Anyone with a Psychology degree?

[Tiggeroo]

My dd was a pre-med major planning on becoming a psychiatrist. After a few talks with her advisor she came to the conclusion that she would be able to do more of what she wants with a degree in psychology, and then becoming a licensed clinical psychologist. This will require at the very least her masters more likely her phd. What concerns me is that once she embarks on this course the only way she will be able to use her degree is if she goes all the way. There is very little use for a bachelors in psychology. What her advisors have told her is that with her masters she could be a guidance counselor, and once she is doing that she could work towards the phd. Then she could both work in the school and have a private practice or shift over to a full time private practice. The private practice is what she really wants.
Does anybody have any experience with this. I worry that as she gets older, life will get in the way. If she stops going to school, she will be left with the degree, some student loans and a low paying high stress job with the county.

 

[SilverLily]

My DH has a psychology degree. He was mostly finished with it before he realized he didn't want to go to graduate school in that field. So, fortunately, he started taking business classes for his electives, graduated with his B.S. in psychology, and then went to grad school to get his M.B.A. It's good he changed...we own a business now and his M.B.A. has come in handy!

My point to this is...can she concentrate all of her electives in one area (or get a minor) so that she has another field to fall back on? She needs to continue to pursue her dreams of having a private practice, but having a minor in another field could be a good backup.

 

[December99]

I work in a counseling office that has 9 full-time licensed psychologists and then we are an APA approved internship site.

Once she gets her classes done and out of the way - or the majority there are steps to get her through to her Ph.D. And it is correct, she will have better, higher paying job opporunities with a Ph.D. but can find jobs at a Master's level. If she wants to get into private practice, she will need a doctorate - either Psy.D. or Ph.D. (depends on the school and program they offer) and will need to be licensed - that also varies often by state - the requirements to be able to take the licensure exam. Now to get to that point is schooling to get her Master's and then a practicum which can run 1 or 2 years depending on if an advanced practicum is a requirement. Then an internship after the practicum. Often the practicum is for training and hours and does not offer any pay. The intership is a pay position.

I agree though about her getting a "second" degree or major. When getting into private practice and you are just starting up, you might need to seek a second job if you are running your own practice. However, people in our office also have a private practice and they see public clients (because we are a university and can only see students) on their evening hours like 1 or 2 nights a week.

There are alot of opportunites you can do once you get a doctorate, it's alot of work and stress and tears, but they say it's well worth it. My suggestion also, if she is thinking definitely about going through with this is see a career counselor in your area, if you have one. They can get her on a track to find more information out about types of jobs, etc. Also look on the internet for her state's Regulations department and generally they have information on what has to be done to become licensed.

Good luck to her - alot of the people here completed their degrees in timely manners, their dissertations held them up a bit because they were doing internship while finishing their dissertation. And I have seen applications come in here for people looking for psychology jobs and currently, they aren't out there so private practice may be a way to go.

 

[DawnCt]

There are other ways to provide mental health care as well. She could consider a Master's in Social Work; MSW. I have found in my experience however, that it takes a very long time to refer a patient to a psychiatrist for medical management. That leads me to believe that there are less than there should be. Psychiatry has been leaning towards neuro psychiatry for a while and they are finding that many problems that were once thought to be "psychological" in nature may have a lot to do with brain chemistry. Perhaps she should still consider medical school.

 

[Tiggeroo]

December99 - it worries me. When she was pre-med she was a biology major with a psych minor. If at any point it seemed too long she could do something with the biology major. What would you say is the time frame for the PHD or PSY. D. Would you say it is possible to begin earning a living with the Masters, possibly with an employer who helps you pay for the PH.D? Her counselors recomendation is to get what is needed to be a guidance counselor, then the school you work for will help pay for the PH.D. From what I have read I believe it is possible to get the Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a masters and internship, but generally the route is PH.D or Psy.D.
She is a bright kid in school now with mostly scholarships, including room and board. She does very well in maths and sciences but prefers the softer sciences. I just would hate to see her spend 4-6 yrs in school and only earn $25,000 per year. I would also hate to see her unable to afford to go on to the PH.D and to have a bachelors that doesn't help her. I also worry that it seems a million miles away, but that marriage or family could get in the way of long carreer plans.

 

[minniecarousel]

I have a niece who graduated with a Psych degree & went on to get her teaching credential. She has taught at the elementary level.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Psychiatry has been leaning towards neuro psychiatry for a while and they are finding that many problems that were once thought to be "psychological" in nature may have a lot to do with brain chemistry. Perhaps she should still consider medical school.

This was the reason she initially went into pre-med. She wanted to approach it from a chemical/physical approach. But she is in a mentor/scholar program designed for the honor students. A psych professor told her that if she went into psychiatry she would only get the most sever patients, in particular criminal ones, and that she wouldn't get to counsel them, only write the scripts for meds. If she wanted to do one on one counseling she needed to become a licensed clinical psychologist. I also thing she believes this will be a bit quicker, and that she would get to the psychology classes sooner. As a pre-med major she would get very little psychology until she was near the end of med school, when she did her psych rotations, and when she actually got to her specialty schooling.

