u/IntelligentNet9593

I have the general understanding that it’s a good idea to email faculty you’re interested in as potential advisors, but what exactly are you meant to say in this email?

I would think you’d want to demonstrate that you’ve read and understand their research, and to demonstrate that you’d like to be a student under them, but doesn’t that sound like you’re soliciting?

Additionally, would it be inappropriate to ask that faculty member if you should apply, or if you seem like you could be a good fit, or if you have sufficient qualifications?

Hey all. I’m looking to join a fantasy football league that hasn’t drafted yet. It’s been a few years since I’ve played but a friend asked me to help her draft for her work league and I realized I miss playing.

A little about me: I’ve lived in the chicago area all my life, bears fan (of course), and currently work in research.

If anyone has an extra spot in their league and wanna talk about it, feel free to message me

I have a bachelor's in cognitive science and following graduation, I was a research assistant for a year at a very good university investigating cognition in patients with severe mental illness. My main responsibilities were programming (in Python) the experiments we'd run participants through while they were hooked up to EEG/fMRI.

I'm now a clinical research coordinator at another very good university in the same city, managing hospital-based clinical studies - one of which was on medical devices. I may get authorship on this study but the enrollment rates were very poor and if anything, the paper would be about feasibility rather than the data yielded by the devices themselves. However, I really enjoyed being on the hospital floor and applying the devices to patients, and seeing them work in real time.

Originally, my aspirations were to pursue a PhD in cognitive or clinical psychology, or cognitive neuroscience. I will be applying to some programs in these fields this Fall, but I want to have an industry backup plan in case things don't work out or I decide to turn away from academia. I took a human factors course in undergrad and did very well in it because I enjoyed it so much, and it has been on my radar ever since then.

I was thinking of applying to Minnesota's human factors Masters, or even PhD, along with my other programs. But I wanted to ask how the job market is doing, and whether I'd just be led to a dead end if I were to pursue this career. I also wanted to ask if I could continue to study things in the realm of cognitive psychology and/or medical devices (I know the latter is much easier to answer).

I've seen people say that this field is increasingly difficult to break into, that job stability is fickle because of contract-based roles, and that some people feel very underpaid. Is this true, and would you recommend human factors as a career to someone in my position?

Hello!

I’m considering applying to psychological science PhD programs this upcoming cycle. I have a bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and a year of postbacc experience in a lab researching cognition in psychosis (EEG, fMRI). Additionally, at time of applying, I’d have about a year of CRC research working on medical device studies, patient outcome studies, and a massive 20 site study that puts me in daily contact with oncology inpatients, administering questionnaires that are partially meant to capture data on depression and PTSD symptoms. Both roles were at T10(ish?) universities.

I know by now that I do love research and the slow grind of it. I love writing reports/documents and papers, I love reading literature and staying up to date with it, I love the mission of research as a broad concept and even more so in the fields that I’ve worked, I love the inherent intellectual curiosity and the environment of universities and academic medical centers, I love designing data flows and programming experiment scripts, I even love the daily administrative tasks of keeping a project running.

I just don’t know exactly what research question, or even subfield, I would love to dedicate 6 years to. Add in the constraint of a low undergrad GPA (3.1, with extenuating circumstances), and I’m having a hard time coming up with programs that are both realistic for me and that would be a mutual research fit.

I very much enjoyed the topic of psychosis at my last job, but I’m certain that I’m not competitive for clinical psychology PhDs.

I do know that I’m very interested in research involving cognition and clinical application. I’ve really liked working with patients and being in academic medical centers. For personal and intellectual reasons, I’m drawn to PTSD / Moral injury and TBI/Neurocognitive disorders research, but none of my prior work history reflects this (besides the research into the cognitive deficits of psychosis).

I’m broadly very interested in mental illness and cognition, but again I don’t think I’ll make it into a clinical psych program.

I have a slight interest in applied cognition and human factors engineering (especially in medical devices), but have not given this nearly as much thought and truthfully is something I’d do more so to be employable and make decent money while also doing work I find to be interesting enough.

Given that my research experience offers more breadth than depth, I’m not sure what program names and school I could realistically target. Can anyone offer any guidance?

Hello!

