Psychology and PhD, opportunities

[biggins]

Ok, so I keep hearing about how you can only do something with a psychology degree if you hold a PhD. However, I love the subject and I am aiming to get a bachelors degree in it. I am just starting college and I think I could go far in the field. I was wondering what oppurtunities are there today for fresh graduates in psychology? Even if there isn't much money out there for this degree I'd still love to take it on. Please help me!

 

[verty]

Don't take my word for it but I think credibility counts for a lot with psychologists. Especially if you don't go all the way, you'll probably want to sound like a doctor of.

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

As far as I know, a PhD is only required for academic positions, clinical psychology and some areas of industry (highly-technical or highly-mathematical). There are other degree's, however, such as a Psy.D degree.

My interests before switching into mathematics and physics, was neuroscience (which I was going to major in) and which I was going to pursue a PhD for (however, this is a separate field than psychology). There are also possibilites for an M.D. and even a combined M.D./PhD in some cases for those doing something related to medicine (perhaps psychiatrist). I do believe that in industry (and academia), a master’s degree is the minimum requirement to do anything worthwhile. Also, depending on your specialization (Biopsychology, Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Behaviorism, etc.), might impact your choices more.

Check out http://www.apa.org to get a better idea of the requirements and speak with an advisor or professor at your university.

 

[Moonbear]

You can use psychology in a lot of fields. Understanding human behavior is relevant in many settings, such as management and human resources.

My suggestion would be to think about what your long-term goals are. Rather than getting a degree and then figuring out what you can do with it, think ahead to what you want to do, and decide which degree makes most sense to help you achieve that. You may find that psychology alone isn't sufficient, but would strengthen your competitiveness in another field if you also had a minor or second major in that field (i.e., marketing).

Some schools may also have lists of recent graduates and what they are doing, and it might be helpful to look into those. Do they all go on to master's and Ph.D. programs, or are the getting employment in other industries that appeal to you?