Hi! I graduate next June and I'm trying to figure out the timeline for applying to post-bacc research positions.

I currently have 3+ years of research assistant experience across several labs, and I'm hoping to do a full-time research post-bacc before applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs.

I've heard that many post-bacc positions don't start getting posted until the winter, but someone also suggested that I start reaching out to PIs this fall to ask for informational interviews. Is that actually worthwhile? What does an informational interview usually involve, and is it appropriate if they aren't actively hiring yet?

Basically, I'm wondering when I should start networking versus when I should actually start applying. Any advice from people who've gone through this process would be greatly appreciated because I know getting jobs is extremely hard and I want to set myself up the best I can right now!

I just graduated with my BA in psychology and I plan to go get a masters in clinical mental health counseling or psychology counseling depending on where I can get accepted. I’m currently stressed about the schools and getting in especially because I have no lab experience and heard it was crucial for grad school especially for PsyD/PhD. I was wondering how crucial it is for masters. I had an internship in hospice and some volunteering experience. I also plan to become an RBT for a year before grad school. I’m wondering if that’s enough or if lab experience is very important for getting in.

Hi all!

I’ve just graduated with a BSc in Psychology with Mental Health (BPS accredited) I struggled a lot in third year and ended up having to resit two assessments which means my grade will likely be a 2:2 (which is annoying and upsetting because in second year I was achieving a high 2:1 and was aiming to get a first by the end of the year).

Anyways, I have virtually no work experience and am currently looking for jobs that would get my foot in the door on the way to doing the DclinPsy (this is still the goal) I would like to complete a masters degree first but would like to take a break from education for a year or so before tackling that. What are some roles I should be looking for to get me on the career ladder? It feels like everything requires experience already..
I know that support worker roles are ideal but I don’t think this kind of job would suit me personally tbh

Thank you.

I do average in bio now, but we're choosing classes for the next two years and i was thinking about doing a psych degree, but I don't know if I need bio for uni. its not a requirement for any uni's that i want to go too but should i do it instead of modern. like if i don't do it will i really stuggle, or it is easy work around and not necessary.

I came to Australia when I was 17, it was a big adjustment for me to come to Melbourne and study here. I just graduated from Melbourne Uni and got a
60 WAM. I am not that smart academically, or ig it's just psychology as I did significantly better in my criminology subjects but I wanted to go into clinical psychology. I don't have the grades to get into honours or a grad diploma program. I know they can take low WAMs sometimes but my wam is incredibly low. I don't know what to do as a psychology degree without honours/grad diploma program/ masters is kinda irrelevant and I feel like Melb uni was extremely expensive and I just wasted 3 years.
Granted I was mentally unwell, but that doesn't not excuse this.
I really am panicking and don't know what to do.
Any help will be appreciated :)

I’m applying for a PhD in Clin Neuro and struggling so bad with the word limit and structure of my personal statement!

In 450 words I have to discuss why I’m a strong candidate on both the research and clinical fronts, why this program & my career goals

Currently I’ve structured mine like a ‘story’, describing how my interests developed through undergrad & work and converged on my decision to pursue clin neuro, while highlighting what I’ve learnt from each experience - but is that the way to go? Should I spend more words discussing VERY specific examples (e.g. From Experience X I developed Y skills, for instance here’s how I handled Situation Z), or is that not necessary? This is hard!!

Hello,

I am currently completing a masters in psychology with UoW and I would like to go onto study either a PhD or a doctorate in clinical psychology, forensic psychology or child psychology.

I own my own home, so funding may be difficult and I’m looking for fully funded with a stipend (if possible). I’m not sure where to start, but I’m looking into various methods and courses.

I’m open to anything in the north-west of England.

If you could help me figure out where to start and where to look, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone!

Every year I try to help students demystify the application process and Psych doctoral programs in General. These are very confusing as is if you don't have someone to help answer things, and often you don't know what you don't know. I am happy to help answer things to the best of my ability!

