eggfish

Thanks! I'm worried about going for a PhD because I don't have research experience. It was not required for my Master's (most of my time outside of class was spent in clinical placements).

I have both my bachelor's and master's in speech & hearing science (also known as communication sciences and disorders, or speech-language pathology). I plan on working for this field for a little while, but it is not sustainable for me. I realized I like this field in an academic sense but nothing more. I recently discovered public health and have been reading up on it a lot, and it sounds perfect! Especially epidemiology, biostatistics, and urban design. I regret not doing something that was more closely related to math and science, although my programs did require a lot of neuroscience and anatomy courses. Do you think it would reflect poorly on my application to already have an MA in an unrelated field? GRE: V 161, Q 159, W 4.5 (that's an old score - I would have to retake it). GPA 3.98 in undergrad and grad.

I worked 20-30 hours in undergrad, but I am finding it very difficult just to balance an online TA position (mostly just grading) with course work. In total, I am doing school work and working around 65 hours a week. I was told to spend 10 hours a week grading, but I do it really quickly and spend ~6 hours because I just don't have time.

Okay, so I just had an interview for an unpaid RA position in a cognitive development lab. I would be doing data entry, running tests, cleaning, entertaining children, etc. Is this worth it just to get the feel for research even though I wouldn't be designing experiments or interpreting results? I would only get to see the PI occasionally.

I have a lot of clinical experience in speech-language pathology in diagnosing and treating speech, language, swallowing, and cognitive disorders. I have no clinical experience in psych. How can I get that without being in a psych program? Also, do you find it extremely difficult to do research for your PhD when you didn't have experience with prior research projects?

You're not alone. I transferred undergrad institutions due to depression caused by homesickness, and so when I chose a grad school, I definitely put a lot of weight on quality of life. However, even though I am only 2 1/2 hours from my friends, family, favorite city, and my boyfriend, I still feel depressed here and sometimes wish I chose one of the universities in my old city. Unfortunately, we cannot go back :/ We made our choices and now we have to stick with them or tarnish our reputations. You have to stop thinking in the past, in "what ifs". Embrace your new place, especially opportunities and experiences that are unique to your university. Take some more time to socialize and maybe even date. Do you feel isolated?

Attire: I would wait. I ended up being in a clinic where we could wear basically whatever we want except graphic Ts or open toe shoes. I don't even have to cover my tattoos, and they are quite large. Also, I had a different dress code for each external placement. School supplies: I don't use a notebook at all. I have a laptop, a planner, and a couple folders. Most people I know use notebooks, so it kind of just depends on your preference. Therapy materials: Have you not toured your clinic yet during the admissions process? I made most of my own materials rather than using my clinic's, but if I had my own games, I would bring them! I ended up getting a lot of toys from TJ Maxx and Good Will. I think it's really handy to have a laminator and velcro dots.

I thought I responded to this, but I guess it didn't post. Thanks for the helpful advice. I have an appointment with a neuro professor next week, but that is also a good idea to talk to admissions.

Thanks. I have taken classes in study design and quant reasoning, but they are in speech and hearing science, not psych. I have been looking at classes I can take online in psych research design specifically from other universities (Colorado State, UC Berkeley, and University of Missouri). Also, I signed up to take a class called Behavioral Neuroscience Lab next fall. I could either take that or Intro to Statistics for Psych. I am thinking it would be better to take the lab since I could easily find a stats class online. Here is the lab course description: "Introduction to the research techniques used in behavioral neuroscience: includes behavioral analysis of drug effects, anatomy of the brain, hormones and behavior, neural circuits and related topics. Students will have direct experience working with laboratory rats to understand their importance in the advancement of our knowledge about how the brain functions." It doesn't sound like I would get as much in depth research experience as I would in an RA position, but at least it would give me an idea about what research is like. Also, my mom teaches at a university that offers a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is getting a degree there for free, and I'm pretty sure I could go at a discounted rate... However, I'm not sure if that's the kind of degree I want. It's a "practitioner model that fulfills the educational requirements for students to obtain counseling licensure in Illinois and Missouri"...implying it won't do much for me if I wanted to live somewhere else or do research. I'm not sure it would be a good stepping stone to a Counseling Psych PhD either.

Do you think a post-Bach might be a good idea for me? Or maybe I should just try to volunteer in a lab for a little while (would be less than a year at this point) while taking pre-reqs (research design, statistics [I have taken statistics, but it was considered the "easy statistics" course], etc.)?

Thanks, that link is really helpful!

1) Do you have time for a job? If so, is it usually a part time job on the weekend? I just finished my first year. I did not have a job last year, but I am starting a 10 hour a week TA position next Fall. I really don't feel like I have time for a job, but I need the money and experience. I expect my grades to drop a bit and have decided that I'm okay with that. 2) any job recommendations? TA, RA, tutor. Almost everyone in my cohort who has a job is one of those three things. 3) Is there time to participate in college events...football games...on -campus events? Yes. 4) What is grad school like? I don't know about you, but in undergrad most of my classes were in this format: lecture, lecture, lecture, multiple choice exam, lecture, lecture, lecture, multiple choice exam. In grad school, we have a lot more group projects, our projects our larger, and tests are more difficult (usually short answer, essay). But you also learn a lot more so it's not actually that bad. Also, clinical placements take up a lot of time. 5) Did you find a job easily after gradschool? N/A 6) Which work area do you recommend? Hospital, clinic, schools, etc? I have only been in a private clinic (autism social skills), preschool (language and articulation), and SNF (language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders, often as a result of stroke). I thought I would like the SNF and working with adults the most, but I honestly hate the SNF I'm at. After my experiences, I think I'm still interested in the medical population but would rather work in a hospital - especially a children's hospital. However, I probably won't actually have experience in a hospital until summer 2018. 7) How should I pick an area of interest...i like a little bit of everything, as of now? Almost everyone in my cohort is still in the same boat as you, even after a year. Few people actually know this until they complete all of their practicums. Just get experience and do what feels right.

I haven't started yet, but from what I understand, I will just be grading assignments. I don't have to teach.

I'm in grad school, and if I had to take care of a kid right now, I would die. I know someone who raised a baby during SLP grad school, but ended up never entering the work force afterward. But I'm sure it's possible.

This is my experience as well in SLP. I also find it difficult to balance coursework with clinical placements. However, I seem to put more effort into clinical placements than most of my classmates, who seem more concerned with maintaining a 4.0 GPA than learning via practicing.