strange_alchemy
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2024
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
As the title says, I'm a nontraditional student. I got an AA in Psychology and a BA in Criminal Justice with a minor in psychology before entering the military, where I worked law enforcement primarily. I was medically discharged from the military after 4 years, and now I'm at a crossroads. I had two backup ideas as I was leaving the military: digital forensics and forensic psychology. I went with the former because I thought it would be less competitive. I'm halfway through an MS in Digital Forensics (for which I'm paying with a veterans benefit that ISN'T the GI Bill), and I'm enjoying it, but I've found that I spend nearly all of my downtime reading psychology papers and journals. I don't have a strong interest in doing publishing research, but I find myself thinking about applications to clinical practices.
Perhaps it's nothing more than FOMO or doubt in my own competency, but I would like to pose the question: supposing I don't go into digital forensics and make the pivot to psychology, what would be my best options?
My community college GPA and university GPA for psychology were both 3.8. I entered the military straight from university, so I don't have any publications or posters, nor do I have research experience. I currently work as a behavior technician at a clinic specializing in autism, where I'm providing therapy with a supervisor present, documenting and graphing the child's progress, etc. I'm enjoying this and would love to be able to provide therapy without supervision and on my own terms (I wish I could give some of these kids assessments). I'm waiting to hear back on a digital forensics internship, but the longer I work here, the less I care about the internship. (I don't think I'd stay in autism, though.)
I still have my GI Bill, and if I stay in digital forensics, the bill will go to waste. I don't mind waiting a few years to use it, but I'm debating on attempting to get research experience in the meantime or just hunkering down and searching for work in digital forensics.
I also cannot leave the state of Ohio. So if I put my GI Bill to use, it would absolutely have to be used on an Ohio university. I understand that psychology graduate programs are extremely difficult to get into and that makes my geographical limits risky. I suppose I'm just looking to create a discussion on the benefits of a master's degree, PhD, or PsyD in various Ohioan universities and if I should simply drop the idea altogether. I have a bit of a mental block about getting another MS, but I know it's ridiculously difficult to get into a PhD program, and I'm not sure my GI Bill would fully cover a PsyD.
Universities in which I'm particularly interested: The Ohio State, Xavier, Wright State, Kent State, Miami U. Most of these don't have a terminal master's program. I could also do Tiffin, but I think their degree is online (I don't have a problem with online degrees honestly, but I enjoy the clinical side of psychology, and I'm not convinced this would be beneficial).
Perhaps it's nothing more than FOMO or doubt in my own competency, but I would like to pose the question: supposing I don't go into digital forensics and make the pivot to psychology, what would be my best options?
My community college GPA and university GPA for psychology were both 3.8. I entered the military straight from university, so I don't have any publications or posters, nor do I have research experience. I currently work as a behavior technician at a clinic specializing in autism, where I'm providing therapy with a supervisor present, documenting and graphing the child's progress, etc. I'm enjoying this and would love to be able to provide therapy without supervision and on my own terms (I wish I could give some of these kids assessments). I'm waiting to hear back on a digital forensics internship, but the longer I work here, the less I care about the internship. (I don't think I'd stay in autism, though.)
I still have my GI Bill, and if I stay in digital forensics, the bill will go to waste. I don't mind waiting a few years to use it, but I'm debating on attempting to get research experience in the meantime or just hunkering down and searching for work in digital forensics.
I also cannot leave the state of Ohio. So if I put my GI Bill to use, it would absolutely have to be used on an Ohio university. I understand that psychology graduate programs are extremely difficult to get into and that makes my geographical limits risky. I suppose I'm just looking to create a discussion on the benefits of a master's degree, PhD, or PsyD in various Ohioan universities and if I should simply drop the idea altogether. I have a bit of a mental block about getting another MS, but I know it's ridiculously difficult to get into a PhD program, and I'm not sure my GI Bill would fully cover a PsyD.
Universities in which I'm particularly interested: The Ohio State, Xavier, Wright State, Kent State, Miami U. Most of these don't have a terminal master's program. I could also do Tiffin, but I think their degree is online (I don't have a problem with online degrees honestly, but I enjoy the clinical side of psychology, and I'm not convinced this would be beneficial).