Career in Psychology.

[Depressed Man]

As my Criminology teacher said, in the social sciences your lucky if your theory works 25% of the entire population, if your 75% your a god.

[Inferied]

In my opinion, Psychology really sucks. I went to about ~5 psychologists in my childhood and none of them did anything. Seriously, you will learn more about the functions of society by learning Biology.

[sanderella]

Hey all, I've been considering for a while a career in psychology. I don't know if this is the right forum to post this but there are so many people using this forum and the ubuntu community is so diverse that I figured there may be some psychologists using this that know their field.

I was mainly wondering what are the job oprotunitys in psychology, and where to start and all that.


so I hope I can get some insight through the experiences of others, and knowledge of what is out there.

I was a Registered Mental Health nurse before I retired. I think there has never been such a good time as now to take up a career in psychology. The old theories of Jung, Freud, et al are dead and gone, and modern psychology is based on scientific research, so it is more accurate and effective. There are many ways of helping people with mental health problems that are effective, I wish we had had all the resources that are available now.

There are different specialties for psychologists too. You can work in mental health or sports or industry, and many other fields. Forensic psychology is particularly interesting.

I wish I was young again like you, I would go into psychology again it's so interesting and useful. I hope you do choose it as a career, good luck.

[Patrick-Ruff]

thanks that was exactly the response I was hoping for. the main person who has influenced my idea most is a damn good psychologist, he didn't even have his master's and he was damn good.

I can't really describe it, it's just all the things he picked up about people that he probably didn't learn in school make him such an all around good psychologist. though, he was also in viet nam and I don't think he got into psychology till his 30's.

[mips]

the main person who has influenced my idea most is a damn good psychologist, he didn't even have his master's and he was damn good.

So what does that tell you about actual education?

Some people are just very good at understanding other people and I don't believe that is what you get from books. You get talkers and you get listeners. If you are a talker I would say you have little hope, if however you are the observant listener type it does not take you long to get to grips whith what a person is all about.

[Bubba64]

The education is only part of what might give any single person good skills as a therapist. I think some of you might not realize that you have to pass very difficult state required tests to be called a Psychologist, it is not just a degree in Psychology. You cannot pass these tests without an education and around 2000 hrs of work in a supervised clinical setting or like an MD what is called a residency. Even if a person is a good therapist and you trust in them, if they are calling themselves a Psychologist with less than a masters degree and the state required accreditation they are breaking the law. I think the definition of Psychologist is being attached to other types of helping situations..Like a Lawyer cannot practice law with just a law degree;but has to pass the bar exam to practice law. There are people who call themselves therapists or counselors without state accreditation, but they are careful to word what they call themselves and what they are practicing so as to not break the state by state individual laws. I suspect a lot of them probably are helping people, but like another person in this thread commented on that they knew a person with a PhD in psychology, and they seemed a little unhinged. We have to remember that we are dealing with human beings we all have faults and idiosyncrasies that make us individuals at least in our own minds. Having an open mind and looking at any interaction with another person from not only your point of view but theirs as well is a key to having a more realistic understanding of the affect your having on the interaction. Like an artist who paints pictures the more you know about technique and how to mix colors and textures the better your finished product will be, not in a pop culture sense but actual achievement. You wouldn't let somebody do brain surgery on you that wasn't a certified Neurosurgeon.

[Patrick-Ruff]

In my own experience, everyone has the opprotunity to analyse how someone works, what drives them from the inside, and many other things. I do a lot of reading about psychology online, I do a lot of observation whenever I feel like it (I don't let it consume my life, but I do it enough to learn a lot.)

Through observation, reading, and exposure to people who seem to be good in the field, I feel that I already have a good portion of the knowledge I need to help people.

If you didn't get it from the above mips, I believe that I am more of a listener (though I work on being more social.)

[Bubba64]

In my own experience, everyone has the opprotunity to analyse how someone works, what drives them from the inside, and many other things. I do a lot of reading about psychology online, I do a lot of observation whenever I feel like it (I don't let it consume my life, but I do it enough to learn a lot.)

Through observation, reading, and exposure to people who seem to be good in the field, I feel that I already have a good portion of the knowledge I need to help people.

If you didn't get it from the above mips, I believe that I am more of a listener (though I work on being more social.)

You believe it must be true. GOOD LUCK

[Depressed Man]

thanks that was exactly the response I was hoping for. the main person who has influenced my idea most is a damn good psychologist, he didn't even have his master's and he was damn good.

I can't really describe it, it's just all the things he picked up about people that he probably didn't learn in school make him such an all around good psychologist. though, he was also in viet nam and I don't think he got into psychology till his 30's.

If you think about it, it's not that surprising. Most psychologists that are in the textbooks were never psychologists to begin with. Most came from other fields that had insights into human behavior. Heck my dad never took a psychology course yet some of the questions he raises about human behavior and so on along with his insights (or rather they'd be called theories) sound plausible.

I like modern psychology, I think if I were stuck in the ages of psychcoanalytic or behaviorial dominance periods I would've chosen another field.