calling all psychology majors....
 

who does not plan on going on to graduate school?
i think that i just want to get my BS in psychology and enter the workforce. anyone already in the situation? what is it like?

If I can just get that BA and make an ok LSAT score, I'll be fine.






--If it weren't for the girls, I'd hate school.

Well as I understand it the US job market is tough right now with many returning to education because of this? Will you be pitting yourself against others for a job, who might have postgraduate qualifications?

Re: calling all psychology majors....
 

Go into HR.

-Rudey
--You are still going to have to get a higher degree at some point if you want to advance.

Re: Re: calling all psychology majors....
 

HR?

Re: Re: Re: calling all psychology majors....
 

Human Resources.


With only a BA in psych you aren't going to find many jobs in that field that aren't much more than field research and whatnot. You will eventually have to go back to school to advance in the field or more than likely you will change your entire field and go into a different type of work.

but i dont want to be a psycholgist. i want to work with business employees or maybe become a teacher.


you know only 10% of psych majors go on to graduate school

Re: Re: Re: calling all psychology majors....
 

Yes every recruiter and HR person I've dealt with has been a psych major. I really don't know why. I don't know if it exactly prepares you for it or what exactly.

Also how do you look? I don't mean that in a bad way like it sounds, but certain firms place the most attractive females in the most visible roles. I pretty much went into an interview with goldman sachs thinking about their recruiter from human capital because she was so unbelievable looking.

-Rudey

i think human resources is what i want to do anyway

More than likely to work with business employees you'll have to continue school (maybe in business and maybe not) unless you go the HR route.

A teacher could be a good thing but if you are looking for a nice income you might not want to go that route either.

only 10% of psych majors go onto graduate school or to psychology graduate studies? I know quite a few psych majors that went on to get other degrees in the business field.

i am just ready to get out of school. i am NOT interested in moving on to master's and doctorate

A bachelors is a general degree. You can do anything with any major, including like Crim justice.

I hope your right. My major is theatre. WTF was I thinking. Drama in HS was fun, let's base my whole life around that.

I was an Occupational Therapist on inpatient psych units for 13 years.. 9 of them with adolescents. I was working on my Masters in Clinical Psych when I got pregnant with my daughter and had to give up on it. Go for adolescent psych.. it's a lot of fun and can be VERY rewarding!

I'm a LAN Systems Analyst now though.. LOL. I miss the kids a lot, but the computers never bite, kick or curse at me.

Dee

i have my BA in psychology. I, like you was too burned out after I graduated to go to graduate school. Would you like to know what i'm doing with that pretty piece of paper right now? I'm an administrator, which is the politically correct term for secretary. The job market sucks. There is very little you can do with a bachelors in psychology that will actually pay the bills. My current plan is that if the company that I am in the process of starting is not the success that we're hoping for, I am going to make my company send me back for my masters in HR because unfortunately, in this economy its hard to find any position without education or experience. My advice to you is if you are interested in a job in HR when you graduate, start looking for some kind of experience now. Most companies won't even hire HR assistants without the aforementioned degree/experience (or combination of the two)

I am not 100% sure what I want to do after I graduate. I am applying to be a Sigma Kappa field consultant... so if I got that, that would be one year of traveling to different chapters around the country. It's a paid position and seems like one I would enjoy. But more than likely, I will still apply to grad schools. If I got the field consultant job, I'd just defer my acceptance for a year.

I have also thought about applying for Teach For America. You don't have to be an education major (in fact, very few are) and it's only a two year commitment.

Part of me has also always wanted to go into sales. I definitely have the personality for it. I really love real estate so I could see myself doing that and being very happy.

So many decisions to make!

smiley21 - There are many research jobs for people with BAs in psych. If you can't find a job working with a business, check out the universities and hospitals around you. I work in research, and it's very rewarding. :)

FAB: I'm also a huge psych nerd. :D Right now, I'm figuring out whether I want to go in the spring and start on a masters in counseling or wait another year to go for the PhD. Decisions, decisions....

Psych nerds of the world unite!!!!! :D :cool: :D :cool:

I PLAN on going to grad school and focusing on child psychopathology OR speech pathology...


any suggestions/advice?

