Psychology majors?

[juniorgrrl]

DeltAlum is right - sanity hits and you just find your way. Here's my story:

All my life, I wanted to go to Tulane. So, I got there, and decided "Computer Science is hot right now, I'm good with comptuers, I'll be a CS major!" I hated it. It brought me to tears more times than I'd like to remember. Tulane did the same for me. When I transferred to LSU, I knew it was time to redo my major.

I'm embarassed to admit this, but the way I picked my new major was thus: all the stuff I'd already taken was accepted in this new major. I had NO IDEA what "Information Systems and Decision Sciences" was, and the catalogue description was totally vague. All I knew was that it had some computer stuff, some business stuff and that the graduates placed in good jobs. I was lucky in that I found a good major, but (right around my 20th birthday) I decided I didn't want to do it forever.

Both of my parents are lawyers and I'd off and on tossed around the idea of becoming an attorney. But in my soph year, it clicked - I wanted to do Internet/Intellectual Property law. I'd be using my undergrad degree to an extent, but I'd be following something I loved.

Newbie, you're obviously a smart girl and you'll do just fine! Best of luck to you!

[bruinaphi]

I was raised by a single mother who majored in Math in college. She managed/es to make a very good living first by starting her own computer software company and now by working as a recruiter of technical consultants. I've spent a lot of time talking to her about these issues and her opinion, which I share, is that if you have a head on your shoulders and analytical ability you will make it in any career regardless of your major.

I really don't think undergraduate majors matter anymore. Anyone know what the current statistic is for people with BA's getting graduate degrees? Out of my pledge class of 40 women, only 5 women haven't started or gone to grad school. IMO, what that means is, major in what you want as long as you fill any prerequisites for the grad or professional school you want to attend. I majored in Geography and Environmental Studies. After law school I worked for the district attorney's office and now I practice securities law. The only correlation b/w my undergraduate education and what I do today is that it taught me to use my brain, do research, write fast and work my butt off.

[amycat412]

Good point Laura. Of my group of friends, there's only 3 of us who haven't gone to grad school. And I am applying to grad school. The other 2 are deleriously (sp) happy being stay-at-home moms right now, but one of them does plan to get her MBA when her son starts school. So of a group of about 15 women, only 1 has not attended/has no plans to go to grad school.

Two of my attortney friends undergrad majors were anthropology and art, respectively.

Undergrad majors don't have a huge influence on what you do with your life. You can step out of your cap and gown and into virtually any entry level position in any field. Or...go to grad school and specialize yourself.

Undergrad is, as lauradav said, a place where you learn to use your brain, do research, write fast and work your butt off. But also where you learn to live your own life separate from your parents, make friends you will have for the rest of your life, and discover who you truly are.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by carnation
However, when you hit 30 or so, you are not going to be thinking about the warm fuzzies you might get from reforming a criminal or digging up ruins. You will be thinking about how you can get money to pay for your child's braces or how you feel too old to be digging in the sun or how dangerous working in a jail is.

Did anyone else notice that the older people on GC are the ones who have brought this up? We're not trying to rain on anyone's parade but when you're our age, folks, you want to stop others from making the same dumb mistakes that you or your friends made. Dream! Plan! But be practical too.

LOL! I have to respectfully disagree. I am 31 (heh, somewhat older), and I am planning a pretty radical career change because I want to work with criminals and change the world, realizing that I won't make much money doing it. I *am* on fire with the desire to do something good for the world, and I have found that as I get older, that desire grows even stronger. I have a friend who, when he was in his 30s, while married with children, left his high paying commercial real estate job to become a teacher and then a social worker. He is now in his 40s, has an MSW and is counseling people with mental illness and substance abuse problems. He has never been happier, but wishes he hadn't wasted his youth doing something that he hated.

As a side note, I don't think that someone with an advanced degree in psychology is going to be in the poor house. I can't imagine that whatever career you would have with that degree would not provide you with a decent, stable financial life. If you end up married with kids, hopefully your husband would also have a decent, stable job, and together with your decent, stable job, you would have all that you need. You don't need tons of money to have a good, secure life.

DO NOT do something that you hate just to make money. I can't stress that enough. I can't tell you how many attorneys I know who are MISERABLE in their jobs that they took because they pay a lot of money. It's better to have some money and a lot of happiness than a lot of money and some or little happiness.

