Is specific work experience beneficial?

[knowing]

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After leaving real estate to keep my children's school hours I was a special education teachers aide for 3 years. The children were profound and severely disabled to mildly autistic. Would this experience be considered and given weight in the application process given I was applying to a child clinical program?

 

[AryaStark]

PhD or PsyD?

After leaving real estate to keep my children's school hours I was a special education teachers aide for 3 years. The children were profound and severely disabled to mildly autistic. Would this experience be considered and given weight in the application process given I was applying to a child clinical program?

 

[knowing]

phd or psyd?

phd

 

[AryaStark]

The only thing I've ever heard about clinical experience in terms of phd programs is that it's nice to have but really not necessary. The profs I've spoken with have said that the type of clinical experience you will be doing in grad school cannot really be done in undergrad/ between undergrad and grad, so it's more important to focus on research experience. For example I too worked with children with severe behavioral and learning disabilities. Although it was a great experience, I was never asked once about it in my interviews, and instead was asked to give full descriptions of what I did as a research assistant.
`

phd

 

[knowing]

The only thing I've ever heard about clinical experience in terms of phd programs is that it's nice to have but really not necessary. The profs I've spoken with have said that the type of clinical experience you will be doing in grad school cannot really be done in undergrad/ between undergrad and grad, so it's more important to focus on research experience. For example I too worked with children with severe behavioral and learning disabilities. Although it was a great experience, I was never asked once about it in my interviews, and instead was asked to give full descriptions of what I did as a research assistant.
`

I was thinking it really wouldn't matter so based on your experience I was probably right in thinking that. My research experience is more social in nature, nothing to do with child clinical.

 

[KillerDiller]

Yeah, I agree with Arya. It's great to have that experience to draw on once you start taking classes and going to your practicum placements, but it probably won't have too much weight in the admissions process for PhD programs. However, the experience certainly won't hurt either, and may be relevant if you want to do research with autistic populations, for example.

 

[psychanxiety]

After leaving real estate to keep my children's school hours I was a special education teachers aide for 3 years. The children were profound and severely disabled to mildly autistic. Would this experience be considered and given weight in the application process given I was applying to a child clinical program?

I think specific research experience is more beneficial, but if you're lacking clinical research with kids, then child clinical experience might work. You'll need to spin it well on your personal statement. Like the other folks mentioned, it would be given more weight if you're applying to a lab that focuses on this specific population.

 

[AryaStark]

Some programs really want you to have that specific experience I guess. For example, I interviewed at one school and was asked about my research experience in the field I was really interested in (mood, anxiety, eating disorders) I had none, but had other reasons for the interest. They seemed to stick their nose up at me for that. However, at the other place I interviewed, they were really enthusiastic about my broad range of experience working in several different labs and said that I was just the type of applicant they looked for So don't worry if your research experience isn't exactly doing what you ultimately want to do. Some programs will care, but the majority will probably only care that you have research experience. For me, the program that CARED that I didn't do their exact research was the type of place I wouldn't have wanted to go to in the first place.

I was thinking it really wouldn't matter so based on your experience I was probably right in thinking that. My research experience is more social in nature, nothing to do with child clinical.