Guest Sara K Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 Hey Peter, Once again, a person who needs your divinly advice This is my third time applying to meds and I haven't come of the waitlists yet. I think I am going to head into the workforce to ensure I get on some kind of career path as a backup (I'll still keep applying while working). I was wondering how to go about finding a job with a psych background. I have been looking and feel that its really difficult to break in as a recent grad. Do you have any suggestions or advice as to where to look. Also I read somewhere that you earned 100,000 working for the govt. Thats great do some govt jobs really get that high when you work your way up? Finally what kind of salary did you start at and how did it progress through your various experiences. Alot of applications ask me to write salary expectations and expected salary progression which I have no clue about. I really thank you for your help. I'm pretty scared and lost with this whole entering the workforce thing so your advice is ever so appreciated. BTW have you heard anything from Ottawa? Why did you not apply to other schools you seem like an outstanding candidate with alot to offer. Good luck and thanks again Sara K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jennifer Y Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 sara K: did you know how far up the waitlists you were on? do they tell you? and does the ranking on the waitlist differ drastically or fairly similar from year to year in your experirence. FYI, a family member works with the government at about 60TH/year 75 hr week with a BSc. doing clinical work with all the benefits that gov't employees get. 4 weeks of holidays per year to start and 1 day added per year with each year of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sara K Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 Hey Jennifer with regards to waitlists I was talking about the last two times I applied (in my 3rd and 4th year). Although I tried to find out where i was on the waitlists, they wouldn't budge with a hint. I'm still waiting for this year.....so who knows. As for your family member who works for the gov't, 75hrs a week...geeez that seems like tons of hours....15hrs a day, I dont think thats right for a govt job, maybe for a surg resident but for a govt lab job, I doubt it, they should look for something else if thats the case. Anyways thanks and good luck Sara K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jennifer Y Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 so sorry sara, what I meant to say is 37.5 hr per week or 75 hours per 2 weeks ...anyways, works out to be about $30 per hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 Hey Sara K..."divinly advice"...you flatter me... I think it's great that you are actually creating a backup plan for yourself. First of all...relax...as I mention later...you've got a great degree to get work with. My background is in Experimental Psyc...vision/perception and human factors. The most obvious employer for me in Ottawa (although it wasn't at all obvious when I graduated from my Master's program) was Bell-Northern Rearch now known as Nortel Networks. I worked within a product design group...at first I was a behavioural scientist, conducting basic human factors/cognitive/perception experiments to support new network software/hardware (i.e., switching and transmission equipment) and consumer devices (e.g., telephones) and then I eventually progressed into product design management. What city do you live in? Are you french/english bilingual writing, reading and speaking? Did you do a graduate psyc degree? If so, is your psyc degree in Experimental or Clinical? If it is an undergrad desgree what types of courses did you take? What courses did you excel at? Do you have scaling theory? How comfortable were you with research methods and statistics? How comfortable were you with social psyc? Once I have an idea of your responses to these questions it would be easier to provide some suggestions. The really nice thing about psyc is that it provides you with incredible flexibility...sorry about being so vague...I really know a bunch of things you could potentially do with your degree but really require a better understanding of your skills, interests and background first. Try not to be scared about entering the workforce...I agree, it is a somewhat disturbing experience relative to the security of school...but you have a very good degree to be entering the workforce with right now, should you go that route. The good thing is...you've got plenty of time. Typically, if you don't have a lot of experience (i.e., like when you first graduate from school) you don't start in the government with more than a 30 or 40k salary, depending on your degree and a few other things. In order to get the really high paying jobs in the government you either have to be there for many years or you have to have incredible experience coming it at a time when they are having difficulty finding people. Now is that time...typical competitions for employment within the government are unsuccessful at filling more than about half of the available positions...this is the next wave of security and great jobs with the government...with so many people retiring...there are many people moving up...and many holes to be filled. I have a high paying management position as I have an advanced degree in a relevant and specialized area with more than 12 years of private sector experience...I'm french/english bilingual reading/writing/speaking...I've also built two companies...and have a really broad base of content knowledge spanning things from basic vision physiology...to pharmacokinetics and pharmaceutical efficacy...to optical, wireless and HFC switching...to psychometrics...injection molding of plastics. FYI, when I started working at Bell-Northern Research I made 41k per year...it took me several years...several mass-marketed products...several patents...several awards under my belt prior to making over six figures. That being said, with some experience and if you're outgoing and intelligent (which obviously you are if you have been getting interviews for med school) you shouldn't have any problem reaching a 70-80k per year job within 5 years of graduating with a psyc degree, again, depending on a few factors such as city, interests, etc. I haven't heard anything from Ottawa yet as I didn't apply to the MD/PhD program. All MD program applicants from all schools find out at virtually the same time as all letters are apparently sent out on May 31...so like everyone else...I'm anxious (I dream of entering Med school in September)...and hopefully waiting. I only applied to Ottawa. I've travelled extensively throughout Canada and of all places I've visited I'd only live in Ottawa or Montreal...right now, I'm in Ottawa and I really like it here. I have two kids which I have part time...so this is another obvious reason why I don't want to move away. I really love my kids and always want them to be part of my life. I did a lot of research on various meds programs offered and in my humble opinion, Ottawa has one of the best...so why disrupt my life by moving? If I don't get in this year...well, I'll reapply next year... I could ramble on forever...how about answering some of the questions I asked earlier in this post and I can try to provide you with some ideas... Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sara K Posted April 11, 2002 Report Share Posted April 11, 2002 Thank you soooo much for taking the time to provide such a super duper juper response Well to tell you about myself, I actually have a Bsc in Psych for UofT. The bulk of my courses concentrated around cognition (memory, though process) and perception (visual and auditory). Interesting you mention a Masters because I was thinking about doing that but perhaps I should try to work a couple of years to drill down the old student loan and get some good experience under my belt. As far as courses I loved perception, and cognition in addition to several stat courses for psyhc I took. I took a few clinical courses (ie abnormal) where there was alot of case analysis using the DSM to diagnose disorders (real hands on stuff) but I think you need a PhD in clincal psych to go down that road and become a clinical psychologist. To tell you the truth I really enjoyed all of my courses and as you know undergrad is a good smorgasboard of courses to let you get your feet wet doing different things. I have a 4.0GPA so that's kinda working for me although it seems employers dont really ask for marks If you need more info I'd love to share it with you. Oh yeah I also did a summer of linguistic research (understanding the role of speech pattern recognition in aiding the deaf....1st author publication thank again Peter I appreciate everything!!!!!!!!! Sarah K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 Sara K, If you'd be interested in doing market/social research (e.g., experimental design, statistics, qualitatitve and quantitative research, questionnaire design, usability analysis) for the purposes of product design, advertising production/evaluation, policy development, etc., check out the links below... I can set you up with senior individuals in these companies...they can very likely find you very good careers. I'm assuming you're living in or on the outskirts of TO...these companies are downtown. If you think you'd like to meet with these companies e-mail me at peter.hill4@sympatico.ca erg.environics.net/ www.ifop.com/america/ If nothing else, it would be worth meeting with my friends to find out about careers available to people with Psyc backgrounds that most people don't ever hear about...these are two class companies. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sara K Posted April 13, 2002 Report Share Posted April 13, 2002 Hey Peter, Thank you so much for the offer. I looked at the websites and things did look really interesting. I noticed for both places there was a heavy influence or push for having a masters degree. After talking to several people including some of my profs and of course looking at your background I think I will do a masters first next year and then apply to these fantastic opportunities. Its really neat because you have insight into career areas that most science grads would never think of. I was so one tracked, all I could think of was lab work. I really thank for that and for providing me with such great advice. What are your thoughts on persuing a masters first. I think it will give me that extra credential which will help to boost my attractiveness to employers should I not be accepted into a medical school. Thanks again Peter, I will keep you posted on how things go. Once again, you are truly a helping soul who shows alot of class and kindness towards the lost like me Sara K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 13, 2002 Report Share Posted April 13, 2002 Sarah, I think obtaining a Master's is an excellent idea. I absolutely will give you an advantage in all facets of life. I think that you can also be quite successful without a masters...it just takes a bit more work. The jobs that are posted by these companies and others like them typically advertise for people with MAs and PhDs, however, there is also another way to learn the business...which, quite frankly, provides you with an opportunity to gain experience while being educated at the same time. I guess the reason I suggested it was in case you wanted to work for a year should, for some reason, you not get acceptance into med school this year. If at any time you'd be interested in talking with CMR or Environics please let me know. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sara K Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Yeah your the best best best best!!!!!!! I will certainly contact u when my exams are done to learn more about these exciting companies I cant wait to meet the minds behind them and learn more about what I can offer them. Thank you your wonderful and an invaluable resource!! Sara K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tommygirl Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 I would just like to say this is probably one of the most generous gestures I have ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 tommygirl, Sara K, Thanks very much for the kind words. I hope to meet both of you in September in Ottawa U meds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomguy Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 i am sorry for letting my premed attitude creep in here, but I am curious as hell to know as to why after having a 4.0 gpa, u are on the waiting list for the third time...this is scaring the pants off me, as it further seems to exemplify the crapshoot process of medical school admissions...if u'd like to email me the details instead, please do so at mzidane2000@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomguy Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 BTW please note that the above post was for sara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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