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.

I was diagnosed with severe depression and PTSD. I am not diagnosed with any attention problems because I have never brought it up with a therapist, but I do think I have a lot of problems with attention or auditory processing that have been getting worse. I think it's probably due to the depression...maybe... I am about to start my second year of grad school. Honestly, the first one was alright. I can't say I was happy, but this is the longest period in a while I haven't had a panic attack, weirdly enough. I feel like my heavy work load actually distracted me from thoughts that would trigger my mental health issues. However, sometimes my depression flares up for no reason and motivation is tough to harness. I stopped taking medication for almost a year, but I think it's about time to get back on it. I did not contact disability support services, but that is really not a bad idea at all. I also know to go easy on myself. I'm not going to be 100% energetic all the time and awesome at everything, and that's okay. A lot of us SLP students are real perfectionists. But there is no need to be a perfectionist in grad school. You're in. Grades are not nearly as important as they once were. Just focus on learning, and don't work so hard that you sacrifice your health.

Yes, I have been taking graduate level courses through the neuro program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Even though I'm kicking myself for not choosing a program where the coursework is lighter and more emphasis is placed on research, at least I can take electives in other fields here (not super common for speech pathology schools). And now that I know that I couldn't be a clinical psychologist with a neuroscience degree, I am leaning more towards clinical psych or counseling psych. Clinical neuropsychology sounds interesting but I'm afraid it would be too much like my time doing cognitive therapy with stroke/TBI patients. That's my first impression. I'd have to look into it more.

Another question - I hear about English and Journalism majors getting PhDs in psych without a master's degree. How?? If research experience in undergrad is necessary.

Thanks, that pdf is very helpful. A psych major I know told me if I got a PhD in neuroscience, I would be qualified to be a clinical psychologist. According to that pdf, that is not true. That gives me some direction. I think I would rather go the counseling psychology route. I think a counseling psychology degree would be sufficient for my interests in trauma, domestic abuse, sexual violence, etc. and depression. I am also interested in trauma and its effects on brain structures such as the frontal lobe and the hippocampus, but it's hard to narrow that interest down with my limited experience in research.

Do you think I should quit taking electives and pull together a Master's Thesis in speech pathology during my last year? Or will volunteering in a lab be adequate?

I wanted to be a psych major in college, but my parents convinced me that I should do speech-language pathology because if I majored in psych I would end up working for minimum wage my whole life. Entry level for speech pathology is a Master's degree. I got a bachelor's degree in the field, and now I'm in one of the field's top graduate schools. We do 6 semesters in 2 years (fall, spring, summer, fall2, spring2, summer2). I am in my first summer semester and have another year of school left after this until I earn my degree, and then I must practice under supervision for another year before I can become licensed and certified. This field is all right. I really enjoy my classes on a theoretical level, but when it comes to actually working with people on their speech and language, I dread it. I have disliked every clinical placement and always hope the next one is better, but it never is. Since speech-language pathology school is a professional degree, I have no research experience at all. We have the option to do a Master's thesis, but with 15-17 credits each fall or spring semester, summer classes, TAships, and clinical placements, almost no one does a Thesis. None out of 20 of us are doing one. I think if I did one, I might go insane, especially since I'm not super interested in this field. I have been emailing professors in psychology to ask if I could volunteer in their labs. Almost no one has gotten back to me yet, maybe because it's the summer, but I will keep trying. The professor who did says her neuroscience lab is probably not a good fit for me. I tried emailing a professor who does cognitive research and examines language skills in children. Even though I am no longer super interested in language acquisition, I probably would understand his research better, so I hope he gets back to me. Here are the titles of classes I have taken in psychology: General Psych Social Psych Developmental Psych Child Psych Mind, Brain, and Behavior (an introduction to neuroscience) Advances in Behavioral Neuroscience Memory and Amnesia Neuroanatomy and Physiology (through a speech-language pathology department, but very psych related) I think I am interested in cognitive neuroscience research, but I'm not really sure because of my lack of experience. If it turns out I hate research, I am interested in becoming a clinical psychologist and am especially interested in working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, PTSD, and depression. I am also interested in working with children who are survivors of abuse and neglect. I have a few main thoughts/questions. Feel free to answer any or all of them. 1. So, I plan on finishing my Master's degree in speech-language pathology and becoming a licensed, fully certified, speech-language-pathologist. If I neglected to do my supervised clinical fellowship year and failed to become certified, it would be very difficult to go back and do this in the future. THEN I planned on trying to return to school for a PhD in psych. Does this sound reasonable? Or is it just sunk-cost fallacy? 2. I have been using my free time to take classes in psych and neuroscience. Is this the right or the wrong way to go about it? Should I instead be taking the bare minimum of classes and pick up a Master's Thesis in speech pathology instead? If I did that, at least I would have a publication when it came time to apply for a psych PhD program. 3. Do Psych PhD programs often take out of field students with an out-of-field Master's degree? What about students with minimal research experience? 4. Would I be able to become a clinical psychologist if I earned a Cognitive Psych or Cognitive Neuroscience PhD rather than a Clinical Psych PhD or PsyD? Would I still acquire the skills necessary to diagnose, treat, and counsel?

That's encouraging. Definitely hoping to get a TA position or something next year. This year, I don't think any first-years got any funding or even a TA position in my program. Several people have told me they can't believe I'm going to grad school without funding and that it is a mistake, but they're in other fields like computer science.

Took out a $35,000 loan yesterday :'( Tuition isn't that crazy expensive at the school I chose... but my parents said they would help me pay things like rent, groceries, etc. until they found out I've been sleeping over at my boyfriend's house. After that, they decided to cut me off. I don't "appreciate" what they do for me enough, they said. Insane, right? I'm really frustrated because I signed a lease expecting them to help me out, and I would have chosen a cheaper place otherwise and possibly even a different school.

Oh, I didn't know that. I don't think Daniels does.

I can't answer questions about the program there (the campus is very nice), but I can answer questions about living on O'ahu.