I’m considering applying to psychological science PhD programs this upcoming cycle. I have a bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and a year of postbacc experience in a lab researching cognition in psychosis (EEG, fMRI). Additionally, at time of applying, I’d have about a year of CRC research working on medical device studies, patient outcome studies, and a massive 20 site study that puts me in daily contact with oncology inpatients, administering questionnaires that are partially meant to capture data on depression and PTSD symptoms. Both roles were at T10(ish?) universities.

I know by now that I do love research and the slow grind of it. I love writing reports/documents and papers, I love reading literature and staying up to date with it, I love the mission of research as a broad concept and even more so in the fields that I’ve worked, I love the inherent intellectual curiosity and the environment of universities and academic medical centers, I love designing data flows and programming experiment scripts, I even love the daily administrative tasks of keeping a project running.

I just don’t know exactly what research question, or even subfield, I would love to dedicate 6 years to. Add in the constraint of a low undergrad GPA (3.1, with extenuating circumstances), and I’m having a hard time coming up with programs that are both realistic for me and that would be a mutual research fit.

I very much enjoyed the topic of psychosis at my last job, but I’m certain that I’m not competitive for clinical psychology PhDs.

I do know that I’m very interested in research involving cognition and clinical application. I’ve really liked working with patients and being in academic medical centers. For personal and intellectual reasons, I’m drawn to PTSD / Moral injury and TBI/Neurocognitive disorders research, but none of my prior work history reflects this (besides the research into the cognitive deficits of psychosis).

I’m broadly very interested in mental illness and cognition, but again I don’t think I’ll make it into a clinical psych program.

I have a slight interest in applied cognition and human factors engineering (especially in medical devices), but have not given this nearly as much thought and truthfully is something I’d do more so to be employable and make decent money while also doing work I find to be interesting enough.

Given that my research experience offers more breadth than depth, I’m not sure what program names and school I could realistically target. Can anyone offer any guidance?

Hello!

I’m considering applying to psychological science PhD programs this upcoming cycle. I have a bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and a year of postbacc experience in a lab researching cognition in psychosis (EEG, fMRI). Additionally, at time of applying, I’d have about a year of CRC research working on medical device studies, patient outcome studies, and a massive 20 site study that puts me in daily contact with oncology inpatients, administering questionnaires that are partially meant to capture data on depression and PTSD symptoms. Both roles were at T10(ish?) universities.

I know by now that I do love research and the slow grind of it. I love writing reports/documents and papers, I love reading literature and staying up to date with it, I love the mission of research as a broad concept and even more so in the fields that I’ve worked, I love the inherent intellectual curiosity and the environment of universities and academic medical centers, I love designing data flows and programming experiment scripts, I even love the daily administrative tasks of keeping a project running.

I just don’t know exactly what research question, or even subfield, I would love to dedicate 6 years to. Add in the constraint of a low undergrad GPA (3.1, with extenuating circumstances), and I’m having a hard time coming up with programs that are both realistic for me and that would be a mutual research fit.

I very much enjoyed the topic of psychosis at my last job, but I’m certain that I’m not competitive for clinical psychology PhDs.

I do know that I’m very interested in research involving cognition and clinical application. I’ve really liked working with patients and being in academic medical centers. For personal and intellectual reasons, I’m drawn to PTSD / Moral injury and TBI/Neurocognitive disorders research, but none of my prior work history reflects this (besides the research into the cognitive deficits of psychosis).

I’m broadly very interested in mental illness and cognition, but again I don’t think I’ll make it into a clinical psych program.

I have a slight interest in applied cognition and human factors engineering (especially in medical devices), but have not given this nearly as much thought and truthfully is something I’d do more so to be employable and make decent money while also doing work I find to be interesting enough.

Given that my research experience offers more breadth than depth, I’m not sure what program names and school I could realistically target. Can anyone offer any guidance?

Hello!

I’m considering applying to psychological science PhD programs this upcoming cycle. I have a bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and a year of postbacc experience in a lab researching cognition in psychosis (EEG, fMRI). Additionally, at time of applying, I’d have about a year of CRC research working on medical device studies, patient outcome studies, and a massive 20 site study that puts me in daily contact with oncology inpatients, administering questionnaires that are partially meant to capture data on depression and PTSD symptoms. Both roles were at T10(ish?) universities.

