Opinion on Experimental Psychology

[Roxie]

I have always had a love for psychology but I got my undergrad in Business Management. I have always had in my mind what my perfect job would be and I recently discovered that it actually exists and is called Experimental Psychology. I don't want to be a teacher but to research how people learn. I'm scheduled to take the GRE in November to get the ball rolling to try and get into a PhD program.

My questions are:

To anyone who is in this field: Do you find this rewarding work? Why or why not?

How hard is it to find work?

Also, if there are any students in this program, I would love to hear about your experience so far.

If anyone knows of a person studying for this field or works in it, what are they saying about it?

If I don't get accepted to a PhD program but a masters program in psychology, what kind of work could I get with just a masters until I could hopefully work my way up to a PhD?

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[erg923]

"Experimental psychology" is the umbrella term that encompasses different specialty areas of psychology that are non-clinical. Cognitive psychology, neuroscience, social psych, etc. Sometimes programs will have more elaborate of longer names for these specialty divisions, but generally, experimental psychology is divided into 5 or 6 core areas: Cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience/cognitive neuroscience, and animal learning. There are a few doctoral programs left that are simply titled as "Experimental Psychology"....but you will still have a particular concentration within them. If you are interested in "how people learn"...... it sounds like you might be talking about cognitive psych, but you will need be more specific here. Are you interested in the social influences of behavior (i.e., social psychology), or are you more interested in memory and the other cognitive functions that humans utilize in the course of learning a skill or task? If its the latter, that would put you more into cognitive psychology, and possibly cognitive neuroscience, if you are interested in the neurobiological basis/substrates of learning and memory.

A masters in experimental psych is mostly used a stepping stone to the Ph.D. Masters level folks can hold jobs as Research Assistants or data analysts, but you will not be the one writing the grants, or the one "in charge" of the project. If you want to work in academia or another setting as a researcher of a particular area, you will need the doctorate.

 

[Thrak]

A masters in experimental psych is mostly used a stepping stone to the Ph.D. Masters level folks can hold jobs as Research Assistants or data analysts, but you will not be the one writing the grants, or the one "in charge" of the project. If you want to work in academia or another setting as a researcher of a particular area, you will need the doctorate.

I just wanted to quote this to emphasize it. For about 6 years, I had a masters in General Psych, with a concentration in Experimental Psych. I had multiple jobs as a research assistant. You do the legwork (scheduling the subjects, actually running them, collecting the data) and your supervisor (a Ph.D., typically, but possibly a different "D") will run the stats, write the grants, and deal with the administrative headaches that come with running a study. If you're lucky (and I was), they'll mentor you on what you should focus on to get into a PhD program, and expand your skill set.

But if you want to actually run your own studies, you really need a PhD, or be in a PhD program.

 

[ThomasJMcKee]

I'm currently applying for graduate study in Psychology. I'm a senior in college with a minor in Psychology. My GPA is high, my GRE scores were decent (although unremarkable), and currently I need some advice as to the best track I should pursue as a grad student. I'm aiming to do more clinical work, however given the competitiveness of Ph.D programs, I do not think I am qualified enough to gain acceptance to a quality university, let alone scholarship funding.

So...

What if I pursued a Master's in Experimental Psychology at Brooklyn College? As a NYC resident, I can finish in a year and a half for a cost of less than ten grand. From there, I was thinking I could apply for full-funded Ph.D programs, with a better chance of gaining acceptance given my experience. How would admissions panels respond to someone looking for clinical work with a background in experimental research design? Would I have to start from square one at a master's level if I choose to pursue a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology? Am I foolish for being okay with that?

Or would it be better to pursue a master's in Mental Health Counseling (I feel more resistant to this for some reason -- it sounds hokey).

I'd love for some outside perspective.

 

[FadedC]

If your really interested in how people learn then there's always educational psychology which pretty much puts that as it's focus. And of course there is school psychology too, which is much more applied but for obvious reasons puts a lot of focus on how people learn as well (it's also probably a much safer career move then edpsych).

 

[futurepsydoc]

I have always had a love for psychology but I got my undergrad in Business Management.

I have always had in my mind what my perfect job would be and I recently discovered that it actually exists and is called Experimental Psychology. I don't want to be a teacher but to research how people learn. I'm scheduled to take the GRE in November to get the ball rolling to try and get into a PhD program. I don't want to be a teacher but to research how people learn.

If I don't get accepted to a PhD program but a masters program in psychology, what kind of work could I get with just a masters until I could hopefully work my way up to a PhD?

I'm currently applying for graduate study in Psychology. I'm a senior in college with a minor in Psychology. My GPA is high, my GRE scores were decent (although unremarkable), and currently I need some advice as to the best track I should pursue as a grad student.

I'm aiming to do more clinical work, however given the competitiveness of Ph.D programs, I do not think I am qualified enough to gain acceptance to a quality university, let alone scholarship. What if I pursued a Master's in Experimental Psychology at Brooklyn College?

ERG and THRAK make good points and it would be wise to consider what they have said.

Under the circumstances, I think the idea of pursuing a Master's Degree in General Psychology might be helpful in both of your cases. I see this as beneficial for four reasons:

First, it will give you exposure to different disciplines of psychology, such as biological/neurological psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and/or clinical psychology (i.e., if they offer clinical courses - look into it). This might help you in deciding which field you want to pursue.

Second, it will help you build your credentials in applying for doctoral programs, regardless of which discipline of psychology you eventually decide to specialize in as a doctoral student. If you are changing fields and/or only minored in psychology, you presumably have less coursework in psychology if you apply, which COULD be an obstacle. An MA/MS allows you to expand your knowledge of the entire field, while simultaneously proving that you can complete graduate level work within it.

Third, if you find a Masters Program that has active faculty research labs connected to it, you can begin building up your research experience. This type of experience is a must for PhD programs - regardless of whether you have a MA/MS or not. Working in a couple of different labs, presenting posters, co-authoring an article, and/or completing a Master's Thesis will show doctoral programs that you can be a productive scientist. On the flip side, if you are interested in clinical psych and come learn that research is not something your overly passionate about, it will help in deciding where to apply for your doctorate. Balanced and/or Clinically oriented PhD programs, well as PsyD Programs, might be more your speed.

Last, if you do get a Masters Degree in General Psychology, you are not limited by getting a specialized Master's degree (i.e., educational psychology, developmental psychology, child development, counseling). In a general program, your credits are more likely to be transferable at the doctoral level, the knowledge you obtain will likely be helpful across disciplines, and you will be less limited with respect to options. The latter benefit is mostly true, except in the case of school psychology and counseling, as you can eventually get licensed with these degrees as a Master's Level provider. These are both worthwhile choices one should consider if life circumstances do not permit for the time/energy/commitment necessary to pursue a doctorate. Make no mistake, its a full time gig. Everyone on this forum can vouch for that.

If you decide that applying to a doctoral program is a better option for you, which it may be because I don't have a clear sense of your backgrounds and experiences, be sure to look at threads discussing: 1) the application process, 2) the backgrounds of successful applicants, 3) statement of purpose, and 4) data regarding acceptance rates. In opinion, these threads will be extremely helpful to you.

Best of luck!!!!