Careers in Psychology
For an excerpt from an "open letter" to a student thinking about careers in the clinical area, click here.
For a "flowchart" approach to thinking about what you can do with a major in psychology, keep reading:
1.
Do you want to end your education with a bachelor’s
degree or to continue with graduate education?
a.
If “end with the bachelor’s degree,” go to 2.
b.
If “continue with graduate education”, go to 5.
2.
Is your major in psychology a “means to an end” (that
is, you want a career in psychology), or is it an “end in itself”
(for instance, some other “unrelated” career path)?
a.
If “means to an end” (career in psychology), go to 3.
b.
If “end in itself” (unrelated career), go to 4.
3.
Be aware that it’s difficult to find a career in
psychology with only a bachelor’s degree, so be prepared to revisit your
answer to question 1 above. (However,
it’s a good idea in my view – and also that of career expert Howard Figler
– to wait a few years between your undergraduate and your graduate
education. For reasons why, see
#5.) Think carefully, by the end of
your sophomore year, about whether you want to work in academia, in counseling
and human service, or in the world of business.
a.
If academia, the only routes
open to those without a graduate degree are public (primary or secondary)
education, in which case you’ll need a teaching license (and need to explore
the extent to which high school psychology teachers, versus those with
– say – a broad field social studies emphasis – are needed), or
vocational-technical education, in which case you’ll need at least one year of
“real world” work experience in addition to your degree.
b.
If counseling, and if you’re very sure that you don’t want graduate
work, consider a BSSW (social work degree) rather than a bachelor’s in
psychology. Also explore fields of
specialization such as addictions counseling.
You’ll still need to meet state requirements (e.g., a supervised
internship).
c.
If business, the human services field is your best bet. Get in touch with SHRM (check the Internet) and learn about
certification as a professional in human resources in addition to your degree.
In
any event, do some informational interviewing starting no later than the summer
of your sophomore year. Aim for a
possible paid or (more likely) unpaid internship during the summer of your
junior year.
4.
Congratulations! You’ve
made what I consider to be a very wise decision:
to gain a general liberal arts education (which will teach you how to
think, how to communicate, and how to relate to others) in addition to whatever
technical training you may wish to pursue.
Studies indicate that within five years of graduation, managers who take
this path are likely to be making more money and advancing more quickly in their
careers than those who focused on a narrow technical education.
Be sure that you obtain the necessary technical education (coursework) or
experience (internships, summer jobs, etc.) in addition as well.
5.
Be careful, because as Howard Figler notes, it’s easy to
become overspecialized (to have a “niche” credential) too soon.
This isn’t a problem IF (a) you’re sure of the career path you want
and (b) it remains viable, in terms of supply and demand, for the rest of your
life. However, neither (a) nor (b)
is true of the average individual, who, statistics indicate, will change jobs 9
to 13 times in a working lifetime, including 3 to 5 radical career shifts.
Thus, you need to preserve some transferability and career portability, a
workable balance between generalist and specialist skills.
The world is filled with overeducated, underemployed people – don’t
become just one more. (It’s great, of course, to learn as much as you like for
the sake of learning it, a different matter entirely.)
Do
you seek graduate education in psychology or some other form of
post-undergraduate education (e.g., a professional degree such as law or
medicine)?
a.
Graduate education in psychology: go
to 7
b.
Other graduate degree: go to
6
6.
Let’s get this out of the way first so we can concentrate
on the formal psychology track in the rest of this handout.
As with #4, a psychology undergraduate major is an excellent
preparation for most professional careers (law, medicine, and the like).
Just make sure that you take the requisite number of technical courses
(especially if training in the natural sciences is a key to admission to the
graduate program of your choice). Never
underestimate the value of being a well-rounded person!
If you can only sing one tune, your name had better be Celine Dion.
7.
Do you want to stop with a master’s degree or to complete
a doctoral degree?
a.
Stop with master’s degree: go
to 8.
b.
Continue to doctoral degree: go
to 9.
8.
Be careful in choosing your master’s program, because
some master’s programs are “feeder” programs (the master’s degree itself
means little or nothing and isn’t really marketable). This is especially true of “academic track” programs.
Consider the marketability question carefully and choose a program with
an applied emphasis, such as school psychology, counseling and guidance, I/O
psychology. Take a good look at internship provisions and at any relevant
licensure or certification requirements (which should be taken care of as part
of your master’s program). Also
ask yourself if you want a research based thesis or an application based project
to be the culmination of your education. The
answer depends on your skills and interests but also on what the marketplace
will find relevant.
9.
You have two big decisions to make right away.
One is whether you want a clinical program (your goal is to become a
clinical psychologist) or an academic/research program (your goal is to become
either a college professor or a consulting psychologist).
The roads diverge quickly from this point.
If you want to become a clinician, choose between a Ph.D. program
(research based dissertation) or a Psy.D. program (application based project
dissertation or dissertation equivalent). The
Ph.D. is still seen as more prestigious (if you ever do want to teach, you’ll
want to have the Ph.D.), but the Psy.D. is gaining favor within applied circles.
Also remember that you’ll be spending five years under the intense
tutelage of a single person (your major professor), so find out about that
person’s research interests (what have they published?
easy to find out, ask the library how) and make sure they are compatible
with yours and relevant to your eventual career objectives and your
marketability. Also try to find out
about their reputation among their peers since you’ll bear their stamp for at
least the first five years after graduating;
“a student, when he is fully taught, will be like his teacher” (not
“like what he is taught”) – so choose wisely.
As
a former career counselor, I’m interested in helping students to make good
decisions about their educational and vocational plans, so in addition to making
use of the fine resources available through Student Services, please feel free
to discuss these issues with me individually during office hours.