_kita
-
Posts
472 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by _kita
-
-
@TakeruK did an excellent response. I wanted to speak a little bit to your side note here for future job hunting information.
15 hours ago, samman1994 said:Also, as a side note, what is the best way to even go out looking for a job when you currently have one? How do you schedule the interviews when everyones work schedule coincides with your work schedule? Sure I guess you could do sick days or something, but I just started so that doesn't apply to me. ANyways, thank you ahead of time as always!
I always have resumes out for new jobs that are a professional step forward. However, an important question is whether you are looking at a company change or a promotional (internal) job. Either way, wait until your probationary period is done, but you need to be cautious of different things if it is an internal application. If it is a company change, absolutely follow @TakeruK's advice. You cannot be doing the job hunt on the job. Do not use company time, computer access, etc. You also need to take personal time for interviews - which makes scheduling more difficult.
If it is a promotional change, then you are interviewing every day of your life. Every meeting, every assignment, every time to open the door for a co-worker and converse casually in the lunch room. Every day is about networking and creating a reputation at that company. At around the 4-5 months employed mark, I started meeting with department directors and managers who aligned with my professional goals. It was an informal interview where we discussed what the department does, what my background and experience is, and how I would "fit" with that department. From that, I've narrowed down promotions to really two different department I would apply for. Several companies allow, and prefer, to see you do that networking on company time. It is considered a part of collaboration and interagency network development. Other companies frown on it.
This past week, I had a promotional interview during work hours (Manager of a, third, new department). My director and the company Chief Program Officer scheduled it from 3:30-4:30. We discussed my meetings with other departments and it was looked highly upon as me being a "team player" taking "initiative" and being "collaborative." Not all companies are that lenient or encourage a lot of upward mobility, but if they do, your growth is contingent on being in it to win it every day on the job.
-
You really need to consider your work culture when asking an employer for the letter of recommendation. Some people are very lucky and they have a relationship where their supervisor supports them moving ahead. Others have supervisors who want to keep them stagnant. If you have a candid relationship with your supervisor, and they know your academic plans and goals, that's fantastic. I would suggest using that relationship to your benefit. If you do not, you still may be able to approach the LOR if done carefully.
If you're worried at all about your job or the company's impression of you, you need to tread lightly. Remember they will need to be a job reference in the future too. So try not to burn any bridges. I've told a former supervisor that I was considering my options, but in order to move ahead in the company, I really need to continue in my education. She agreed and considered me applying as an investment (and frankly she wanted to see me succeed in a job that wasn't dead end). But again, I didn't frame it as "if I get in, I'm out of here."
I've been earnest with other supervisors about my career choices. I'll tell them what I want out of the position, that it's a stepping stone and where I want to go next. We create a professional development plan that usually includes both education and extra projects. The Supervisor gets a "super worker" for a brief period of time, and I get a recommendation.
So again, gauge your approach based on the work culture and professional relationship.
-
I agree with @Becks_Psych. You can also apply for a few MS psych programs as a backup. You could take several quant classes and complete a research thesis. Those experiences would do a lot to offset the GRE scores for the PhD later on.
-
9 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:
Verified, how? You don't have the authority to investigate, do you? Have you thought about issues of liability?
@fuzzylogician's point here is probably the most important. I've been a part of ethics committees in the past. If someone released information about an ongoing investigation, they could be brought up on charges from slander to malpractice. Honestly, you could even be brought up on these charges if the violation is validated, and, for some reason, the professor's record was expunged.
If your career has any type of licensing attached to it, ethical violations of that degree (malpractice) could lead to being stripped of, or never allowed to get, your license. That's the same thing for anyone who reports these problems. I would instead encourage the schools ethics boards to start reporting violations to the public instead of going about it as an independent third-party. If these records were made public, a public platform like you're discussing would not be a professional violation.
- TakeruK and Ibn Al-Haytham
-
2
-
I'll give you the same advice I gave my not-quite-yet-mother-in-law, "age is just an excuse. You are never too old to go back for school. You may have other priorities that need your attention, such as bills to pay and children to support, requiring you to plan your education more carefully. But age isn't the obstacle."
With an MPH, if you become past the point where full-time makes sense, maybe consider part-time programs (PhD/DrPH). If money is a concern, make sure you look into funding. But age is not your barrier.
