PhD/PsyD Help in considering two research jobs

[psychealth]

Hi everyone,

I've been offered two research positions and they both appeal to me for different reasons. I'm trying to build on my research experience through these positions to become competitive for Clinical Psych PhD programs. Job A would be in clinical psych research whereas Job B is applied developmental. I have not had experience in clinical research before (past labs were also development/social) but have had 3 years of exposure to clinical work in an outpatient mental health setting at my current job. Even though Job B is technically in the developmental department, I'm much more interested in the work that's being done in that lab than Job A.

I'm meeting with the PI to speak more about the terms of the offer but was hoping to seek advice/insight here from those who've been on admissions committees and how you would view someone with clinical research experience vs a different area of psychology. Thanks in advance for any advice!

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[futureapppsy2]

Hi everyone,

I've been offered two research positions and they both appeal to me for different reasons. I'm trying to build on my research experience through these positions to become competitive for Clinical Psych PhD programs. Job A would be in clinical psych research whereas Job B is applied developmental. I have not had experience in clinical research before (past labs were also development/social) but have had 3 years of exposure to clinical work in an outpatient mental health setting at my current job. Even though Job B is technically in the developmental department, I'm much more interested in the work that's being done in that lab than Job A.

I'm meeting with the PI to speak more about the terms of the offer but was hoping to seek advice/insight here from those who've been on admissions committees and how you would view someone with clinical research experience vs a different area of psychology. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Does the applied developmental work have direct clinical applications? How do both fit with your research interests?

 

[psychealth]

Does the applied developmental work have direct clinical applications? How do both fit with your research interests?

Both labs focus on research with children and adolescents (a population I'm interested in) but the applied developmental lab focuses more on psychosocial and academic outcomes whereas the other lab is looking at interventions strategies for maladaptive behaviors. I'm more interested in the applied developmental lab because they are centered around ethnic minority research and use biomarkers of stress and sleep. I applied to work at this lab because my personal research interests and goals are in cultural factors that influence treatment outcomes or possibly being able to study culture-specific expressions of certain mental health disorders either in children or adults.

As for Job A, apart from the work being done with adolescents, I am interested in the emotion regulation component that they study, but not too sure if intervention development is something I would pursue in my graduate studies.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Both labs focus on research with children and adolescents (a population I'm interested in) but the applied developmental lab focuses more on psychosocial and academic outcomes whereas the other lab is looking at interventions strategies for maladaptive behaviors. I'm more interested in the applied developmental lab because they are centered around ethnic minority research and use biomarkers of stress and sleep. I applied to work at this lab because my personal research interests and goals are in cultural factors that influence treatment outcomes or possibly being able to study culture-specific expressions of certain mental health disorders either in children or adults.

As for Job A, apart from the work being done with adolescents, I am interested in the emotion regulation component that they study, but not too sure if intervention development is something I would pursue in my graduate studies.

Job A sounds like a great fit with an easy clinical tie-in.

 

[Ollie123]

Honestly, I think either is perfectly fine and we're splitting hairs at this point. No one really cares the official degree of your mentor so much as the nature of the work they do. Assuming psychosocial outcomes are things like stress, mood, QoL, etc. and not some obscure totally non-clinical thing in this category I can't think of right now (weird personality construct?). Frankly, if they are looking at stress & biomarkers it is more "clinical" than many actual clinical labs.

Things I'd consider:
1) Do you have clinical psychologist mentors you can turn to for clinical-specific admissions advice? If no, I do think that is helpful.
2) Where will you have the better overall experience? Not just what is most interesting, but where are you going to get to do more, learn more, see more of the scientific process, have closer contact with higher-ups, have opportunities to get involved in posters/pubs, etc.

 

[Spydra]

When having to make a decision like this I think about my 90 year old self sitting in my rocker and which opportunity I'd like to reflect back upon, regardless of how it turned out. This approach has led me to some choices that were challenging in great ways or lead to other unexpected opportunities.

 

[futureapppsy2]

2) Where will you have the better overall experience? Not just what is most interesting, but where are you going to get to do more, learn more, see more of the scientific process, have closer contact with higher-ups, have opportunities to get involved in posters/pubs, etc.

Along with this, is there a PI/lab you “gel” with more in terms of attitude, personality, and lab “culture”? I have some PIs and collaborators who I’ve worked with for 10+ years because our personalities and styles fit. I’ve had other PIs where I chose not to work with them because the difference in our personalities and styles made the work much less reinforcing.

 

[Big5Club]

Hi everyone,

I've been offered two research positions and they both appeal to me for different reasons. I'm trying to build on my research experience through these positions to become competitive for Clinical Psych PhD programs. Job A would be in clinical psych research whereas Job B is applied developmental. I have not had experience in clinical research before (past labs were also development/social) but have had 3 years of exposure to clinical work in an outpatient mental health setting at my current job. Even though Job B is technically in the developmental department, I'm much more interested in the work that's being done in that lab than Job A.

I'm meeting with the PI to speak more about the terms of the offer but was hoping to seek advice/insight here from those who've been on admissions committees and how you would view someone with clinical research experience vs a different area of psychology. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Other thing to consider is which would allow for more opportunities to publish and/or present at conferences.

 

[psychealth]

When considering which lab may offer more opportunities for posters/pubs, does it not matter as much that it may be in applied developmental journals or conferences rather than in clinical psych? Basically, I am leaning more towards the applied developmental lab as their work aligns more with my interests and I feel their lab culture is also a better fit for me. It seems both positions could offer the same amount of opportunities to learn a lot about the scientific process but at the same time, it is somewhat difficult for me to judge this early on.

I suppose my main concern with the applied developmental lab is not having enough connections with higher ups in clinical psychology. I'm feeling very torn because aside from that, I think I'd really enjoy working at this lab.

 

[Ollie123]

When considering which lab may offer more opportunities for posters/pubs, does it not matter as much that it may be in applied developmental journals or conferences rather than in clinical psych? Basically, I am leaning more towards the applied developmental lab as their work aligns more with my interests and I feel their lab culture is also a better fit for me. It seems both positions could offer the same amount of opportunities to learn a lot about the scientific process but at the same time, it is somewhat difficult for me to judge this early on.

I suppose my main concern with the applied developmental lab is not having enough connections with higher ups in clinical psychology. I'm feeling very torn because aside from that, I think I'd really enjoy working at this lab.

Connections is worth thinking about and one thing I mentioned above.
I wouldn't spend even a second worrying about the journals. If they were publishing exclusively in chemistry journals....maybe. I don't even know where the boundary between clinical and applied developmental journals would be. Tons of clinical psychologists rarely/never publish in the traditional clinical psychology venues anyways. This sort of thing might matter a little going up for tenure in a crummy behind-the-times department that doesn't realize disciplinary boundaries went out of vogue 30 years ago, It shouldn't matter a lick for getting into grad school. Even if we pretend it does, we're talking about a teeny tiny amount. I'd weigh factors like how conveniently located the bathrooms are more heavily in your decision than I would that.