With a Master's in Psych, you can teach at the CC level. Better paying job than teaching secondary school, but without the pressure to publish as in higher ed. My friend is doing his combined Bachelor's/Master's, and before he goes to law school, he'll teach at the CC level for a year or two.

i want to change my major

Famous last words. I said the same thing. I couldn't wait to start my career. It has been almost 2 years since I started working full time, and guess what am I doing now? Applying to go back to school. :D

Yeah, I just love the psychology!

Speech pathology can pay very well. Do that.

If you want to counsel you can get certificats that will let you do it.

One of my college roomates has a B.S. in Psychology. She's in a Physician's Assistant program. Good money in that.

Her husband has a BS in Psych too - he's planning on going to pharmacy school after she finishes the PA program.

There are a ton of psych majors in law school.

It depends on what you mean by "counsel" - there are different sorts of counselling.


One who aspires to be a therapist would normally obtain a Master's degree with an option in their area of interest (Marriage and Family Therapy, Child Counselling....etc). These degrees normally include hundreds of hours of clinical experience in order to prepare the students for their licensure.


I am nearly finished with my Master of Education in Counselling. This degree is not an MSc and is not meant to lead to a career as a licensed therapist. For example, since I'm a university student affairs administrator, and I'm not intending to become a therapist, I don't need to take a programme which leads to a license. There are several different flavours of this type of counselling degree.


Finally, if one wishes to perhaps get a job with a charitible organization, or someplace similar, where they will be offering guidance or counselling to people, then these certificates you mention can come into play. However, depending on the actual job, the employers/organizations sometimes want people with Master's degrees in counselling or a degree in social work. Though, I imagine that a degree in psychology with some extra coursework in counselling (like extension courses or certificates) might work just as well for some places.


.....Kelly :)

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. You and a couple of the others have talked about HR people as if they don't have business degrees. :confused: My undergraduate degree is a BA in Human Development with a minor in Human Resource Management. Maybe it's different for other parts of the country; but in SoCal, HR people often have degrees in business and/or HR. Sometimes people might have a degree in organizational psychology; but I've never heard of an HR person with "just" a psychology degree.

???


.....Kelly :)

today i changed my major back to elem. education

Out of pure curiosity, which school has a good forensic psychology program?

With only a BA it is going to be difficult to find a good job in a psychology-related field. I mean, you will probably find something great for experience, but to pay the bills, forget about it. I've been there. I was a double major in Sociology and Psych in undergrad. And forget HR. It is close to impossible to find a job in that field with Graduate level education, let alone just a Bachelor's degree. I have many friends who are in HR and unemployed or working as secretaries, or secretaries/assistants to the HR Director (who in a lot of cases has been at the job for awhile with no immediate plans to move on anytime soon). If education is what you want to do, I would look into that. There is always a need for teachers, they make a pretty decent salary with raises, and summers off (or well for the most part summers off). Also I don't know about other cities, but here in NYC they have the fellows program that helps pay for a Master's in teaching and offers you a teaching job while getting your Master's in exchange for working in high-risk schools. To everyone considering going on in psychology I highly recommend picking up a copy of the DSM-IV if you haven't already. Also learn about the different medications prescribed for the various disorders. This information is priceless and even as a Social Worker, I am exposed to this on a daily basis. I can understand your being burnt out with school so I recommend taking some time off after graduation to figure out exactly what you want to do. However, in this day and age, a BA degree is more of the equivalent of a HS diploma so if you (well anyone) is looking to get ahead in any field for the most part, graduate education is pretty much unavoidable, especially especially if you decide to stay in psychology or anything related to human services. I kind of blame the colleges but so many new grads coming from undergrad with a BA in Psych or even a BSW have the false impression they will immediately walk into an awesome paying job in psych or human-related services, providing supervision to other employees, running programs, etc. but without a Master's and lots of years of experience that's NOT going to happen. Again take it from someone who has been there, and is going through this exact same thing right now. Oh, also with a degree in education there are so many things you can also do in a psychology-related field. For example, in the mental health agency I work in, we have an education program that hires teachers to work with clients that have severe psychiatric disorders to help them obtain their HS diploma. I also worked at a residential treatment center for children that had a school on site with teachers. It helps to have the psychology background in working with these populations. Good luck and if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I also have a close friend who is getting her doctorate in psychology right now and I am sure she would be able to answer any questions you (or any psych majors) have about this.