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tl;dr: M.Sc. Research Psychologist wants to do applied work and change into infectious disease epi, is it right for me?
Hi all,
After lurking in this and in similar forums for a while and reading everything I could find about the topic, I figured it was time to write a post and ask for advice. This post might get lengthy, I apologize in advance and would definitely appreciate some input.
I am a German Psychology student currently writing my master's thesis and I am seriously considering changing fields and getting into epidemiology/PH. I will not be applying this year, so there is no hurry. Still I'd like to gain as much information as possible now to prepare/shape my profile during my gap year starting in September.
My education as of now looks as follows:
B.Sc. in Psychology from an average German public university
- 3.3 GPA (not happy about this, some private/medical problems in my close family made the first year very hard for me)
- Very heavy emphasis on research methods, statistics (including SPSS), and neurobiology/neuroscience
- Bachelor's thesis (empirical study) about memory and metamemory judgments
M.Sc. in Cognitive and Clinical Psychology from one of the best (some argue the best) German public universities in the field
- 3.8 GPA
- Very heavy emphasis on statistics (multivariate statistics, SEM/multilevel models, threshold models, etc., work with SPSS and some R) and research design (including test theory)
- Master's thesis (empirical study) about metamemory judgments is in the works, to be completed in August
Furthermore I've worked as a graduate RA in a memory lab running empirical studies with both students and seniors for two years. I have done two (short) research internships in psychological memory research, one at UNC Chapel Hill, one at McGill. I have one co-authored article in press at a high-impact journal, two co-authored articles in prep by the first authors (but God knows how long it'll take for them to get published, if ever) and one poster presentation at the biggest conference of German-speaking experimental psychologists.
A couple of words about the German educational system: There are no majors/minors, so 95 % of the coursework to obtain a degree is done in the field of said degree (so here Psychology, stats, research methods).
I entered the B.Sc. Psychology program right out of high school, frankly not sure if that's what I wanted to do. But it sounded interesting and the rigorous scientific education that comes with German Psychology degrees appealed to me, so I figured why not (there is no tuition, studying is free).
The first year didn't go very well both because of some medical issues in my family as well as my struggles to see what I would want to end up doing (working) with the things I learned. During my second year an instructor introduced me to memory research and it was mainly the fact that she was so enthusiastic about her research that made me become interested in that as well. I wrote a couple of study reports and was basically hooked. From then on my goal was to get a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and become a researcher.
Fast forward to now: I am deeply in love with science, above all I appreciate the scientific rigor that my Psych education has ingrained in me. But over the last year, step by step I have come to the realization that Cognitive/memory research is not something I want to turn into a career. There are a number of reasons (very bad job prospects/basically no job opportunities outside of research, the personal toll it takes on family/life planning), but mainly I don't want to spend all day every day locked in an office, in front of a computer, trying my hardest to publish as much as I can, and not taking part in "real life."
For me, this is the major point: I know that research is very important. In my eyes, it's one of the most "noble" careers to pursue, because research is the one thing that drives progress. But during my years in memory research, I never felt fulfilled by what I did. I never felt like I had an impact, I never /felt/ like I was doing something important. It felt like the time spent locked up in a lab somewhere, running studies and writing articles, was somewhat wasted. If I was lucky they'd get published and then read by (at most) a handful of other memory researchers around the globe. And then reset, repeat.
Since coming to this realization, I've been thinking hard about what I actually want out of a career. I want to do something important, I want to feel like I have a (tangible) impact with what I do. I want to work in an international field and have my degree enable me to work in different (anglophone) countries.
Trying to shorten this already way too long post: Epidemiology has always been at the back of my head and now I'm considering switching to it. I like mathematical modeling (what I've done a lot during my Psych M.Sc.) and from what I've read about GIS, that sounds very cool as well.
The main field that would interest me is infectious diseases/modeling the spread of infectious diseases/outbreak control. Despite of my prior qualifications, I'm not interested in Mental Health Epi.
I just want to make sure that I don't end up where I am right now after switching fields: I don't want to be locked in an office once again, only ever writing research reports, just this time about different topics. Although I like modeling and I can see writing/traditional scientific publishing as a (small) part of my career, I'd very much like to do more applied work. To do something hands on (and then document it of course).
