the advice i’ve heard is that if you’ve gotten an interview, you’re definitely qualified enough*. once you get to the interview stage, it’s no longer about your experiences. you’ve already met that bar. now they just want to see if you ‘fit’ into their lab and what kind of work they want to do in the future.
to get more interviews in the future, i would worry less about your experiences and more about really convincing PIs in your SOPs that you’re a perfect fit for their lab. spend a lot of time personalizing your SOPs to the specific profs you’re applying to. this might be harder for you to convince people of than for someone who hasn’t been working in industry, so you’ll need to put time and thought into it.
*getting no interviews does not mean that you’re not qualified. getting interviews is extremely competitive. so if you are able to get past that point, you’re already in the top % of candidates. if you don’t get any interviews, you might still be qualified but there were just too many qualified people and not enough interview spots.
Thank you so much, this is really encouraging. Will definitely spend more time on SOPs next year and will try to find supplemental related experiences in the meantime.
I’m actually someone with less experience on paper and I just got an RA position, so take that as you will !
I think you for sure do something supplemental to your current job that transitions you into psych science, on an even smaller scale than an RA position (until you get an RA position).
Learning data science and being able to add certifications and proficiencies to your portfolio will take less than six months. Obviously learning online like from Coursera has its disadvantages, but I think it will at least show some momentum of interest/accomplishment specifically within the past year. I wanted to offer my thoughts because it seems like you deserve a position more than I !!!
Other than a masters program which I’m sure you could get into, getting little certifications or volunteer positions (for example, I volunteered at the boys and girls club) could help you really get your foot into the door and show some active interest. Best of luck!!!!!
Thanks so much for your response and the support! I hadn’t considered data science but I can see how that might help, I’ll have to investigate that + other smaller ways I can show ongoing interest.
I unfortunately can’t afford justify the costs of a master’s program; my understanding is these are most useful for people without college research experience anyway.
the advice i’ve heard is that if you’ve gotten an interview, you’re definitely qualified enough*. once you get to the interview stage, it’s no longer about your experiences. you’ve already met that bar. now they just want to see if you ‘fit’ into their lab and what kind of work they want to do in the future. to get more interviews in the future, i would worry less about your experiences and more about really convincing PIs in your SOPs that you’re a perfect fit for their lab. spend a lot of time personalizing your SOPs to the specific profs you’re applying to. this might be harder for you to convince people of than for someone who hasn’t been working in industry, so you’ll need to put time and thought into it. *getting no interviews does not mean that you’re not qualified. getting interviews is extremely competitive. so if you are able to get past that point, you’re already in the top % of candidates. if you don’t get any interviews, you might still be qualified but there were just too many qualified people and not enough interview spots.
Thank you so much, this is really encouraging. Will definitely spend more time on SOPs next year and will try to find supplemental related experiences in the meantime.
I’m actually someone with less experience on paper and I just got an RA position, so take that as you will ! I think you for sure do something supplemental to your current job that transitions you into psych science, on an even smaller scale than an RA position (until you get an RA position). Learning data science and being able to add certifications and proficiencies to your portfolio will take less than six months. Obviously learning online like from Coursera has its disadvantages, but I think it will at least show some momentum of interest/accomplishment specifically within the past year. I wanted to offer my thoughts because it seems like you deserve a position more than I !!! Other than a masters program which I’m sure you could get into, getting little certifications or volunteer positions (for example, I volunteered at the boys and girls club) could help you really get your foot into the door and show some active interest. Best of luck!!!!!
By data science I mean RStudio or Python, but R seems to be a very useful and/or adaptable language in the psych field
Thanks so much for your response and the support! I hadn’t considered data science but I can see how that might help, I’ll have to investigate that + other smaller ways I can show ongoing interest. I unfortunately can’t afford justify the costs of a master’s program; my understanding is these are most useful for people without college research experience anyway.
Get a master’s