying to remain positive and not freak out, although I perhaps might want to apply to grad school this year, as I am already 29 and in my strong opinion should've had a Ph.D or MD by now! This is why steadfast feedback would be greatly appreciated, and any questions for me that might help you help me, I'll be glad to answer. You can also PM me as well!

 

[deleted343839]

Do any of you guys have tips/know any neuropsychologists that I could reach out to in Los Angeles, CA that I could possibly shadow or ?

Why do you want to shadow? This is unusual for a psychology grad school applicant.

On the flipside, however, you don't really learn any neuroscience/anatomy/physiology during your Ph.D. in clinical psychology (unless I'm wrong)

Nope, you're wrong. I took functional neuroanatomy my first semester in grad school.

Is med school worth pursuing if you want to know everything about the brain, but not so much about other systems in the body and a bunch of classes like biochemistry, pathology, histology, etc. I'm thinking maybe during my grad school studies I can read books about the brain on my free time, but who knows if I'll have much time to do that between studying and working on research.

OK, let's say you've read all the books and taken all the classes and you now know everything about the brain. What do you plan to do with this knowledge?

 

[singasongofjoy]

I think it's real unlikely you're going to get callbacks from neuropsychologists from your cold calls. They have no idea who you are, and might be wary of letting you see how a report is written (HIPPA violation, lots of PII) or access to test items and administration (which are often pretty protected, especially the cognitive tests, so why would they let someone they had no connections with - not through a colleague or academic program or anything -- shadow them? For all they know you could be trying to get access to those tests to make buckets of money giving tips to parents who are trying to get their kids into an advanced/gifted program that is too hard for them and will ultimately be terrible for htem... but I digress). I can't think of much that a neuropsych woudl do that wouldn't involve some sort of access to some protected info, except maybe some kind of research, not clinical work. So don't be disappointed if you don't hear back.

Pretty sure biochem, histology, and those other topics are still kinda related to the brain. Any of the systems go wrong enough and it affects the brain, right?

Don't apply to grad school just because you feel time pressure - it's too hard, too long and the stakes are too high (loss of wages if you start school but then don't finish when you coul dhave been working that whole time) to go to grad school (or med school) just because it seems like the next logical choice in the face of moderate interest but relatively little knowledge about what that (and future career) would look like.

If you go the psychologist route you are most certainly going to have to therapy, at least until you graduate.

Maybe you would be more interested in some sort of experimental/research psych path, not necessarily clinical psych. Researchers might do assessments as part of the research protocol even if they're not licensed to give it clinically (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong), or maybe you'd be interested in figuring out how animal brains work in the course of research.

 

[neurobain]

Somewhat random, somewhat related question- are students typically paid for neuropsychology externships in the nyc area? I'm guessing no..

I completed my graduate school and neuropsychology externship training in NY. We were never paid. Great training from great supervisors that opened many doors, but you won't see a penny. From time to time there were coffee and snacks though.

 

[kestrelcry]

I'm in quite a situation here but trying to remain positive and not freak out, although I perhaps might want to apply to grad school this year, as I am already 29 and in my strong opinion should've had a Ph.D or MD by now! This is why steadfast feedback would be greatly appreciated, and any questions for me that might help you help me, I'll be glad to answer. You can also PM me as well!

Have you read the 'what are my chances' and 'doctoral applicants read first' threads? I lost track somewhere as to whether or not you have neuropsych research experience . If you don't, there's really no point in applying to grad school this year. If you really want to throw away $1k, there's lots funner ways to do it. Clinical psych phd programs are brutally competitive to get into; at this point I'd say you need at a year or two of hardcore research experience in something as close to your research interests as possible, best to be on some publications/posters as well. Other folks chime in if I'm off-base here; it's been a few years since I've been involved with grad school admissions and neuro isn't my area. Best guess, you're probably looking at 10 years from now by the time you're done with your two-year post-doc.