Internship Prestige

[G Costanza]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any input about the importance of the prestige of a school's reputation for a UCC internship. Obviously I want to set myself to be marketable once I graduate. How much does the national recognition of the school (not necessarily the reputation of the counseling center itself) play a role in employment?

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[psychrat]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any input about the importance of the prestige of a school's reputation for a UCC internship. Obviously I want to set myself to be marketable once I graduate. How much does the national recognition of the school (not necessarily the reputation of the counseling center itself) play a role in employment?

I feel like any APA accredited internship would be considered prestigious, but I guess it depends on what you want to do long-term. Do you plan on working at a UCC?

 

[G Costanza]

Yes. I'm headed towards a UCC career. Just trying to figure how heavily to weigh the name of the school in my rankings. Fit and comfort is number one. But should I sacrifice geography for a bigger name? Trying to figure that out.

 

[psychrat]

Yes. I'm headed towards a UCC career. Just trying to figure how heavily to weigh the name of the school in my rankings. Fit and comfort is number one. But should I sacrifice geography for a bigger name? Trying to figure that out.

hmm...that is a good question. I guess more prestigious schools would have more name recognition in general, but I don't know how much that is actually weighed when looking for UCC jobs. I would probably rank the ones that could give me opportunities/training I did not have yet higher to make myself more marketable.

 

[eowyne]

Also, it might help to be in an area of the country where you'd like to live, to take advantage of networking opportunities and perhaps regional hiring biases.


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[grenas]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any input about the importance of the prestige of a school's reputation for a UCC internship. Obviously I want to set myself to be marketable once I graduate. How much does the national recognition of the school (not necessarily the reputation of the counseling center itself) play a role in employment?

I am going to say it is the quality of training you will receive rather than the name of the school. Only because if you are headed for a job towards UCC, they want to know what you can bring based on your training from your internship or postdoc. Also---I would consider the resources of the center for your internship. More resources = more opportunity for training or things you want to pursue. That way, when you apply for jobs, you can say you had training on this and that and you can bring it to the center that you are applying to.

 

[grenas]

And yes---as long as it is APA-accred

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

You'll want a site that will land you a sweet fellowship/post-doc. When you interview at each site make sure to ask them where their trainees land. APA-acred. only for internship.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

The name of my internship site was brought up at least a few times during my fellowship/postdoc interviews, so if you're thinking of going the postdoc route, then as T4C mentioned, name can become important.

Beyond that, though, I second the advice to consider geographical proximity to where you'd like to practice (if at all possible). Networking is important, and a lot of it can happen on internship.

Regardless, it's only for a year. My take is that a very well-known internship site can help you, but a less-known one probably won't hurt.

 

[G Costanza]

Thanks for the helpful info. I only applied to apa accredited sites but all over the country. Not sure where I want to go after graduation but that's a really good point about geography.

Anyone else have any input?

 

[Sanman]

See which sites offer post-doc jobs as well. The best chance you have in a bad economy is the place you are at for internship. It may not be a bad idea to look at towns with multiple colleges/counseling centers.

 

[CheetahGirl]

G Costanza, I'm also thinking about the multicultural and diversity factors of each of the UCCs where you'll be interviewing. Seems like if you completed an APA-accred. internship that boasts great variability in terms of the undergrad population you serve that it could make you more marketable across the nation because your versatility would be enhanced.

Good luck with a great match!

 

[G Costanza]

G Costanza, I'm also thinking about the multicultural and diversity factors of each of the UCCs where you'll be interviewing. Seems like if you completed an APA-accred. internship that boasts great variability in terms of the undergrad population you serve that it could make you more marketable across the nation because your versatility would be enhanced.

Good luck with a great match!

I completely agree. The first thing I research on every internship site was their commitment to multiculturalism. That will also be the first thing I look into when applying for jobs so having those align makes a lot of sense. It's also a major interest of mine and the core of my current training in the doc program. I'm glad we share the same area of interest. It certainly needs more attention in this field.

 

[Pragma]

You'll want a site that will land you a sweet fellowship/post-doc. When you interview at each site make sure to ask them where their trainees land. APA-acred. only for internship.

This.

