“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” ~ Abigail Adams
There are only two more days until the end of my first 30-Day Writing Challenge! Today’s post will be a short one. The prompt is “useful resources for people in your industry”, and I am not a part of an industry.
However, I do hope to become a school psychologist, which would put me in the psychological/educational industry.
The simple reason I want to become a school psychologist is because I want to help children. The more complex answer is a combination of the fact that I love children and understand how awful the American education system is.
The purpose of school should be to educate all children. Children and adolescents have their own needs and learning styles, and schools need to be able to accommodate for these differences.
School psychology combines both psychological research and applied psychology. In graduate school I will learn different learning theories and about neurodevelopmental disorders.
As a social introvert, I enjoy having relationships with others, but don’t want my career to be dependent on it. I don’t find paperwork to be mind-boggling boring, but I also can’t spend all my time writing reports.
This career can combine them both depending on my focus of study and the school/school district I end up working for.
As a college senior, I understand that It can be difficult to determine the post secondary degree I want to pursue.
I always knew I wasn’t going to stop my psychology education at the undergraduate level, but didn’t realize that there are so many career options out there – other than counselor or therapist.
Here are five resources that I’ve used to choose my path in the field of educational psychology.
The American Psychological Association describes, in detail, every field of psychology. The organization also provides resources to help students learn the types of degrees they would need to pursue their psychological careers.
This website also focuses on careers in psychology, but serves as more of an introductory source. If you want to know the difference between social work and human services, or school counseling and school psychology, this is a great resource. You can even find salary information and degree programs.
This website focuses on graduate programs to get your Master’s, Education Specialist, Psy.D, or Ph.D. Learning the differences between specific degree programs is a necessity for every college senior.
4. The Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will allow you to compare any of your dream jobs, no matter what field. See what your future life could be. This is just a resource though, your own personal situation may differ.
If you’d like some more hope while pursuing your psychology degree, consider the costs of becoming a psychologist. Money is very important in this world, and with many of us taking out tens of thousands of student loans for undergrad, the prospect of taking out more for graduate school can be unnerving. It’s important to determine whether the financial pros outweigh the cons.
There are so many resources out there to help you on your career-prep journey. I recommend spending an hour this week, just scrolling through different websites, reading articles, and taking notes.
I’ve been MIA since the pandemic, and since it’s almost August I need to step up my game!
Make sure to check out my previous post on this month’s 30-Day Writing Challenge!
