A future in psychology? (Schooling related)

[Think_ThuGLiFE]

I’m currently in my 2nd year of college and most of my basic classes are completed. Now’s the time to really pick a path and follow it. People who I respect and looking for the best for me say I should stick to a business / accounting degree. For the fact that there is guaranteed work and a prosperous future.


But currently I was intrigued with psychology, but of course there is not work in this field and , it is said I will have to spend at least 7 years of school to find any time of work.

Now my dilemma is , I love business but accounting isn’t too exciting. I love the way you can see the reasoning behind peoples behaviors and why people act the way they do ect ..

SO is their a future in psychology? Should I stay in the accounting or a finance field and maybe just read a little bit about psychology on my own time , or is majoring in it a good choice.

And befor the " Make ur own choice" people start posting, I am making my own choices but there are many intelligent people on the board who went through the exact dilemma Im going through and I just want their insights and suggestions …

Thanks 2 all who contribute.

 

[KFatal]

maybe dante could help u out on this...

 

[PuffnScruff]

i was in sort of the same situation. do i continue with economics as my major and become a stock broker like i was planning or do i drop out and attend a school that focuses on the entertainment industry where i can live out my dream of working in the music business?

well...i figured to try for my dream first, i could always get a degree in economics later.

 

[Think_ThuGLiFE]

maybe dante could help u out on this...

Ya i kno hes into psychology... i think he said he had a few more months b4 being a Doctor.. im not totally sure...

hopfully he will post

and puff thanx 4 ur responds

Its a weird situation 2 be in.

 

[Dante]

it's spelled "college" lol

pursue what you are passionate about. there is nothing worse than being stuck in a job you hate so that you can pay a bill. there is plenty of opportunity in psychology and psychiatry, especially in university towns. business majors are a dime a dozen, and 3 of the 5 i am close friends with ended up peddling insurance while i am challenged with problem solving and have the chance to learn and experience something new daily.

moral - do what interests you. learning what you love is cake. undergrad made me work for grades my last two years, but i can honestly say that i never had to worry about a grade in grad school. period.

 

[SiGh]

i was in sort of the same situation. do i continue with economics as my major and become a stock broker like i was planning or do i drop out and attend a school that focuses on the entertainment industry where i can live out my dream of working in the music business?

well...i figured to try for my dream first, i could always get a degree in economics later.

You know I exactly the opposite of you. After I saw it, I realized the entertainment industry is growing but a permanant job or a future isnt alwayz guarunteed, so I decided to get an degree first b4 I start going into that field.
Hope all goes well with your future homie.

 

[PuffnScruff]

You know I exactly the opposite of you. After I saw it, I realized the entertainment industry is growing but a permanant job or a future isnt alwayz guarunteed, so I decided to get an degree first b4 I start going into that field.
Hope all goes well with your future homie.

i see what your saying but my degrees will be an a.s. in audio engineering and a b.s. in entertainment business so they will be degree specific for the field of work i am trying to get into.

but when you look at the job industry as a whole a permanant job or a future isnt always guaranteed in any field. unless you are a teacher with tenure

 

[SiGh]

i see what your saying but my degrees will be an a.s. in audio engineering and a b.s. in entertainment business so they will be degree specific for the field of work i am trying to get into.

but when you look at the job industry as a whole a permanant job or a future isnt always guaranteed in any field. unless you are a teacher with tenure

oh aight, i actually thought you were just doing one of those, audio school courses, that I showed you. Remember the www.audioschool.com in ny. You said you looked into it, i believe.

But yeh, unless a teacher with a tenure, it really isnt guarunteed, but other fields has more oppurtunites n etc too.

 

[Jokerman]

Of course, go for psychology. You need to be happy with who you are and what you do. You find security when you adjust your lifestyle so that you're happy with what you're doing regardless of the amount of money attached to it. If you realize that you're getting something else that's more important to you, accepting a simpler lifestyle won't make you unhappy.

There are many people who will support you in your dreams if you have the courage to honor and embrace them.

 

[Think_ThuGLiFE]

pursue what you are passionate about. there is nothing worse than being stuck in a job you hate so that you can pay a bill. there is plenty of opportunity in psychology and psychiatry, especially in university towns. business majors are a dime a dozen, and 3 of the 5 i am close friends with ended up peddling insurance while i am challenged with problem solving and have the chance to learn and experience something new daily.

moral - do what interests you. learning what you love is cake. undergrad made me work for grades my last two years, but i can honestly say that i never had to worry about a grade in grad school. period.

How many years were u in school?

My plan was to do the 4 yrs then after go to law school. Psychology seems like the best route(very interesting) but then i was thinkin if law school doesnt fall through and i just stick with what i have , is what i have enuff ? That was 1 reason for going into accounting .

Im going 2 do more research on everything , and sleep on it.

thanx 4 every1s contribution

 

[_carmi]

being a psychologist is so freaking long. i wanteds a career in psychology. i'm currently doing social science: psychology in cegep. but then that teacher told us we had to do 4 years for that, 2 years for another thing and asonther 2 years for a master or something. thats crazy. now i'm reconsidering the whole thing... i dont wanna stay in school all my life plus i dont like studying and that seems like a shitload of studying to me.

 

[Illuminattile]

Ok, my advice;

Don't do accounting and finance. The money is good, but not good enough to justify being stuck in a boring job.
Psychology is interesting, but as you said it's not the most practical of subjects.

If you're looking for a healthy balance...go with marketing. I'm a marketing student, so of course I'm going to say that, but you might want to consider it. It's the fastest growing area of business, and the money is good. Plus, it lets you get creative and involves studying consumer behaviour as well. I studied Business, Psychology and English Language at A-Level and they've all helped me on my Marketing course.

