Your average week as a Ph.D./Psy.D. student

[Rivi]

I thought it would be fun to compare our average weekly workloads.

For me I spend:

11 hours a week at class and group supervision

18 hours a week at my internship practicum site (7 hours of individual counseling, 1 hour group counseling, the rest of the time is spent scoring assessments, doing paperwork, in meetings, etc.)

18 hours a week doing research work for my professor (Running studies, crunching data, SPSS type stuff)

So that's about 47 hours a week, not including time spent preparing for clients, studying for tests, etc.

At some point next year I am going to have to start working on my pre-dissertation, on top of this. I don't know exactly what that will look like.

So lets hear it, what's your week like?

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[Therapist4Chnge]

20 hr RA
16 hr clinical (groups / crisis intervention)
4-5 hr @ the pool
2 hr lecture prep
1 hr hitting golf balls
1 hr consultation

I'm done with my main research, classes, and I am pretty much killing time until internship. I'll be cutting out my RA hours out for the last 6-7 weeks (funding issue), so I won't know what to do with myself!!

 

[psychmama]

16 hrs GA at the counseling center, seeing clients, doing paperwork

3 hrs running group and being supervised for that

4 hrs of miscellaneous clinical work at the school's mental health clinic, and another 2 hrs of supervision related to same

1 hr advanced supervision group where we present cases, etc.

20 hrs (if I'm lucky) working on dissertation

The rest is goofing off and family. Like T4C I'm awaiting the start of internship in the fall. The above schedule looks very different from my earlier years in the program (when I did much more coursework and research) and will look a lot different than my schedule as an intern come September.

 

[PsyDr]

back in school my typical weekday was:

4:30AM wake up
5:00 AM drive to lab pick up coffee on the way
5:30 AM arrive, prepare for lab meeting or lecture
6:00AM classes for lab, not for credit
7:00 AM breakfast in the hospital
7:45-8:00AM begin research or drive to practicum
9:00 AM either begin seeing pts at practicum (3 days/wk) or continue research (2-4 days/wk) or observe rounds with various groups
noon lunch (again at a hospital)
1:00-5:00PM attend psych class at psych school or continue practicum or grand rounds and then research. very occasional tutoring sessions in random research related subjects in various parts of the med school.
5:00PM make a mad dash over to psychology school to TA or on a day where i was at said school, grade papers or write tests
6:00-9:00PM TA neuro/pharm classes, grade papers
9:35-9:45PM arrive home
10:00PM free time until i fall asleep on the couch

weekends i rarely did any work.

 

[terpskins10]

I'm getting nervous just looking at these schedules, and I haven't even applied yet!

 

[DannySplat]

Is it too late to reconsider? Those "typical" days scare me. When do you get the opportunity to, ya know, live?

Peace.

 

[Rivi]

Is it too late to reconsider? Those "typical" days scare me. When do you get the opportunity to, ya know, live?

Peace.

Honestly, it is a lot of work but it's cool work. I really love seeing the clients and I love the people I work with. The classes are always great. The only thing I don't like is my stupid GRA, and that's only 18 hours.

Personally, I always have time to go out Friday and Saturday nights. Going out those two nights is enough social life for me. And during the week I spend a lot of time with fellow students, getting lunch, chatting in the research lab, etc. SO my social life isn't *that* horrible. I have had to give up a few things (martial arts classes).

 

[psychmama]

Honestly, it is a lot of work but it's cool work. I really love seeing the clients and I love the people I work with. The classes are always great. The only thing I don't like is my stupid GRA, and that's only 18 hours.

Personally, I always have time to go out Friday and Saturday nights. Going out those two nights is enough social life for me. And during the week I spend a lot of time with fellow students, getting lunch, chatting in the research lab, etc. SO my social life isn't *that* horrible. I have had to give up a few things (martial arts classes).

Yes, so VERY cool! Love it, despite the grind and have never been happier. (weird huh?)

 

[FahlenStar]

Its funny because I easily spend 10-12 hours a day when I am at school...sometimes more and I am still an undergrad! I don't have schedule of what I do everyday but it is mostly classes, research, internship, and lots of statistics (plus a run at the gym here and there). Sometimes I get worn down but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I cannot wait to dive into graduate work!

I do take Fridays off though.

 

[Ollie123]

PSYDR makes me feel lazy, and I thought I was a pretty busy. I don't know that I could get up that early and still be cognitively intact by dinner time.

I don't have a "typical day", since I try to block things off into huge chunks of time. I'm way more productive if I can spend an entire day in lab, and an entire day in classes than I would be trying to do half and half each day. Generally, I keep a 9-5 on campus, but I'm often doing work for a large portion of the evening, and a large portion of the weekend. Often times, this is laid-back kind of work, so its not frantic or anything. I try to strike a balance between the reading I HAVE to do for school (classes, lab, thesis) and more general reading just for things I want to learn about.

Grad school is awesome though. Undergrad was a miserable experience, and incredibly bland. I'd take grad school any day - its much more my type of environment.

 

[eugeniegal]

I am a first year counseling psych student. Here's the breakdown of my time:

Class - 14 hours a week
Studying (reading, writing, etc) - 12 hours
Teaching - 10 hours
Research - 10 hours
Meetings, misc - 10 hours

 

[blindchaos]

I'm a first year PsyD student though I already have my MA so my schedule isn't the same as my 1st year classmates coming in from BA/BS.