-
Grad schools in general are frustrating to transfer between.
recommendations
You will need recommendations from your current program into a new program. That means discussing your reason to transfer with current professors and developing a relationship that makes a good LOR.
transfer credit
Furthermore, credit doesn't transfer as easily as it does in UGRAD. Most programs require a copy of the syllabus of every class you want transfer credit it, and they compare it individually. Transfer credits are examined AFTER you are admitted. So many people expect they'll have a semester or year worth of transfer credits and only 1-2 classes.
flight risk
You need to sell yourself differently this time. You'll now look like a flight risk on a paper without a really good reason for leaving (such as a POI being unavailable). This goes doubly when you're leaving a top SW program with some of the best resources in the US.
-
I like to say I wasted my 20's to enjoy my 30's+. Just hit 30 this year, and gotta say it's working! I'm finally saving money for traveling, a family, and a house. This never would have been possible for me if I had a "live large" mentality in my 20's. But I went into work and grad school with the mantra "I'm doing this to afford a family in the quality of life I want us to raise them In."
-
@MaxwellAlum Yes, you are correct. I was misreading the contract and didn't realize that the World Bank was the one cashing the checks! Contracting agencies are mostly for-profit, so those' contractors are out of luck. Independent contractors can qualify if they're being paid by an appropriate PSLF employee.
-
I wouldn't suggest using a public forum like this to discuss and/or report unsubstantiated ethical quandaries for several reasons:
- A public forum like this, in nature, is subjective. Ethical reporting needs to be objective for review
- You may end up 'leaking' a private investigation to the public - which is a different ethical dilemma
- There's no way to check the honesty or accuracy of a forum discussion
I would even be hesitant using this forum as a collection for substantiated ethical dilemmas as we are not set up for that type of database collection, and would end up missing problems. Academic and research honesty are big issues, but an open platform like this that doesn't verify and has such a narrow subject pool isn't the place for it.
-
13 hours ago, SvetaV said:
Does anyone know whether as an STC at the Bank one qualifies for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness or is enrolled in said program as an STC? Not sure STC contracts hold the necessary 'employee' status for PSLF.
No on the contracting piece either. For a lot of these details check here
I’m employed full-time by a company that is doing work for a qualifying PSLF employer under a contract. However, the company that I work for is not a qualifying PSLF employer. Does this employment qualify for PSLF?
No. You must be employed full-time by a qualifying employer. This means that many government contractors won’t qualify for PSLF. -
7 hours ago, Abdul Quayum said:
I have 1 year time for GRE prep. Can anyone suggest me a study plan??
That is great to hear! It is fantastic when someone can prep that far in advance. I suggest taking the time to first determine what your weak spots. Take a practice test and tailor your practice accordingly. For an example, here is my (quant heavy) study plan.
-
Quantitative Study Plan
-
Watching Khan Academy and Magoosh videos
- Khan Academy: free tool that really goes into all the details and not just focus on the GRE
- Magoosh: Some resources are free. I have the 6 month subscription
- I watch these on my trip to and from work (I take the bus/train)
-
Complete timed Magoosh practice problems
- I target material I'm studying first, and then add on material I've already worked on
- I'll also watch explanatory videos on anything I guess or get incorrect
- Complete practice problems associated to that content in the ETS manual, and several other GRE math workbooks
- When I have downtime, I go through the Magoosh GRE math flash cards app to build number sense
-
Once I've finished studying a content area, I wipe the magoosh history and go through all the problems within that content area
- At this time I'm looking at my time, accuracy, and stamina
-
Watching Khan Academy and Magoosh videos
-
Verbal Study Plan
-
I will customize the practice for usually 25-30 questions.
- Depending on the day, this might customized to type as well (sentence completion, etc.) or it will be any problem
- I'll watch explanatory videos on anything I guess or get incorrect
- Magoosh vocabulary builder app to stay fresh and current with vocabulary. The timed competition is also fun!
- Keep reading like usual: news, literature and academic papers
-
I will customize the practice for usually 25-30 questions.
- Once every other month, I take a full practice test to see how my progress is coming along.
- Resources: Khan Academy, Magoosh (including 3 phone apps), ETS Official Guide Book (and software tool), GRE math workbook (Kaplan and Barron)
- Formal study time: 2 hours daily; 4 hours on weekend. A total of about 14 hrs/week.
-
Quantitative Study Plan
-
Umm. I'm not qualified as a nutritionist so would not be the person to answer that!
-
3 hours ago, pshamu said:
Hi there! so I'm a senior in undergrad (sociology and psychology major) looking to apply to some clinical psychology PhD programs!
