Does the PhD research we do define the rest of our career? Or can we switch topics?

[Midoritori2018]

Just curious. If for example I studied one topic, did research and graduated with a PhD in psychology having done this topic/research as a PhD student, can I after graduation switch to a completely different topic, of course still under the umbrella of psychology?

Also, if my university doesn’t currently have this topic, can I still pursue it as a researcher at that university post-graduation or does that not normally happen? In other words, if I worked there as a researcher, can I research a topic post- graduation in a field they currently don’t have faculty researching?

Thanks

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[PsyDr]

Since you say you’re in a non clinical psych PhD, you’re already aware of how funding works, and how publication history affects what you can study successfully.

 

[Midoritori2018]

Since you say you’re in a non clinical psych PhD, you’re already aware of how funding works, and how publication history affects what you can study successfully.

No currently I’m doing a masters in linguistics/psychology. I’m thinking down the line as this will affect which programs I start applying for in a year. I am very new to this all. I want to do a program equally weighted I. Research and clinical. Thanks

 

[Ollie123]

Complicated question.

How much of a shift? From clinical trials of CBT to clinical trials of <CBT-offshoot>? Easy. From sociocultural influences on race relations to genetic contributions to schizophrenia? More difficult.

What setting are you in? SLAC where you need to publish like 2-3 papers to get tenure and after that can pretty much stop doing research if you want? Easy. TT at Harvard where you can publish 15 papers a year, pull in 10 million dollars in grants and still get denied? More difficult.

Are you soft money or hard money?

What kind of resources do you have available?

What kind of collaborators do you have available?

Were you hired to fill a niche?

What ARE the old area and the new area?
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Certainly in a general sense, research programs are continuously evolving. I don't know a single (successful) academic who studies <exactly> what they did in grad school. At least at the higher-level, that generally isn't sustainable. By its very nature, science advances and what was interesting 10 years ago isn't interesting today. The methods that were state-of-the-art 10 years ago would be laughed at if submitted in a grant. The general pattern is to develop an expertise and then off-shoots of that expertise. Its worth trying to have a clear narrative, but know that is aspirational and no one is 100% successful in doing so. That said - if research is at all something you do seriously and not just as the occasional side project that may or may not ever get published in some podunk journal, its not just a matter of waking up one day after you graduate and saying "Think I'm going to study X starting today." Its generally a process of multiple years (/decades) of finding the right collaborators and sufficient overlap where you can merge your two areas and start to grow in a different direction. That said, totally doable if important. I would never make switching Plan A though.

 

[Midoritori2018]

Complicated question.

How much of a shift? From clinical trials of CBT to clinical trials of <CBT-offshoot>? Easy. From sociocultural influences on race relations to genetic contributions to schizophrenia? More difficult.

What setting are you in? SLAC where you need to publish like 2-3 papers to get tenure and after that can pretty much stop doing research if you want? Easy. TT at Harvard where you can publish 15 papers a year, pull in 10 million dollars in grants and still get denied? More difficult.

Are you soft money or hard money?

What kind of resources do you have available?

What kind of collaborators do you have available?

Were you hired to fill a niche?

What ARE the old area and the new area?
.
.
.
.
Certainly in a general sense, research programs are continuously evolving. I don't know a single (successful) academic who studies <exactly> what they did in grad school. At least at the higher-level, that generally isn't sustainable. By its very nature, science advances and what was interesting 10 years ago isn't interesting today. The methods that were state-of-the-art 10 years ago would be laughed at if submitted in a grant. The general pattern is to develop an expertise and then off-shoots of that expertise. Its worth trying to have a clear narrative, but know that is aspirational and no one is 100% successful in doing so. That said - if research is at all something you do seriously and not just as the occasional side project that may or may not ever get published in some podunk journal, its not just a matter of waking up one day after you graduate and saying "Think I'm going to study X starting today." Its generally a process of multiple years (/decades) of finding the right collaborators and sufficient overlap where you can merge your two areas and start to grow in a different direction. That said, totally doable if important. I would never make switching Plan A though.

Thanks so much for your reply. I appreciate your insight and the good food for thought you provided.

I think maybe it would be hard then from what you said for me to switch gears. I love nonverbal behavior studies currently that are on the borderline between linguistics and psychology. But I also love counseling and would love to go into getting a phd in clinical psychology. But like you said it will be quite hard maybe to switch between clinical psychology research and nonverbal behavior. As far as the job market I feel clinical would have more flexibility for the practice side anyway. Tough decisions.

 

[deleted343839]

Thanks so much for your reply. I appreciate your insight and the good food for thought you provided.

I think maybe it would be hard then from what you said for me to switch gears. I love nonverbal behavior studies currently that are on the borderline between linguistics and psychology. But I also love counseling and would love to go into getting a phd in clinical psychology. But like you said it will be quite hard maybe to switch between clinical psychology research and nonverbal behavior. As far as the job market I feel clinical would have more flexibility for the practice side anyway. Tough decisions.

I'm echoing the responses you've received to one of your other posts, but it will be helpful to focus your career goals. Having many interests is pretty normal, but academic institutions and funding agencies tend to reward focus and productivity, which go hand in hand. You don't have to decide immediately whether you want to pursue a primarily research or clinical career, but you do need to get training in the general area of research that you might pursue after grad school. And while a graduate program might be balanced in its emphasis on clinical practice and research, your career choice will almost certainly require you to focus predominantly on one or the other.

Also, if my university doesn’t currently have this topic, can I still pursue it as a researcher at that university post-graduation or does that not normally happen? In other words, if I worked there as a researcher, can I research a topic post- graduation in a field they currently don’t have faculty researching?

University cultures vary, but not uncommonly you will encounter a strong preference against "hiring their own" (much less often the case at academic medical centers). Also, if your university wanted to hire in a given area, they would choose someone who has worked in that area for a long time, rather than gamble on someone who has been publishing/writing grants in another area and is trying to switch gears completely. One question you might ask yourself if whether you want to be a more basic scientist doing psycholinguistics, who might one day collaborate with clinical scientists, or the other way around?