Think about it.

 

[Taliq]

If you really want to do Psy. then go for it. But only if it really will make you happy. You don't wanna be ten years down the line thinking, "shit I hate being broke". Depends if you're a career person/money getter or you want to live your dream.

Personally I'd stick to the business/accounting side because I equally like/dislike everthing to more or less the same extent. Works works at the end of the day for me and I get my pleasures in life outside the working environment.

The money is good, but not good enough to justify being stuck in a boring job.

This comment may be valid to you, and its extremely important you realise that if you really do love something and want to do it, no amount of money could fill the void of not doing that something. But for me the comment wouldn't be valid at all. A £40 000 starting salary with bonuses of around £20 000 is not something I'd pass up easily. I'd happily work 5 years just so I had a decent amount of savings, and then I'd move to a job (that was lower paid) I found more interesting.

Goodluck with your decision and your course :thumb:

 

[Dante]

How many years were u in school?

My plan was to do the 4 yrs then after go to law school. Psychology seems like the best route(very interesting) but then i was thinkin if law school doesnt fall through and i just stick with what i have , is what i have enuff ? That was 1 reason for going into accounting .

Im going 2 do more research on everything , and sleep on it.

thanx 4 every1s contribution

i will be ending my education with a phd, no matter what. my end goal is to be a professor in a big 10 school and manage a chain of private practice businesses.

in the human service/social sciences fields education is a significant predictor of pay, value, and challenge you will face. put it this way - since the late 70's there has been a boom in the interest in psychology after it was started to be regarded as a legitimate biochemical and biobehavioral way to explain behavior. psychology classes are packed in the undergrad level, and that translates to a large influx of bachelor's degrees in psychology out there. to be honest, bachelor's degrees don't practice (thank god) and you wll likely end up with a job as a social worker, research assistant, or psychiatric care aid. believe it or not, even school counselors are required to have a master's level education in most states these days.

a very smart educaton path is to major in psychology and minor in another field. for example, what i did was use psychology, computer science, and engineering together to become an expert in the area of assistive technology (the science of adapting tools to meet and enhance the abilities of a person with a disability). people who do the same with law, business, or medicine also are usually destined to succeed.

my point is that because psychology is so en vogue, you need to differentiate yourself as much as possible from the herd. that means several things:

1. good grades
2. experience almost trumps grades - get a good job in a lab or get your name in an article
3. study two fields that can relate to each other
4. grad school - a master's is usually all you need to practice in most states, plus once you get into grad school any undergrad mistakes go away. no one has ever asked me my gpa of my undergrad, and being that graduate school is chocked full of the stuff you want to learn, it wasn't a huge impossibility for me to exit with a 3.8/4.0 average.
5. last, keep looking. right now the american employment climate is horrible. probably the worst it has ever been... the economy is surpressed, companies aren't re-hiring for vacant positions, and there is a huge lull in startup business. i blame bush, the economy, and the war, but let me just tell you that despite my credentials i went a half year being unemployed following my master's graduation.

 

[Cheesyphily16]

^Dante, Canada would accept you with open arms. Especially if you show us your tewpack collection.

 

[Dante]

funk dat

 

[GhettoStar]

I’m currently in my 2nd year of college and most of my basic classes are completed. Now’s the time to really pick a path and follow it. People who I respect and looking for the best for me say I should stick to a business / accounting degree. For the fact that there is guaranteed work and a prosperous future.


But currently I was intrigued with psychology, but of course there is not work in this field and , it is said I will have to spend at least 7 years of school to find any time of work.

Now my dilemma is , I love business but accounting isn’t too exciting. I love the way you can see the reasoning behind peoples behaviors and why people act the way they do ect ..

SO is their a future in psychology? Should I stay in the accounting or a finance field and maybe just read a little bit about psychology on my own time , or is majoring in it a good choice.

And befor the " Make ur own choice" people start posting, I am making my own choices but there are many intelligent people on the board who went through the exact dilemma Im going through and I just want their insights and suggestions …

Thanks 2 all who contribute.

I am also a psych major (as well as comm.) and plan on being a hgih school psychologist ( or get on radio) that seems to me to be the best job in terms of vacation and so forth, money shoudln't be an issue espically if you get married to someone with an income of equal or greater value to help with cost (or live by yourself). I say go with psychology given that you will not only run into intresting stories but also give back to the community a little bit. Also what school you go to will also help in terms of finding a job right away. If people are always comin to you with their problems and you always seem to be giving people advice then maybe that is your calling. I am currently about to transfer from a local JC with 2 lil degrees (one in gen ed the other social science) and if the cards play right will be going to UCD in Fall so that degree since it has UCD will look better on the resume. It's all bout what school is going look best (and given UC's seem to be respected worlwide I could find myself lookin over the Pacific (Australia) or Atlantic (Europe) for work).

 

[Think_ThuGLiFE]

Thanx Every1


The input was all very helpfull, esp. dante & ghetto star.



Ya the economy as a whole is horrible right now which makes it hard 2 determine the most benificial path.


Im going to take every1s post into consideration .. very helpfull

 

[GhettoStar]

Thanx Every1


The input was all very helpfull, esp. dante & ghetto star.



Ya the economy as a whole is horrible right now which makes it hard 2 determine the most benificial path.


Im going to take every1s post into consideration .. very helpfull

thanks man, it's all bout what field of psychology you go into. Could be hard if your focusing on the bio part of it but for fields such as what I am doing or random fields such as Psychology of Energys(chakras etc. out there type of things) it can be fun and enjoyable. It is a good field but it might become competive given everyone I meet is a psych major. But depedning on the school you should be ok and most psych programs and comm. programs go hand and hand; thus, the reason I am going be a double major'