I’m currently a senior in high school, planning to major in psychology (or neuro/cog sci) in college, but everyone around me is telling me to reconsider. I’ve gotten everything from “what will you do with a psych major” to “you’re going to make $20k even after grad school.” Close relatives are pushing pre-med and comp sci on me.
Psychology is the one subject that hasn’t bored me out of my mind in school and that I can actually see myself enjoying. I haven’t really had a passion for a subject like this before, and honestly can’t tell you the majority of what I’ve been forced to take in high school, but could repeat my entire AP psychology textbook at you.
Truthfully, I don’t know if I want to pursue a career in psychology. I want to research a specific condition with not much information known about it, but am not sure what comes after that. Maybe I’ll do research forever, or become a professor. I’m not all too interested in clinical psychology, but I’m not averse to it either. I was thinking I’d major in psych and figure it out after that, and possibly minor in business/econ and pursue an MBA.
I just don’t know whether to stick with it or not. I know I have until sophomore year to declare my major (at least at the schools I’m considering) but it’s still scary.
Go ahead and try psychology. If you go on to a clinical psych PhD program, you can make a decent living. Also, you can major in psychology, and do your premed prereqs, and try to go to med school to be a psychiatrist. Or you can major in psychology, then do a bachelors to RN transition program, then become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and play doctor practicing psychiatry.
Lots of options, majoring in psychology. True, coming straight out with just a BA you won’t make much, but there are a lot of things that you could go on with, if you like clinical psychology. Or you could work in organizational psych for corporate America - that would pay well.
Here is a piece of advice that will serve you well for your entire adult life: learn how to say ‘thank you for your advice, I will think about it’ and then decide if you find the advice helpful.
There is no rush. Go to college. Take pysch classes- and everything else that is interesting to you. Paging @juillet (a CC supermod who has a psych background) for commentary on how many directions you can take a psych degree.
Many may not be highly paid, but there is an enormous demand for clinical psychologists. That means more opportunities to pursue the career on your terms, working the hours and schedule you want, often being your own boss and enjoying the control that comes with that.
Job satisfaction is highly correlated with having that kind of autonomy. So if you genuinely LIKE the work, you might decide the advantages outweigh the potentially lower income.
Go do comp sci. If someone said that to me and I listened, I’d have been flipping burgers within a few months after I failed out (not that there’s anything wrong with flipping burgers).
If Psych is what interests you, there are millions of people out there - in business, as psychologists or probably many other fields such as law, human resources, consulting, sales and many many others.
It’s your life - and it will have its ups and downs - but you have to enjoy it.
If you listened to your relatives, everyone would major in business, comp sci or engineering.
But guess what- they don’t - and they do just fine in life (many/most of them).
You will worry a lot less about the job and pay prospects associated with psychology or other college majors (or how to afford graduate or professional school) if you attend the college that gave you a full ride rather than one of the colleges that will be very expensive for you and require parent-cosigned loans (as mentioned in another thread of yours).
Understanding people and how our brains work will serve you well in a multitude of fields. As a proud liberal arts graduate, I think it’s a mistake to assume your major dictates your career/profession. I majored in political science and am a fundraiser. I went to school with art history majors who are doctors and religion majors who worked for major record labels. As a psych major, you will gain skills/insights/understanding that you can apply to whatever field you enter. When you feel passionate about something, you are more likely to excel, which will also benefit you post graduation.
Juat because you major in psychology dordn’t mean you have to have a career in psychology. Separating those two ideas in your head may make the decision process easier.
Psychology is a fine undergrad major…plus you might change your mind. If you indeed have a full ride to Skidmore….absolutely take it. The UCs you listed on your other thread will be in the $60,000 a year range…and really that is too much.
Both my D’s had an experience similar to yours - they loved AP Psych and that interest drove them to pursue Psych (human development in one case) degrees in college. But they both paired that major with a business/econ minor/double major to expand their career options. As others have said, understanding human behavior is useful in most (all?) careers. One is pursuing a career in management and her understanding of human behavior is extremely valuable. The other is heading to grad school where she intends to pursue a career focused on psychology - she plans to be a psychotherapist. Lots of different paths. My personal view is that if you are passionate about something you will be more engaged and learn more. I do, however, agree that marrying that passionate area of study with a practical area of study to round out your opportunities is wise. I would never tell someone interested in psychology to major in CS if they had no interest (or importantly, no talent or ability in that area). Making enough money to live is essential; in my view, enjoying that life is equally important. Follow your heart but add a practical dimension to make sure you will have what you need along with what you want.
I am so fed up with people who say things like this. They have no idea what they are talking about.
My kid majored in psych. What she has learned in her degree is transferable to many fields. She landed a very highly paid job in fall of her senior year and has switched gears to attend grad school. She knows people in her major who have gone into publishing, advertising, and management consulting.
It’s about how well you think. There’s always going to be a demand for people who have good critical thinking skills. If you enjoy what you study, you’re likely to succeed in it. Pursue what interests you, both in college and out. Don’t listen to people who have no idea what they are talking about. It’s your life, not theirs.
I was a psych major and can tell you that there are lots of career paths in the field. A number have been mentioned. Others, which do not require a PhD, include school psychology which employs many thousands of professionals all across the country. Industrial psychology is a field in the business world which does get major headlines. If you really want to answer that question that was thrown at you, look in the Occupational Outlook Handbook which you can access on line for career prospects. It’s updated annually. As others have suggested, it’s as good an A&S major as any to prepare you for a wide variety of career paths. If that’s what interests you, go for it.
It sounds like you have a strong interest and understand the long path ahead of you. I am a licensed therapist and teach psychology at the community college level. I always have students asking about careers in psychology. I always caution people to understand the long path and evaluate how strong their interest, motivation, and dedication is to completing it. It is quite low paying considering the amount of education and training involved. But for me and others like you it is the one thing that aligns best with our interests. I have never regretted it. But it definitely isn’t for everyone.
You won’t make $20K. You will make anywhere from $50K-$100K depending on what you do with it, post-master’s or post-PhD. I originally planned to get a PhD in clinical psychology and do research/academia. But I ended up doing a master’s in counseling psychology, completing the required post-master’s 3,000 hour supervised internship process, getting licensed and going into private practice and teaching part time at a community college.
You really don’t need to make a decision about grad school until it is time to apply to grad school. I took a gap year after graduating with my B.S. and took that time to research grad schools and figure out what program I wanted to apply to, others figure that out during their senior year and go straight in.
I took research methods and advanced research methods during my freshman and sophomore year. I would ask professors about being a research assistant after you complete those classes. I did that and I volunteered at a domestic violence shelter and ended up getting hired on pretty quickly as a crisis/intake counselor. So I got experience both in research as well as counseling during my junior and senior year of undergrad which helped me make an informed decision about choosing career, a grad program, and helped me get a desirable practicum placement during my master’s degree program. My classmates who did not have experience in the field (just a bachelor’s degree) had a harder time finding a desireable practicum placement. I got a great one with a stipend and then secured a post-master’s internship with a salary and benefits (many are unpaid or part-time hourly, no benefits). Getting some field experience (research/counseling) during undergrad is beneficial.
When you are in college you can be a psychology major and also enjoy a variety of classes (in and out of your major), explore internships and research etc.
Once you graduate you can head to grad school for psych or something different. You might work for a few years and then head back to school, etc.
Being a psychology major will not limit you in any way. That’s absurd.