needing experience

[PsyD hopeful]

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ok, so i have just moved back to Chicago from the Philippines where I graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of the Philippines.

From all that I have read here, I will definitely be needing research and/ or clinical experience before I apply for grad school. Now my question is where exactly should I be getting experience from? Would it be best for me to go to schools and ask for available RA positions? Or can I just look online for research jobs? Perhaps get experience from a hospital or mental health care facility?

I have been advised so many different things from different people (mostly relatives) but the thing is that none of them are from my (ehem, our) field. So I want to hear what the people would suggest.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

 

[krisrox]

ok, so i have just moved back to Chicago from the Philippines where I graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of the Philippines.

From all that I have read here, I will definitely be needing research and/ or clinical experience before I apply for grad school. Now my question is where exactly should I be getting experience from? Would it be best for me to go to schools and ask for available RA positions? Or can I just look online for research jobs? Perhaps get experience from a hospital or mental health care facility?

I have been advised so many different things from different people (mostly relatives) but the thing is that none of them are from my (ehem, our) field. So I want to hear what the people would suggest.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Chicago is a city filled with research and clinical job options. As a Chicago native, I suggest looking through University websites and seeing who has openings for research labs. Start with psych, but then branch out if necessary. Do something you have an interest in. Talk to people who have similar interests to you and ask where you can go for experience.

 

[PsyD hopeful]

I looked online and found some openings. What I am at a loss for right now is what I should take into consideration before applying? Please bear in mind that I have no experience outside the classroom whatsoever.

should I be starting from the bottom (as an encoder) and work my way up? or should I look for an opening wherein I will be expected to do more? I mean, how have all you people gotten publications and co-authorships, internships, and whatnot? Honestly speaking, all of it seems overwhelming to me, having graduated from an institution that did not offer many opportunities. We are a research-oriented institution, but in comparison to what people who graduated here in the US, I might as well have graduated from a cave!

Please advise before I lose all hope.. 🙁

PS thanks for the guidance krisrox.

 

[Psychology 76]

I looked online and found some openings. What I am at a loss for right now is what I should take into consideration before applying? Please bear in mind that I have no experience outside the classroom whatsoever.

should I be starting from the bottom (as an encoder) and work my way up? or should I look for an opening wherein I will be expected to do more? I mean, how have all you people gotten publications and co-authorships, internships, and whatnot? Honestly speaking, all of it seems overwhelming to me, having graduated from an institution that did not offer many opportunities. We are a research-oriented institution, but in comparison to what people who graduated here in the US, I might as well have graduated from a cave!

Please advise before I lose all hope.. 🙁

PS thanks for the guidance krisrox.

Since you have a BA in psychology, I personally wouldn't settle for the bottom rung jobs that are offered to those still in college. I would email some of the people in the labs you have found and ask them what types of skills are needed to work there. It may be okay if you don't have any outside research experience from your school. Did you learn stats and research methods at your school? Maybe you completed a small research project from one of your classes? Do you have any programming skills? These types of skills are valuable for working in a lab. Just because you might not have a publication it doesn't mean you don't have any relevant experience 🙂

 

[VeggieDelight]

I looked online and found some openings. What I am at a loss for right now is what I should take into consideration before applying? Please bear in mind that I have no experience outside the classroom whatsoever.

should I be starting from the bottom (as an encoder) and work my way up? or should I look for an opening wherein I will be expected to do more? I mean, how have all you people gotten publications and co-authorships, internships, and whatnot? Honestly speaking, all of it seems overwhelming to me, having graduated from an institution that did not offer many opportunities. We are a research-oriented institution, but in comparison to what people who graduated here in the US, I might as well have graduated from a cave!

Please advise before I lose all hope.. 🙁

PS thanks for the guidance krisrox.

Postings usually will include some sort of job description. Most duties (data entry, recruitment, simple psych testing) can be taught within days to employees, so I wouldn't aim too low. You don't want a job that'll quickly put you off to the field. Look for part-time positions that might allow you to get your feet wet and offer a variety of experiences (from the nitty gritty administrative stuff all the way up to data analyses). If money isn't an issue, you may consider volunteering, but exhaust your other options first. Good RA positions are competitive, but there are plenty of them around. True, someone with out-of-classroom experience might be preferred, but it's not always the case. If you show that you're interested and can learn fast, you will be considered. Tailor your resume and cover letter to each position, focusing on the theoretical knowledge you have from previous coursework and any laboratory components of those courses that may be relevant.

About publications- though it may seem like everyone has them, the majority of people do not get any pubs out of their research experiences. It takes a good relationship with the PI, entry into the research project at the right time, TIME, etc. At this point, your goal should be to get into the research field and fish around a bit. Then, you can identify some people you'd like to work with and approach them about specific projects.

Edit: Just noticed your username. While research should be your first priority, perhaps shadowing of a psychologist would be beneficial too. I don't know much about full-fledged internships at the post-bac level, but you might be able to dig something up.

 

[PsyD hopeful]

Since you have a BA in psychology, I personally wouldn't settle for the bottom rung jobs that are offered to those still in college. I would email some of the people in the labs you have found and ask them what types of skills are needed to work there. It may be okay if you don't have any outside research experience from your school. Did you learn stats and research methods at your school? Maybe you completed a small research project from one of your classes? Do you have any programming skills? These types of skills are valuable for working in a lab. Just because you might not have a publication it doesn't mean you don't have any relevant experience 🙂

Yes, we had plenty of research experience, they were all in class though. I probably made at least a dozen small research projects while studying, in different classes (which is how they say that we are research extensive). As for programming skills, what exactly are you pertaining to? Like MS programming? Excel is a self-proclaimed specialty of mine. I actually made a file when taking psych stats that automatically did the different stat methods (like chi square etc) after you entered the raw data..