So I guess here are my real questions for you (thank you for sticking around so long and reading all this): Taking into account the info provided above, do you think epidemiology is the right field for me? I have considered more general PH as well, as from what I see that would be the more "applied" route, but I have always valued scientific rigor and think that it is way easier transitioning from science to applied work than the other way around (please correct me if I'm wrong). Plus once again I feel like working as an applied/field epidemiologist is more hands on than doing PH education/ending up working in hospital management or the likes.
As for my immediate plans, I will be going to Paris in September for an indefinite time and will try to get some epi experience while I'm there. My French is not good enough to work in a French environment, but I figured I could try to maybe volunteer at l'Institut Pasteur. The only doubts I have about that is that I might once again get the feeling of being locked away in a lab (it's a research institute after all) and that that might put me off epi again. But I hope that the research there will align more with me interests and therefore won't seem so daunting to me. Furthermore I'll continue to read up on the topic and take online courses on epi/PH/infectious diseases via Coursera/edX.
Next year I am planning to apply to LSHTM. I've been looking at both their M.Sc. in Epidemiology as well as their M.Sc. in Control of Infectious Diseases and the latter seems like a perfect fit for me. There is course work about disease transmission, principles of epidemiology, and stats of course. It explicitly advertises its practical approach and culminates in a research project to be taken overseas at collaborating research/PH institutions or NGOs. The M.Sc. Epi on the other hand once again emphasizes research design etc. heavily, which I feel I have covered plenty in my previous degrees.
After the M.Sc. and making really sure that epidemiology is indeed what I want to spend my life doing, I'd most likely pursue a PhD, either in the UK or Canada/USA. I know that PhD work is essentially what I said I didn't enjoy - lab research and publishing, I'd try to find a more applied program that aligns with my interests. Furthermore I enjoy schooling and would welcome the opportunity to take more classes and spend time in a place which is mentally stimulating and with like-minded and highly motivated people. I would hope to further my understanding of the field and then hopefully being a highly qualified PhD Epidemiologist, return to more applied work.
So once again: Do you think epidemiology is the right field for me? How would be my chances to get into LSHTM with my qualifications? Would it be a disadvantage for PhD applications if my I did the Control of ID M.Sc. because it's not called "Epidemiology?"
So much text, so many questions. As of now I am really excited, I feel like I might have found something that I could really enjoy doing. I appreciate any input, thank you again!
Cheers,
FrenchPuppy
Hi all,
After lurking in this and in similar forums for a while and reading everything I could find about the topic, I figured it was time to write a post and ask for advice. This post might get lengthy, I apologize in advance and would definitely appreciate some input.
I am a German Psychology student currently writing my master's thesis and I am seriously considering changing fields and getting into epidemiology/PH. I will not be applying this year, so there is no hurry. Still I'd like to gain as much information as possible now to prepare/shape my profile during my gap year starting in September.
My education as of now looks as follows:
B.Sc. in Psychology from an average German public university
- 3.3 GPA (not happy about this, some private/medical problems in my close family made the first year very hard for me)
- Very heavy emphasis on research methods, statistics (including SPSS), and neurobiology/neuroscience
- Bachelor's thesis (empirical study) about memory and metamemory judgments
M.Sc. in Cognitive and Clinical Psychology from one of the best (some argue the best) German public universities in the field
- 3.8 GPA
- Very heavy emphasis on statistics (multivariate statistics, SEM/multilevel models, threshold models, etc., work with SPSS and some R) and research design (including test theory)
- Master's thesis (empirical study) about metamemory judgments is in the works, to be completed in August
Furthermore I've worked as a graduate RA in a memory lab running empirical studies with both students and seniors for two years. I have done two (short) research internships in psychological memory research, one at UNC Chapel Hill, one at McGill. I have one co-authored article in press at a high-impact journal, two co-authored articles in prep by the first authors (but God knows how long it'll take for them to get published, if ever) and one poster presentation at the biggest conference of German-speaking experimental psychologists.
A couple of words about the German educational system: There are no majors/minors, so 95 % of the coursework to obtain a degree is done in the field of said degree (so here Psychology, stats, research methods).
I entered the B.Sc. Psychology program right out of high school, frankly not sure if that's what I wanted to do. But it sounded interesting and the rigorous scientific education that comes with German Psychology degrees appealed to me, so I figured why not (there is no tuition, studying is free).
The first year didn't go very well both because of some medical issues in my family as well as my struggles to see what I would want to end up doing (working) with the things I learned. During my second year an instructor introduced me to memory research and it was mainly the fact that she was so enthusiastic about her research that made me become interested in that as well. I wrote a couple of study reports and was basically hooked. From then on my goal was to get a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and become a researcher.
