Should I change change my career?

[hopefulpsychologist]

i have taken the gre about 2 or 3 times my combined score is 295 i did the subject test for psy also but ill have to edit and say what my score was because i forgot. i have an undergrad in psy with a 3.5 gpa. i have applied to about 4 phd programs and 4 psyd programs in my state (florida). i also applied to a few schools in georgia and alabama but didnt get in. how far do people relocate just to get a phd/psyd this is becoming to much idk what to do in order to get accepted. out of the 4 psyd programs i applied for in florida i did get accepted to 2 of them but they are argosy in tampa and carlos albizu in miami. i know those arent the 'best' schools so idk if i should even bother considering it.. i did not get into fit or nsu for those who thought of it.

Edit: i am not interested in a masters because i want to do more than therapy, my plan WAS to get a doctorate and specialize in something options are still limited with a masters in clinical. i also am not interested in an msw etc.

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[sardonic]

People often relocate thousands of miles. I applied to Ph.D. programs in Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Colorado, Ohio, etc. If I had gotten into only 1, I would have gone there, regardless of location. I didn't apply to any schools that I would not be happy attending. In the end I was fortunate and did not have to relocate, but it's my understanding that relocation is the norm for Ph.D. programs at least. And keep in mind that you are very likely to have to relocate again for internship.

Edited to add that if you are applying on the basis of location, you are likely going to be less successful. Ph.D. programs want FIT, not local candidates.

 

[QAsPsych]

Second on the relocation issue. Willingness to move pretty much anywhere is a positive, restrictions are going to present serious issues getting in. Moved ~1,000 miles for my program, and was willing to move and nearly did move clear across the country. 8 is a low number of applications, especially for a candidate who doesn't have "perfect" scores and stats. 12 is often considered a good number to shoot for, applicants who are less than perfect often go above that. I would probably try again with a much wider net, ~15 apps, applying to schools where you share strong interests with the faculty regardless of the location.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

I think a lot of your decision-making relates to plan B. Is there a "second choice" career that you would enjoy? I think, as others have said, you are going to have to cast a wider net to be accepted to a reasonably good program. Also, you will likely have to move a second time for internship. And if you want to specialize, probably another time for postdoc. That type of lifestyle isn't for everyone. If it isn't for you, and you have another career you might enjoy, that may be a good option.

Good luck!

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

i know that argosy is not one of the best schools but the tampa location doesnt seem to be as bad as the others where the lawsuit was and i know quite a few people from my university that went to argosy tampa for their psyd and i know one that works in private practice. their match rates arent THAT bad neither is the one in atlanta if i was to relocate there.

tbh im also having trouble thinking about what type of psychologist to become..psychologist vs an actual licensed psy. that practices. i dont really want to do therapy, teaching or research as a primary career. i want to branch out within psychology and do something different not the typical thing. but im not sure how to branch out and what field of psychology i should choose. any advice from anyone?

 

[WisNeuro]

It's hard to give advice on what you should do when you have no idea of what you want to do. If you don't want to do therapy, assessment, teaching, or research, then I would strongly advise against pursuing graduate work in psychology.

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

isnt there some field in psychology thats different? just because i dont want to do those things doesnt mean i should not further education in psychology. i dont mind doing assessments but im sure theres more to psychology than just therapy, teaching, and research...

 

[Doctor Eliza]

Do you have interests in policy or advocacy? Program development?

 

[WisNeuro]

Well, there is more than that, but people usually spend some time in the clinical or research world before going the policy/advocacy route. I wouldn't trust someone to be my spokesman/lobbyist at a national/regional level if they had no idea what the practice of my profession is like. So yeah, there are lots of things outside of therapy, teaching, research, etc, but that's where most of us start out before transitioning into some administrative duties.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

i know that argosy is not one of the best schools but the tampa location doesnt seem to be as bad as the others where the lawsuit was and i know quite a few people from my university that went to argosy tampa for their psyd and i know one that works in private practice. their match rates arent THAT bad neither is the one in atlanta if i was to relocate there.

tbh im also having trouble thinking about what type of psychologist to become..psychologist vs an actual licensed psy. that practices. i dont really want to do therapy, teaching or research as a primary career. i want to branch out within psychology and do something different not the typical thing. but im not sure how to branch out and what field of psychology i should choose. any advice from anyone?

