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gnomechomsky22

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  1. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to lypiphera in Starting to get discouraged with application process....any constructive advice?   
    If you can't find a job as an RA in human factors, I would broaden the search to psychology and related fields in general, and look outside the academia arena as well.  You may not be eligible for a paid position in the lab you are in now, but you can look far outside of it, even if it's not 100% the area you want to study.  I am heading to graduate school in social psychology because that's what I want to do, but I have been working for the past 2 years as a full-time RA in clinical psychology at a hospital.  Maybe the experience wasn't as perfect on my application as it would have been if it were social psych, but the experience of research and the opportunity to be on a couple papers and posters was invaluable.  I would recommend looking at any RA position, even outside of human factors and even outside of academia.
     
    I'm curious as to what your experiences are that make you sure you want to go to graduate school.  I'm not doubting you, just want to know what your motivation/background is to help give more directed advice.  
     
    One point of concern is having graduate students write your letters of recommendation - it makes sense because they have worked closest with you, but what I heard is that admissions committees will take the opinion of a professor (the more experienced the better) more seriously, whether they should or not.  Try to get the head of the lab and any other professors you've worked with to write one for you, though make sure they say they can write a good one.  
     
    Other than that, I would agree with the masters program, trying to find either one that can be done online or at night so you can also work, or trying to get one of the admittedly competitive funded positions.  Best of luck!  I hope it works out for you.
  2. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to PsychGirl1 in Starting to get discouraged with application process....any constructive advice?   
    Agree with lypiphera- I worked as a RC in interventional cardiology before going back to school for Psychology. A bachelor's actually puts you in the perfect position for RA or RC positions, so I'm not sure why you would think you were under/overqualified. Any FT research experience is likely beneficial, and you'd be able to continue volunteering in your lab. Also, you only mentioned asking at your lab- what about other labs at the university? What about in depts besides psych that are still somewhat related to what you want to do? (Business, econ, whatever you're actually interested in- you haven't said).
     
    "Now that I am taking classes finding employment is more difficult because I cannot work 9-5."- Why wouldn't you be taking night or online classes? I think finding related employment should be your top priority compared to taking classes.
     
    "All of the interviewers have said they were impressed with my interview and resume but unable to offer me a position and would keep in touch if anything comes up"- I would follow up with these interviewers and ask them what advice they have for you and what things you can improve in your CV, cover letter, or interview. They aren't ever going to say anything ruder than this, and very rarely does this mean they will actually be in touch. You can also try contacting them at a later date and asking if any openings have come up, if you want to be proactive about it.
  3. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to lypiphera in Starting to get discouraged with application process....any constructive advice?   
    It sounds like you're doing it right, so the only thing to do is keep doing it.  Jobs are always in flux, so just keep contacting labs, hospitals, business, etc., and searching for openings.  If you're near a VA hospital, I would highly recommend looking into health services research there.  I work at one now in research (with a BA and no other experience) and it's a great experience, lots of research training.  We have a high turnover because it's a common job for students who have a bachelors and want experience before grad school - people are hired to be an RA for specific projects for a set time period.  I know our center doesn't always keep job openings up to date, so just call and ask (or if you can get a professor to mention you, that's even better). I know my LORs were really what made the difference in my application, so make sure they are strong.  If grad students are the only ones who can write you good ones, than I guess that's what you can do, but if you can get a professor to do at least one positive one (if not thorough), that would be a good bonus. Just keep doing searches for research assistant jobs (e.g. http://emrandehr.jobamatic.com/a/jobs/find-jobs/q-Research+Assistant) - don't give up when you've gotten through them all; just widen your field and start again.  Some that require experience should be satisfied by what you've done already, and it never hurts to apply. 
     
    About your interested in research, it sounds like your interests lie within I/O, Social, and Cognitive psychology just as well as HF (maybe even more than), so look into jobs in those areas as well.  When applying, you can cast a wide net and look into all of those areas, focusing on the topics that you mentioned.
  4. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to BeingThere in Starting to get discouraged with application process....any constructive advice?   
    That would be SIOP.  http://www.siop.org/
  5. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to Eigen in Starting to get discouraged with application process....any constructive advice?   
    Not in Psych, but a few things stand out:

    1) I'm not sure I would keep taking classes as a non-degree seeking student. They probably won't be that beneficial to you getting into grad school, and are taking time and money away from either volunteering for research, or working to get yourself more stable financially.

    2) Don't get grad students to write you letters. You *need* to make connections to faculty who will write you strong letters, especially given your low GPA and low research experience. Grad student letters count for almost nothing, no matter how strong they are.
     
    I'm very surprised the grad students agreed to write them- I know I wouldn't agree to write a letter for anyone working for me, as I know it would do them as much harm as good.
     
    3) Move somewhere cheaper. And find a cheaper school.
     
    Seriously, where I did my undergrad had a low cost of living, decent enough jobs, and tuition was $1600 a semester or so, even for a MA/MS in psychology. It might not be a perfect fit, but getting an MA/MS will help you a lot more down the road, and as mentioned, being full time will open you up for RA/TA positions on whatever campus, as well as let you defer paying back loans.
     
