<p>I graduated from college 5 years ago with a bachelor degree in math. In the last 5 years I have been working at a software company where I do programming. I find my job unrewarding and unsatisfying and often feel like I am going nowhere. I would like to change direction and study something that might help me find a job that I can feel passionate about. Since I spend a lot of my free time thinking about my own psychological problems and am somewhat familiar with basic psychological concepts, I wonder if psychology graduate school would be a realistic option for me. I am not interested in working as a therapist or counselor; I'm interested in psychology from a purely intellectual point of view and since I have a background in math and since psychologists often conduct statistical studies I assume that with the right qualifications I might be able to obtain a job doing something along those lines.</p>
<p>Can someone tell me if I am in the position to be considering psychology graduate school? If psychology graduate school is out of the question given the fact that I don't have an undergraduate degree in psychology or equivalent coursework, is there any other similar option available for me?</p>
<p>With a BA in math, you may think about something both rewarding and has alot to do with psychology:</p>
<p>chemistry. the mechanism of neurotransmitter binding, reactions of their synthesis and the equations to describe their transport in the brain that they produce are all part of chemistry. and we all know that the basis of psychology is the action of each neurotransmitter.</p>
<p>I have no idea how hard it would be for you to get into a psych grad program. I only know that my psych grad program required many stat classes and a strong math background would’ve been helpful.</p>
<p>I think that you’d have to take SOME psych courses as preparation, but that a math and computer background will probably help. Besides, unless you know psychology beyond an introductory course, you can’t really know with confidence that you’ll like the field.</p>
<p>What about a computational neuroscience program? A lot of neuroscience programs have quantitative tracks that explore artificial networks and intelligence as a mean of understanding how the brain works. Preparation in math and computer science are essential. You would need some biology, but not a lot.</p>
<p>And have you considered going to graduate school for computer science? I don’t mean for programming or for computer engineering, but for the more theoretical computer science. At the very least, you should look into the differences between what you’re doing now and what a computer scientist does. You might find that the more intellectual side of computers is far more rewarding than your programming day job.</p>