Transcript Careers in Psychology

Careers in Psychology
What can you do with a Bachelor’s,
Master’s, of Doctoral degree?
Current Job Outlook for Psychology
Majors
• The American Psychological Association (APA)
predicts that careers in psychology will have
higher than average growth through 2014.
• Needs will increase in schools, hospitals,
Veteran’s Affairs, social service agencies,
corrections, with the elderly, and ‘well-care’ just
to name a few.
• Please look at your handout which lists those
occupations you can have with a Bachelor’s
degree.
Current Careers and Areas of Growth
1. Public Health: Program Evaluation
– Look at the effectiveness of programs like Head
Start for example. Those in this field will look at
the strengths and weaknesses of programs, with
the hope of improving policy and the
organizations that serve the public.
– Students with all degrees can work in this growing
area.
Current careers and Areas of growth
2. Work with the elderly-Americans 65 and
older make up over 12% of our population
and 2050 will be over 20% of the population.
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Gero-psychologists work in nursing homes
helping residents with depression and
adjustment, or help in programs designed to help
them with the increasing demands in their lives.
All levels of education can work in this field
Current Careers and Areas of growth
3. Aiding Soldiers, Veterans, and their Families
-Unfortunately, we are at war in 2 countries and
serving all over the world. These soldiers are
predicted to need more help than ever before.
The Veterans Affairs Administration (VA) has
funded over 800 new positions since 2005 and
is hoping to 100 more positions for
psychologists in 2008.
Current Careers and Areas of growth
4. The Department of Defense- aiding the Army,
Air Force, and Marines in all aspects of service
whether it is helping surgeons deal with the
trauma they see daily or helping soldiers deal
with combat stressors.
-These positions have received some scrutiny
lately because psychologists have aided in
torture technique ideas.
Current Careers and Areas of growth
5. Homeland Security
- Need psychologists to examine the impacts of
terrorist threats and events from a social and
behavioral science perspective.
- Of course terrorism is inherently a
psychological problem, where you look at
societal and individual contributions.
Current Careers and Areas of growth
6. Government Service
- The government is hungry for psychologists
because many senior psychologists are retiring.
There are positions at the National Institutes of
Health(NIH) and National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH) to name a few of the government
areas where research is done. For example,
social, cognitive, developmental and clinical
research is being done at these institutes.
Current Careers and Areas of growth
7. Courtroom expertise
- Psychologist of all levels are helping with
picking juries, and in evaluating witnesses and
defendants.
8. Practice Niches
-areas in private practice that are currently
booming include: couples therapy, vocational
planning, leadership work, and smoking
cessation.
Current Careers and Areas of growth
9. Multidisciplinary Approaches
-Psychology more than any other science is
considered a science that can make
contributions in all fields. For example,
educational research, medical research,
neurological research, biology, and many
others.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
• Clinical Psychology- 90-128 graduate credits
– Probably everyone here has toyed with the idea of being a
Clinical Psychologist, a person who does one on one
therapy with the mentally ill and those who simply want to
address their current issues.
– What degrees allow you to practice as a Clinical
Psychologist: Ph.D. and Psy.D. in clinical psychology.
– A Ph.D. is a Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology.
This degree involves more research and should focus on
what is called the “scientist/practitioner” model. Those
who receive a Ph.D. have to complete a dissertation which
is a research study that is either original or replicated
research. A Psy.D. is a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
-A Psy.D.
is a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The emphasis of
this degree is on clinical training and usually there is very little
research. You don’t have to do a dissertation but a paper to
conclude your graduate work.
-Both a Ph.D. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology include training in
psychological testing. This includes how to do IQ tests,
personality tests, and neurological tests. Only Clinical
Psychologists are trained fully in how to administer a Rorschach
(inkblots) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
-Clinical Psychologists can make up to $100,000/year or more
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
-If you would like to work in Clinical Psychology as a clinician,
you can with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology or just
psychological studies. However, you can only work at
hospitals and community mental health clinics with the
supervision of a licensed Ph.D. or MSW clinicians. You will
only work with charity care or Medicaid patients because
insurance companies want only fully licensed clinicians as
their providers.
