Questions from a career changer

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ag44

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Greetings all,

After serious deliberation and reading countless horror stories in internet holes, I've decided to give psychology as a career path a shot. I have no college background in psychology. I have read up on the subject in my spare time, had a few conversations with psychologists, and reflected on my own story, interests, and motivations. I plan on taking one course, perhaps two, this semester, as well as shadowing/volunteering.

I know that, being fairly ignorant of the field, I can't say for certain that this is the profession for me. Nevertheless, I do not like to go into a project, even tentatively, without having a larger, realistic vision of the prospective paths forward. Thus if you could offer any advice on how someone in my position could go about establishing a viable trajectory, I would greatly appreciate it.

If it helps to know my academic background - I am a good student. My transcript is a little odd, since I went to a school without grades, but I took a majority of my courses at schools where I received letter grades. My GPA from those courses is around 3.8. I was initially premed, but eventually switched to a more humanities-based track.

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I think it would help you to better define what area of psychology (e.g., social, clinical, developmental, social work, marriage and family therapist) you want to head towards. It's hard for me offer meaningful advice because I'm unclear as to which road in psychology you want to take. If you eventually end wanting to pursue a PhD in psychology (e.g., social, clinical, developmental, neuropsych, cognitive, counseling, school), you will need a very strong GPA from undergrad and a transcript showing that you have taken psychology courses.You will also need a strong GRE score as well as research experience, mainly being a research assistant (paid or unpaid) for someone's lab where you have presented at conferences, help run research studies, enter data, assisted in writing a publication, etc.
 
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Thank you for the speedy replies. Clinical psychology and counseling psychology appeal to me the most. They seem to be the roads most geared towards combining psychotherapy with research.

I suppose it would be good to offer more concrete questions here. (1) How many course in psychology to most grad schools actually expect you to take? I know that some schools mention that only 12 undergrad credits in psychology is necessary. While this may be the case officially, is it in reality enough?

Also how much research experience is expected? I know that a general rule of thumb is the more the merrier, but what are the general bounds?
 
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There are post bac programs that are pretty comprehensive and offer opportunity for research experience, but they are costly and more effective with full-time commitment. As an example, Columbia has one (http://sps.columbia.edu/certificates/psychology-certificate). You probably need more research experience than they offer as part of the program, but there are other research opportunities available at big universities. Since you need full coursework and research prerequisites, something like this might be good for you if you have the time and money for it. I don't know where you are located, but I'd recommend finding something similar at a public university if you want to go this route.

Also if you do this from the start, I think you're looking at 8+ years of school. Then post-doc. (Correct me if I'm wrong, sdn!)
 
12 credits in psych seems light. Some courses off-hand that I recall being most commonly required were intro psych, biopsych or equivalent, social psych, cognitive psych, developmental psych, intro stats, and a research methods class or two.

The most commonly-ascribed to "minimum" for research experience seems to be 1-2 years. I'm sure folks have gotten in with less, but with <1 year, you're really limiting the competitiveness of your application.
 
I am wondering if the OP has done any research on making oneself competitive for a PhD, v. read things on the internet. Every question you asked has answers in multiple places, if you're only willing to look first. Every PhD student I've ever met began by knowing how to find answers to basic questions. I mean, I know I sound like a jerk, but it's also true.
 
I bet that concussion gave you fibromyalgia. Better get your emotional support animal application ready.
Can't you see how much pain he's in, you monster?!? He needs narcotics. ALL the narcotics.
 
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