Job prospects for an MA in General/Experimental Psychology?

[rockandroll]

Hi everyone- I posted this in the Psychology forum as well, but I thought that it might make sense to put it here too.

I'm going to be undertaking a one-year MA program in general/experimental psychology at a great school starting this fall. I will definitely be seeking a Ph.D. shortly thereafter, but I'm strongly considering taking a year off in between. I feel like I would be at a huge disadvantage by choosing to apply to Ph.D. programs while still in my first semester of my master's degree (little time to get to know professors who will be writing my recommendations, etc.), and additionally, doing all of the work required for a master's degree in just two semesters on top of applying to schools seems like something I just shouldn't do for the sake of my sanity. I feel like I just calmed down from the first round of applying to schools, which just ended two months ago for me... It seems much more conducive to my happiness to take things at a more reasonable pace from now on.

If I do end up deciding to take a year off, I will obviously need to get a good job in my field to get some experience and make enough money to cover rent (which is fairly expensive in my city). I'm wondering what kinds of jobs I'm qualified for with an MA in General/Experimental Psych. I would love to get some research and teaching experience- I will have a lot of lab experience, but probably very little teaching experience by the end of my MA program. My interests are developmental and social psychology.

Thank you so much for helping me out, in advance!

[didion10]

If you're really in boston, you can google "The Martinos Center", its kind of off the craigslist grid for jobs, but its the best brain/psychology/pyschiatry imaging center in the country. Its run by MIT, HMS, and MGH. There are RA jobs posted there and you can also email invididual PIs. Since we're not AT a school they don't get flooded by undergrads looking for resume gloss, its much more accessable. State your research interests and ask if they have funding for full or part time work. some of it will be lab work, but they always need people to give talks, etc. Even try to intern. This center is world-renowned and most of our RAs get into harvard, MIT, BU, Tufts, etc. Its the best PhD prep you can do, but you have to work hard.