When I graduated from high school I, like many students, had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I thought that going to college, without any idea of what degree to get, would be a waste of money and time; so I made the decision to hold off on college. Ten years later, and after much deliberation and research, I found my calling to be psychology. The first step in becoming a clinical psychologist is to obtain a bachelor’s degree. It doesn’t have to be in psychology, in fact you can get an undergraduate degree in anything and then apply for a master’s degree in psychology, but I want to know as much as possible about psychology before I get into my Ph.D. By adding a minor in sociology, which is the study of human social behavior and its origins, development, and associations, I am hoping to obtain a broader look at why people are the way they are. A bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in sociology, is valuable because I would like to become a clinical psychologist. In order to become a clinical psychologist you must first start with a bachelor’s degree. As I mentioned before, this degree can be in anything, but it is highly recommended to get your degree in something relating to your chosen profession. This is because most graduate programs require that you have taken certain classes to get into the Graduate Psychology program. According to the University of Oklahoma, they require the following courses: biological psychology, cognition, learning, social, personality, and developmental psychology; introductory statistics; and experimental methods. If you do not take these courses, and are accepted into the program, then you will most likely be required to take remedial courses (ou.edu). Another important part in be... ... middle of paper ... ...Now, after all this work you finally can be a practicing clinical psychologist in the State of Oklahoma (ok.gov). The path to becoming a clinical psychologist is a long and arduous journey, but one that I believe is worth it. A bachelor’s degree in psychology is only the first small step in becoming a clinical psychologist. By obtaining a minor in sociology I will broaden my knowledge of humans and their social behavior. This, along with becoming a research assistant, will help me stand out when it comes time to apply to graduate school. When I have finally completed my master’s degree, doctoral degree, and all the tests and presentations required by Oklahoma, I will have the career I set out to get when I started at OU. That is why starting off with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and minor in sociology is valuable to my career choice of a clinical psychologist.
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Show MoreEver since I was a child, I was entranced with psychology, but only saw it as a hobby. Now, my interest is in behavior and forensic psychology. The way people behave is fascinating for me to learn about, and any classes that I can take now that would help me in the future are always welcome. Psychology has always interesting to me, but I did not know what exactly it was until seventh grade when one of my friends told me how they had a therapist for her depression. At first, I thought that therapists only listened to people’s problems and then magically solved them, but I soon learned that that wasn’t the case. There were ups and downs with my friend, and she never really got ‘better’ in the sense of her being back to her old self, but therapy did help. When I saw her process, I was intrigued. I always knew that I wanted to help people, but knew no other way than community service. It was through my friend that I finally figured out the answer to what I wanted to do with my
Basically saying that yes psychology is more than a clinic or office career but there is also an entire “exotic” field of psychology with different travel opportunities. Different types of traveling psychologists include; military, sports, environmental, forensics, circus, NASA, google, filmmakers, traffic, and etc. (“while the traditional image of a psychologist may be someone stuck behind a desk all day seeing patient after patient, in reality, many psychology careers offer frequent travel. In many cases a patient wont visit them the psychologists visits the patient, some even travel overseas”). While everyone assume it is a boring desk job it can simply become an opportunity to travel and do what you love, helping people mentally and emotionally. With that being said psychologists have many different fields, and just because it seems unentertaining look into all the other options, each year hundreds of thousands of undergraduates decide to become psychology majors, along the way they gain a greater knowledge of all the fields and branches in psychology. With plenty of education and experience comes the opportunity to advance in your
Good jobs for psychology majors are available for those who have earned a bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree. Psychology courses train individuals to work effectively with others, conduct tests and assessments and correct behavioral problems. There are opportunities for psychology majors to work in clinics, schools, early childhood centers, business, health clinics, hospitals and correctional institutions.
College is specifically designated to fully prepare students for their future career of choice through taking various courses and gaining the necessary knowledge to successfully pursue their wanted occupation. The experience college brings upon students is almost magical. It is college that builds the passion for a student’s chosen career, such as pediatric psychology. Any student wishing to chase her career in pediatric psychology will find that East Carolina University is a great school to first pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology with a concentration in child relations and then go on to earn a master’s and Ph.D or Psy.D. This paper’s purpose is to completely explore the career of a pediatric psychologist, as well as the journey to become one.
