Psychology Career

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. A psychologist can either be an experimental psychologist, who works in a laboratory trying to determine why people behave the way they do, or a clinical psychologist, who works with patients attempting to correct those behavioral patterns that have made them unhappy or poorly adjusted to the lives they want to lead. A psychologist with a PhD is referred to as "doctor," but not in the medical sense. The psychology career resembles a medical career, but it does not require a medical degree, and psychologists cannot prescribe medications. (Doctors in the similar profession of psychiatry have medical degrees and can, in fact, prescribe medication, just like any other medical doctor.)

There are many ways in which you can work in a psychology career. The most obvious is to obtain your doctorate and work either as a clinical or experimental psychologist. You could also be a forensic psychologist, working for law enforcement agencies in trying to understand criminal behavior. Or, you could work as a sports psychologist, helping athletes to reach their maximum potential. However, any psychology career that requires a doctorate will take many years of education to achieve and may take more time or money than you were planning to invest in the early stages of your career. Therefore, you also have the option of choosing several types of a psychology career that do not require doctorate degrees. Here are some careers that do not require doctorates:

Counselor: You can become a licensed counselor, another type of psychology career, with only a master's degree in psychology. Of course, this will still require one or two years of education beyond your bachelor's degree, and so still may require more education than you had intended. Plus, the job of counselor, because it requires somewhat less expertise than that of psychologist, will not pay as well. Nonetheless, you can legally counsel patients on psychological issues such as depression and drug addiction.

There are also specialized types of a psychology career that do not require a master's degree. It is possible to become accredited to work with drug addicts and others in need of counseling with only technical training in that particular form of counseling. However, you might find that your career opportunities and advancement are somewhat limited and that you will need to work under the supervision of an accredited psychologist.

Psychology Careers
We all know that psychology is the study of the human mind, but it's also the study of human behavior and why we act the way we do. As a psychologist, you have a choice of psychology careers. You can, for instance, be an experimental psychologist. This means that you'll work in a laboratory environment and perform experiments to determine why people behave the way they do. You can also choose be a clinical psychologist. This is perhaps the more familiar type of psychologist, one who works with patients who feel that they are unhappy or poorly adjusted to the lives they want to lead. A clinical psychologist helps these patients work toward the life goals that they wish to achieve. To call yourself a psychologist, you will need a PhD, and you can then be referred to, if you wish, as a "doctor." This is not a doctor in the medical sense, and you will not have a medical degree. You will not be able to prescribe medication. Among psychology careers, that is the role of the psychiatrist, a similar profession that does require an MD and is officially regarded as a medical doctor.

You have a number of choices within psychology careers even without a medical degree. The most obvious is to obtain your doctorate and become, as noted above, either a clinical psychologist or an experimental psychologist. But, there are other choices as well. If sports are of interest to you, you could be a sports psychologist and work with athletes to help them perform better. You could be a forensic psychology expert and work with law enforcement agencies to understand criminal behavior and profile criminal patterns. All of these psychology careers may require a doctorate, and that will take you many years of education to achieve. This may require more time or money than you were planning to invest in your education. However, you have other options as well, and they do not require doctorates, such as the following:

Counselor: It takes only a master's degree to become a licensed counselor of psychology, another of many psychology careers. True, this position still requires a lot of education. Also, keep in mind that the job of counselor will not pay as well as that of psychologist because it requires somewhat less expertise. Nonetheless, you can legally counsel patients on psychological issues such as depression and drug addiction.

There are also specialized psychology careers that do not require master's degrees. It is possible to become accredited to work with cancer survivors or others in need of counseling with only technical training in that particular form of counseling. However, you might find that your career opportunities and advancement are somewhat limited.