Fast forward to now: I am deeply in love with science, above all I appreciate the scientific rigor that my Psych education has ingrained in me. But over the last year, step by step I have come to the realization that Cognitive/memory research is not something I want to turn into a career. There are a number of reasons (very bad job prospects/basically no job opportunities outside of research, the personal toll it takes on family/life planning), but mainly I don't want to spend all day every day locked in an office, in front of a computer, trying my hardest to publish as much as I can, and not taking part in "real life."
For me, this is the major point: I know that research is very important. In my eyes, it's one of the most "noble" careers to pursue, because research is the one thing that drives progress. But during my years in memory research, I never felt fulfilled by what I did. I never felt like I had an impact, I never /felt/ like I was doing something important. It felt like the time spent locked up in a lab somewhere, running studies and writing articles, was somewhat wasted. If I was lucky they'd get published and then read by (at most) a handful of other memory researchers around the globe. And then reset, repeat.
Since coming to this realization, I've been thinking hard about what I actually want out of a career. I want to do something important, I want to feel like I have a (tangible) impact with what I do. I want to work in an international field and have my degree enable me to work in different (anglophone) countries.
Trying to shorten this already way too long post: Epidemiology has always been at the back of my head and now I'm considering switching to it. I like mathematical modeling (what I've done a lot during my Psych M.Sc.) and from what I've read about GIS, that sounds very cool as well.
The main field that would interest me is infectious diseases/modeling the spread of infectious diseases/outbreak control. Despite of my prior qualifications, I'm not interested in Mental Health Epi.
I just want to make sure that I don't end up where I am right now after switching fields: I don't want to be locked in an office once again, only ever writing research reports, just this time about different topics. Although I like modeling and I can see writing/traditional scientific publishing as a (small) part of my career, I'd very much like to do more applied work. To do something hands on (and then document it of course).
So I guess here are my real questions for you (thank you for sticking around so long and reading all this): Taking into account the info provided above, do you think epidemiology is the right field for me? I have considered more general PH as well, as from what I see that would be the more "applied" route, but I have always valued scientific rigor and think that it is way easier transitioning from science to applied work than the other way around (please correct me if I'm wrong). Plus once again I feel like working as an applied/field epidemiologist is more hands on than doing PH education/ending up working in hospital management or the likes.
As for my immediate plans, I will be going to Paris in September for an indefinite time and will try to get some epi experience while I'm there. My French is not good enough to work in a French environment, but I figured I could try to maybe volunteer at l'Institut Pasteur. The only doubts I have about that is that I might once again get the feeling of being locked away in a lab (it's a research institute after all) and that that might put me off epi again. But I hope that the research there will align more with me interests and therefore won't seem so daunting to me. Furthermore I'll continue to read up on the topic and take online courses on epi/PH/infectious diseases via Coursera/edX.
Next year I am planning to apply to LSHTM. I've been looking at both their M.Sc. in Epidemiology as well as their M.Sc. in Control of Infectious Diseases and the latter seems like a perfect fit for me. There is course work about disease transmission, principles of epidemiology, and stats of course. It explicitly advertises its practical approach and culminates in a research project to be taken overseas at collaborating research/PH institutions or NGOs. The M.Sc. Epi on the other hand once again emphasizes research design etc. heavily, which I feel I have covered plenty in my previous degrees.
After the M.Sc. and making really sure that epidemiology is indeed what I want to spend my life doing, I'd most likely pursue a PhD, either in the UK or Canada/USA. I know that PhD work is essentially what I said I didn't enjoy - lab research and publishing, I'd try to find a more applied program that aligns with my interests. Furthermore I enjoy schooling and would welcome the opportunity to take more classes and spend time in a place which is mentally stimulating and with like-minded and highly motivated people. I would hope to further my understanding of the field and then hopefully being a highly qualified PhD Epidemiologist, return to more applied work.
So once again: Do you think epidemiology is the right field for me? How would be my chances to get into LSHTM with my qualifications? Would it be a disadvantage for PhD applications if my I did the Control of ID M.Sc. because it's not called "Epidemiology?"
So much text, so many questions. As of now I am really excited, I feel like I might have found something that I could really enjoy doing. I appreciate any input, thank you again!
Cheers,
FrenchPuppy