It is necessary to have accurate knowledge about the world of work to make good academic and career decisions. (Nauta, n.d.). However, college students often do not have accurate knowledge of careers in their discipline. Psychology students have quite distorted perceptions of the activities conducted by clinical psychologists, counselors, and psychiatrists. (Nauta, n.d.)Upper level undergraduates had poor understanding of applied psychology. (Ellis & Cantrell, 1994)
If someone wants to practice psychology you need a doctorate degree to practice but do not need to go to medical school. I think that there are many differences in each career and you must always ask yourself what is right for you. You must also take into consideration that school is a big part of this career path and you must dedicate your self to studying even when not in school anymore. It 's kind of like a professor in that regard you must also read medical journals and scholastic magazines in order to keep current on procedures and in teaching
Kuther, T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2013). Careers in Psychology: Opportunities in a Changing World (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection
Well, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the average salary for forensic psychology is around $59,440, ranging from $45,300 to $77.750 annually” (http://www.psychologycareercenter.org/forensic-psychologist-salary.html) and “the average annual earnings for developmental psychology in 2009 ranged from $69,000 to $91,000” (http://www.apa.org/action/science/developmental/education-training.aspx). If you are wanting to pursue one of these careers you will need to require an education of a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or Ph.D. in psychology along with a license in most states and certification in forensic psychology to become a forensic psychologist. Doctorate is required in developmental psychology and a state license required to work with patients in counseling or clinical
Lawrence gave a great example of what you can do with your psychology degree, whatever you want to do within that field, never give up and push toward your goals as a counseling psychology, social psychology, or even a Cognitive Neuropsychology. While doing the interview with Lawrence, he really does appreciate his job and the studies he had done changed him to have a better view of becoming a counseling psychology. I learned that here in Hawaii, it takes awhile to be licensed in psychology since you need the amount of hours; however, as what Lawrence said, sometimes you are not able to the hours if they are not many clients coming into therapy, and the therapist only cover a few hours a day or even once a
Being an undergraduate psychology major at Mississippi State University has paved a way for me to potentially serve my community in the way that desire to; after much thought and consideration, I have decided that applying for the PhD program in clinical psychology at Mississippi State University is the best route for me to take in order to make the difference I aspire to make in the lives of others. I would like to specialize in children's clinical psychology, specifically abnormal child psychology, so that I may one day help children who suffer from sociopathological and psychopathological disorders, personality and mood disorders, depression, and anxiety. I would also like to conduct an abundance of research in hopes that I can make some
My interest in Psychology began in 2012, when I had the opportunity to research on my own about the subject. After I embarked on an introductory course in Psychology to relieve the boredom of working in a call centre, I then was motivated to continue with my studies. After securing my Higher and HNC in Social Science – I continued with the HND.
Ever since I was in middle school I was fascinated by the world of psychology. The thought of being able to get into someone’s mind by merely speaking them through it intrigued me terribly and I was just so amazed by all of the different areas of it I didn’t know for a couple of years what I wanted to do in that field specifically, but I knew I was meant to be a psychologist of some sorts. I knew I was meant to help people with their mental issues and illnesses in the way I was helped which eventually led me to clinical psychology. “Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior and psychiatric problems.” (Cherry, Kendra. "Clinical Psychology - What Is Clinical Psychology”) To sum it up, a clinical psychologist is someone who diagnoses people to help them find out what issue they have mentally; like how a doctor would diagnose a patient with a physical disease I would be helping a patient with their mental ailment. To do this I will have to go through many years of schooling but I know in the end it will be worth it if I can have a worthwhile career such as this one.
You can also obtain a Juris Doctor degree which can provide legal instruction on concepts and procedures of the court. The Juris Doctor degree also qualifies an individual to sit for the bar and become an attorney, although the Juris Doctor degree is helpful it is not mandatory. Once you obtain either your master’s degree in forensic psychology and Juris Doctor Degree or just your master’s degree in criminal psychology you now need to earn a Ph.D. in psychology if you are into research or a Psy.D. If one is interested in treating patients. After all that has been completed you will need to get licensed and pass the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology and have a certain amount of relevant experience. The last and final step of becoming a forensic psychologist would be to become board certified through the American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP). This board is overseen by the American Board of Professional Psychology. The Diploma in Forensic Psychology from the ABFP is the only postdoctoral certification for forensic psychologists recognized by the American Psychological Association. ABFP certification candidates must
As I gradually make my way through this semester, I have come to realize that I am called to go into Psychology. I love watching people and trying to figure out why they act the way that they do. I, also, love knowing that I have finally figured out what careers I want to pursue. I want to become either a clinical or counseling psychologist, which both have the same requirements for everything – majors , classes, ect. So, I do not have to decide right off the bat on which career I want to pursue. Since I am planning on majoring in Psychology, I decide to do some research on my own, as well as go to a major’s fair hosted at the IU Southeast campus.
In most careers today, human interaction plays a key role in day to day work. Usually, people work with other people in their line of work. Even one man jobs deal with people at one time or another. In a lot of careers, people are helping other people. Sometimes, it’s hard to help someone when you don’t fully understand how to deal with what they are feeling or going through. That’s why when people are taking the path to many careers through college, they often end up having to take a psychology class of some sort. Psychology helps us better understand people’s emotions and actions. It can help people study others personalities and behaviors and come up with theories or hypotheses. Taking psychology can benefit almost every career out