how much research experience?

[S.H.]

Hello everyone,

 

I have a question regarding the research experience for clinical psychology. I am trying to choose between two options and would really appreciate your help. Currently, I have two offers to work as volunteer research assistant at two labs (two different universities and in relatively close research areas). Since I am also studying for GRE general and subject (thus I don’t have all the time in the world) and I already have 2 years of research experience at another lab, I am wondering whether it would make sense for me to work at both labs. How common is for one person to work in two labs? And what would be the advantages?

 

Thanks!

[student896]

People on here will disagree with me, but take both. Try to carry both for as long as you can to see which one will give you the best chance for publishing something. Even then I'd probably keep both (I worked in 5 labs in 2 years). If you are trying to get into clinical, you need anything you can get in your corner. You also need all the references/prof connections you can get. It's the most important thing for getting in.

[mb712]

I'm not in clinical but fwiw, I worked in two labs simultaneously for most of my undergraduate career. They were kind of related, so it was great experience to be able to see how different labs approached the same kind of ideas, and what resources I could use to look at the topic at hand. It was also really beneficial to see how even the unrelated aspects from each lab kind of overlapped with what I was doing at the other, so I learned how seemingly unrelated topics tied together. Other than the learning experiences, the connections which turned into LORs were obviously very helpful. The more people you have to choose from, the better.

 

(Also, I can't think of a single person at my current institution applying to clinical programs that isn't in more than one lab. Being at multiple labs is the norm here.)