Psychology Careers
Psychology Career Options
Have an interest in the study of the human mind and behavior? Then to be a psychologist could be a well chosen career path that can provide you with great opportunities. There are many specialties that could interest you such as research psychology that studies physical, emotional, cognitive and social behavior. Health services psychologists provide mental health care to patients in hospitals, clinics, schools and private facilities. Other psychologists provide training, research and advocate psychology in business, government and non-profit environments.
Psychologists formulate hypotheses and then test them out by collecting supporting data. From controlled laboratory experiments to intelligence tests to questionnaires and clinical studies the variety of research methods are vast and varied. The knowledge collected can be applied to help improve many areas such as education, health, even law and sports.
Clinical psychology is the largest specialty field with the majority of work taking place in counseling centers, group and independent practices, clinics and hospitals. Interviews and diagnostic tests are performed for individuals or families will help determine the appropriate course of treatment for a plethora of mental and emotional conditions. A growing number of specialties including health psychology, neuropsychology, and geropsychology reflect the increasing need for psychologists to provide services to particular patient groups.
Counseling Psychologists use various techniques such as interviewing and testing in order to advise patients on how to deal with their personal issues. School Psychologists address learning and behavioral problems of students in elementary and secondary schools and advise on improvements in school settings, management, disabilities, substance abuse, behavior management procedures and gifted programs. Industrial-Organizational Psychologists specialize in applying principles and research within a work environment to improve productivity and work quality. Developmental Psychologists examine the physiological, social and cognitive development that occurs in different stages of life. Social Psychologists study how people interact with each other as well as their environment and focus on group behavior, leadership and perception. Experimental or Research Psychologists study behavior and how it is affected by motivation, attention, learning, memory, effects of substance abuse sensory processes, as well as genetic factors.
Psychologists who work in areas of clinical, counseling and schools establish their own office hours and may offer extended hours to accommodate their patients. Those working in health facilities may do shift work, which could include evenings and weekends. Those who work in a colleges or universities must teach, work on research, and may even have administrative duties to attend to. Some work as part time consultants, while psychologists in government and industry work with a structured schedule.
Qualifications to be a Psychologist
To be a psychologist that is licensed as clinical or for counseling, a doctorate is usually needed. Those with Ph.D. degrees can enjoy a wide range of positions in educational, health care clinical, private or government environments. It will take five to seven years of graduate study to receive a Ph.D., and a dissertation based on research is required in order to graduate. The Psy.D. can be received without a dissertation, but is based on practical work and examinations. There is at least one year of internship required to become a clinical or counseling psychologist.
A psychologist with a master's degree can be found working as an industrial-organizational psychologist, school psychologist or assistants to doctoral-level psychologists. Two years of graduate study along with practical experience and a master's thesis written from research on a project are needed to obtain a master's degree.
With a bachelor's degree in psychology, you may find work in assisting psychologists. A research assistant, sales or management trainees, or marketing researcher are also fields that are open.
The American Psychological Association (APA), provides doctoral programs for clinical and counseling psychology fields, as well as provides internships for those programs. Organizations that offer advanced accreditation programs for school psychology are National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the National Association of School Psychologists. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) awards the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) designation, which means that you are certified on a national level and able to transfer credentials from some states to other states without taking a new state certification exam.
A certification and licensing program is mandatory for all psychologists who have an independent practice or for any who offer any type of patient care in the US. The licensing laws will vary with the type of position and by state, but all will only allow a psychologist to practice in the areas they have been trained in. A test is required in all states given by the state licensing board, and many are supplemented with additional written or oral essay questions. Some states will require licensing renewals through continued education.
The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) awards specialty certification primarily in the following areas, clinical neuropsychological, clinical psychology, counseling, forensic, industrial-organizational, and school psychology. You must have a doctorate in psychology in order to receive an ABPP certification, in addition to postdoctoral training in your field of specialty, a passing grade on an examination, as well as five years of practical experience and professional endorsements.
To be a compassionate person with good communication skills, along with leadership qualities are all great personality and character traits to possess in these fields. A research psychologist needs to have an eye for detail, and have an ability to work independently as well as part of a team. The two most important traits in these fields would be patience and perseverance because of the amount of time that is invested in research.