-With a Master’s Degree as a clinician you can earn up to
$46,000/year
-As an ABD (all but dissertation) clinician you can earn more,
$46-50,000/year in NJ and start at $54,000 in NYC. You can
earn more as a clinician working in corrections on average
over $50,000/year with an MA.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
2. Counseling
Psychology
-You can get a Ph.D., Psy.D., or an MA in Counseling Psychology
and open your own practice in NJ.
-As a Counseling Psychologist you are less concerned with
mental illness and more concerned with psychological wellbeing. A counselor is more of a problem solver, and looks at
role issues related to work, school, and family for example. The
idea is to help- a person make rational decisions. Even though a
lot of counseling psychologists do therapy their approach tends
to be different from that of a Clinical Psychologist.
-Many Counseling Psychologists are also trained in vocational
psychology, where they give tests and complete evaluations
that aim to help a person find a fulfilling and productive career.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
-A licensed
Counseling Psychologist can hold a Ph.D., Psy.D., or
MA. You can be a licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. or Psy.D.,
and a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s in
Counseling in NJ or NY.
-On average the salaries that are made by clinical psychologists
are similar to those made by counseling psychologists.
-Fairleigh Dickinson and Seton Hall have accelerated BA/MA
programs where you can get your MA with one year added onto
your Bachelor’s degree.
-An emerging field is coaching, where you can help healthy
clients achieve their full potential. For example, look at their
career and personal goals and improve upon them. Best, there
is no license required.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
3. Social Work
-Can work as a Social Worker with a Bachelor’s (BSW), Master’s (MSW), or
Doctoral Degree (DSW).
-An MSW-60 graduate credits- can diagnose and treat mental illness, a BSW
can obtain entry-level positions at social service organizations or social
welfare agencies, and MSW can have their own practice, work in hospitals,
clinics, halfway houses, and nursing homes. They can aid in discharge
planning, and treatment planning as a whole. In nursing homes MSW’s run
the interdisciplinary care meetings and facilitate all treatment planning with
all the disciplines that provide service in the home.
-A career in social work offers just as much variety as psychology and many
MSW’s majored in psychology as an undergraduate and social work as a
graduate student. Others majored in social work throughout their studies.
-A BSW earns on average $20-30,000 to start, an MSW earns $30-40,000 to
start, and up to $100,000 in a private practice
-Rutgers's offers an accelerated BSW/MSW program which allows you to get
an MSW in 5-years.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
4. School Psychology
-You can be a School Psychologist with a Ph.D., Psy.D., or a MA.
This will require 60-90 graduate credits.
-School psychologists evaluate children for learning disabilities,
work on issues like bullying, address psychological problems that
students can have, work with the child Study Team.
-At the doctoral level and sometimes MA level, school
psychologists can do psychological testing that includes IQ tests,
neurological tests, and specific academic tests. These tests are
used by the Child Study Team to plan the Individual Educational
Plan (IEP) for the student.
-If you want to work in educational psych. with a BA you can be a
teacher’s assistant and help in the coordination of programs.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
5. Industrial/Organizational Psychology
-This is an area that is currently considered a high growth area
and you can have either an undergraduate or graduate degree.
-This is needed to study worker productivity, how to retain
workers, and how to keep workers happier in general. Also,
needed to conduct marketing and surveys to find out consumer
trends.
-With a Bachelor’s degree, most people are working in Human
resources, where you handle new employees, benefits,
employee leave of absences, employee issues, and anything else
related to employment.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
-If you have a Ph.D. in I/O you can earn anywhere from $5570,000/year to start, with an MA you can earn from $3845,000/year to start, and with a BA $25-35,000 to start. With a
Ph.D. your employment is mostly academic but in the private
sector you can earn up to $250,000.
-If you like to do research this could be the area for you, but a lot of
I/O psychologists get burnt out because of constant statistics
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
6. Forensic Psychology
- This involves applying psychology to the law, particularly
criminals. However, you can also be insurance investigators,
conduct child custody evaluations, investigate claims of child
abuse or child sexual abuse, and evaluate the mental
competency of a defendant.
- You can have a Bachelor’s degree and work with a Ph.D.
forensic psychologist to evaluate a claim of child abuse, or
child safety. Or you can work as a parole officer, work in a
juvenile detention center, or with DYFS.
