Career aspiration

1. Career aspiration • The path to becoming a psychologist

2. Time line to Success2006-2010 • Take basic high school science courses: chemistry, biology, and physics. • These courses help you learn to think logically • Take math courses: algebra, geometry, and statistics. • Math courses teach you analytical thinking and help prepare you for the statistics courses that help you understand all of the research related to psychology • History, art, sociology, and literature help teach you the basics on what motivates people • Language courses will help you develop good grammar, spelling, and punctuation • Develop keen analytical thought. • Interview local psychologist to gain further insight on life as a psychologist • Keep your grades up because of competitive universities.

3. College2010-2014 • Your college track should have a heavy load in psychology courses because many graduate programs in psychology require an undergraduate major in psychology • Begin to look into graduate programs you may be interested in • Look into required courses for graduate programs • Ask about any other information specific to you • Get to know a professor who does psychological research. Ask about becoming their assistant or intern. • PREPARE FOR ENTRANCE EXAMS!!!

4. Graduate Degree2014-2019 • Ph.D. or Psy.D what is the difference in each degree? • A Ph.D. is your doctorate in philosophy. It is the classic degree necessary to become a psychologist. It places equal emphasis on research and clinical training. A core element of the Ph.D. is dissertation (a style of research) • A Psy.D. is a doctor of psychology it’s a newer professional degree that emphasizes clinical practice with only a minimum of research training. Requires a dissertation that is practical, but can be theoretical • In general, in the academic world, the Ph.D. is preferred to the Psy.D.; in the world of clinical practice, both degrees have about the same status and functionality.

5. What Kind of Psychology,Clinical or counseling • Decide whether you want to practice clinical psychology or counseling. This is strictly based on personal preference and what you want to do as a career. Also in this process decide if you want to attend a university for graduate school or attend a professional school which is less competitive but a lot more expensive. • From this point on everything is based off of what you want to do. This being my career path, intend on practicing for about seven years and branch off on my own or become a partner at a practice.

6. Questionnaire • What degree should I seek to obtain? I.e. Bachelors, • masters, PhD, etc. • What are the different fields that require an • undergraduate degree? • What can I do with a degree in psychology? • How difficult is it to find a job? • How can I find job openings? • What is the difference between a PhD and PsyD? • Should I apply for a master’s degree before a PhD? • What is the difference between a psychologist and a • psychiatrist? • Are psychologist licensed by the government? • What is positive psychology? • What is evolutionary psychology? • What is the difference between attending a specialist versus a doctoral? • training program? • Where do psychologists typically work? • What are working conditions like? • What is the best part about being a psychologist?

7. Response to Questionnaire • Seek all of the degrees • Most of the psychology, mental health, or substance abuse fields require undergrad degrees. Also, child welfare. • With a degree in psych you can counsel, do research, teach, open your own practice, and work with adults, kids, families. Work in child welfare, substance abuse, mental health, health, and more. • It is not difficult to find a job; there are always openings in health and human services, teaching, more. • You find job openings by looking in the paper, sending resumes, completing internships, doing volunteer work, getting your foot in the door by doing other work at the agency you want to work at. • A PhD is doctor of philosophy and PsyD is doctor of psychology. I do clinical psych and PhD. • I do masters first then PhD • Psychologist does counseling, testing, coaching, and teaching. Psychiatrist is a medical doctor with extra training in pscyh. Psychiatrist can prescribe medicine, psychologist can't. • I have a state license. • I am not really familiar with the term positive psychology, but I am familiar with unconditional positive regard and Humanistic Psychology that hold positive regard for all clients and is client focused believing all humans are innately good. Evolutionary psychology looks at how people have adapted and changed generation after generation. • Specialist might be along the lines of mental health specialty or school psychology. Where doctoral training takes you to the highest level of psychology in the particular field of your choice, like clinical or sports psychology for example. It is much more comprehensive and involves a deeper level of commitment. • Psychologists work in clinics, hospitals, high schools, grade schools, middle schools, colleges, private practice, mental health programs, and about every human service entity. • Working conditions are usually good. Good hours, good people, interesting work, not boring, good pay, and you can work for yourself if you choose.The best part of being a psychologist is getting to work with people and help them solve their puzzles and getting paid for it.