What if it says on the websites not to contact them directly? (Like with the case of Northwestern in Chicago?) Also, should I just go email them even though there are no posts regarding job openings? Would that be alright? Thanks so much for the help.. 🙂

 

[PsyD hopeful]

Postings usually will include some sort of job description. Most duties (data entry, recruitment, simple psych testing) can be taught within days to employees, so I wouldn't aim too low. You don't want a job that'll quickly put you off to the field. Look for part-time positions that might allow you to get your feet wet and offer a variety of experiences (from the nitty gritty administrative stuff all the way up to data analyses). If money isn't an issue, you may consider volunteering, but exhaust your other options first. Good RA positions are competitive, but there are plenty of them around. True, someone with out-of-classroom experience might be preferred, but it's not always the case. If you show that you're interested and can learn fast, you will be considered. Tailor your resume and cover letter to each position, focusing on the theoretical knowledge you have from previous coursework and any laboratory components of those courses that may be relevant.

About publications- though it may seem like everyone has them, the majority of people do not get any pubs out of their research experiences. It takes a good relationship with the PI, entry into the research project at the right time, TIME, etc. At this point, your goal should be to get into the research field and fish around a bit. Then, you can identify some people you'd like to work with and approach them about specific projects.

Edit: Just noticed your username. While research should be your first priority, perhaps shadowing of a psychologist would be beneficial too. I don't know much about full-fledged internships at the post-bac level, but you might be able to dig something up.

Thanks for the help. However, for most of the job postings and descriptions that I have seen so far (not to mean that I have seen a multitude of them) have x years of research experience as one of the “basic requirements”. Does that not mean that I do not qualify for them by default? And how exactly does one get to shadowing a psychologist? Just by asking?

 

[VeggieDelight]

Thanks for the help. However, for most of the job postings and descriptions that I have seen so far (not to mean that I have seen a multitude of them) have x years of research experience as one of the "basic requirements". Does that not mean that I do not qualify for them by default? And how exactly does one get to shadowing a psychologist? Just by asking?

They may specify numbers, but those things are usually not hard-and-fast rules. Put another way, I don't think you're wasting your time if you apply. Only if the position sounds like it's way above your head (requires lots of specialized skills specific to a type of research you are not familiar with) would I set it aside. I know that where I worked, they interviewed people with little or no prior experience even when the posting made it sound like it is required.

I'd focus on getting a research position first and then start networking. You will hopefully meet some professional psychologists (or people who know practicing psychologists) who can set you up with some sort of clinical shadowing- confidentiality issues here, but it's been done. I'm not against randomly e-mailing people for both research and clinical opportunities (I did it in undergrad and it worked), but connections always help. 🙂

 

[PsyD hopeful]

They may specify numbers, but those things are usually not hard-and-fast rules. Put another way, I don't think you're wasting your time if you apply. Only if the position sounds like it's way above your head (requires lots of specialized skills specific to a type of research you are not familiar with) would I set it aside. I know that where I worked, they interviewed people with little or no prior experience even when the posting made it sound like it is required.

I'd focus on getting a research position first and then start networking. You will hopefully meet some professional psychologists (or people who know practicing psychologists) who can set you up with some sort of clinical shadowing- confidentiality issues here, but it's been done. I'm not against randomly e-mailing people for both research and clinical opportunities (I did it in undergrad and it worked), but connections always help. 🙂

Alright. Thanks again so much for the help! It is all greatly appreciated. 😀

 

[Psychology 76]

Yes, we had plenty of research experience, they were all in class though. I probably made at least a dozen small research projects while studying, in different classes (which is how they say that we are research extensive). As for programming skills, what exactly are you pertaining to? Like MS programming? Excel is a self-proclaimed specialty of mine. I actually made a file when taking psych stats that automatically did the different stat methods (like chi square etc) after you entered the raw data..

Research experience in class is still quite valuable. Depending on how hands on it is, it could be more valuable then working in a big lab depending on what you are doing. If you could try to make a poster from a research experiment you did in class and present it at some sort of conference I think that would be a good experience for you. For my research methods class, we did a small research project and our professor gave us the option of presenting it at a local undergrad psych conference. Some students even published there work in undergrad journals. If you could do this somehow that would be to your benefit.

And yes any sort of programming skills. Excel, UNIX, visual basic, Python whatever. Often these skills can be quite helpful. It is always great when someone can make the data collection process easier and more efficient using computers. My advice would be to make a CV (if you haven't already) with a professor that includes your research and excel and whatever other lab skills you might have. Once you get everything on paper it will look great even if it was done in class (a good chunk of my research experience is from classes and other labs are always impressed by my experience, they never say that my class research is irrelevant)

What if it says on the websites not to contact them directly? (Like with the case of Northwestern in Chicago?) Also, should I just go email them even though there are no posts regarding job openings? Would that be alright? Thanks so much for the help.. 🙂

I'm not sure about not contacting them directly, I haven't seen this before. I always just send out tons of emails to labs that I find interesting and hope I get a hit. It worked for me this summer 🙂 Again, my work with a professor on constructing an email to send out that will attract labs. 🙂