Relevant Research Experience? Should I apply for a different job?

[coriander1998]

Hi guys, I have a dilemma that I need some assistance with. Some information has been changed for privacy purposes, but veracity has not been altered.

It is my goal to become a clinical psychologist. However, I am concerned on a number of fronts: that I do not have enough research experience, that the experience I have isn’t relevant to clinical psychology, and that I do not have any publications. My main questions are – should I take job that will provide me with more relevant experience, and is my current experience sufficient enough for graduate school?

Currently, I am a lab manager in a neurobiology research lab which studies topics unrelated to psychology and psychiatry. I have worked here for over a year. This is a wet lab and utilizes an animal model. In this position I have gained a large amount of research skills—beyond learning wet lab technical processes, I have also supervised undergrads, analyzed data, put together charts and graphs, helped design projects, assisted with surgeries and more.

A research position has just opened up in a psychiatry lab that primarily studies affective disorders – the area of research I am interested in—and I am basically salivating at the mouth at the thought of applying. However, I am worried about the possibility that this lab will present me with less responsibility and exposure to actual research than my current lab (I am worried I will be stuck just doing recruitment and data entry, for instance). Also, I am worried that moving around too much will go against me – each lab I’ve been in, I’ve been in for about a year.

Additionally, people in my life keep telling me to stay in my current position with the justification that research is research and it will look good when applying either way. That being said, all of the clinical psych programs that I have looked at emphasized “research fit” – so I don’t think that is true?

I am also worried about leaving for other reasons—my PI has put a lot of time into training me (I started with 0 knowledge on how to work in a wet lab) and he relies on me for a lot. He is very old and has health and memory problems which will get worse with time, and also very few lab staff, so I am worried that my leaving will be another nail in his coffin. Additionally, he can be ego-driven and vindictive to the point that it is hard to work with him in some situations-- and I feel that by leaving, he will be extremely angry, and I will lose a letter of recommendation. Lastly, by leaving I may lose out on a paper—he has been writing one for about 6 months, and I will be an author; but I have no idea when he will submit, and if it will even be published.

I am conflicted on what to do.

My other experience that is relevant to clinical psych is presented succinctly as follows:

Research:

-Post-undergrad research job: Clinical trial research coordinator, looking at treatments for a variety of affective disorders. No real research experience (just collecting data, recruiting participants, consenting participants). Very unpleasant coworkers, which led to me leaving after 5 months. (This was my second job post-undergrad)


-Undergrad lab #3 (most recent) –Clinical psych/neuroscience lab that studies the brains and behaviors of violent offenders: cleaned brain scan data, also completed an undergraduate thesis on a study I designed in this lab (poster, paper, presentation). Great research experience.
-Undergrad lab #2 – Social psych lab on human emotions: ran studies, recruited participants, entered data
-Undergrad lab #1 – Social developmental psych lab that looks at how children come to understand and discriminate between social categories: ran studies, entered data, recruited participants, cleaned data

Clinical:
- 1 year working for the suicide hotline (This was my first job post-undergrad)
- I just started volunteering for a sexual assault hotline (where the primary caller is the victim/survivor or a loved one)

Thank you so much for your help! I apologize if something doesn’t make sense, I had a huge headache as I wrote this.

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[psycho1391]

No real research experience (just collecting data, recruiting participants, consenting participants)

What do you mean is this not "real" research experience?

Will the psychiatry lab give you additional experiences, i.e., learning how to administer different measurements?

I am also worried about leaving for other reasons—my PI has put a lot of time into training me (I started with 0 knowledge on how to work in a wet lab) and he relies on me for a lot. He is very old and has health and memory problems which will get worse with time, and also very few lab staff, so I am worried that my leaving will be another nail in his coffin. Additionally, he can be ego-driven and vindictive to the point that it is hard to work with him in some situations-- and I feel that by leaving, he will be extremely angry, and I will lose a letter of recommendation. Lastly, by leaving I may lose out on a paper—he has been writing one for about 6 months, and I will be an author; but I have no idea when he will submit, and if it will even be published

I mean either way you are unsure if you'll have a published paper?

Also, the first part is not your problem, especially if you plan on moving to a Ph.D. program.

If you've worked in other labs in undergraduate, you can use those references. You can use the psychiatry lab as an reference.

Additionally, people in my life keep telling me to stay in my current position with the justification that research is research and it will look good when applying either way.

It is important that you build your CV to match your interests when applying for program. If in a Ph.D. program you want to study affective disorders, build you CV to reflect that.

 

[coriander1998]

What do you mean is this not "real" research experience?

Perhaps I didn't word this the best. That particular job I was referencing was mostly administrative, and once in a while I consented patients, collected data, etc. I also had no part in the data analysis, research design or interpretation and had a very basic understanding of the research that was being done -- e.g. we are using x to treat y, but I had little idea on why x may work in treating y. None of my coworkers were very aware either. That being said, perhaps I am also bitter due to the fact that this lab over-hired workers and as such I had almost nothing to do for the entire time I worked there, where when I asked for more work, was told to just re-read the protocol (which I did over and over again for days on end). In comparison, at my current job, I participate in research design, routinely analyze data, understand why I am collecting data when I collect it, and also regularly read research papers on topics that pertain to the lab... I feel like I am actually engaging in scientific research, though I understand I was in the first lab, too. I suppose maybe I fear leaving this lab because I don't want to end up in the situation that I was in with my first lab.

Will the psychiatry lab give you additional experiences, i.e., learning how to administer different measurements?

Not sure, I hope so. The job application mentions administering assessments, so I think so. I think I will ask during the interview.

I mean either way you are unsure if you'll have a published paper?

Also, the first part is not your problem, especially if you plan on moving to a Ph.D. program.

If you've worked in other labs in undergraduate, you can use those references. You can use the psychiatry lab as an reference.

It is important that you build your CV to match your interests when applying for program. If in a Ph.D. program you want to study affective disorders, build you CV to reflect that.

Thank you for your help, you've given me much to think about!

 

[psycho1391]

Not sure, I hope so. The job application mentions administering assessments, so I think so. I think I will ask during the interview.

Right. Also be sure to ask about working on posters/papers. That way you can make sure the move it right for you.

 

[summerbabe]

That being said, all of the clinical psych programs that I have looked at emphasized “research fit” – so I don’t think that is true?

It's both. The strongest applicants usually have both higher quantities of overall research experience (which feeds into foundation skills that can likely be applied to all sorts of topics) and relevant exposure to their focus area.

Some people gain these experiences in a more non-linear way, like yourself via multiple positions/labs, each with their own focus areas.

Others might get lucky and start with an lab in undergrad, do a bunch of work with that PI/lab and then be accepted into that lab or another one that does the exact type of work.

Where quantity and fit may not align are when one's experiences don't map onto the work that a PI currently does. For example, your fit with a counseling psych lab that does qualitative and mixed methods research on refugee experiences with receiving mental health treatment services following relocation would be very poor, even though you have had lots of experience.

But you might be considered a good to decent fit with another lab that uses the same types of data analysis and research methods that you've been involved in, even if the overall topic might be different.

And of course, perceived fit is in the eye of the beholder/PI. I had an experimental psych friend in grad school who was a musician and math person with minimal psych background and they ended was given an offer for a lab that studies acoustics in marine mammels because they somehow got connected to that PI and that PI thought this person's skillset was useful.