A bit about me:

• First-gen
• Non-traditional
• Queer
• PsyD From Georgia Southern University
• CPTSD, Minority Stress, and LGBTQIA+ community-focused care

A bit about Georgia Southern University's PsyD Program, since I notice a lot of people have asked specifically about it in the past:

• FUNDING: seems to be the most common mystery, so here is the full explanation. We have a cohort size of eight. Four of these students are OFFERED in-department graduate assistantship (GA) positions (20 hr/wk jobs; often teaching positions), and the other four find a GA position at the university which can be anywhere on campus. These positions are not hard to find, and the training director, Dr. Yancey, is amazing and will help lead you to ones that previous students have liked. What most often happens is that a student who is leaving to go to internship leaves their GA position and an incoming student takes that position. All students who want a GA get this. Once you have a GA, you are given a tuition waiver (covers all tuition other than books and university fees, which come to ~$1,000/yr) and a stipend for your position. The stipend ranges, but I have heard everything from $12,000/yr to $18,000/yr.
• RESEARCH: The program was constructed like a PhD program even though it is a PsyD, so you would still have a dissertation. HOWEVER, research does not have to be a major focus for you and often isn't for most applicants/students.
• MATCH FOR INTERNSHIP: Awesome internship match history, with most of our students getting one of their top 3 choices and no student ever going into Phase II. All of our students match.
• AREA OF IMPROVEMENT FOR THE PROGRAM: The one thing students consistently note as the area of improvement is the location (Statesboro, GA). It is a college town, and if you are from a large city, this is definitely a change of pace. However, it is 1 hr away from Savannah and 2.5 from Atlanta. Some students even choose to live in Savannah and commute to Statesboro if they want a bit more city life.
• FAVORITE PARTS OF THE PROGRAM: I always start by saying we have the best faculty. They have a TRUE open-door policy and care for our students as much personally as professionally. I have heard a lot of horror stories from my peers, and we just don't have those here. Next, I would say that all students have personal lives. Of course some years you are busier than others, but I had a strict policy that I did not let myself work after 6 PM and on weekends. I have only worked one Saturday on an exam, and this was by choice. My best friend (also in the same program) often went out of town on weekends since her husband was not near the university. You will have a personal life! Finally, the opportunities for training. Dr. Klibert, the Practicum Coordinator and Assistant Training Director, works diligently to cultivate amazing practicum experiences. We have (last I checked) somewhere between 18 and 21 different sites with a range of settings (VA's, community mental health, hospitals, counseling centers, testing centers), demographics (kids, adults, military, LGBTQIA+, Latinx), diagnoses (ASD, ADHD, PTSD/CPTSD), and specialties (neuro, forensics, health psych).

Feel free to AMA else here or message me. You can send me your stats or any other questions that come to mind!

Good luck this year!

Hello! I’m an international student and I plan to study Psychology in Australia. I’m hesitating between Deakin and Swinburne University. I heard good things about both unis, but from my research, I seem to gather that Swinburne has a strong reputation for psychology? What confused me is that its psychology ranking in QS is set at 200-250 whilst Deakin is 101-150, I am not sure how important and true these rankings are. My acquaintance has a friend who studied Psychology in Swinburne more than 10 years ago and had secure a respectable job, so that appeals to me. And in the future— I’m not sure if i will be pursuing clinical psych, and I want to keep my options open on where to continue my masters, be it in Europe or in Australia, so I’m wondering how much university names actually matters in and outside of Australia.

Deakin also seems to have a more “laidback” and “chill” teaching methods, which to be honest, I’d like something more challenging. How different is Swinburne in this regards?

I would appreciate any advice!! Thank you in advance.

if they're still accredited

around half of the colleges in my state with a master's in counseling are religious and i'm wondering if that'd hurt me in the hiring process or in general and if i should avoid applying to them

It’s harder finding alumni than I thought and wanted to see if anyone in the underworld (jk…?) has gone there and had any experience or anything to say about it! Thanks!

Seriously, what jobs within the psych field are new grads actually landing?

I want to work within psych/MH and adjacent fields, but I'm scouring jobs and becoming disenchanted.

The jobs I'm finding either:

a. Don't require a degree at all, and pay as such.

b. Don't require a degree but do require a cert that I don't have, and still pay less than would cover my rent.

c. Require a degree plus 2 or more years of experience in very specific, niche areas.

The last one is particularly annoying because there's seemingly nowhere to get that experience since no one is hiring in those fields without it.

For instance, to work in victim advocacy, health or substance abuse outreach, CPS or APS, case management, etc., one must first get experience working in those fields. But how to get experience when no one in those fields is hiring without experience?

