Career Change into Psych

[bb56]

Hello:

In college I studied computer science and have been working the last 3 years as a software engineer at a FAANG company.  However, my passion was always psychology, and my choice to go into computer science was largely based on financial constraints.  I did do a minor in psychology in college and took some intro psych courses.  However all of my work/internship experience has been in tech.  Now that I have worked for a few years and saved some money I would be interested in changing careers and going into clinical psychology as a practitioner, especially for children (most of my undergrad minor was in early childhood development and I really loved these classes).

My undergrad GPA was only a 3.06, and I went to a top 20 private university in the US (although my pscyh GPA was a 3.34).  I am wondering what the best way for me to enter the psych world would be.  Would I be competitive for any MA programs (if so, any programs in particular I should look into?).  Would I need to do additional postbach coursework to raise my GPA?  I took the GRE and got 160/168 verbal/math.

I am not really interested in research and mostly interested in clinical work, which makes me feel like I might be more suited for a PsyD program than a PhD program.  However, I realize how competitive all these programs are and am not sure without research or strong undergrad GPA/lots of psych coursework how I could best go about making the transition.

Any advice appreciated!

[PsychApplicant2]

26 minutes ago, bb56 said:

Hello:

In college I studied computer science and have been working the last 3 years as a software engineer at a FAANG company.  However, my passion was always psychology, and my choice to go into computer science was largely based on financial constraints.  I did do a minor in psychology in college and took some intro psych courses.  However all of my work/internship experience has been in tech.  Now that I have worked for a few years and saved some money I would be interested in changing careers and going into clinical psychology as a practitioner, especially for children (most of my undergrad minor was in early childhood development and I really loved these classes).

My undergrad GPA was only a 3.06, and I went to a top 20 private university in the US (although my pscyh GPA was a 3.34).  I am wondering what the best way for me to enter the psych world would be.  Would I be competitive for any MA programs (if so, any programs in particular I should look into?).  Would I need to do additional postbach coursework to raise my GPA?  I took the GRE and got 160/168 verbal/math.

I am not really interested in research and mostly interested in clinical work, which makes me feel like I might be more suited for a PsyD program than a PhD program.  However, I realize how competitive all these programs are and am not sure without research or strong undergrad GPA/lots of psych coursework how I could best go about making the transition.

Any advice appreciated!

Hi! I'm a prospective applicant but my advice would be to get research experience! Make sure you've taken the basic psych courses (for clinical, I believe grad schools like to see classes like Abnormal Psych, Developmental, Personality Theories, etc. Also, make sure you have the basics, such as Research methods and Stat). Your GRE scores are great! No worries there. I think the biggest thing to focus on right now is research - whether you volunteer in a lab or get a paid position. Or, if you wanted, a masters with a thesis will demonstrate to Ph.D./Psy.D. programs that you're capable of conducting research. Hope this helps!

[bubble_psych]

PsyD programs that have little emphasis on research are often crazy expensive and not worth the debt. Reputable PsyD programs often have a significant research component, so its important to have a strong research background to be competitive. It also helps that you have tech/coding experience - its extremely valuable in the research world.

 

The next question to ask yourself is, what do you want to do with the degree? If you want to do therapy, you could practice with a masters degree in social work, or with an masters program leading to a LPC certification. These routes are substatially shorter than a doctoral degree (2 yrs vs. 5-7 yrs). If you want to do assessment, thats when you need a doctoral degree.

[Dazen]

I'm also coming from a science background, and what I found when doing research on what coursework I would need to apply for PhD programs, the vast majority wanted to see around 18 credits, including Intro, Statistics, Research Methods, and Abnormal. I'd check on what specific programs' requirements are, but this seemed to cover ~85% for me. 

[Mickey26]

You're actually the type of student my supervisor would LOVE to have haha We want a Comp Sci trained student since you can do so much more stuff (eg., mhealth etc) than what we're capable of in terms of research. So I wouldn't count yourself out even if your experiences are different

As my colleagues above have stated, ensure you have the psych course requirements stated. Sometimes (and this is based off of the Canadian system since I'm more familiar with that), even if you don't have the stated course requirements, you might be able to make up for these courses when you're in graduate school. Ideally, have some research experience under your belt. I'd also be very mindful of how you pose your personal statement: you're going to have to convince the committee that you want to do psych and WHY you know you want to do psych now. But also don't discount the fact that you have a plethora of unique experiences that you should highlight and make you stand out as an applicant  Best of luck! 

[philoquant]

I had zero experience in psychology, so I took the funded masters route. A lot of people recommended an RA position, but I found that no one would take me without experience. I'm applying to PhD programs this year, so this will be the test of if I have enough experience.

[SocDevMum]

On 7/6/2020 at 10:04 PM, dr. bubbles said:

If you want to do therapy, you could practice with a masters degree in social work, or with an masters program leading to a LPC certification. These routes are substatially shorter than a doctoral degree (2 yrs vs. 5-7 yrs). If you want to do assessment, thats when you need a doctoral degree.

This.  If you want to do therapy with kids or adults, getting an MSW is the shorter, less expensive, less research-intense way to go.  A LCSW is fully qualified to diagnose and treat therapeutically. You don't really need a doctoral level degree unless assessments are your long term goal. There are a multitude of MSW programs out there, and they may be much easier to apply and matriculate to than a PsyD or PhD. 

[bb56]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!  I guess in terms of career prospects/working with a masters vs a PsyD/PhD, what are the most substantial differences?  Is there an easy way for me to research all of this on my own?  On the internet I have been finding some conflicting advice/opinions on the subject.  I would obviously prefer a 2 year program vs a 5-10 year program, esp if it doesn't have as high of a research requirement for admission.

In terms MA programs - is there much of a difference between an LPC and an LCSW?  How would these programs demonstrate research ability/help with gaining admittance into a PhD/PsyD program?

Thanks again everyone for all the responses, I really appreciate it :).

[PsyDuck90]

11 minutes ago, bb56 said:

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!  I guess in terms of career prospects/working with a masters vs a PsyD/PhD, what are the most substantial differences?  Is there an easy way for me to research all of this on my own?  On the internet I have been finding some conflicting advice/opinions on the subject.  I would obviously prefer a 2 year program vs a 5-10 year program, esp if it doesn't have as high of a research requirement for admission.

In terms MA programs - is there much of a difference between an LPC and an LCSW?  How would these programs demonstrate research ability/help with gaining admittance into a PhD/PsyD program?

Thanks again everyone for all the responses, I really appreciate it :).

Check out Mitch's Guide to Grad School here to get more information on all the possible degree options. In essence, if you just want to do straight therapy, you can accomplish that with an LPC or LCSW. If you want to do any assessment work, you need a doctorate. There are more nuances, but that is the biggest distinction. While counseling psychology programs sometimes favor those with a counseling masters, clinical doesn't tend to care as much. In terms of research, the exposure/opportunities at these master's programs will vary from program to program. Research is usually not the focus. 

Edited to add: LCSWs can bill Medicare, while LPCs cannot (if you care about that at all). Also, LCSW licensure requirements are more standardized across states than LPC requirements, which makes the degree more portable if you move. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by PsyDuck90
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