PhD/PsyD Post-Grad Research?

[Stryker3]

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So I am just beginning to look into some grad school opportunities after having completed my Psych BA last May. The goal is acceptance into a PhD or Clinical Psych program eventually, but after thinking about it for a year and doing some research, I think the best decision is to get my master's first. I don't have any research experience from undergrad, however. It's my understanding that you sort of need this experience for most programs, whether they be master's, PhD, etc. Does anyone know of any post-grad opportunities? I also work full-time, so anything full time is out of the question right now.

Really any and all advice is welcomed at this point in my venture. Thanks!

 

[MiniLop]

I think the general advice you're likely to get is that, if you want research experience in order to be competitive for a PhD program, it's better to just be an RA (even if it's unpaid) than to shell out a lot of money for the MA. Programs don't care how you got the research experience as long as you have it. It's different for counseling psych programs, but for clinical programs having an MA when you apply isn't necessarily all that helpful. The question is: do you have enough relevant research experience? You can get that much more cheaply by volunteering as an RA than by getting an MA.

I was in a similar situation to you, and I just started cold emailing every psych professor in the area who appeared to be conducting even vaguely interesting research and asking if they wanted an RA. It took a lot of emails, but eventually I found a lab. I kept looking around for other experience while I did this, and eventually found another unpaid RA position that eventually led to me getting a paid RA job. Prior to getting that job, I was working full time in an unrelated field. And eventually I had enough experience to be competitive for PhD programs.

 

[Temperance]

I wanted to add some thoughts about the master's degree, as that was the route that I had taken. What the master's program adds is graduate coursework in research methodology and statistics, time working in a research lab as an RA, and the opportunity to do an empirical master's thesis. As @MiniLop said above, none of these things are strictly necessary, especially since you can get the time working in a lab and opportunity to do guided research (via poster presentations or even publications) as an RA anyway. However, whatever coursework you do during the master's program may not transfer to your eventual Ph.D. program; typically, there is a cap on how many units you can transfer, and there are classes that you will not be allowed to transfer at all. Thus, you're spending a lot of money -- last I checked at my alma mater, the tuition and fees add up to $25,000 for a two-year (full-time) program -- to repeat some or most of the courses, even if you're able to transfer your master's thesis. Master's programs tend to be unfunded.

When you find that RA position, paid or not, learn the ropes but also think about how you can apply the skills that you are learning to your research interest. Depending on what supports are in place at the lab in which you work, you might be able to work with other RAs, postdoctoral fellows, or even the PI to develop a presentation or eventual publication, and that is the sort of experience that is more directly applicable.

If you want to look at paid RA positions, then common places to find these postings aside from individual university websites, Indeed, Glassdoor, and plain old networking (e.g., ask your former professors if they know anyone who is looking for an RA):

Post-bacc RA Opportunities (pro-tip: Options > Subscribe via email)
Post-graduate Research Jobs

If you know what research area you want to pursue in your graduate studies (e.g., schizophrenia), then subscribing to the listserv for that specialty area may yield more relevant job postings and (perhaps more importantly!) up-to-date discussions about what's going on in the field. What are your interests?