From what I know, it's pretty taboo to talk about your own psychopathology on a personal statement. However, I have not so great grades from freshman year (a C+ in biology and a C in physics 2 and then a couple of Bs in social science classes), transferred to a better school, maintained a 3.5 GPA, and then this summer had to withdraw from a summer term so now I have two Ws on my transcript as well for linear algebra and intro to programming. All of this was due to my C-PTSD and subsequent alcoholism (which I am working on now). I'm pretty frustrated because I don't to leave this unexplained but I also don't want to cross a taboo subject. How should I address this in my personal statement?If it helps, here's a short list of the stuff on my CV:
- GPA: 3.5, major GPA 3.9
- worked in university's LGBT center for past year and continuing this year
- worked in neuroscience lab for one year, presented poster
- worked in clinical psychology lab for 21 months, presented poster
- worked in child neuropsychology lab for a summer
- worked with a professor at the school of social work for her poster and publications
- presented at MBGLTACC, an LGBT conference for college students/staff on the intersection of hinduism and being LGBT+
- presented at a LGBT POC conference on an independent research project
- currently working in a social psychology lab that is related to my honors thesis, which is related to both social and clinical psychology
- GRE scores: 162 verbal, 167 math, 5.0 on the essay. above the 90th percentile for all 3.Personal mental illness can be crafted in a way that's not a kiss of death, but you don't need to worry about it unless you really want to. From what I see of your profile, you are the ideal candidate (as long as you fit really well with the program). You have strong grades, strong GRE scores, relevant experience (both work and research), and I would assume strong references. I don't see the two 'W's being a problem for you. If I was on the adcom, I would assume that you had time-management or personal life conflicts that took up your time so you withdrew. Additionally, freshman year B's & C's indicate normal freshman, so again nothing you really need to defend here. I see a lot of love for LGBT social and clinical psych on your profile, and I suggest crafting your statement around your current accomplishments.
However, if you insist on adding your personal history into the statement, ask yourself why it is so important to you. My assumption is that your experience has molded your research and professional perspectives. Maybe it's helped you see the field in a new way and consider questions that need to be explored. If you're going to talk about mental illness, talk about those perspectives and research ideas.
And congratulations. It takes a lot to accomplish what you did both professionally and personally. Good luck!
-
Speak to the departments you're applying to before doing anything else. The transcripts are absolutely essential, and they will cut your application from consideration if they think you're lying or missing a part of your application. The adcoms could have any number of policies such as wanting a formal letter from your masters department verifying the uniqueness of your situation, or they may tell you not to worry about it. Either way, the most direct answer you can get will be asking the department exactly what they want from you.
-
I did. I think it was peanut m&ms. But I didn't end up eating anything. Which isn't suprising since I don't usually eat breakfast early and had to that morning. I chowed down after the test.
-
20 minutes ago, Coyosso said:
How long before the test was your last drink of water?
Probably a few moments before going in. Dry mouth and hard swallowing. I wasn't worried about quantifying the amount of water I had. I probably had 2 large glasses of water, and that was fine. My suggestion... use the break. First time I took the GRE, I didn't and had to use the bathroom and felt like my throat had a marble in it the entire time. The last time I took it, I went to get a sip of water and use the bathroom between the break. It really does help shake off mid-test nerves and keep you moving.
-
Even in professional programs, the suggestion is usually 2 academic, 1 professional reference. Universities that allow professional references usually still require 1-2 academic. They need someone who can speak to your ability to manage the academic curriculum Maybe ask your academic references if they want a copy of your resume, transcripts, etc. Did you happen to do any individual projects with any of the professors, work for them, etc.? That would also help with reminding them and strengthen the letters.
You may also want to see if any of your professional references have academic ties (do they teach classes, partner with a higher education research center, etc), that would help you out a lot. My last round of applications, I technically used 1 academic, 1 quasi-academic, and 1 professional with academic connections:
- The regional director at my company- who also taught classes at another university part-time
- My boss as a GA for the Psychology department. He wasn't my professor, but I asked him to speak to my teaching and statistics skills
- The director of my counseling department who I did an independent study under
Consider people in your life and see if there's any creative overlap that you can draw on.
-
Until about 2 years ago, I was an avid tea drinker. But that changed during my 2nd masters program. I had pretty consistent migraines from the commuter traveling and other stress. I took caffeine as a migraine stress headache reducer, and found that espresso was a better cure than Excedrin (which gave me an upset stomach). So, my strategy for a test, stressful day, anything when I'm prone to a stress headache...
Wake up early enough that I can at least eat a bagel for breakfast, have 2 shots of espresso with creamer, and then drink water. A lot of water. It keeps my blood flow from constricting, reducing the migraine, and gives me what I need to continue.