I know by now that I do love research and the slow grind of it. I love writing reports/documents and papers, I love reading literature and staying up to date with it, I love the mission of research as a broad concept and even more so in the fields that I’ve worked, I love the inherent intellectual curiosity and the environment of universities and academic medical centers, I love designing data flows and programming experiment scripts, I even love the daily administrative tasks of keeping a project running.

I just don’t know exactly what research question, or even subfield, I would love to dedicate 6 years to. Add in the constraint of a low undergrad GPA (3.1, with extenuating circumstances), and I’m having a hard time coming up with programs that are both realistic for me and that would be a mutual research fit.

I very much enjoyed the topic of psychosis at my last job, but I’m certain that I’m not competitive for clinical psychology PhDs.

I do know that I’m very interested in research involving cognition and clinical application. I’ve really liked working with patients and being in academic medical centers. For personal and intellectual reasons, I’m drawn to PTSD / Moral injury and TBI/Neurocognitive disorders research, but none of my prior work history reflects this (besides the research into the cognitive deficits of psychosis).

I’m broadly very interested in mental illness and cognition, but again I don’t think I’ll make it into a clinical psych program.

I have a slight interest in applied cognition and human factors engineering (especially in medical devices), but have not given this nearly as much thought and truthfully is something I’d do more so to be employable and make decent money while also doing work I find to be interesting enough.

Given that my research experience offers more breadth than depth, I’m not sure what program names and school I could realistically target. Can anyone offer any guidance?

I was recently hired as a CRC to a major academic medical center. Before this, I worked as a research assistant at another university, in a lab which was more theoretical/academic than clinical.

Funding for my specific role ran out after a 5 year grant expired and so I started applying to research jobs around my city. I do have plans of going to graduate school for the behavioral/psychiatric/neuro fields. I mistakenly thought any research job would help my application since I’d be further learning the foundations of how research is conducted. My old PI has been advising me over email and has let me know that the department im in and the type of CRC research im doing is really not going to help much because it’s just a completely different domain.

I like this institution and they regularly post jobs for CRC roles in the Neurology department. I think I’d be much happier there but at this point I’m already fully onboarded and some major studies have been delegated to me. Its been about 3 months. Would I be burning bridges by switching to another department? I feel bad because I like the people here but the research just does not interest me at all, even though I initially thought it might.

Has anyone ever been in a situation like this? What would you advise?

I’m interested in Clinical, Cognitive/Behavioral, and Social Psychology. I’m not holding my breath for Clinical Psych PhD programs given how competitive they are now so I’d probably be aiming for the other fields. Also tangentially interested in Human Factors Engineering but that would be my out if academia isn’t in the cards for me.

I graduated about two years ago with a bachelor’s in cognitive science from my state flagship. 3.05 gpa, no research experience.

Please don’t think I was lazy - undergrad was some of the most difficult times of my life outside of school and it got to the point I just wanted to survive and get through it. I had extenuating circumstances that I will probably briefly cite on my applications.

After graduating, I worked in a lab that uses neuroimaging at UChicago for a year, mostly programming experiments. For what it’s worth, I’m very proficient in Python and now PsychoPy. Also familiar with E-Prime and R. Now I’m at Northwestern as a clinical research coordinator. The studies I manage mostly have to do with implementing new medical devices, as well as a massive multi site study basically looking at psychosocial outcomes for patients with an aggressive type of cancer. The intervention is largely questionnaire based and it feels very adjacent to Health Psychology, which I’m now developing an interest in as well.

I want to apply for graduate programs this fall, both Masters and PhD. I didn’t get any publications with UChicago but I’ll likely get my name on the preprint for the medical device study and possibly a smaller patient satisfaction study over the summer.

I know I’m an uneven applicant with uneven experience. I’m not shooting for Harvard or anything but I do want to know if it seems like I could have a shot at mid tier doctoral programs in any of the fields I mentioned (or even adjacent fields). If not, what about funded psych masters programs like wake forest, villanova, brandeis, william & mary?

Can I do anything with the experience and stats I have?

