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Any Psych Majors here ?

Discussion in 'Off-topic Discussion' started by Kman20, Feb 22, 2018.

  1. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Thinking of committing to Psychology full on when I go back to school and just want some advice if there are any psych majors here or people with advice or experience with it. Can I make a career out of it ? I feel like I enjoy doing work that helps me grow as a person and has a purpose so I don’t know maybe helping neglected children or teens. Something a long those lines, helping the world you know might make me feel good. Is this a foolish decision? Is it lucrative ? Be honest and I appreciate the advice if any given thank you guys !!
     
    Ongoingsupport likes this.
  2. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    It is possible to make a career out of it doing different things including but not limited to being a psychotherapist, and not to be negative but I think it is even possible to have a career as a therapist if you're not that good, I think it happens. I have to admit I have a higher standard than most probably, because where I live it's fairly affluent and we know there are a ton of people out there who has mental health issues and from what I can see the progress is really slow. (on the average)

    Put it this way, I don't know if I would be able to live with myself charging the going rate knowing it's just these teeny baby steps. That and there are people who charge even more at places like NYC where there are people who can afford it, and I see no evidence they are any better - except maybe at marketing.

    I commend you for having the good intention though, and you might just try take a few classes. I mean are you working on your undergraduate stuff anyway? Maybe volunteer for a crisis hotline?

    It can be intense and a good therapist would have a deep understanding of the psyche. Do you think you'd want to work with people directly or maybe indirectly by doing teaching and research and the like? There are different possibilities. I'm checking out a book on Interpersonal Neurobiology, and an AP mentioned a therapist who is also a nutritionist today so there's also the possibility of interdisciplinary work.

    I think one thing that's for sure is you can always benefit yourself even if it's not something you end up doing professionally, we are talking about the human condition and relieving people of deep seated suffering. To be a good therapist it would probably involve a lot of growth for oneself too.
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  3. Absolutely! Psychology is an incredibly lucrative field!

    I was a Psych major, but I didn't finish my degree. Originally I had planned to get my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, so I could open my own practice as a therapist. Ultimately I ended up going a completely different, non-psych-related direction, but I also discovered during college that I was much more interested in the research side of things than the therapy side. That was a surprise to me.

    But anyway, yes, there are many different directions you can go with Psychology. Also, if your passion is neglected children and teens, you might want to look into the difference between Psychology and Social Work, and decide which major would be more beneficial for your future career goals. Sounds like maybe Social Work would be a better fit, but an academic adviser or school counselor should be able to help you figure that out.

    Psychology is a super fascinating subject, and it can benefit you in any career. Even if you decide to go in a completely different direction, Psychology is a part of everyone's every day life. We are all humans with brains, and it can't hurt to know more about how all that stuff works. I think a Bachelor's in Psychology would be attractive to most any employer.

    One thing I will say, however, is to really think about what you want to do as a career in the future. Firstly, so you can tailor your education specifically to where you're headed, so you don't accidentally end up getting a degree in Psychology when what you really need is a degree in Social Work, or vice versa. But secondly, this is important to think about because many careers in Psychology related fields require higher education, like a PhD or at least a Master's. So if that sounds way too daunting for you and you don't want to commit to that much time in school, you might want to consider other options. That being said, though, there are still many smaller jobs and even volunteer positions that would benefit just from a Bachelor's degree.

    Good luck! I hope you enjoy the journey, whatever you may decide. :)
     
  4. C_m

    C_m Fapstronaut

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    Give some thought to being a School Psychologist.
     
  5. Well unless your gonna go for a Phd and cater to an affluent crowd, I wouldn't expect to make a lot of money. I know a lot of people in social work, counseling, or similar fields, (even sex therapists), who really don't make much especially for the cost of living in my city. However most of them love what they do. I am often jealous of their job satisfaction but also worry about their ability to save for retirement.

    I dont mean to deter you but the reality is a bachelor's in psych is very undervalued across most professions even though I would say communication and people skills (often developed in the degree) are most important.

    If you want to secure the best options go for a pysch major with a minor in something else. See if you can meet with an advisor or career services at your school to help get a better picture of what you want as well
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  6. That seems really odd to me... I've seen the exact opposite. There are plenty of fields in psychology that can make you a LOT of money. My aunt, for example, works in social work, and she makes a ton of money. I guess maybe it depends on what you consider a lot of money? But I've heard of therapists making six figures, and that's not uncommon.

    I do agree, though, that to make it in a field of psychology, a bachelor's isn't really enough. You definitely won't be making big money with a bachelor's.
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  7. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    I am working on my undergraduate right now and never thought of volunteering for a crisis hotline before. I guess I should try volunteering in different psych fields to see what clicks with me. I honestly don’t see myself sitting down 1 on 1 with people like a therapist would in a room so maybe I’d be more into the indirect kind of work ? Though I do want to benefit people in some direct way if that makes sense.
     
