Self funded PhD in psych

I’m about to graduate with a four-year bachelor’s in psychology from a reputable uni in Canada. I applied to a bunch of graduate programs this past fall, and I was unfortunately rejected from every single funded program I applied to, despite three years of independent research experience and a 3.99/4.0 GPA, possibly because I’m an international student from a country rightfully hated by the entire world (sadly, there’s absolutely nothing I can do about either my citizenship or the situation in my home country). I ended up accepting a non-clinical PhD offer from a Russell Group uni, accepting it, applying for a DTP, and, of course, getting rejected.

I had offers from two social work MAs and one unfunded educational psych MA, all in Canada but I turned them down because I was set on doing the PhD. I played around with the idea of doing social work for a bit but ultimately came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be very successful - I had a peer support job last year and absolutely hated it because I genuinely had no idea what to say 99% of the time.

So now I’m stuck with the self-funded PhD. My parents are fortunately able to support me through grad school, so the money aspect is not a problem here. However, I had no idea that self-funded PhDs are looked down upon so much in academia! So at this point, I’m seriously worried about my job prospects. There are already so many factors working against me such as my nationality (I obviously didn’t choose to be born where I was born and I left my country to study abroad as soon as I could) and needing visa sponsorship, and I just want to set myself up for success.

My options are as follows:
1. Do the three year PhD and try to get the most out of it — i.e. publish and TA as much as possible but again, there’s no guarantee of success. In case I can’t secure a postdoc, I could apply to med schools in Ireland (wouldn’t be able to do it in the UK due to visa limitations— internationals can’t extend their study permit to do a program at a lower level than their original course)
2. Start the PhD but apply to UK med schools this fall (I’m aware that I would have to take the UCAT/BMAT this summer as well which I’m fine with) and if I’m successful quit my PhD. I would feel awful for putting my supervisors (both lovely but not the top people in my field) through this but I have to prioritize job security. My dad is okay with this option but my mom is a bit ****y.

Unfortunately taking a gap year or two would not be an option. While I can get a Canadian work permit which could lead me to permanent residency, it would be a huge gamble to forgo grad school at this stage and try to find a skilled job that would improve my chances of getting into grad school with nothing but a psych undergrad. Going back to my home country is not an option either.

Can anyone please share some insight??

Thank you,
Noodle

What is your end goal?

My end goal is to work a skilled and fulfilling job in my field (which falls into the realm of both psychology and medicine) and immigrate to the West. I know this is extremely vague

My end goal is to work a skilled and fulfilling job in my field (which falls into the realm of both psychology and medicine) and immigrate to the West. I know this is extremely vague

I imagine that OP is asking if you intend to aim for a job in academia or the industry. For industry I can't imagine them asking how you funded your PhD, but it may be worth seriously searching if the jobs you want in the industry actually require a PhD. (I'm not in your field so I have no clue, you may have already considered this already.)