<p>Hello, </p>
<pre><code> Right now I am working on my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Ashford University online. I am in the Coast Guard and stationed in a rural area in Northern New York. I am getting out of the Coast Guard in July of 2013 and my plan was to move back to southern California (preferably San Diego) to attend either UCSD or SDSU for a Doctoral program in cognitive neuroscience or neuropsychology. I have talked to admissions counselors at both schools and they said that research experience is a must in order to even be considered. The problem is with my full-time work schedule as well as going to school full time online I have absolutely no time to travel to more of an urban area to work on research experience if I even got that opportunity.
My goal is to get into grad school for the fall of 2013 because that is the only way I will be able to get an income from my G.I. Bill. I don't have anyone to live with in San Diego so a solid income is a must. The only way I can ensure that is by starting grad school in the fall of 2013. From what I have learned, it is very difficult to find a job with only a bachelor's in psychology. I have also thought of many other options such as joining and Naval Officer program but, I want to avoid being in the military any longer than I have to (the only reason I joined in the first place was for the G.I. Bill). I have also considered switching my major but, I'm not entirely sure what I would want to switch it to. What I am wondering is if all majors require research experience or practical experience in order to get a graduate degree at a good university. I am also looking into something along the lines of International Business, Public Relations and Marketing, or Project Management.
Any ideas or advice will help. Thank you!
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<p>All research-based graduate programs (which will be about any PhD) require research experience. Professional programs typically require some kind of professional experience - for example, if you wanted to get an MBA and focus on international business, you would need 2-5 years of work experience first (but your Coast Guard experience may count for certain programs). An MPA program for project management would also want work experience (although, again, your Coast Guard experience might count for them depending on when you have done).</p>
<p>People will say that it is difficult to find a job with a bachelor’s in psychology, but that’s not strictly true. It’s difficult to find a job within the field of psychology with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, because most psychology jobs (counseling, research, etc.) require at least an MA and usually a PhD. But you can find jobs in many other fields. MOST jobs are open as to major - they don’t care what your major is. Many lower-level business jobs like entry-level management would welcome a psychology major. You can get a job at a testing company like ETS helping them develop their tests. And if research is truly where your passion lies, then you can get a job as a lab manager in a research psychology lab at a university like UCSD. Those jobs usually become available in April and May as the current lab managers make their plans for next year (most lab managers are recent graduates who plan on going to psychology PhD programs). You could also work as a project coordinator/lab manager for a related lab, like a psychiatry lab, a public health research group or some other medical school group. That would be very advantageous if your interest is in neuroscience.</p>
<p>Take a look at USAJobs.gov especially - you can use your veterans’ preference to leapfrog over other applicants to those positions, and there are plenty that would welcome a psych major with Coast Guard experience. And while you are working full-time in the federal government, you could volunteer in a nearby research lab (especially if you are in DC, where there are plenty of universities).</p>
<p>You sound kind of like you are desperately searching for a graduate program so you can use your GI Bill benefits and get the housing allowance, which I think is ill-advised. You only get those for 36 months so it’s important to choose wisely and make sure that you are in the RIGHT program for you, otherwise you will have wasted your benefits for nothing. What do you actually want to be after you finish the Coast Guard? If you want to be a neuropsychologist, then just take the time to do it right and get the research experience you need (usually just 2-3 years is enough). If you want to go into international business, then get some work experience. But you need to be patient with yourself and decide what you want to do BEFORE you go back to school. Graduate school isn’t like undergrad - you need to have a goal in mind for that degree.</p>
<p>What about master degree programs? And if you are an engineering major specifically?</p>