 

[JC2]

I got my Bachelor degree in Psychology in 1997. After graduation I sent out over 30 resumes and got zero interviews. I wanted to be a Counselor. Everyone wanted at least a Master's degree. I had no interest in going 2 more years to get my Master's on Psychology.
I am an RN now.

Try not to worry. {hugs} It sounds like you all are doing a good job getting all the facts in order to make a good decision.

 

[December99]

Tiggeroo - everything is going to depend on how long she wants to take. This is not going to sound good to you but I just pulled a file from a person that was a staff member here and he left a year ago but his vita shows his schooling from one year to the next and he had his Psy.D. which is Clinical Psych. This person started in 1985 and received BA in 1990. I don't know if this person went full time or not but I think so. Then started Psy.D. in 1990 - received MA in 1992 and then Psy.D. in 1999. This included classes, practicum training (extern training) and internships, dissertation was completed before Psy.D.

My advice would be - your daughter needs to sit down with an academic advisor of the institution she wants to go to and see how long it will take her to go through the program. Once she receives her MA it is absolutely possible for her to work while going through her doctorate. And there are businesses out there (especially if you work for a university) that will pay for you to complete your degree or will pay your tuition for your classes.

Usually all doctorate programs are the same timeframe because they have to comply with American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. I think it's all a matter of, if she has taken any classes if they will transfer and go toward her Masters or Bachelors. And some programs vary by each other also by the class requirements based on what program she is going for - Clinical or Counseling Psychology.

I will tell you that the psychiatrist that we had in our office did do some counseling to determine what types of medication the individual needed and if the person needed to resume counseling or just be on meds and be monitored by a psychiatrist. But the psychiatrist was also an social worker (first degree).

Getting some career guidance might be what she needs and I highly recommend that. I know I've said that before but those are people that really know what is needed, about how long it might take, etc. and might be better than talking to one of us. As I said - different programs vary. Social work is another good option like another posted stated. And I will tell you - the average that an intern makes is $15,000 to $30,000 for the internship year. So she will have to make sure she's ready to make that commitment with that salary. Master's positions can range from low paying to high paying - depending on if it's in a school district, university or hospital. Someone with a doctorate can range from $30,000 to $100,000+, again depending on where they work.

 

[December99]

I meant to ask what school your daughter is looking at attending in order to achieve her degree? At least her Master's. Some schools also go from Bachelor's programs right into the doctorate program. We have a current staff member and an intern that has a program like that and they were in Michigan and Ohio. So that's something else to look in to - what is required to reach the doctorate program.

Here is a site of universities that post open positions. Generally they all state what is required and this might give some idea of what is needed for at least university positions. I wish I had a site for school counselor positions but I don't.

http://www2.kumc.edu/people/llong/picc/list.asp

I also think that here at our university, if you have a M.A.Ed. that you can be a school counselor. I can't remember what program that is but it is some type of counseling education program at the Master's level. We have two staff members who have that degree but they have chosen to work in a university setting and doing what they do in our office that was a requirement - a Masters.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's in psych.... no intention of going on because I was getting married and leaving the area.

We moved to a rural area and I checked out the job service. The best job offers? A prison guard for $9/hour (I was 6 months pregnant! ) Or travel over a six county area to provide assistance to welfare families.

Ummmmm... NO.

That said, I have used that degree in every job I have had... from sports reporter to extention instructor to coach..... and especially as a Mom!

I think the business courses are a GREAT idea.... if her intention is to own a private practice someday, I am sure those would be a big help.

Good luck to her!

 

[J&D]

I have a BS in Psychology and a MED in Educational Psychology. I am currently a junior high teacher, but I hope to teach Psychology at the college level someday. My friends who have Psyc degrees went into either Human Resources or Education.

December99 has given you some great advice. Almost all psyc profs and advisers will highly suggest getting at least a Master's degree in the field. Getting a BS and a MED only took me 6 years. After getting my BS in 4 years, I only had one additional year of classes and then a 1 year paid internship. It is possible to earn a decent living with just a Master's degree.

 

[TexasErin]

I got my BS in Psych in 1995. I worked for Tx Dept of Human Serv determining welfare eligibility until last month. I worked there for 6 years. I am now a child support officer for the Texas Attorney General. I did not need a degree for DHS- just needed 2 years of college. I just now broke $30,000/yr. If I could do it all over again, I would have became a nurse. However with 2 kids as a priority, I can't see going back to school.
If one of my kids wants to major in psych, I will tell them to be sure that other things in life (marriage and family) don't stop them frm grad school!

 

[Pugdog007]

I have a B.S. in Psychology, and to be honest with you it isn't worth the paper it's written on, although I do feel that I use it daily

I realized soon after graduation that you can't make the kind of money I wanted to make in social work, which is essentially all you can do with a B.S. in Psych. I'm now a Sales Director... and make as much as I would have if I'd had a Phd in Psych... probably more

You really have to get a Phd to have options. Unless she's willing to go all the way, I'd encourage her to look at other fields of study.

Good luck! Young dreams... too bad you don't choose your field after you've graduated and matured... most people I know would have made different choices in retrospect