For a test, always, always, use the bathroom right before going in. It never fails, I will need to use the restroom 2 minutes into a stressful meeting/test/etc if I don't.
-
I really doubt that the 3.4 will keep you out of these programs. Some programs will compare Ugrad, but the 4.0 grad is a lot more relevant for the PhD programs.
-
2 hours ago, InstinctVegeta said:
First post here. I am currently having low GPA but strong work experience. I have seen from my colleagues and fellow applicants that having job experience would count to next to nothing while applying for universities. I have given up on ambitious universities and some of the safe universities as well for now. It has been twice that I've applied and have got zero acceptance till now.
I'm sorry to hear this. How directly relevant was the work experience to the program in question? In my experience, work experience can make the application if it is directly related to the program material because it demonstrates working knowledge, work ethic, etc. However, I know that is field specific, and practical fields prefer practical work experience.
2 hours ago, InstinctVegeta said:Going through different forums and after a lot of google searches, I am seeing the only way to strengthen my application is to start communicating with a professor and try to show them that I'm worthy of selection.
I would say that your assumption is inaccurate. There are a lot of things you could do to strengthen your application. Since your GPA is low you could target strengthen that part of your application specifically by:
- Strong GRE scores (around 160 in both categories).
- Take non-matriculated graduate coursework
- If you're looking at doctorals, first aim for a masters program that would give you better doctoral statistics
2 hours ago, InstinctVegeta said:how do I kick-off a conversation is my question? Do I dive into the topic which they are working (and interests me) or is it a necessity to have a paper published on that topic by me?
As for your actual question, you do not need to have a published paper in the topic and can certainly ask them. Other forums have discussed how to talk to POI in really good detail. Here's one:
-
11 minutes ago, reddog said:
That sounds good! So how do you highlight the same positions in different ways?
I suggest looking into writing skills-based resumes or functional resumes. That's the best way to make a career direction change. Consider key skills needed in the professional job, and write down how your skills align for the position. For example, I have a resume for teaching skills, one for policy evaluation skills, and one for counseling. All of the same jobs are listed, but my description is tailored to the professional experiences I want the interviewer to see. For the same job (Behavioral Health Clinician) the resumes might look something like this:
Evaluation:
- Evaluated and developed recovery treatment plans
- Evaluated treatment efficacy through analyzing group data
Counseling:
- Facilitated individual and group psychotherapy sessions
- Therapeutic techniques included cognitive restructuring, motivational interviewing [...]
Teaching:
- Conducted recovery staff training sessions to increase treatment efficacy
- Interviewed and trained new hires
You really need to figure out what skills you want to highlight and tailor your CV/resume to those skills.
- reddog, fuzzylogician and TakeruK
-
3
-
8 minutes ago, Mohamad said:
Thanks GreenEyedTrombonist
I am planning to apply for PhD program in biological and biomedical sciences in the following Universities:
Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Yale.
Do you now any specific information about LOR in any of these Universities?
It's different even within each department at the same university. Check out the webpage for each of the departments you're applying to. They should clarify the LOR format.
-
10 minutes ago, worried_phd said:
My query is: I need help or suggestions to write a powerful statement of purpose - convincing them straight for my admission and funding. Please if anyone can help me out in this regard, i'll be very thankful.
Your request is rather vague. Help with what piece? Discussing your qualifications, crafting your personal story, etc?
I suggest checking out the Statement of Purpose, Personal History and Diversity subforum. We give a lot of advice across the spectrum of the statement. That might help you with more general questions, and you can ask more specific ones pertaining to your situation from there.
-
You can also discuss what you learned about yourself, and systemic problems you want to professionally address, as you went through the mental health system - how you learn, barriers to recognizing and getting appropriate help, etc. That can actually be a powerful personal story that shows a lot of appealing traits to the adcom.
- louise86, Msw9993 and BackToSchool17
-
3
Milieu Therapy Question
in Jobs
Posted
I just saw this post, and wanted to give you an answer. So sorry for re-awaking a dead thread!
Milieu therapy is most definitely used the rehab facilities. It is an additive to most therapeutic approaches in any residential setting including crisis centers, all inclusive residential treatment centers, host homes, etc. The goal is to provide extra structure and responsibility. That way a client can learn their ADL's, develop autonomy, and have a sense of control in a healthier way. The milieu therapy often looks like household chores, budgeting, nutrition planning, etc. However, it is not in lieu of other psychotherapeutic treatments it is in addition to them. So they will also have mental health counselors, case managers, etc., assisting with other areas of treatment.