PSY 305 Week 1 Exploring Psychology Careers Essay

Being in college has taught me that what you majored in does not matter when it comes to finding a career, as long as you have the experience you will be fine. I tend to question myself all the time as to “Why am I attending college when most employers probably would not care about my Bachelors or Associates Degree.” My doubtfulness of college brought me to come across the article “No, It Doesn't Matter What You Majored In”, by Carlo Rotella. Carlo Rotella is a director of the Americans Studies Program and the author of several books. The author believes that “Prospective employers frequently don’t really care what you majored in” Page 468.

There are many professional pathways within psychology that an individual may apply themselves to for their career. These include: clinical, forensic, health, and educational psychology. The professional career pathway within applied psychology which will be discussed in this essay is the field of clinical psychology. Clinical psychology aims to reduce the amount of psychological distress an individual experiences and enhance the promotion of psychological well-being. Clinical psychologists attend to both mental and physical health problems including addiction, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties and relationship issues in order to help individuals resolve their problems. Clinical psychologists predominantly work within hospitals, mental health groups and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Clinical | Careers, 2016).

Review Ch. 18 of Introduction to Psychology and the American Psychological Association website (www.apa.og) to review career possibilities for psychology majors.

Butcher, J. N., Hooley, J. M., & Mineka, S. (2013). Abnormal psychology (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Butcher, J. N., Hooley, J. M., & Mineka, S. (2014). Abnormal Psychology (16th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

To me psychology in itself is a beautiful mosaic piece hanging in museum and a Mozart’s symphony piece paying in the background. My interest in clinical psychology dates back to my years in high school, where I excelled in psychology. When I was a senior, I took a second-year course in psychology at my high school. This advanced-level AP psychology class was engaging and interesting, and earned an A. Since then all I can remember, I have been motivated to understand human thought, feeling, and behavior. It seemed only logical that I pursue a career in clinical psychology.

Psychology has been a passion of mine since I first took AP psychology in high school, and I knew then that psychology was the major for me. Beyond that, I had no idea what exactly I wanted to do in the field of psychology. The ideas of working in child psychology or clinical and even experimental have all run through my mind as I have tried to assess my potential career and life paths. This past semester, I received the opportunity to travel and study abroad in Ireland. There I immersed myself in Irish culture and I got to explore an entirely new path and new way of using what I have learned thus far in my academic career.

College is a stepping stone into the real world. Many students would agree they pursue a college degree to obtain more money in their career. However, this pursuit isn’t only because of money, but also led by the heart-felt desires of the students. Conversely, Harvey Bump comments “Only those who are independently wealthy can afford the luxury of developing their souls while in college. College education in 2015 must be job training”. There is no exclusiveness to students who want to follow what majors they’re interested in. Lynn O’Shaughnessy clarifies in her article, “8 Reasons Not to Get a Business Degree”, that parents pressure their children into selecting “practical majors” based on their perception of what the job market needs. Many

A) There is a vast amount of career opportunities within the Psychology field. Upon completing this week’s assignment, I found myself to be very pleased with the decision to major in Psychology. Among the abundance of career opportunities in the field of Psychology, the Victims Advocate, Case Manager, and College Professor were of most interest. Collectively, these career choices encompass the ability to change the lives of others.

Education is the difference between achieving success as a forensic psychologist and being forced to find another career. Overall, a person planning to work as a forensic psychologist should focus on psychology, criminology, or forensics (“Forensic Psychology Careers”). The basic overview of training obligations begins with “a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus on criminology or criminal justice” (“Forensic Psychology Careers”). Over 3,000 colleges in the United States offer psychology programs for undergraduates; about 300 also offer a doctorate level

In order for forensic psychology to be available to the court systems in today’s estate, individuals need to seek specialized schooling to obtain this specific job. In recent years, there have been some specialized forensic training programs. Forensic psychologist can be trained in clinical, social, developmental, cognitive, or any other psychology subdicipline (Shams, 2010). Also, forensic psychologists are able to work within jails and prison settings, but they can also work with a wide range of youth in contact with the court system who are not incarcerated (Shams, 2010). Forensic psychologist can also work in juvenile court clinics that are typically housed within the courthouse setting and they are able to see a range of youth at different points in the civil and criminal justice system for a variety of mental health issues including those who are an emergency risk assessment (Shams, 2010). According to the American Psychology, there are now 18 graduate programs that offer either a Ph.D. or Psy.D. with a major in forensic psychology or a joint J.D. /Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree program. In addition, numerous graduate programs in psychology now offer some coursework in forensic psychology as an elective. The vast majority of forensic psychologists in practice, however, have received training as clinical or counseling psychologists and then added forensic training sometime

I want to be a psychologist. I would love to learn all about the way people act, think and feel and at the same time try to help them. I have a very easygoing personality and I love to have fun and laugh. I ask a lot of questions, and I think I am very easy to get along with. Some career goals I have is to finish college, I would like to find a job I want to keep that I could make a career out of, and just take it one day at a time because I have desire to make the right decisions and live a pleasant life.

Psychologists with doctoral degrees (either a PhD, PsyD or EdD) receive one of the highest levels of education of all health care professionals, spending an average of seven years in education and training after they receive their undergraduate degrees.

This careers in psychology class taught me more than I anticipated to learn. Throughout the semester, this class has taught me very important concepts, such as making plans for my future, preparing myself for what to expect after I graduate with a bachelor’s degree, what I can do with a psychology degree, and other important topics.

One thing that varies faster than the gasoline price may be the debate around the value of a right path for a young adult— which major guarantees a smooth access to a decent job offer. According to the article, “Not All College Majors Are Created Equal”, the author, Michelle Singletary, indicates that college degrees are not the same based on the different majors. She starts her article with a question that she asked her college students, “What’s your major?” Singletary immediately determines her student’s future by the major that the student is choosing. Later in the article, she states her opinions on how majors have played a great important role in one’s career life by using different examples and statistics. Indeed, college majors are not