Clinical Psych Admissions Question

[kristincas]

I am seeking opinions about clinical psych doctoral admissions.  I have 7 years of combined clinical research experience, 2 years of clinical counseling experience (plus 2 years of volunteer crisis counseling experience).  In the last two years, I have worked in the private sector doing I/O and market research analytics, mainly because research pays pretty much nothing.  I have an excellent new private sector job opportunity that I would never be re-hired for if I pass it up, but a prestigious university may offer me a non-exempt developmental clinical research job for far an embarrassing amount of money.  My question is basically this: given my past experience, will the new clinical research position be much of a value add to my application? (I could probably get more presentations and maybe pubs in this position in the long run, too). Or should I stick to a solid plan B job that pays well if I'm rejected during this round of admissions?  My main fear is that I will take a poor paying job in hopes of acceptance into a clinical program but will be stuck making hardly any money and not working toward a better future if I'm not accepting into a PhD program this year.  Thanks in advance for your input!

[8BitJourney]

First  off why do you want to do a clinical psych PhD and is there an easier/quicker way to do that without the long, arduous, expensive journey? I don't want to dissuade you but its important info to know to give you better advice. Also what field are you aiming for within clinical and are you aiming for PP, research or academia? If you've had quality research experiences before then I don't see a new RA position adding much more. If you've only done grunt work in those 7 years then pushing for more productivity (pubs, posters) as an RA would be ideal. 

[kristincas]

I would like to work in applied research and as a clinician (supervisory role or PP).  My earlier research roles were more grunt work, but I accumulated more pubs towards the end.  I have three pubs (one first author) and a handful of posters.  I'm also trying to kick out one more pub this summer for my fall app.  At this point, I think the only value in the new RA role lies in quality of the institution and PIs, keeping clinical research relevant on my CV with a new role, and the opportunity to publish more with notable authors.  But maybe this won't add a ton of value, given my other experience.  Such a mindf***.  Thanks for your bluntness and guidance, 8Bit.  It's much appreciated!  

[8BitJourney]

9 hours ago, kristincas said:

I would like to work in applied research and as a clinician (supervisory role or PP).  My earlier research roles were more grunt work, but I accumulated more pubs towards the end.  I have three pubs (one first author) and a handful of posters.  I'm also trying to kick out one more pub this summer for my fall app.  At this point, I think the only value in the new RA role lies in quality of the institution and PIs, keeping clinical research relevant on my CV with a new role, and the opportunity to publish more with notable authors.  But maybe this won't add a ton of value, given my other experience.  Such a mindf***.  Thanks for your bluntness and guidance, 8Bit.  It's much appreciated!  

No problem. Sorry if this is too nosey but I'm curious why you didn't apply last cycle then. If you have some pubs and presentations and your gre scores are good I don't see why you shouldn't apply this cycle while working in the pricate sector job because regardless of which route you take your supervisor  may or may not be familiar enough with you to advocate well on your behalf to admissions committees. And saving some money is always a plus.

[kristincas]

Thanks!  That's my gut feeling, too.  It's nice to have a plan B and save some money before being broke again.  I also agree it would take a while for the new role to pay off in terms of pubs or a LOR.  This is TMI, but I used to work in community mental health and our program got shut down for political reasons when the Affordable Care Act was implemented (because our funding became up in the air and other factors).  We became severely understaffed but still provided services 24/7.  Most of the staff, including myself, became very burnt out and the center eventually closed.  It was really tragic, and I questioned if I really wanted to work in this space anymore.  I actually applied that year and turned down two offers.  But now that I've had some time to recover and have been working in the private sector, I have realized that the only thing that I am truly passionate about as a career is clinical psychology.  Everything else is "just a job".  I just needed some time to recover and re-evaluate, and I know now more than ever that this is what I want to do with my life.  And I came to this conclusion literally right after the last application cycle closed =P ... so here I am!   #adultingishard

[eveline]

4 hours ago, kristincas said:

Thanks!  That's my gut feeling, too.  It's nice to have a plan B and save some money before being broke again.  I also agree it would take a while for the new role to pay off in terms of pubs or a LOR.  This is TMI, but I used to work in community mental health and our program got shut down for political reasons when the Affordable Care Act was implemented (because our funding became up in the air and other factors).  We became severely understaffed but still provided services 24/7.  Most of the staff, including myself, became very burnt out and the center eventually closed.  It was really tragic, and I questioned if I really wanted to work in this space anymore.  I actually applied that year and turned down two offers.  But now that I've had some time to recover and have been working in the private sector, I have realized that the only thing that I am truly passionate about as a career is clinical psychology.  Everything else is "just a job".  I just needed some time to recover and re-evaluate, and I know now more than ever that this is what I want to do with my life.  And I came to this conclusion literally right after the last application cycle closed =P ... so here I am!   #adultingishard

To clarify, did you turn down the two offers specifically because you were unsure whether clinical psych was the path for you?  Wondering bc I'm all set to start a program this year and have been questioning the long, arduous journey is really worth it for me.  I'm uncertain whether I'll look back and have any regrets. 