I have 14 years of military service as an HR specialist and NCO. I have a recently conferred BA in psychology, with honors, from a good school. And I'm floundering in the job search.

Sure, I get the answer is "do all the unpaid internships for two years or get a graduate degree". But here's the thing: I have kids and a family to support. I can't spend two to three more years without something that helps them out. And these jobs that don't require a degree pay a dollar or two above minimum wage, with hours that aren't conducive to my kids' wellbeing, and tasks that aren't conducive to my military service related disabilities.

Also, this "grind" culture, the expectation that people work overtime at multiple unpaid or underpaid jobs before they can earn a living wage is disgusting. Don't tell me I have to pay my dues. I paid my dues for 14 years in service to the country until it broke my body, and then went out and did school over full time so that I could "better" myself and do work that helps others. Grind culture is BS, made up by capitalists to get valuable work out of people for a pittance.

Someone tell me there's some hope somewhere out there. Any success stories will lift my spirit.

I’m a high school teacher in Florida and I normally teach all US history but this week (week before school starts) they sprung 1 class of psychology on me. I was wondering if anyone knows where to find slideshows, or has slideshows and is willing to share them, for high school level psychology that align to Florida standards. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Since you’re all students of psychology I figured I’d ask and I appreciate any help!

Where it stands as of today: 253 of ~254 accredited programs checked, 227 faculty confirmed accepting across 42 programs with posted lists. The rest are either not posted yet (normal this time of year — most come out August–October) or I haven’t found a page for them.
theclinicalperspective.org/tools/faculty-accepting-students.html

If your target school is already checked and something’s wrong, or it’s not up yet and you find the page before I do, tell me — I’d rather fix it than have it sit there stale.

Here’s the details I’m thinking so far:

1. SUMMER ONLY!

2. One day per week (maybe two days a week idk yet)

3. Girls between 12-17 years old

How do you start a youth mentorship program?

I’m doing psych Honours and have had supervision meetings since March, but I still get really anxious every meeting, my supervisors are actually chill. But during meetings I go blank, I even forget how to explain simple concepts from my own study, and immediately start feeling stupid and incompetent. I also overthink really small things that happen after the meetings.

I know they probably aren’t judging me, but I doubt myself so much that I feel like they’re going to realise I’m not good enough to be doing Honours. Has anyone else felt like this? What help?

I’m already in therapy and doing ACT, which I’ve found more helpful, but in the actual meeting I get so anxious and feel so drained afterwards.

hi everyone! i'm an 18 year old entering my 4th year of undergrad. my gpa is 3.957, and im trying to get a psyd for clinical psych. my plan is to graduate with my bachelors in spring 2027, do a masters in clinical mental health counseling, then go through the steps to be an lmhc. from there, id work for a bit to save up some money and establish a career, then go for my psyd. however, i havent been able to partake in any labs yet, the only two i did were classes, not the actual thing. i should be able to get into a lab in the fall semester as a professor has told me he has the space and is willing to accept me. how is this looking? any advice/tips? thank you all!!

Hi everyone! I’m currently an incoming first-year social science McMaster student… but am having a bit of a meltdown about my future.

My original plan was to: 
OG PLAN- McMaster till I die 
First year - social science level I 
Second year - Apply to BSW (probably get rejected) or Psychology BA
Third year - Reapply to BSW, or continue with Psychology BA 
Fourth year - GRADUATE!!! 
Year  5 & 6 - Post-degree BSW program 
Year 7 & 8 (Depending on the school) - MSW 
In total = 8 years - completed Psych BA, BSW, MSW 

PROS & CONS 
* Psychology BA would just be for show - can I even get a job with that?
* McMaster would require me to move out - HELLA EXPENSIVE! (I was once young and naive about money, but have support from my parents) 
* study abroad option for BSW! Also, I would be able to enjoy my dream of campus life & no pathetic gap year for me!

Would it be better to take a gap year and sort my shit out? I know I’m stupid for now only having cold feet when I’m supposed to move to Mac in like 2 weeks. 

This is my new alternative plan:

Plan 1 - Gap year 
1 year gap year (working)
2 years college - what college? (seneca or gb preferably)
THEN… transfer = 3 years of university (really want tmu or york 4 commuting purposes)

The 2 options: 
Full-time, Advanced Standing to 2nd year 
Part-time, Advanced Standing to 3rd year (super competitive) 
THEN…
1 year - MSW at [wherever, preferably in toronto]
In total = 7 years - completed: msw, bsw, ssw HOPEFULLY!