In addition to what's been mentioned above, there's also I/O psychology, which often involves corporate consultation. However, even a masters in I/O is going to require a good bit of research and stats work. All the I/O folks I've met have been stats gurus, and they typically use statistics in their consultations.

The other non-licensed fields of psychology are all going to be very, very research-oriented. Then again, research can look very different from one hospital/university/organization to the next.

But I'd agree that the others are correct--you'll likely need to narrow down "do something different not the typical thing" into more specific terms. Plus, be sure you have an accurate understanding of what research, therapy, and the like actually entails.

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

i was thinking about i/o psychology because its very different and i was also thinking about forensic psychology. however i saw a thread saying that you need a clinical psych degree is this true? i know a university in my area that offers a phd in "legal psych" im not sure if it leads to what i think it does.

i also dont mind research im keeping my options open many professors told me that theres more to psychology than just clinical psych about 85% of my classes it had students saying they want to do clinical psych and since im not too much into the therapy i thought maybe i should take time to figure out if i should go after something else. no one bothered on commenting if i should go to argosy lol i guess i should drawback that statement

 

[WisNeuro]

In addition to what's been mentioned above, there's also I/O psychology, which often involves corporate consultation. However, even a masters in I/O is going to require a good bit of research and stats work. All the I/O folks I've met have been stats gurus, and they typically use statistics in their consultations.

Likewise, all of my I/O friends had to be very stats savvy and had extensive research backgrounds to be competitive in the job market.

And yes, most forensic people are clinical psychologists who get into the field mid career and beyond. Especially if you're going to be deposed, since the opposing counsel will attack your background and competence in any way that they can.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I/O Psych and Forensic Psych are vastly different areas. The latter is a sub-speciality within doctoral training (typically clinical psychology). It requires thick skin and is only advisable for very well trained and informed clinicians. "Dabbling" in forensic work is a mistake waiting to happen. The former is much more like traditional consulting, though it is stats heavy bc of the type of work done.

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

so a phd in legal psychology..? basically that would only lead me to do research not the actual forensic psychology? AND i would still need a clinical degree? or in fact to do most things in the pield of psychology you need either clinical or counseling as a degree...

 

[AcronymAllergy]

so a phd in legal psychology..? basically that would only lead me to do research not the actual forensic psychology? AND i would still need a clinical degree? or in fact to do most things in the pield of psychology you need either clinical or counseling as a degree...

I honestly have no idea what a PhD in legal psychology would be other than a gimmick. It doesn't seem like it'd be license-eligible, which is what you'd need to do forensic work--whether it be working as a psychologist in a forensic setting (e.g., board of prisons), or conducting psycholegal work (e.g., civil litigation, custody evaluations, etc.).

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

PhD in Legal Psychology
The Legal Psychology doctoral program is designed to teach students how to conduct research on psycholegal issues. Therefore, students are expected to participate in research throughout their graduate studies. Students will conduct this research under the supervision of one or more faculty members. Students are involved in all aspects of the research enterprise, including the development of hypotheses, preparation of research materials, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, presentation of the results at professional conferences, and preparation of manuscripts for publication.

this is what it says on the website. the university that offers this program is also listed on the apadivisions.org/division-41

 

[QAsPsych]

http://legalpsych.fiu.edu/program-information/admission-procedures-and-faqs/ Maybe try reading their own FAQ which answers most of your questions.

Honestly I'd suggest something outside of psych, it's not very lucrative and if you don't know what you want to do it strikes me as kind of a poor choice.