[kristincas]

On 7/12/2017 at 2:58 PM, eveline said:

To clarify, did you turn down the two offers specifically because you were unsure whether clinical psych was the path for you?  Wondering bc I'm all set to start a program this year and have been questioning the long, arduous journey is really worth it for me.  I'm uncertain whether I'll look back and have any regrets. 

Yep Eveline, in that moment, i did not feel that I was 100% committed to the field anymore or felt unsure if I was on the right path anymore.  This was also around the time that the new DSM came out, and I also felt discouraged by diagnostic validity issues and other personal challenges from my work in community mental health.

[eveline]

1 hour ago, kristincas said:

Yep Eveline, in that moment, i did not feel that I was 100% committed to the field anymore or felt unsure if I was on the right path anymore.  This was also around the time that the new DSM came out, and I also felt discouraged by diagnostic validity issues and other personal challenges from my work in community mental health.

Thanks for the response.  I hope everything works out for you! 

[kristincas]

37 minutes ago, eveline said:

Thanks for the response.  I hope everything works out for you! 

Thanks!  It's been quite the journey.  Best of luck to you, too! =)

[8BitJourney]

4 hours ago, kristincas said:

Yep Eveline, in that moment, i did not feel that I was 100% committed to the field anymore or felt unsure if I was on the right path anymore.  This was also around the time that the new DSM came out, and I also felt discouraged by diagnostic validity issues and other personal challenges from my work in community mental health.

Community mental health is defindefinitely one of the toughest sections to go into and I'm glad that you were able to see some of the negative aspects  and do some soul searching. I'm also in a similar field (with some advocacy thrown in) and I hope it hasn't dissuaded you too much! Btw th eres a move in the field towards the RDoc so you should check it out.

Also sorry if this is too  nosey but I'm wondering which schools you were considering? We may end up running In The same circles at some point (pm if you're comfortable with it)

[That Research Lady]

On 7/7/2017 at 6:56 PM, kristincas said:

I am seeking opinions about clinical psych doctoral admissions.  I have 7 years of combined clinical research experience, 2 years of clinical counseling experience (plus 2 years of volunteer crisis counseling experience).  In the last two years, I have worked in the private sector doing I/O and market research analytics, mainly because research pays pretty much nothing.  I have an excellent new private sector job opportunity that I would never be re-hired for if I pass it up, but a prestigious university may offer me a non-exempt developmental clinical research job for far an embarrassing amount of money.  My question is basically this: given my past experience, will the new clinical research position be much of a value add to my application? (I could probably get more presentations and maybe pubs in this position in the long run, too). Or should I stick to a solid plan B job that pays well if I'm rejected during this round of admissions?  My main fear is that I will take a poor paying job in hopes of acceptance into a clinical program but will be stuck making hardly any money and not working toward a better future if I'm not accepting into a PhD program this year.  Thanks in advance for your input!

I'm not sure if you're still debating the question at hand, but I would think the research position would serve you best. Personally, if I was an advisor that you applied to work under, I may be concerned that you are not dedicated to a PhD if you've been working in non-research private sector positions for the past couple years. It certainly never hurts to have more publications, presentations, or to expand your network by working with new PhDs. I received one of my interviews because a lab advisor knew faculty at the school. You sound sure that a PhD is what you want so why wouldn't you take the position that would help improve your chances towards that goal? Saving more money is certainly provocative but I don't think it's a strong enough reason to not build your CV as much as possible. Just my opinion.

[kristincas]

On 7/22/2017 at 0:11 AM, That Research Lady said:

I'm not sure if you're still debating the question at hand, but I would think the research position would serve you best. Personally, if I was an advisor that you applied to work under, I may be concerned that you are not dedicated to a PhD if you've been working in non-research private sector positions for the past couple years. It certainly never hurts to have more publications, presentations, or to expand your network by working with new PhDs. I received one of my interviews because a lab advisor knew faculty at the school. You sound sure that a PhD is what you want so why wouldn't you take the position that would help improve your chances towards that goal? Saving more money is certainly provocative but I don't think it's a strong enough reason to not build your CV as much as possible. Just my opinion.

Thanks That Research Lady!  The planets aligned just right and I secured a program manager position in child psychiatry at a notable university.  Thanks for your input!  I felt the same way deep down.

[That Research Lady]

On 8/24/2017 at 3:14 PM, kristincas said:

Thanks That Research Lady!  The planets aligned just right and I secured a program manager position in child psychiatry at a notable university.  Thanks for your input!  I felt the same way deep down.

Happy to hear it worked out!! Good luck with applications!

[Psychoplasmics]

I absolutely love how supportive this community can be.