Becoming a psychologist?

College Majors
1

<p>I am a Junior in high school and have recently become interested in entering the field of psychology. I have been interested in this field for a while, however, I have been drifting towards majoring in Mechanic Engineering over the past few years. I am interested in Mechanic Engineering, however, I'm not sure if I would be happy with this career considering the overwhelming amount of math, science, etc. I honestly do have a passion for psychology, I love working with children and I think it would be an incredibly rewarding field. I am worried about several things, mainly the fact that about 2/3 of college undergraduates seem to be majoring in psychology and it seems to be a degree for people who can't decide on anything else (I know a bachelors degree is different, and becoming a psychologist takes graduate school, etc.) I also am worried about the competition for positions and jobs, as well as the salary. I would like to have a somewhat high paying job as well as job security, however unlikely all of that may seem. </p>

<p>What are the steps to becoming a psychologist? What is the better field, psychiatry or psychology? What is the path I should take to become what I view as a clinical psychologist (working in an office type setting, evaluating people)? What are good undergraduate and graduate schools?</p>

2

<p>Counseling psychologists help people to work through their problems and become better decision-makers.</p>

<p>Clinicians diagnose disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, etc. </p>

<p>Psychiatrists go on to medical school and get their MD and can prescribe medications. This will mean a strong emphasis on biology and chemistry at the undergraduate level.</p>

<p>Psychiatry is probably the best-paying, but the other options can be lucrative as well depending on where you get a job and what you specialize in. Clinicians can get a PhD (for those who also want to do a lot of research on disorders) or a PsyD (for those who want to practice, but don’t want the strong emphasis on research). PsyD programs tend to offer significantly less funding, which means you’ll pay quite a bit for them. You can get a master’s as well in place of a PhD/PsyD, but you can no longer be licensed with only a masters degree.</p>

<p>At the undergraduate level you would want to take a lot of clinical courses, such as abnormal psychology, tests & measurements, and personality - those are pretty typical everywhere, but may fall under different course titles. </p>

<p>Some schools will allow you to “specialize” in clinical vs. social, developmental, etc. Others make you take a wide variety of courses and you do not specialize as much, but you can still take the courses necessary for your field. The clinical route will also likely require, or at least offer, a chance to work as an intern for a semester or two. Or if you are interested in the PhD and doing research on disorders, you may choose the independent research study route, or sometimes called a senior or honors thesis. </p>

<p>My specialty was social psychology and pursuing a PhD, so I cannot say what schools have strong clinical programs. The best thing to do is talk to your academic advisor as soon as you begin college and let them know what your goals are so that they can point you in the right direction. There will also likely be a clinician in your psych department, or perhaps more than one if you go to a large school, so get to know them and chat with them about the profession as well. </p>

<p>Yes, a lot of people major in psychology. But many do not go on to masters or doctoral level programs. Many will get a job with their bachelor’s degree in some human services field, or they’ll double major in business or some other field and find a job in that. However, clinical psychology is still pretty competitive for graduate school, so you certainly want to keep your grades up and take advantage of internship and/or research opportunities early on.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your insight, NovaLynnx. My main worry is that the path to earning a graduate degree to actually begin practicing might be too difficult. Is this true? What field and specialty world you recommend as being the optimum all around choice?</p>

4

<p>Psychology courses generally aren’t all that difficult at the undergraduate level. The most difficult I had were statistics and research methods, and even they weren’t bad.</p>

<p>I don’t want to tell you which to pursue; it is ultimately up to you and what you want to do/study. The route toward becoming a psychiatrist would likely require the most hard work because it is based so strongly off of biology and chemistry, and then requires medical school. Clinical is probably the most interesting in my opinion. Counseling might be the “easiest” in terms of classes, but the job itself I wouldn’t say is easy. All 3 professions can cause a lot of stress and dig up a lot of emotions as you see parts of yourself and your own fears in other people. People can also be very frustrating to work with. </p>

<p>I am not yet in graduate school so I cannot speak to how difficult it is to complete such programs. I would say it is more about the time you put into your studies, and less about it being overly difficult. You will spend a lot of time practicing and interning and studying in grad school, but I can’t really see any of it being too tough to get through. As long as you are genuinely interested in it and love what you do.</p>

5

<p>One more question: Is the psychology job market as awful as it is portrayed to be? I would never even consider going into a career that would require me to get a Doctorate when I would just end up being unemployed.</p>