2 answers
Cinthia
Student
Elizabeth, New Jersey
2
Questions
Updated
489 views
#Fall25 Have you felt that your career aspirations were impossible for you? And what did you do anyways to reach it?
I’m currently a undergrad at Kean University in my last year. I have been feeling under prepared for when it comes to experience towards furthering my career. My dream is to become a Psychologist Md PhD. Most of my college years I focused on jobs that help me pay my bills instead of experience in the psych world. I’m starting now but I feel like I started too late or fell behind. I’m actively looking for entry level jobs of behavioral and metal health but don’t even know where to look or how to start or if I’m going to the correct places. #Fall25
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2 answers
Chinyere Okafor
Educationist and Counseling Psychologist
1185
Answers
Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria
Updated
Chinyere’s Answer
Hello Cinthia,
To start with, very few people on the MD-PhD road feel "ahead." Everyone believes they should have created a different resume, began too late, or overlooked something. To be honest, feeling "underprepared" is a natural part of the process and does not reflect poorly on your abilities.
To be honest, nothing about your circumstances prevents you from achieving your long-term objective. You remain well inside the strategic runway.
Here's how to approach this from an operational angle:
1. You haven’t fallen behind; you’re just entering the experience pipeline later.
MD-PhD programs care about trajectory more than timing. They want to see:
- growth,
- commitment,
- resilience,
- and evidence that you can execute on long-term research goals.
You can still demonstrate all of that, starting right now.
2. Paid work outside the psych world does not hurt you. If anything, it tells a compelling story:
- You’re financially responsible.
- You’ve maintained work throughput while studying.
- You’re able to balance competing priorities.
Those are high-value competencies in clinical and research environments. Programs don’t penalize lived reality.
3. There are concrete places to find entry-level psych and behavioral health roles.
Here’s your action playbook; your “market entry strategy,” if you will:
Search terms to use on job sites
Try these keywords on Indeed, LinkedIn, Handshake, and your university’s career portal:
- Behavioral Technician (BT)
- Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), training provided
- Mental Health Technician / Mental Health Associate
- Psychiatric Technician
- Research Assistant or Research Coordinator
- Case Manager Assistant
- Residential Counselor
- Crisis Services Support Staff
Organizations likely to hire without prior experience:
- Community mental health agencies
- Hospitals (psych units, ED support, outpatient behavioral health
- Autism service providers (ABA-based roles often train you from zero)
- University research labs
- Nonprofits focused on youth, housing, or crisis support
- Behavioral health private practices with paraprofessional roles
These are your low-barrier, high-development “on-ramps.”
4. Leverage your university while you still have access. Think of it like extracting value from an existing asset:
- Go to the psych department office and ask which labs are accepting undergrad RAs.
- Email 5–7 professors with a short, targeted message expressing interest in assisting with ongoing research.
- Ask faculty about community partners; many have long-standing relationships that you may not find online.
Most students don’t do this; the ones who do stand out quickly.
5. You can still build a competitive MD-PhD profile.
The high-impact pillars are:
- 1–2 years of research experience (can even be post-bacc)
- Clinical exposure (tech roles, shadowing, volunteering)
- Strong letters of recommendation
- Clear research narrative (why a dual degree, what questions you want to explore)
You have time to create all of this. The MD-PhD journey is a long game; nobody expects you to have it figured out as an undergrad.
6. Your mindset is already a core differentiator. You're self-aware, proactive, and prepared to take calculated risks. Success in dual-degree programs is fueled by exactly that kind of leadership approach.
No, you didn't begin too late. You simply began at the ideal time for you.
Best wishes!
To start with, very few people on the MD-PhD road feel "ahead." Everyone believes they should have created a different resume, began too late, or overlooked something. To be honest, feeling "underprepared" is a natural part of the process and does not reflect poorly on your abilities.
To be honest, nothing about your circumstances prevents you from achieving your long-term objective. You remain well inside the strategic runway.
Here's how to approach this from an operational angle:
1. You haven’t fallen behind; you’re just entering the experience pipeline later.
MD-PhD programs care about trajectory more than timing. They want to see:
- growth,
- commitment,
- resilience,
- and evidence that you can execute on long-term research goals.
You can still demonstrate all of that, starting right now.
2. Paid work outside the psych world does not hurt you. If anything, it tells a compelling story:
- You’re financially responsible.
- You’ve maintained work throughput while studying.
- You’re able to balance competing priorities.
Those are high-value competencies in clinical and research environments. Programs don’t penalize lived reality.
3. There are concrete places to find entry-level psych and behavioral health roles.
Here’s your action playbook; your “market entry strategy,” if you will:
Search terms to use on job sites
Try these keywords on Indeed, LinkedIn, Handshake, and your university’s career portal:
- Behavioral Technician (BT)
- Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), training provided
- Mental Health Technician / Mental Health Associate
- Psychiatric Technician
- Research Assistant or Research Coordinator
- Case Manager Assistant
- Residential Counselor
- Crisis Services Support Staff
Organizations likely to hire without prior experience:
- Community mental health agencies
- Hospitals (psych units, ED support, outpatient behavioral health
- Autism service providers (ABA-based roles often train you from zero)
- University research labs
- Nonprofits focused on youth, housing, or crisis support
- Behavioral health private practices with paraprofessional roles
These are your low-barrier, high-development “on-ramps.”
4. Leverage your university while you still have access. Think of it like extracting value from an existing asset:
- Go to the psych department office and ask which labs are accepting undergrad RAs.
- Email 5–7 professors with a short, targeted message expressing interest in assisting with ongoing research.
- Ask faculty about community partners; many have long-standing relationships that you may not find online.
Most students don’t do this; the ones who do stand out quickly.
5. You can still build a competitive MD-PhD profile.
The high-impact pillars are:
- 1–2 years of research experience (can even be post-bacc)
- Clinical exposure (tech roles, shadowing, volunteering)
- Strong letters of recommendation
- Clear research narrative (why a dual degree, what questions you want to explore)
You have time to create all of this. The MD-PhD journey is a long game; nobody expects you to have it figured out as an undergrad.
6. Your mindset is already a core differentiator. You're self-aware, proactive, and prepared to take calculated risks. Success in dual-degree programs is fueled by exactly that kind of leadership approach.
No, you didn't begin too late. You simply began at the ideal time for you.
Best wishes!
Morgan Adams
Healthcare Administration
27
Answers
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Updated
Morgan’s Answer
As someone who works in the healthcare field I can relate as experience is everything. Reach out to your local behavioral health clinics and see if they have any volunteer or shadowing opportunities. This is a great way to gain experience while in school. Reach out to your advisor at school or even professors to see if they have any insight on ways for you to gain experience. Another option would be working as a CNA while finishing up your graduate degree. This is a great opportunity to gain experience working with patients.