    4) If you're on interviews/writing SoPs, don't mention that your grades suffered because you worked to put yourself through school. Grad school will require you to work a pretty full time job (RA/TA) at the same time you're taking classes and working on research. Explaining the work as the cause of low grades will just make people wonder if you can handle the workload of grad school without your work suffering again.
  6. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to CarlieE in To Participate or Not in Large Class Discussions   
    Grad seminars are famous sites for posturing. Honestly, in some of my classes I wouldn't be surprised to see a student get up and thump him/herself on the chest and whoop like a primate in some bid for discussion dominance. 
     
    Sometimes I find myself checking out of the discussion when things get to be too much. I give myself a few minutes to blow off steam by texting/fb chatting to a friend, usually one back home who doesn't know the Chest-Thumper  
     
    Then after I give myself a few minutes to calm down, I try to re-enter the discussion, but on another topic or bring one up. 
     
     
  7. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to CarlieE in I bombed my first presentation...any advice?   
    Maybe this might help with your next presentation if it's accompanied with a powerpoint. 
     
    I start the power point and then record what I want to say (in private). Then I play it back for myself to hear and make adjustments ie. Oh god, no. Why the **** did I say that? and re-record again - and again - and again, until I like how I sound and everything. 
     
    THEN I play back the recording and I write down EXACTLY what I said including the uhms and ahhs. I don't make the script grammatically correct or anything. I just transcribe as I sound. Note I made the font LARGE. 
     
    Then I play back the powerpoint presentation as I read off my script and add in marks on my script for when I click to move to the next slide. 
     
    At the presentation, I have my script with my marks for slide changes. So then I basically read off my script, looking up every now and then to gauge my audience and smile or whatever. One hand holds my script, the other hand has the clicker. Since the font is MASSIVE, I never really lose my place in the script when I look up. 
     
    This works really well at conferences too since the timing is very exact. They gave me 10 minutes at my last conference and by using this method I got my presentation down to 9 minutes and 43 seconds. It really helped me so I didn't get flustered or lose my thought. 
  8. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to CarlieE in I bombed my first presentation...any advice?   
    My first semester I presented on Nietzsche and I said.... "The idea is that there's no such thing as an absolute truth, but rather many. So it's not knowledge with a capital "N"...." There was a pause and then an eruption of laughter. Believe me, I made sure I spellchecked my final paper over and over.... I'm getting a tshirt that says "yep, theyre actually going to give me a PhD".... Ultimately, its your content that counts. If you feel badly about it I'm sure you can email our professor and ask for a do over by doing a second presentation but I wouldn't worry too much over it.
  9. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to emmm in I bombed my first presentation...any advice?   
    I think you are probably more concerned about this than you need to be (and it may not have seemed as awful to the audience as it felt to you). Unless your program is really cutthroat, I'm sure your professors have seen many, many nervous student presentations and may even still get nervous in front of groups, themselves.  Maybe you should look for a Toastmasters group or something similar to become more comfortable speaking in front of a group, or maybe it was just THIS group that made you nervous. Grad school is stressful, after all. It can be hard when everyone else is in a separate group and you are the only new person, but presumably you are in this class because you want to be or need to be. So, continue making efforts to be pleasant and friendly, and I'm sure people understand about public-speaking jitters. (I bet your slides made a positive impression!)
  10. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to Andean Pat in Note taking and reading....how to keep everything organized?   
    Hi! I do take a lot of notes, but I am slow. I have done them both: hand & OneNote. this program is VERY comfortable, you can then edit it and save it as pdf, word, etc. I usually then add my own comments when I read the material. Hope it helps!
     
    Angie
  11. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to CarlieE in Note taking and reading....how to keep everything organized?   
    It's all a matter of personal preference. I use my ipad to take notes - diagrams and typed notes. I use a stylus for diagrams or stick figures etc. I use Notability and dropbox. 
     
    But that doesn't preclude me from using paper when it's easier. If I do I just keep them in a folder; as long as I know where all my stuff is I can find it when I need it. 
  12. Upvote
    gnomechomsky22 reacted to Eigen in Note taking and reading....how to keep everything organized?   
    I still take notes by hand. I find it's for more effective for me as a learning tool.    As for printing- I lament the over-use of paper, but I really need hard copies to read/annotate, and I've tried a number of solutions.    As to cost- invest in a good, cheap, black and white Laser printer with duplexing capabilities. Mine cost about $60, and prints for fractions of a cent per page. I can fit 2-4 pages on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, depending on the size of the text.   That said, digital files have the benefit of being searchable.    I usually transcribe my notes over into digital files if I think they're something I'm going to need to access a lot. On the MS side, there's OneNote, and on the Mac side Growly Notes is quite good- and both are practically free, since you'll have OneNote with Office, and GrowlyNotes is a free download as well.    They're easy, free-form note-taking software, with a page/section based arrangement. I don't think I'd use them for copious notes, but they're a good way to organize information that I'm going to need to refer to a lot. 
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