Here's my week totals (roughly)
10 hours in class
2 hours in class lab
10 hours GA work
5-9 hours seeing clients
3.5-4 hours in supervision/group supervision/clinic meetings
2 hours commuting (for the week total - I live pretty close)

Amount of time spent on homework, paperwork, and starting dissertation varies greatly from week but all together that takes up a big chunk of time. So...here's an average day for me

7:30-8:30 - wake up, eat breakfast, get ready to go
8:30/8:45 - leave, frequently get coffee on the way
9:00 - arrive at school for GA hours or supervision
11 - class (2x week) or GA hours (1x per week) or clients (1-3x per week)
12 - lunch if I can squeeze it in (rare), otherwise clients
1 - class (3x week), clients (1x per week), GA work (1x per week)
3:30 - get out of class for the day, start scoring assessments if I have any to do (either for class practice or for real clients) or tie up various loose ends
4 - class lab (1x week), otherwise start on assigned readings or assignments
6 - get out of lab (1x week) and/or continue homework/paperwork/dissertation
7 - *usually* home by this time. Have some dinner, then back to work on homework, paperwork, and/or dissertation editing...and of course do a little procrastinating, watch House, clean, shower, etc.
*** - go to bed somewhere between midnight and 2am. Generally closer to 2am.

Weekends vary greatly. This weekend will be busy with a lot of paperwork and homework to do along with a race. Other weekends (like last weekend for the most part) are pretty open.

I actually really like my schedule this semester as my class times are fairly consistent. Last semester they were scattered all over the place, including an evening class (I LOVE school, but I HATE being in class at night) so that kind of drove me nuts since my start and end times varied greatly day to day. Now it's pretty consistent - I'm at school by 9am every day, done with class by 3:30, and I'm generally home around 6 or 7pm, though every once in a while I'll have some 12 hour days (at school - not counting the time I'm awake and working at home). I really do like my schedule though and I love the program, which makes the every-so-often week full of 12 hour days at school well worth it (*now exiting sappy cheeseball mode*)

 

[Grace Slick]

Wow. People can actually describe their days in structured chunks of time?? I could never do that. I am way too chaotic for that.

I am about to enter my 3rd (last) semester of year 2. I am a PsyD student.

I will have 8 hrs of class per week (two classes + dissertation mentoring)

I have absolutely no idea how many hours I clock doing my reading and other schoolwork because I never measured it.

Throughout the program, I have worked 24 hrs per week as a therapist for an agency. That will end on May 4th because I have been laid off.

I just accepted an offer for a fee-for-service therapist, and this week I have my 1st two clients for my brand new private practice. So I plan to keep the same 24-hr-or-so work schedule, and I'm sure that will change once my practicum starts in Sept.

I would like to say that I am too busy to clean the house, but right now I'm on break until the start of the summer semester, which begins on May 5. I haven't really done any cleaning. We have a lot of reading to do during the break (about the Rorschach), which I will start tonight.

I spend a lot of time in the car going from home, to work, to school, and back home again.

On the days when I have no school, I spend a lot of time on the bus or the subway because I live in the city and I hate driving.

I always try to leave time for my creative outlets (art, photography, music, etc.)

Oh, and I never, ever spend any time at school past when I HAVE to be there. I go to classes; I go home. I don't study there.

 

[compassionate1]

This thread is so discouraging to me...

Yes, I could do it as a single. But how do you fit a family: a spouse and children into this?

I know we've had threads on grad school and family, but looking at the schedule break down makes me wonder all over again how this can be done.

I know this is a sensitive topic but what happens to intimate life... where does one take the energy at the end of the day?

When do you talk to your kids? and REALLY listen? What happens when they get sick? Or if you get the flu? How does one keep up?

Compassionate1

 

[Rivi]

This thread is so discouraging to me...

Yes, I could do it as a single. But how do you fit a family: a spouse and children into this?

I know we've had threads on grad school and family, but looking at the schedule break down makes me wonder all over again how this can be done.

I know this is a sensitive topic but what happens to intimate life... where does one take the energy at the end of the day?

When do you talk to your kids? and REALLY listen? What happens when they get sick? Or if you get the flu? How does one keep up?

Compassionate1

I know several single mothers who are in a Ph.D. program and who are doing relatively well with the program. There are several options you can do, at least in my program.

You can do a lighter load of classes, or you have the option of NOT doing a research assistance position/teaching assistance position. So, that knocks off about 18hours a week of work.

It's definitely not easy. It's probably the hardest you will ever work. It takes finding a balance and making time for yourself.

 

[PsyDr]

compassionate1,


if you want something enough, you make time for it.

 

[psychmama]

Yes, it helps to be highly motivated. Still, I think Compassionate1 makes some good points that need to be taken seriously. I'd be lying if I didn't concede that I've sometimes made compromises in order to make my life as grad student, mother and wife work. On good days I feel I've been mostly "good enough". Occasionally I have my doubts.

What can you do? Life is full of choices and nothing is for free. I still think the process has been worth it.

 

[compassionate1]

Thanks for the candid responses.

Compassionate1