Belkis

I wanted to thank you all for the great advice! I realize now that I need to be careful when framing the issue of funding if I decide to mention it in my application because it could rub people the wrong way. However, after all this back and forth, I realize that maybe I should not mention self-funding at all. As I learn more about the process of a PhD, I realize there is much more to funding than just support the student in exchange of cheap labor. I thought that if that was the case, I could just fund myself and have less commitments, since I hear people complaining all the time about how boring or "useless" some of these activities can be. But these impressions come from my ignorance about the process. Although I am not completely sure that a PhD is really what I want, I do believe that it would be beneficial. I love psychology as I stated previously, and I do enjoy the research process. I believe I can contribute to the field, but I don't agree with the idea that unless I'm selfless about it I don't have any business chasing a PhD. Let's not fool ourselves here! We all have a background in psychology and should understand the human psyche enough to know that we all look to fulfill our own needs and interests before we think about contribution. It's not uncommon to see individuals who contribute heavily to the field but have strong selfish motives (in academia this is more likely to be the norm than the exception). I have seen so many people embark on a PhD without the slightest clue when it comes to purpose or even the desire to contribute to the field. I'm not on either end of the spectrum. On the other hand, this discussion made me reflect if a PhD is going to significantly make an impact on my life/career to justify the investment of time and effort, as @Clinapp2017 suggested. I still don't know. I write mostly self-help books. My original career was in business (BA in business, MBA). I briefly worked in business consulting, but I soon started to write about personal management (personal planning, time management, goal setting, personal branding, etc.) and got established as an author. So that's how I developed an interest in psychology. I went on to get a BA in psychology and a master's mostly focused on evolutionary psychology (the reason why is a long story). I have developed a profound passion for the field and this has slowly changed my writing. As I talk about more "serious" topics in psychology (anxiety and mental issues in general, evolutionary roots of behavior, etc.) I get called out for "not knowing what I'm talking about" because I don't have a PhD. I'm not a "real" psychologist (this happens mostly with my U.S. audience, since in America to "be" a psychologist you must have completed a doctorate). Of course, this impression could be just a factor of where this feedback is coming from (social media, blogs, YouTube) and people can be really mean in these platforms. But when I heard from my publisher than a PhD would be a big plus if I want to write about more complex topics in psychology, I started to think about it more seriously. He said that if I want to write books that translate complex psychological concepts and current research to a general audience, he would rather market me as an "expert", and in this case, an expert is someone who has a PhD. He dropped names like Daniel Kahneman and Daniel Gilbert. He said he would love it if I could write something like "Stumbling on Happiness" or "Thinking, Fast and Slow" (and yes, this is the style I'm going for and I realize I don't really need a PhD to write these type of books). So I feel pressure from my audience and from my publisher, but the question is still up in the air. Will the effort pay off? I still don't have an answer. A program overseas, as someone has mentioned, would probably work out better if that meant that I could just work remotely and fly occasionally to meet my advisor. To be clear, I am an American living in Boston, but I also have Portuguese and German citizenship though ancestry and marriage (this caused some confusion). So it would be relatively easy to move to mainland Europe because my husband and I have EU passports. Nevertheless, as I think about my situation to elaborate it to you guys here, I can't help feeling like I'm trying very hard to complicate my life needlessly!

Thanks so much for all the reply guys! I really appreciate it! @Psyche007, I may have come across as being only interested in the status, but I really do love psychology and the process of research. I had a blast doing my master's. I even consider that it's possible that I may choose a career in academia depending on how things go. I don't really want to "distance myself from the department". What I want to avoid is all the "fluff" that I hear many doctorate students complaining about and that they have to do because their funding is associated with it. I had a friend who couldn't find time to work on his own research because his PI would have him do chores, write grants, and help with unrelated tasks all the time. Also, I have become a home body over the years and hate having to leave my house, so the idea of doing something that would require me to go out several days per week is just unappealing to me... I feel silly saying this though and I'm sure that if push comes to shove, I'll just do what I have to do to get things done. @CeXra, you are right that there's more to it that I said in my post! My dream life is doing research and writing about it, so I really think a PhD is the way to go. It is good for my writing and consulting career? Sure. But I am passionate about the field and I do enjoy the research process. I also enjoy collaborating with other researchers and networking, so I don't expect the whole process to be miserable. @transfatfree, yes, I would be willing to move overseas. My husband's family is from Germany, so that is an open option. We have EU passports, so mainland Europe is more likely to happen than the UK. I still have a long way to go though, because there are many gaps in my application. I need to come up with a plan for the next 2 years or so to strengthen my application and be ready to start this process. I'll start another topic giving more detailed information about my situation. Again, thank you all for replying!

Thanks for your input. I have considered online programs and something like that would actually be ideal. But as a writer, I have a public reputation and being "branded" as having a PhD from an online school is undesirable. Getting a degree from a top school or relatively good school would translate into better book deals (with big publishers) and better reputation. I am actually willing to do research and collaborate with others. TA work wouldn't be too bad either. What I wanted to avoid was an actual "job" at the university, something that would require me to have to go to the school almost daily, do chores for the department, this kind of stuff. Also, activities like journal clubs are just irritating (I've done that during my masters and hated the experience). I know that this is not a requirement, but I've heard that some PIs expect students to participate in such activities. I've been working at home for 15 years. I've gotten so used to it that I don't like the idea of getting out of my house for any reason. I know, it sounds so silly! So I thought that by forgoing funding I would be able to keep my independence, doing what I want and feel comfortable with, instead of being forced to do things I don't want to do because of funding requirements. Maybe I'm just being silly and going through the process is not that bad.

I'm 40 years old and financially independent. I'm a writer receiving royalties from previously published books, so I don't need to work. Also, my husband has a good job. The only reason I want to get a PhD is to increase my authority as a writer/expert in my field (behavioral/evolutionary psychology) and also to be able to do independent research that will result in new books and consulting clients (of course, I can and do independent research without a PhD, but then I run into the "authority problem", so I'd rather have the degree). I don't want to teach or work in a lab. I also don't want to be forced to do it (because of funding). I'd rather do much of my PhD at home (I understand I'll need to take classes in person and show up for meetings. That's ok. I just don't want to WORK in any lab/department, participate in journal clubs and this kind of stuff). Is there any advantage to be in this position and reveal to the schools I'm interested in that I don't need or want any funding? Would this make me less desirable to top schools? How (in which phase of the application process) should I mention that?

I was wondering how competitive are programs in evolutionary psychology in the U.S. and Europe. I know this is a relatively new field and somewhat of a controversial area that is objected by some folks in mainstream psychology. The only career path seems to be academic, so I'm thinking that maybe not a lot of people are interested in these programs. What do you guys think?