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  8. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Thanks for this reply. What is the research side of psychology like if you don’t mind me asking ? How would a job with the research side of psychology be like ? I like psychology and want to help people mentally but I don’t exactly see myself being a therapist.
     
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  9. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Thanks for the honesty I will meet with an advisor!
     
  10. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Yeah I’ve heard plenty that I at least need a masters to make some real money. I hope you don’t mind me asking what does your aunt do ? Your reply has made me hopeful. I kind of like the idea of psych but I am only scared of not being able to make a living out of it is my real main concern.
     
    Deleted Account likes this.
  11. Of course and hope I did not come off as discouraging. If you are committed and work hard you should be able to find financial and/or personal success in any field. There is a lot of psych majors these days, which sometimes minimizes value entering the field from a financial standpoint. Happy you are planning to meet with an advisor, use whaat is available to you to get ahead. Most people cannot reach high levels of success on their own they take shortcuts, helping hands, learn from mistakes of others, and also fail many(many) times themselves.
     
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  12. I definitely wouldn't be afraid of that, as long as you're willing to continue your education further than a bachelor's.

    I'm not sure what my aunt does exactly, but I know she works in social work and has for a long time. I believe she used to work more directly with troubled youth, but now she is a supervisor of her entire company. She made good money even before that promotion though.

    That's how I felt as well, so perhaps research might intrigue you. I'm sure you would find out pretty quickly, in psych classes, if that's for you or not.

    I'm not entirely sure what a job in research would look like, day to day. I'm sure it would depend on where you work. But basically, if you think about the process of hypothesizing something, setting up a controlled experiment to measure that thing and play around with it, introduce different variables, to see if your hypothesis is correct, coming to a conclusion, writing a report on your findings... thats basically what research is. So in psychology, there are tons of different fields you can specialize in. At my university, we had three psychology professors, all of whom had other jobs outside of teaching. One was a marriage and family therapist, one was a neuropsychological researcher, and my favorite professor (Also my academic advisor) worked in child development. So basically she gets to play with kids in certain controlled environments, like at a lab, and study their behavior in different situations, to learn more about how children develop, psychologically, over different ages and time periods.

    So there are tons of different ways you can go with research. If you pursue a bachelor's in psych, you will undoubtedly be doing some research and taking some research classes, so I'm sure you'll know pretty quickly if it's something you find boring or fascinating. I honestly thought I would find it boring and difficult, due to the math aspect of statistics and everything, but Statistics and Reasesrch Methods actually ended up being one of my favorite classes.

    But I still think social work could be up your alley too, possibly. There's different avenues of that, but when I think of social work, I generally think of the people who work with parents and families to make sure the environment is safe for the kids and help the parents to know how to accomplish that, which would come with counseling the parents and the kids as well. It's a little bit less of just one on one therapy, I think, than if you opened your own practice or something, but still some of that direct contact.
     
  13. And keep in mind, too, when it comes to finding a job after school, it's not going to be like what you might typically think of when going out and looking for jobs and applying for things. Most likely, I would imagine, you will have connections from your work on your doctorate and you'll be doing a lot of intern work and shadowing and stuff like that, so it's more of a start low and get your foot in the door kind of thing, probably.
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  14. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Thanks for this reply. Yeah I'm feeling the same about statistics, I haven't taken it yet but I will be soon and not looking forward to that as much. I do like that kind of work a bit. Working with troubled youths like your aunt did sounds like something I'd def be up for. I think when I boil things down I just want people in general to develop in healthy way mentally. Maybe I could take a minor in social work? While doing Psychology. Feeling more hopeful about this.
     
  15. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Def came off as more encouraging than discouraging my friend, so thank you ! I guess from everyone's replies here I think taking a minor in social work as well would be a good idea for me while taking Psych obviously. Thanks again.
     
  16. I'm glad you're feeling hopeful :) I think either one are great fields. And don't forget, life isn't all about money. Social work and psychology are good fields and you'll be making a positive difference in the world. Even if you aren't breaking the bank, I'm sure you will be just fine and feel fulfilled in your career, which is very valuable.

    Also, another tip, if you haven't started school yet and you're just starting out, maybe take an intro to psych class and intro to social work (if your school has both of those) first thing. They'll give you a taste of what the field is about and you'll be able to see the difference. For me, when I took an into to social work class I pretty much immediately knew it wasn't what I wanted to do at all. I can't really describe why, but it just wasn't for me. So getting a little taste of each should help you figure things out. As long as you're taking relevant classes and not wasting time, you don't necessarily need to have a major locked down immediately. But again, an academic advisor will be able to help more with that, since they have more info related to the school you're at.
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  17. Ongoingsupport

    Ongoingsupport Fapstronaut

    Many years ago I saw a little book on careers in psych at the public library, maybe look for something like that to start and get an orientation? And just talk to a lot of people..
     
    Kman20 likes this.
  18. Kman20

    Kman20 Fapstronaut

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    Bump, in case other people had things to add.
     

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