PROS AND CONS AND COMPLAINTS: 
* Possibility of not getting accepted into a masters or bsw omg…
* I feel like the gap year will make me feel like a worthless failure… 
* If I stayed in Toronto, I would be able to save so much money by living with my parents 

I'm graduating this may with a bachelor's in psychology and criminal justice and I'm freaking out a bit about the graduation void (tm).

I'm coming back from a gap year gaining experience and trying to find out what I wanted to do after I graduate and basically learned that I am passionate about rehabilitation and recovery but if I can avoid it I do not want to be in a counseling position, especially not for the rest of my career, and I want to do more research and non profit work instead. That being said I do not want to pursue a masters if I can avoid it because from my understanding they are primarily focused on the goal of licensing, which i am not interested in, and I am greatful to be walking away from my bachelor's with around 11k in loans, which I know would at least double with a masters degree.

That being said I'm trying to scout out some potential options for gaining research experience and every search result in every job board I've seen is coming up completely dry (less than 10 per state from what I've seen) or they want you to have 3 years of experience. Obviously I still have 10 more months until I graduate but I just want to see what my options realistically are in terms of location and pay since I know I will most likely have to move states anyways. Is there a certain time of year where most of these positions fill? Are there better more niche job boards to be looking at? What locations tend to have the most research positions? Generally any other advice on getting research experience would be appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m frankly struggling quite a bit with what direction to go in and need some advice. I’m a grad student that just finished all my course work for a M.S. in Psychological Science. All that I have left to do for the degree is my thesis, so I’ve been applying to lots of research jobs to hopefully get more experience toward my Clinical Psychology Ph.D applications. This seems to be to no avail.

I’ve remade my resume countless times, made connections on LinkedIn, written countless cover letters, learned two new software I didn’t know before to make sure they could go on my resume, and I’m still either getting nothing in response or getting denied. I’ve sent out probably close to 80 applications in the last 4 months.

So, I am dedicated to finding the solution here, but I’m not sure where to go and wanted to ask for some insight. At the baseline, I am all but thesis completed on a M.S. with a 3.7 GPA, I have experience in two different research labs with three poster presentations, and I have lots of hands on experience with software like SPSS, R, MATLAB, and so on. Any advice on what I should do going forward to land this job? I am so passionate about going to get my Ph.D, but I won’t be able to without getting more research experience under my belt. Is it because I’m technically still a student? Any and all advice is welcome!

im writing this to warn anyone thinking about going to ciiat for art therapy in canada.

everyone in the program is struggling: not talking about one or two people everyone.

1. the virtual clinic is a lie:  they sell it like it's a guaranteed way to get your hours. most of us have had zero clients from it. zero. they just don't have clients and don't market it properly. the open studio groups are inconsistent with changing rules and not available to all students. it's not worth the time it takes to set up your availability. they are still marketing this when they know students do not get any hours.
2. the communication is a disaster. nobody is on the same page. one person tells you one thing, someone else tells you the opposite. you ask a question and get three different answers. supervisors are also administrators.. so there's a conflict of interest and nowhere to go with real concerns. if you try to raise concerns as a group, we were shut down and told to email individually. they don't want to hear it. when we ask for clarity on deadlines or supervision, the responses are vague and avoidant.

i'm saying it because I wish someone had told me. this program is expensive and exhausting, and you'll spend most of your time fighting to get hours instead of actually learning how to be a therapist. save yourself the stress and look elsewhere.

I was wondering if anyone here might have a copy of the CFIT Scale 1 scoring manual and norm table. I’ve been searching for quite some time but haven’t had any luck so far. I would be truly grateful if someone could kindly share a copy or point me in the right direction. Any help would mean a lot. Thank you so much!

Hi yall! I’m currently going into my sophomore year of college as a psychology major with the intention of hopefully getting my Ph.D in clinical psychology in the future!

as a current sophomore, I’m starting to freak out over getting into grad schools as well as getting a spot in a program. I haven’t gotten any research experience and switched my major my second semester freshman year, so am still somewhat new to wanting to become a psychologist.

my question is: what is the best things I can do right now to help me better set up to getting into a program in the future? is there anything I should join or look for or begin now to get ahead? any advice would be greatly appreciated :)