I can't speak specifically for the UCC experience, but in my experience in neuro, where you did your internship doesn't really mean anything beyond your postdoc, aside from maybe some networking opportunities. It needs to be APA accredited, but after I got to my postdoc, I can't recall anyone ever asking me about my internship. If I ever discuss my training with people, the postdoc I did is what matters. Sometimes pople ask what school I went to or about my licensure.

So I guess I am saying that it is important to get you to the next step, but after you are at that next step, people care more about your most recent and relevant training.

 

[WisNeuro]

Prestige of school/setting for internship means next to nothing. There are some "prestigious" universities that have piss poor internships. I think what is more important are the people who are there and what relationships they have with people who will be offering your a postdoc or job. Interviewers have mentioned the people that I've worked with and letter writers much more than where I did my internship.

 

[cara susanna]

Can I ask this same question but for academia? Does it help open doors if you do your internship at a really well-known research site?

 

[WisNeuro]

Can I ask this same question but for academia? Does it help open doors if you do your internship at a really well-known research site?

It's been my impression that who you know is more important than simply where you're from. And in academia, I imagine whether or not you were able to get some product out of that internship in terms of pubs is more important than the site itself.

 

[Pragma]

Prestige matters for some academic jobs - mostly at prestigious places. However, productivity I'd say is more important - publications in good journals = currency, and it is a language that search committees understand. I am on a couple of search committees right now and I will admit that some of the postdocs from R1s seem more polished, but I have seen some really good apps from people who didn't attend prestigious schools. Personally, I don't put a lot of weight on where they came from, but I see a modest correlation between where they came from and their opportunities to do important things (e.g., big grants, major pubs, etc).

 

[EmotRegulation]

I got an academic job right from internship, and I deliberately ranked the less research-focused, more clinical/training focused internships at the top of my list, and attended one of those. No one mentioned prestige (or lack thereof) of my internship in my job talks. However, some internships can feed into postdocs or have great networking opportunities, but as Pragma said, productivity trumps prestige for academic jobs.

 

[MCParent]

My thoughts--
In my experience, experience at a VA was a strong appeal to UCCs. People are going to school on their GI bills and some don't want their mental health records as visible as they are in the VA system, so having an idea of vet experience can be an asset. And, on UCC internship, I saw substantial amounts of comorbid medical conditions, PTSD, substance use, etc., obviously to less severity than an inpatient ward, but the experience was an asset to applying to UCC internships. I assume the same would be true of UCC post docs and jobs.
-I second the geographical region thing. My experience is that a lot of UCCs that have post docs like to keep interns on.
-I didn't get much feedback about my internship (not a prestigious school but considered a very good UCC internship) on my job interviews, though people at job interviews did talk about who they knew at my internship. I went academic. Academic jobs tend to go up earlier than UCC jobs, so I had only been on internship for 3 months when I started job interviews, which may have been a factor.

 

[ADDICTED2STATS]

For academic jobs, I think internship prestige can help offset a less prestigious school. If you went to a great school for your PhD, then internship is probably less important. For example, I went to a low ranking PhD program, but got a great internship at a prestigious school. It was mentioned at every job talk I attended. A close friend went to a very prestigious school (or at least a prestigious PhD program), but did internship at a very clinically focused VA. We both landed academic jobs. That said, all things being equal, solid publications and (preferably) some grant writing experience are key.

 

[docma]

For academic jobs, I think internship prestige can help offset a less prestigious school. If you went to a great school for your PhD, then internship is probably less important. For example, I went to a low ranking PhD program, but got a great internship at a prestigious school. It was mentioned at every job talk I attended. A close friend went to a very prestigious school (or at least a prestigious PhD program), but did internship at a very clinically focused VA. We both landed academic jobs. That said, all things being equal, solid publications and (preferably) some grant writing experience are key.

In calculating this algorithm don't leave out the factor of an internship with support and mentorship that will help you mature professionally and be able to present yourself effectively as a professional, not just a student. The network or publications can't overcome being able to talk comfortably and concisely about who you are as a psychologist: some students get over-focussed on numbers and some sites over-work interns so that they don't have time to reflect on what they are learning or their professional identity. So you want to keep the quality of mentorship clearly in the center of what you look for in a site. Ultimately it is not the name of your school/internship/supervisor that gets you the job--it is is your skills, maturity and appeal as a entry-level psychologist and colleague.