[SparkliiQTMTSU]

Newbie~ I know how youre feeling....I too am gonna be a Phychology major and thats where my heart is....Im going into Child Psychology....and its not that my mom really wants me to do something else its just that she doesnt think i'll be able to hack the long ass time in schoool that Im gonna have to be in just to get somewhere in my profesion. But I think that if Psychology is where your heart is then by all means go for it!!! thats just my opinion but as someone in a similar situation thats what I think you should do!! If you ever wanna chat about stuff just PM me or send me an email


Nichole

[carnation]

Valkyrie--

Believe me, an advanced degree doesn't equal a stable, decent-paying career! I couldn't count all the discussions I've been in on about all the people with advanced degrees who are driving taxis or on unemployment or doing gross forms of manual labor because their field is full or the field's old-boy system is keeping them out or you name it....the last discussion I was in on involved all the professionals in marine biology who've been looking for jobs for 5-10 years.

Also, husbands' decent and stable jobs can evaporate in a matter of minutes. I don't even want to go into that. Wives' jobs too...my sister-in-law was assistant to the president of Enron and had no clue that there was trouble until the whole company was suddenly closed and they lost 15 years' worth of savings in the company's plan to send the kids to college.

I don't want anyone to ever abandon their dreams! I just hope that before they enter a field, they'll thoroughly research the job possibilities (including talking to people in that field) and if they seem dim, then take that second major or minor just in case.

And 31 is not old!!!

[valkyrie]

LOL! Don't worry -- I'm not saying that 31 is old, just *older* than a lot of the people here. I still feel like a kid playing grownup most of the time.

Of course an advanced degree is no guarantee of anything, but then, there never are guarantees. Someone could take a high paying job at what seems like a stable business (Enron, Wards, etc.) and then everything falls apart. I just really think that if you do what makes you happy, it is more likely that you will succeed one way or another.

I completely agree with what you said about researching -- that is probably the most important thing to do. A double major is a great idea, as long as the second major (or minor) is something that you also enjoy.

[DeltAlum]

Dreams are great. So is food on the table.

Our oldest daughter started her college career in Musical Theatre (which is what our son wants to do). After two years, she was sick of the university, the faculty, the classes and the course of study. The bloom was definitely off the rose, so to speak. So, she changed university's and changed her major to Visual Communications -- something which has to do with video and audio and webpages and graphic design and photogaphy. Even after changing her major, she graduated (1999) in four years Magna Cum Laude. That certainly helped us financially. She won a bunch of departmental awards.

She is a very bright and talented woman.

She works in a print shop doing some graphic design, but mostly layout stuff for about $30K/year. Her job is OK, but not really what she had hoped for. She also appears in professional community theatre. She is married to a professional actor/director and they just make ends meet.

My wife has a degree in Theatre which she used for about five years while teaching high school. Then she became a stay at home mom. Now that our youngest is getting ready for college, she has started her own small business selling womens clothing. It loses enough money on paper to help us pay our taxes. She works her butt off.

My degree is in radio-TV production, and I was either a TV director or Production Manager for over twenty-five years. That's longer than most of you are old! I did a lot of neat national and international stuff -- more than I ever dreamed I would get to do. I won lots of awards. Then, about three years ago, my deprtment and job were eliminated. At age 53, it took a year to find a job at half the salary I made before -- and I'm no longer directly in broadcasting/cable. It was my background and experience that allowed me to get my present position, though.

We're a fairly typical family. It's amazing how many of our friends have faced the same situations.

So, what's the moral to this story? Beats the hell out of me, but I guess what it all comes down to is that life isn't always fair, to coin a phrase.

That's why the loving parent in me says, "follow your dream," but the slightly beaten down human being in me says take a really hard look at the way you hope your life will be -- both career wise, but also lifestyle wise -- and choose the most realistic path toward BOTH of those goals. It can be tough at times. In the long run, though, necessities of life win out over idealism and youthful zest almost every time.

It can take a real long time to realize that.

[carnation]

"Amen, amen to the last post," said the Pi Phi!

[DeltAlum]

Hi Carnation,

We posted at almost the same time, so you might want to be specific about which post you agree with.

