Week 7:
Academic plans

August 16, 2016

I continued my work on the functional and T1 imaging in Bipolar disorder study this week. I am making better progress than I thought I was going to. I have kind of got a groove going when going through the data.

I would have to say that academically; this week was one of my best weeks. A Dr. happened to walk through my cubicle and we began talking. I learned that he was a neurological psychologist, something I had never heard of before. After awhile he said I was more than welcome to set up an appointment with him and talk further. Following Jess’s model of networking and because of genuine interest, I set up a meeting with him for the next day.

Initially my meeting with Dr. Moser was supposed to be about learning more about neuropsychology. The meeting ended up being about PHD and PSYD programs and advice on what I should do. I’d say one of the most important topics when talked about was funding for both PHD and PSYD programs. Dr. Moser brought up an important fact that PHD programs are often funded whereas PSYD program often require people to have to take out a large loan. On top of that, PHD programs have something called assistantships, which Dr. Moser explained to me as paid jobs given to graduate student that require them to do part-time research or teaching.

Dr. Moser said something during this meeting that really resonated with me. He told me that during this time I will be applying to a lot of different PHD programs. He said that it is very important to make sure that the program I am accepted in best fits me and what I want to do. He said “Don’t just accept a program because you have an egg in your basket. If you need to work for a year or two as a research assistant to get the experience you need for the program you want, then do that.” He also told me that he could offer an outside perspective and help me choose between PHD programs. This talk with Dr. Moser helped open my eyes so much while also releasing some of the pressure I have been feeling.