Options for careers in masters-level research in psychology?

I've just enrolled on a conversion course in psychology.





Since applying, I've come to understand that I don't actually want to work directly with people - I am interested in social and clinical psychological *questions*.





I've also realised I don't have the stomach for a PhD. I'd be happy to do a masters, but would like to start earning money, (and feeling autonomous!) sooner rather than later.





What possibilities are open to masters-level researchers in psychology?





I don't think I would be interested in doing fmri or other laboratory studies... not SO interested in stats (more a means to an end) - qualitative research, and research-informed argument appeal to me...





(The university, like many who offer conversion courses, is oriented towards 'widening participation'. While it's received a high rating for its teaching,it doesn't have a fantastic reputation in research.)





I would need to do an MA after this course, but couldn't do more...

Options for careers in masters-level research in psychology?
This question freaked me out a bit because I'm a freshman Psychology major! Well, If you don't like dealing with people I'm not sure what to tell you besides lab studies...
Reply:Well, if you want to do original research in psychology, you'd need a Ph.D., probably in clinical psychology. I hear that the Chicago Institute of Professional Psychology is quite good.





And you should be able to get yourself into a graduate research or teaching assistant/fellow position, which pays money and makes you feel autonomous (tho' not much money, and how many grad. students are truly autonomous).





But then again, you say you want to do popular writing--to become to psychology what, say, Carl Sagan was to astronomy or Stephen Jay Gould was to evolutionary biology? That path still requires a PhD, unless you want to take the James Gleick/Robert Horgan route and work primarily as a journalist.





If journalism is your trend, then you should get some credentials there--pick up some good writing courses at least, maybe minor in it. In that case, a master's degree might work out just as well in the long run--but you'll probably need to start out supporting yourself by teaching (a small liberal-arts college would be the best type of position, or maybe a community college--few universities will take you without at least an ABD unless you have connections).





And then you'll need to do research and attend professional conferences where you'll present your work to disinterested audiences (I've done programs where the panel outnumbered the audience) and you'll publish a few semi-scholarly papers in state or regional journals. That's to give you the credibility needed to convince the editors at Psychology Today and Random House that you have legitimacy in the field.





Another possible route to that career would be to start out as a journalist, but I can't think of any who make their living full-time as pop psych authors having taking that path.





Note: if you ever decide to write a trade paperback, the secret to huge sales is to take one aspect of psychology/interpersonal relations/communication and oversimplify it and then make outrageous claims about how it will make one's life better. Reference John Gray, PhD (from a diploma mill!) "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" or Julius Fast "Body Language"--both of which ignore the nuance of the their topics and make ridiculous claims (Fast even asserted you could "read the mind" of another if you just understood their body language--and I'd like to see that proven at Las Vegas at the poker table!).
Reply:an overwhelming amount of research is done primarily in universities, so you'd be looking at fellowships, teaching posts, research teams working UNDER a PH D and after a while you can probably start your own research team (after like 3-5 years full time experience under supervision).





What you are looking at is basically doing PH D programs full time from here on out. You are looking at breaking new ground with research and working on projects that tell everyone something new.





You'd also be teaching lower division psych





Your climb to professor status with just and MS might be longer so you'd start as a fellow and lecturer, get on a long term project that's funded and wait to see if you can get status and tenure and become an assistant professor or associate professor.





Then you either work on another project or see if you can get grant money to start your own.





In research you'd want to keep publishing or you'd just teach.





Without a PH D you probably would only teach undegraduates.





See if there are any MS there who are on staff and doing research and find out what they are doing and how they are doing it.





Understand on a fellowship route you're looking at the $25K range to start maybe $35K





Your masters program would start you on this, except you'd be paying tution or on a scholarship.





During that tenure they'd probably start you teaching as your MS becomes closer.





See what the potential would be to stay with the school.





Most of the projects would be some full professors pets and you'd just be a team member, a junior supervisor over some undergrades handling a specific area.





The worse case sceniario is you are going to be destined to a Professorship at a CC with no real research work, just teaching and maybe being assistant of the dept after 15 years





The best case is your work might eventually qualify you for a PHD automatically at a university and you'll become a full professor after 10 or 15 years. And you'll write lots of papers or work on them and maybe a text book or a new test.





As with anything else they are going to look at your title, exprience, education and past work before approving a grant to do indepenent research OUTSIDE of a Masters Thesis.





That grant finances you to make up for what the teaching doesn't pay for and the work to do the research and publish the results.

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