<p>Hi parents,</p>
<p>I come here, once again, seeking your valuable advice :) I've had another dilemma crop up recently and am hoping you all might be able to help me sort out my thoughts about the current issue.</p>
<p>For background, I've been out of school a year now. I graduated last March with a B.S. in Psychology and transitioned fairly smoothly to a full-time position in research. The project I was assigned to quickly split into two projects and split again after that. As it stands, I currently am responsible for coordinating one main project, but have shifted into a managerial role for the others. I spend a significant amount of my day directing others about how to best solve the problems that inevitably crop up and also am responsible for assigning tasks to our various undergraduate students. </p>
<p>As it stands now, I don't absolutely hate my job, but I feel as if it's not the best fit for me. I am not a great communicator and just feel awkward at work. I feel like everybody around me is of the "Psychology type" and I'm more like an engineer. I'm the only one that seems to even enjoy the math/science/technology parts and I am not very eager to work with kids in clinical settings. In one way, this is an advantage, as I have a real niche (nobody else seems to want to do what I do). But, often, I feel very "weird" for being the way I am and sort of like I don't belong in this field.</p>
<p>Also, sometimes, I feel as if I should be doing something "harder." I feel like there's a certain stigma around majoring in a social science and every time I tell my parents I'm thinking of switching back to engineering, biology, medicine, etc., they say, "Oh, you mean, a science?" It seems that they don't count Psychology as a science, and I wonder if some of that attitude has rubbed off on me. </p>
<p>I feel sometimes like I wasted my brainpower. I completed the calculus, chemistry, and physics series. I've done higher level math before. I am fascinated by the human body and will spend evenings just reading about different mechanisms. I think I could be capable of succeeding in a "harder" career, but I haven't tried. And so, when I'm at work writing consent forms or doing some other menial task, that nagging thought gets back in my head. Why didn't I try to do more? Why did I give up? Did I take the easy way out?</p>
<p>Truth be told, I didn't ever imagine I would end up majoring in Psychology. I spent the first 18 years of my life as a die-hard math/science fan and then burned out in college. I really enjoyed my Cognitive Psychology classes, and ended up majoring in Psychology because it seemed like the best choice, at the time. </p>
<p>Now, however, I am wondering if I made the wrong decision. When I think of my dream job, I think of a job focused on innovation and optimization. My favorite part of my current job is designing the studies (choosing study measures, feasibility considerations, power analyses, etc.). This seems to be a very small part of the study process and my job as a whole, so I am thinking of trying to switch to a different field. </p>
<p>But, I don't know exactly how to get to where I want to be. Do I go back to school? Look for an internship? Do I quit my current job? How do I know I won't regret this decision too? </p>
<p>I just feel so lost, at the moment. I don't know if it's normal to love certain parts of your job and absolutely hate others. I don't know that I'll be any more satisfied in a different type of job.</p>