 

[smalltownpsych]

It's hard to give advice on what you should do when you have no idea of what you want to do. If you don't want to do therapy, assessment, teaching, or research, then I would strongly advise against pursuing graduate work in psychology.

Thanks for the laugh, WisNeuro.

 

[WisNeuro]

I try.

 

[smalltownpsych]

It reminds me of the people who say, "I want to be a psychologist, but I really don't want to learn anything about the brain." It makes me want to stab them with a scalpel.

 

[coolbanana]

isnt there some field in psychology thats different? just because i dont want to do those things doesnt mean i should not further education in psychology. i dont mind doing assessments but im sure theres more to psychology than just therapy, teaching, and research...

But what exactly do you want to do? Those are what you do with a psyc degree.

 

[coolbanana]

PhD in Legal Psychology
The Legal Psychology doctoral program is designed to teach students how to conduct research on psycholegal issues. Therefore, students are expected to participate in research throughout their graduate studies. Students will conduct this research under the supervision of one or more faculty members. Students are involved in all aspects of the research enterprise, including the development of hypotheses, preparation of research materials, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, presentation of the results at professional conferences, and preparation of manuscripts for publication.

this is what it says on the website. the university that offers this program is also listed on the apadivisions.org/division-41

I thought you didn't want to do research.

Also I looked at the ranking of this college and it's got a C+. Not to be rude but I would aim higher than this. I wouldn't go just anywhere JUST to get a psyc degree.

 

[hopefulpsychologist]

I thought you didn't want to do research.

Also I looked at the ranking of this college and it's got a C+. Not to be rude but I would aim higher than this. I wouldn't go just anywhere JUST to get a psyc degree.

well i have been told that my 'stats' are not very good so i am nervous about applying to any clinical/counseling program because i know how competitive it is. i want to try and see if there is a way that i can branch out and be different than every other psych major. i still want to try and experiment to understand what exactly i want to do, apparently i dont know lol..i feel as if therapy might get boring because you are not doing anything that requires a lot of moving around, your usually sitting and i think that i would want a career that involves some physical movement but i dont know if i am sure about that yet because when i first started college before i majored in psych i thought i would be someone that would work in a hospital and when i finally took time to understand and volunteer i realized i actually hate it lol. sorry for typing my life story

 

[smalltownpsych]

well i have been told that my 'stats' are not very good so i am nervous about applying to any clinical/counseling program because i know how competitive it is. i want to try and see if there is a way that i can branch out and be different than every other psych major. i still want to try and experiment to understand what exactly i want to do, apparently i dont know lol..i feel as if therapy might get boring because you are not doing anything that requires a lot of moving around, your usually sitting and i think that i would want a career that involves some physical movement but i dont know if i am sure about that yet because when i first started college before i majored in psych i thought i would be someone that would work in a hospital and when i finally took time to understand and volunteer i realized i actually hate it lol. sorry for typing my life story

Wilderness Therapists don't spend a lot of time sitting around. They work with adolescents in an outdoor setting as opposed to a traditional treatment setting.

 

[erg923]

well i have been told that my 'stats' are not very good so i am nervous about applying to any clinical/counseling program because i know how competitive it is. i want to try and see if there is a way that i can branch out and be different than every other psych major. i still want to try and experiment to understand what exactly i want to do, apparently i dont know lol..i feel as if therapy might get boring because you are not doing anything that requires a lot of moving around, your usually sitting and i think that i would want a career that involves some physical movement but i dont know if i am sure about that yet because when i first started college before i majored in psych i thought i would be someone that would work in a hospital and when i finally took time to understand and volunteer i realized i actually hate it lol. sorry for typing my life story

You are married to an idea and a degree that is incongruent with your stated day to day activities. Step out off the box. Figure out what you wavy to do and choose the education that futhers the goal. It might be graduate work on psychology. It might be a degree in forestry. Who cares what the degree is?!