Psych Major Career Prospects?

College Majors
1

<p>hey, guys. so, here's my story:
i've pretty much ALWAYS been pushed by my family in to becoming a doctor some day. &, even though i always knew it would be a lot of work, i never realized that i would be in school until i'm...literally 30 years old. after taking AP BIO last year [& almost cracking under the pressure], i really could not see myself surviving through med school. grades just don't come as easily for me as they do for others, & definitely not in science courses. i also think i lack the motivation & passion needed to become a doctor.</p>

<p>SO, over the summer, i came to the realization that i really enjoy psychology & would probably major in it in college. at this point, i also believed i would still be headed towards med school [probably the psychiatry route]. but, now that that prospect is gone for me, i'm really interested to know what some alternative careers may be for me. i understand that i still may need to go to graduate school, & that's okay with me. i'm just looking for a nice medium in between doctor &...hobo, where i'm at least content, making a decent-good living, & not miserable under a pile of books for the next 10 years.</p>

<p>but, NOW, i'm also starting to doubt if psychology is even the best topic to get a degree in. i mean, job stability is really important to me, & i don't want to wake up one day & have NO job prospects lined up. would it be smarter to minor in some other subject?</p>

<p>idk, i'm just really confused at this point. i don't want to switch my major a million times when i'm in college & STILL not know what i'm going to be doing in 10 years. if any one has any advice or experience with this, it would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>In respect to job prospects, there will always be a job available in the Psychology field. I mean think about it - 26% of the population has at least one mental disorder, and comorbidity is high. Going by just these numbers, there are about 1 or 2 psychologists for every 1,000 patients so there will be lots of patients that you can see. Besides, Psychologists have their own jobs lined up and you have to build your own credibility through your research, internships and applied work in the field. If you want to become a Psychologist or Psychiatrist, you should focus on improving your resume and the prospective patients will come to you.</p>

<p>But if you really don’t want to go down that path, I can only suggest maybe social work or a career in business with an emphasis on public relations, stemming on what you learn through sociology,psychology, etc. to advertise in businesses. It really depends on what you want to do. There will be a major for it, no matter what.</p>

3

<p>I’m majoring in Psychology and my dream is to work for the CIA. However, if that doesn’t pan out then I will probably have my own practice. Either way I will be satisfied because I’m really interested in studying psychology; that’s a place to start I guess.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

4

<p>There are a number of things one can do career-wise with an interest in psychology, although the majority of formal options require at least a masters degree.</p>

<p>1) You could get a doctorate degree in psychology (phd or psyd) and become a researcher and/or a practitioner. Psychologists are hired in research capacities by universities and other organizations, and as practitioners they often have private practices or can be hired by agencies. At agencies psychologists tend to do less actual therapy and focus more on testing clients and supervising. A private practice might also focus quite a bit on formal testing, since other licenses that can practice are unable to do formal testing. a PhD is usually funded, but a PsyD is usually pricey and requires significant loans.</p>

<p>2) You can get a masters degree in social work (MSW) and become a mental health / psychiatric clinical social worker after receiving your LCSW / LMSW (depending on state) license. This is what I’m doing. Social workers tend to do more actual mental health work, through group and individual therapy. Social workers can also do supportive therapy in a medical setting, work with kids, run nonprofits and do policy / advocacy work, and can become supervisors and managers like psychologists. They can also set up a private practice once licensed. Social workers usually have an easier time finding employment than psychologists, but the flip side of that is that they’re paid less and get reimbursed at a lower rate.</p>

<p>3) You can get a masters in counseling and get an MFT (marriage and family therapy) license. MFTs actually do counseling with all kinds of people, not just marriage and family therapy. They work often in private practice and are also employed to do therapy by agencies. The downsides to this degree are that social workers can usually get the same jobs, and then more, the MFT degree isn’t internationally recognized, and it can be troublesome to transfer the license between states.</p>

<p>4) You can become a school counselor or social worker. The demand for these positions varies from area to area. Usually they require a masters in education with a focus in counseling, I believe. To be a school social worker you get a PPSC credential while getting your MSW. With these degrees you can be a guidance counselor, college counselor, or social worker hired by a school.</p>

<p>5) Other counseling options: you could choose to focus on something like career counseling (you can get a masters in career counseling or do that with an MFT or LCSW license), life coaching (doesn’t require any degree), or work at a mental health agency at the bachelors level. At the bachelors level you don’t do any formal mental health therapy, but you can teach things like skills classes and work as an assistant in a center or a specialized population such as a home for severely emotionally disturbed children. With a bachelors you can also get credentialed to do something like administer the myers-briggs personality test and interpret the results for clients.</p>

<p>6) psychology-related work. A lot of psychology majors take what they learned and transfer their skills into a career like human resources, marketing (similar survey and data analysis that you learn to do in psychology), consulting, and business. A general understanding of how people tick will get you far in a large number of careers.</p>