- Most forensic psychologists have a Ph.D., and start at about
$35-45,000/year. As a consultant you can earn much more
but again you need to have a Ph.D. For example, you can
specialize in forensics but have a Ph.D. in Clinical psychology.
Closer look at Career Options and
Educational level needed
-Most forensic
psychologists have a Ph.D., and start at about $3545,000/year. As a consultant you can earn much more but again
you need to have a Ph.D. For example, you can specialize in
forensics but have a Ph.D. in Clinical psychology. As a consultant
you can evaluate parents in a child custody battle.
-Most importantly to work in forensics directly you need at least
a Master’s degree.
Careers for the 21st Century
Developmental Psychology
• Can have a BA-Ph.D., and
recently this field has
expanded to include
studying the elderly. They
are especially looking at
ways to keep the elderly
population independent.
Evolutionary Psychologists
• Master’s to Ph.D. level
doing research on the
survival of the species, and
looks at thing like matechoice. This is a field that is
very controversial and
requires a lot of research.
Careers for the 21st Century
• Experimental
Psychologists- can have
BA to Ph.D., because as
a BA you can help
collect data in areas like
psychophysics (our
reactions to light), or
learning and
conditioning.
• Rehabilitation
Psychologists- this is
when you work with
people who have had
strokes, mental
retardation, or accident
victims. People with a
BA can help with daily
activities and assist
social workers.
Careers for the 21st Century
• Sports psychology• Quantitative
need at least a
psychologists- focus on
Master’s, you can get an
designing experiments,
internship with a BA but
and developing new
in order to make at
methods of research
least $40,000/year but
and statistics. Some
you can get more
work for places like the
consulting in
ETS-educational testing
professional sports.
service. Most have a
Ph.D. in experimental.
How do you pay for your education?
• Undergraduate
Education- there is a lot
more financial aid
available for
undergraduates than
there is for graduate
students.
• Scholarships, loans, and
grants are widely
available.
• You need to be a good
student for
scholarships, and
should focus on this
NOW!!!
• Look to honors work
and PTK for
scholarships.
How do you pay for your education?
• Graduate School- this is
a totally different ball
game.
• Graduate schools offer
scholarships, grants,
and assistantships.
However these are not
as numerous as those
offered to
undergraduates.
• Grants are gifts you do
not have to pay back;
these are given by the
government and private
agencies. Given mostly
to students who have a
lot of need, but you also
need a high GPA to
receive them.
How do you pay for your education?
• Scholarships-these are
given to students based
on academic excellence
and/or talent. They can
also be based on ethnic
background, field of
study, or financial need.
In psychology most
graduate schools offer
scholarships to minority
students.
• Fellowships- these are
granted to graduate and
post-graduate students
and do not require
repayment. Usually
involve research, and
sometimes the stipend or
pay includes tuition
waivers. Also, based on
merit, GPA, and usually
recommended by faculty
member.
How do you pay for your education?
• Assistantships- can be in
research or teaching. As
a researcher you will help
a faculty member with
their research, be a
second author on any of
their publications, and
receive a stipend and
probably a tuition waiver.
• A teacher’s assistant
either helps a faculty
member with a large class
or teaches a 100 level
course. A lot of large
graduate courses have a
TA that grades exams and
conducts review sessions.
There is usually a stipend
and tuition waiver. Both
assistantships are hard to
get and require a high
GPA
How do you pay for your education?
• Loans:
– Stafford Loan-have to a US
citizen, have a high school
education, not have defaulted
on any student loans, be
enrolled at least half time in
undergraduate, graduate, or
professional classes.
– These can be subsidized or
unsubsidized, the above
being you don’t pay interest
until you finish school.
• Loans continued
• Federal Perkins loan: you
have to a US citizen again
and have a high school
diploma. You also need to
be enrolled half time. The
only difference with this
loan is that it is provided by
the school, is subsidized (no
worry about interest),
interest is fixed at 5%, and
can be up to $4000 for
undergrads and $6000 for
graduate students.
Conclusion
• Please look at you handouts because they include
more jobs than I was able to discuss, especially
for those who have to work for awhile with a
bachelor’s degree.
• The one great thing about psychology is that it
can be applied to such a variety of settings that
many experts feel that it is one of the best majors
in today’s economy.
• Who knows better how to work with people than
someone who has studied them???