By the way, I've always loved Pi Phis.

[carnation]

DeltAlum,

Yea! I'm glad you love arrowgirls!

I said amen to both your posts in this thread but most especially the last one. Many say that I look and act much younger than I am but truth is, sometimes I feel so weary and old when I think about all that I've witnessed and learned about the realities of life.

Like almost every couple we know, Mr. Carnation and I have gone through unexpected job loss, job politics, shocking divorces of friends, sudden deaths of friends and family...I don't want to burst anyone's bubble at all, just advise them to prepare for what they can. Like job loss (make sure you're employable in several fields) and maybe divorces (pick your mate carefully). We don't want our own kids to be pessimists but rather optimists with a healthy dose of reality.

[DeltAlum]

Ya know...

Maybe what we need is a good psychologist! Not sure we can wait for Newbie, though.

[justamom]

Like almost every couple we know, Mr. Carnation and I have gone through unexpected job loss, job politics, shocking divorces of friends, sudden deaths of friends and family...I don't want to burst anyone's bubble at all, just advise them to prepare for what they can. Like job loss (make sure you're employable in several fields) and maybe divorces (pick your mate carefully). We don't want our own kids to be pessimists but rather optimists with a healthy dose of reality.

We have seen so MUCH of this-especially the unexpected deaths.

I hate to say this. My daughter is thinking Psychology as well. lol I was 4 hours shy in Psy of a double major.
Several have pointed out that often you don't end up working in the field of your degree-true,true.

Now for the #1 college oriented, parental cliche'-"You need to have something you can fall back on."
Motivational cliche' "The cream always rises."
Newbie, you seem to have drive and determination-I think you have a great start on any path you take, but keep an open mind.
***I DID IT! I DID IT! I MADE SOMETHING BLACK ON THE POST!!!
How did I do that....

[GeekyPenguin]

Although I wasn't ever a psych major, I went to the college my parents wanted me to go to (it was the cheapest close one) and majored in what they wanted me to (mechanical engineering). Here it is, two years later, and I'm at another school (a closer but much more expensive one) majoring in econ and poli sci. I decided it was time to do what I love, and I think taking on all the extra student loans this requires proved to them it was worth it. You have to do what you want - not what your parents, high school boyfriend, or physics teacher want.

[AGDee]

I was an Occupational Therapy major but loved working in psych and luckily that was the field I picked for 13 years. Unfortunately, the mental health system in Michigan is VERY sick and there are no longer jobs available in my field. But, I also worked on a Masters in Clinical Psych and worked with numerous psych professionals for a very long time. Here are some of the things I've seen:

PhD Psychologists and ACSW's (Accredited Clinical Social Workers) make about the same salary in a hospital even though an ACSW has a Master's degree and the Psychologist has a PhD. I would strongly recommend looking into social work. ACSW's do therapy and they can be involved in research too. They can also quickly move to school social work with a course or two. With a bachelor's in social work you can usually get a job as a case manager in a community mental health setting (pay isn't great) BUT they will usually pay a portion of grad school so you can put food on the table and do therapy.

As for working with kids.. I worked on inpatient adult psychiatric units for 3 years and on child and adolescent units for 10 years. Are the kids tough to work with? Yes! Is the most rewarding thing I ever did? YES!!!! I found child and adolescent psych to be far more rewarding as a therapist in an inpatient setting because.. most adults admitted to inpatient psych units have biological disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. They get on their meds, they do great. Some would stay out of the hospital after that, most would go off their meds and be back a few months later. With the kids, more of their problems stemmed from the situations they were dealing with in their homes/families/schools, etc. There was more therapy involved and less medicating. Some had biological disorders but they were more rare. They needed to learn coping skills, social skills, anger management skills, conflict resolution, etc. In my experience, most of them really did better as a result of treatment. The hardest part is earning their trust and getting them to believe in themselves.. when you do that, it's an unbelievable feeling!

As for sciences.. Neuropsychologists have to do the most studying of the brain although all psychologists have to have some knowledge of the brain and how it works, etc.

It can be a very rewarding field but you do have to go to school for a very long time. I would seriously consider Social Work or, as an earlier poster suggested, Educational Leadership/Counseling which would also only require a Masters.

Dee