Career Investigation Essay

Extensive schooling, mental and emotional preparation, and personal dedication are the aspects required to becoming successful in this career. Psychology is a hard study to master, and depending on what field of psychology a person may want to go into can make the task even more

My entire life I have always been on the search of a career that would fit my persona, fit who I truly am, and to become someone who will constantly have the ability to help people through their difficult problems that they face. Throughout my life I have been deemed the type of person that people felt comfortable coming to with their problems. Maybe people feel this way because they sense that I have a sympathetic ear? Well, all I can say is that human behavior has always seemed interesting to me and that is probably why I made the decision to go down the psychology career pathway.

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).

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, psychology is useful in many ways.

“Few fields of study offer more career opportunities than does psychology” (Sternburg 3). There are a wide selection of specialties a person could go into with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In graduate school, which is a must to attend, there is the option to explore the different specialities or to go into the desired specialty without any research of the others. There are also many options within a specific specialty. There is the option to be a teacher, to work for various organizations, be a speaker, to have your own practice, and many others. In the psychology field these options can all be combined. In fact it is expected of psychologists to do more activities involving their specialty than solely sit in an office and listen to patients. There are two specialities that I am interested in however, over the years, these specialties have become very similar. Clinical and counseling psychology have evolved to become one in the same. Someone who specializes in clinical psychology are more

Before postgraduate work can be started, the student must receive a bachelor’s in psychology and fulfill the requirements listed for the psychology program they wish to enter. Once a bachelor’s degree is achieved, a psychology major has the choice of either obtaining their master's or their doctorate. When earning a master’s a student is accepted into the college of his or her choice, and usually completes the program within 2 years, or longer. If a master's is earned, the student may go on to become an assistant in a clinical setting underneath someone who has a doctorate in psychology, but they will not be able to do any high level of work. If a student chooses to obtain a doctorate they are again, accepted into the program of their choice, although admission is very competitive. Once accepted into the doctorate program the student serves about 2-4 years where they receive training and guidance in a hospital setting, but it all depends on the program they enter. Having a doctorate in psychology will open the doors for soon-to-be clinical psychologists, and offers a higher job title, certification, and higher pay. Whether a student chooses a master's or a doctorate, a large amount of psychology classes must be taken. More than likely when a student is an a doctorate program, they are required to fulfill a 1-2 year internal ship of professional experience, as cited from

The first way that Psychology applies to my life is the Motivation and Emotion part of it. Motivation is what drives you to conduct some type of activity. For example if someone is thirsty then they have to get up go somewhere

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

The 10 percent that make the lowest at below $39,200, the median pay is at $68,640, and the highest pay with the highest education is $87,330. The average annual salary for a clinical psychologist is $66,810 (“What Are the Starting Salaries of Psychologist?”). This will vary depending on the psychology field you are in, where you work, and how well you manage your hours. The salaries will also vary in what state you are working in as well. In Oklahoma the average is $66,000 and in New York the average is $87,000 (“Clinical+Psychologist Salary in United States”). Normally the bigger the state and the higher population is where your pay will

This makes a huge point to my argument. Psychologists are people who learn about why human beings think what they think and do what they do. They help to stand up for people who have been put down by society.

A Psychologist has one main job which is to help many people with their mental illnesses. Such mental illnesses can affect how a person does daily things. Helping many people with mental illnesses will let them go back to doing things the way they want to do it, without the fear of birds, or the need to eat constantly. Freeing the people to live their own lives and not the disorders. I would like to pursue this career in the hope to help clients be themselves.

The dictionary defines a psychologist as a specialist in the study of the mind and human behavior. Within the process of understanding the human mind it is learned that the same disorder may have different theories of origin, and different methods of treatment. The Biological model, the Psychodynamic model, the Behavior model, the Cognitive model, the Sociocultural model, and the Humanitarian model are the six theoretical models of abnormality. The patient has been lucky enough to have been seen by a specialist from each of these distinct practices.

My idea of psychology is seeking help for those who cannot help themselves. With a disorder such as ADD/ADHD the risk of anxiety, inability to have a

Coursework along this path demands both education and psychology due to the nature of the work. There are mental health components and educational aspects. The masters degree in psychology requires at least two years of full-time graduate study and usually includes practical experience in an applied setting and a thesis based on personal research that is original. Getting accepted into graduate programs for psychology can be full of competition. School psychologists must meet credential and licensing requirements for individual states. These vary state by state. The licensing varies by type of position and is based on professional competence through training and experience. Some states require continuing education for renewal of licenses. According to Landrum and Davis (2009) “right now twenty-nine states recognize the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) designation on a national level” (p.73). Credentials transfer from state to state in this case and new credential exams do not have to be taken when moving from one of these states to another. Requirements for the NCSP include completion of sixty graduate semester hours in school psychology, a twelve hundred hour internship (six hundred hours in school setting), and a passing score on the National School Psychology exam.

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.