Thanks for reading, I’d appreciate any and all insight

I’m interested in Clinical, Cognitive/Behavioral, and Social Psychology. I’m not holding my breath for Clinical Psych PhD programs given how competitive they are now so I’d probably be aiming for the other fields. Also tangentially interested in Human Factors Engineering but that would be my out if academia isn’t in the cards for me.

I graduated about two years ago with a bachelor’s in cognitive science from my state flagship. 3.05 gpa, no research experience.

Please don’t think I was lazy - undergrad was some of the most difficult times of my life outside of school and it got to the point I just wanted to survive and get through it. I had extenuating circumstances that I will probably briefly cite on my applications.

After graduating, I worked in a lab that uses neuroimaging at UChicago for a year, mostly programming experiments. For what it’s worth, I’m very proficient in Python and now PsychoPy. Also familiar with E-Prime and R. Now I’m at Northwestern as a clinical research coordinator. The studies I manage mostly have to do with implementing new medical devices, as well as a massive multi site study basically looking at psychosocial outcomes for patients with an aggressive type of cancer. The intervention is largely questionnaire based and it feels very adjacent to Health Psychology, which I’m now developing an interest in as well.

I want to apply for graduate programs this fall, both Masters and PhD. I didn’t get any publications with UChicago but I’ll likely get my name on the preprint for the medical device study and possibly a smaller patient satisfaction study over the summer.

I know I’m an uneven applicant with uneven experience. I’m not shooting for Harvard or anything but I do want to know if it seems like I could have a shot at mid tier doctoral programs in any of the fields I mentioned (or even adjacent fields). If not, what about funded psych masters programs like wake forest, villanova, brandeis, william & mary?

Can I do anything with the experience and stats I have?

Thanks for reading, I’d appreciate any and all insight

I’m interested in Clinical, Cognitive/Behavioral, and Social Psychology. I’m not holding my breath for Clinical Psych PhD programs given how competitive they are now so I’d probably be aiming for the other fields. Also tangentially interested in Human Factors Engineering but that would be my out if academia isn’t in the cards for me.

I graduated about two years ago with a bachelor’s in cognitive science from my state flagship. 3.05 gpa, no research experience.

Please don’t think I was lazy - undergrad was some of the most difficult times of my life outside of school and it got to the point I just wanted to survive and get through it. I had extenuating circumstances that I will probably briefly cite on my applications.

After graduating, I worked in a lab that uses neuroimaging at UChicago for a year, mostly programming experiments. For what it’s worth, I’m very proficient in Python and now PsychoPy. Also familiar with E-Prime and R. Now I’m at Northwestern as a clinical research coordinator. The studies I manage mostly have to do with implementing new medical devices, as well as a massive multi site study basically looking at psychosocial outcomes for patients with an aggressive type of cancer. The intervention is largely questionnaire based and it feels very adjacent to Health Psychology, which I’m now developing an interest in as well.

I want to apply for graduate programs this fall, both Masters and PhD. I didn’t get any publications with UChicago but I’ll likely get my name on the preprint for the medical device study and possibly a smaller patient satisfaction study over the summer.

I know I’m an uneven applicant with uneven experience. I’m not shooting for Harvard or anything but I do want to know if it seems like I could have a shot at mid tier doctoral programs in any of the fields I mentioned (or even adjacent fields). If not, what about funded psych masters programs like wake forest, villanova, brandeis, william & mary?

Can I do anything with the experience and stats I have?

Thanks for reading, I’d appreciate any and all insight

i commute into the city and am kind of sick of my whole life being about going to work then coming home and repeating it. i have a book and DSLR camera with me, what can i do around here after i get out (in 30 minutes lol) to change things up

Graduated two years ago with a 3.05 GPA. I know. Undergrad was some of the worst years of my life because of personal and medical issues and at the time my only concern was surviving it.

Things have gotten better since then. I have a year of RA work (mostly technical role though) at a cognitive neuroscience lab at a T10 university now, and I’ll have about 9 months of experience as a clinical research coordinator at a different T10 around the time of applying this fall. (My position lost funding at the first RA role).

My current PI has offered me authorship on a study that will conclude in August, but it is about medical devices. So I’d at least have a publication and hopefully poster presentation by this fall.

There’s lots of context to my situation but I’ll make this post brief. Is there any hope for me? What can I do?