<p>Hey, guys,</p>
<p>I am a senior psychology (BA) major/business minor with two semesters left. I still have no idea what I want to do with my degree. I know there are lots of options for psychology beyond being a clinical psychologist, but I just feel so lost as to what I should do with it. I picked psychology because I didn't know what to do (haha), and figured since it is such a broad major, I could explore what I like. I like learning about the brain and behavior, but none of my classes have really given me an "AHA! That's it!" kind of moment. I don't always get excited about going to class, and don't feel like psychology alone is fulfilling enough for me. It just leaves me with this need to learn more. Something is missing, but I don't know what.</p>
<p>I've worked basically full-time during college. That has made it extremely difficult to maintain a decent GPA. Basically, I get B's in most of my classes. I kick myself for not getting straight A's. But, I have a ton of sales and a little bit of management experience that can help with boosting my resume. (And plenty of work references).</p>
<p>So, now, the problem: I've been thinking about going to medical school for a long time, but kept pushing the idea away because I didn't think I could handle work and hard-core science classes at the same time (and I've had to work. Eating isn't exactly optional...). I finally realized I don't have that much time left to make any big changes, but, after looking at my GPA, I'm not the best candidate for med school.</p>
<p>I've tried to practicing for calculus and chemistry classes that I could take this summer, but I feel like I'm in way over my head. It's been years since I've taken classes like this! So I started researching nursing. I never realized that nurse practitioners make a TON of money! But, you have to get a four year degree in nursing and then go to grad school. That's like going back to the drawing board. I feel like I've wasted these past four years just going through the motions of getting a degree and not knowing who I am or what I want. Now I feel like it is too late. That makes me sad and I regret not changing my degree earlier. If I could go back and do it all over, I would've chosen biology or nursing. I know I should just finish what I've started. Maybe I'm just having a mini life-crisis, but does anyone really know what they want in college? Any advice for this hopeless wanderer? How do I let go of my med school/nursing pipe dream? (And, please, don't trash psychology. :-) )</p>
<p>Thanks for listening,</p>
<p>Lost and Confused</p>
<p>If you are unsure about careers, it would not hurt to visit the career center at your school. They should have career tests that will help find what you are interested in. You’d be very surprised what you will find. </p>
<p>I agree with the above that you should visit the career center at your school and talk to them about this. They probably have better advice than what most of us can offer haha. </p>
<p>I would also suggest talking to some of your professors in the classes that you’ve especially enjoyed. They have a lot of experience so they could probably give you some good suggestions about next steps to take, as well! </p>
<p>What about the business minor? There are a lot of things you could do with a business minor! Have you looked into business-related jobs? And what about other classes that you’ve taken during your time in college? Anything else strike you as really interesting that you could maybe pair with psychology? Or with business? Business is so versatile so it gives you a lot of options (as does psychology). </p>
<p>Talk to college advisers about med school and whether or not that’s a good option for you. </p>
<p>I’m not an expert on this, but have you looked into postbaccalaureate programs? That could help prepare you for med school! </p>
<p>Why do you want to go to med/nursing school? I think that’s something you should also think about. </p>
<p>Don’t look at the past four years as wasting your time or anything! That’s kind of a sunk cost and I would encourage you to just move forward in whatever direction is best! </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, caughtintraffic and brendank21! Hopefully everything works out. Looking at a postbac and taking a career test are both great ideas. :)</p>
<p>I had this same mini life crisis, but in graduate school. I’m getting a PhD in health psychology, and I also considered quitting and attending medical school or becoming an NP. I realized later that I only considered those career fields because I was scared and uncertain, and those seemed to be stable career fields with lots of jobs and stable incomes. I didn’t want to do either of them. I get the sense that you might not, either.</p>
<p>First of all, I just want to correct one notion - you wouldn’t have to go back and do another 4-year degree to be an NP. You could do an accelerated BSN program (which takes ~1.5 years) and then do a grad degree in nursing, and you could do the grad degree while working as a nurse. You could also enter a 3-year entry to practice program, which smooshes the initial RN licensure into 1 year and then the MSN portion into 2 years. At the end of the 3 years, you can practice as an NP, and again, you can work part- or-full time as an RN during the master’s phase once you are licensed.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>With that said, relax and chill. I’m not going to trash psychology because I was a psychology major myself and I think it is a tremendously useful major. What could be more useful than learning how people think and work together ;)</p>
<p>Since you have an interest in business, there are lots of things you can do.</p>
<p>-You could go into management - starting off entry-level and working your way up.
-You could go into management consulting.
-You could go into market research, which I think is an awesome combination of psychology and business.
-Relatedly, you could go into marketing/advertising. (I have a former psych student who works at a big NYC advertising firm now!)
-You could work for a test prep organization analyzing the structure of standardized tests and helping to put them together.
-You could go into HR.
-You could go into industrial/organizational psychology.
-If you have or gain sufficient skills in statistics, you could go into applied social science statistics.</p>