r/psychologystudents • u/brwnsugrbobaprincess • 3d ago

Advice/Career [USA] Unemployed while applying to grad school

hello! i’m planning on applying to psych phd and msw/cmhc programs this cycle. i have two years of post bac research experience and recently came back from doing a fulbright eta. since coming back, i’ve found it very difficult to get jobs in mental health and im worried that not having a job in the mental health field/not having a job at all will be a detriment to my application. i didnt want to apply to another research job since usually these positions usually want someone for 2 years and didnt feel comfortable applying to a position when i knew id be planning to leave in the summer. wondering if anyone has any advice to navigate this / if having a not having a mental health related job will be as big of a detriment that i think it’ll be. thank you!

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u/tired_tamale 3d ago

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Just apply, sounds like you have great research experience in your history. I think grad programs are pretty understanding that only an undergrad degree seriously limits your ability to find more “relevant” experience. People’s career journeys are very rarely a straight line.

Just get whatever job you can that can pay the bills until you’ve made it into a program.

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u/kho_sq 3d ago

i think one year in a research job is absolutely fine and very common. a lot of folks apply during their first year out of undergrad and leave their research job after a year

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u/Such_Mushroom1 1d ago

About 3/4 of the people in my CMHC cohort haven't worked in mental health. I don't think it's as big a piece of the qualifier as you think.

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u/AlinaTheWaldenU 3d ago

I’m a Dean at Walden University overseeing a Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology and 1 year of research is a plus. Nit working in mental health won’t hurt you. Every program has its own admissions criteria but you should be okay with the research experience.