Reflecting upon my bachelor's degree in Psychology
I want to reflect upon my journey of earning my bachelor’s degree in Psychology (will probably write another one for my master’s). To anyone who comes across this post and is currently at the crossroads of picking your university major, I hope this could provide some insights. There are some takeaway thoughts at the end of this post if you just want some advice.
Before Uni
It’s pretty obvious if you look at my website that I’m passionate about technology. Actually, I was planning to study Computer Science at university after graduating high school. However, things didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, and I had to rethink my plans.
If you are like me, one of the reasons you are considering pursuing Psychology is that you want to help people. Perhaps you are the “listener” friend among your peers, and you think studying human psychology allows you to become more empathetic, maybe you are even thinking you could get a career in helping people in need! That was what drew me to study Psychology.
Psychology as a Science
I like science. When I was a kid, I used to have a shelf full of pop science facts books like One Hundred Thousand Whys. I even had a monthly subscription to science toys that apparently they are still selling these days. When I discovered in my Psych 101 that psychology is a science, I was elated!
Theories and the study of human phenomena are what drive the field of psychology. Theories about the human mind aren’t something that people can just make up out of thin air (like astrology ahem), they require rigorous scientific testing and empirical evidence to derive explanations about human beings. The formation of theories hinges on scientific research, which typically follows a flowchart of steps. You begin with a research question, which allows you to form hypotheses, then you design an experiment to test your hypotheses, you collect data, you analyze the data, and you interpret your findings with regard to your hypotheses.
Research is an essential part of psychology. If you want to look at whether children who grew up in challenging environments are more prone to developmental delays, you need to do proper scientific studies of people with different family backgrounds. If you want to investigate the efficacy of different therapy techniques in treating anxiety, you need to quantify and compare their therapy outcomes. Void of research, it would be impossible for us to make accurate and scientific claims about human behaviors and our mental processes.
Depending on your strengths and interests, you may find this aspect of psychology uninteresting. Some people study psychology because they desire to help others, and you may think, “what’s the point of research/science when I’m just talking to people?” Research allows us to understand what typically works for people and what doesn’t, it enables you to find commonalities between your patient and other similar patients. It helps you understand the deeper inner workings of the human mind. Everyone can be an armchair psychologist and “analyze” people by intuition, but professional psychologists base their understanding of human beings on objective data and scientific observations. On the flip side, if you are like me, who finds the scientific pursuit of knowledge exciting and the formality of scientific integrity necessary, you will enjoy the empirical nature of psychology.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None
One of the confusing things about the courses in Psychology was that we had to study all these different areas that seemingly had no connection with one another. Statistics, research, biology, socio-culture, writing, ethics, counseling, education, etc. Truth is, the study of Psychology prepares you to pursue a career in mental health. Whether you wish to work with adults with mood disorders, children with developmental delays, or the elderly facing grief and death, Psychology aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of human beings in a scientific manner. After all, we are unique in the way we are because of millions of different factors ranging from genetics to culture. Unfortunately, it is also because of this comprehensiveness, some people may feel directionless in the pursuit of this study.
- People who study Psychology are good at using statistics to make inferences, but we aren’t statisticians.
- People who study Psychology are good at neurobiology, but we aren’t biologists nor are we neuroscientists.
- People who study Psychology are good at processing and analyzing data, but we aren’t data scientists.
- People who study Psychology are good at understanding consumer behaviors, but we aren’t marketers.
- etc.
But in spite of this, I wholeheartedly think that studying Psychology is incredibly beneficial. It allows you to understand human beings on a deeper level (not in a reading-mind sort of way), it equips you with more knowledge about humans to empathize and connect with other people, you learn about all these different areas of mathematics and science (albeit not too in-depth) that you develop your scientific thinking, and you read and do all kinds of academic research that you mature your critical thinking skills.
Confusing Careers
Despite all these benefits, majoring in Psychology is not a great option career-wise. There are three main paths that Psychology graduates take:
1. Psychologist (or someone who works with mental health)
There are many types of psychologists, educational psychologists, counseling psychologists, clinical psychologists, industrial-organizational psychologists, occupational therapists, special needs teaching assistants, etc.
The thing about becoming a psychologist is that a 4-year degree in Psychology typically covers way too broad of topics that you are not qualified to become an actual psychologist yet. You would need to take a master’s degree to specialize in one area of psychology, which many people often become discouraged to do so after their bachelor’s degree.
If you don’t want to do a master’s but still want to work with people with mental health disorders, a common career path is to become a teaching assistant for special educational needs (SEN) students. My program had us take a 6-credit practicum where many of us did two semesters of internship at an SEN school, and many of my classmates ended up working in one of those schools after graduation.
2. Any careers working with people
I have met plenty of people who got into human resources after their Psychology degree, some went into social work or even hospitality. One of the impressions that people have towards Psychology graduates is that they are great with people because of their understanding of human beings, they will not hesitate to hire someone with a Psychology degree for these positions. However, it’s important to note that the three careers that I mentioned all have their own major in university, so you will have quite a bit of competition.
3. Research
As I have stated in the beginning, research is a huge part of Psychology. Many people (including me) went into a research career after graduation. It’s a challenging and fruitful career from my experience, but it’s not something that is long-term.
A research career essentially means you will work as a research assistant if you have a bachelor’s degree, a research associate if you have a master’s degree, and a post-doc if you have a Ph.D. The thing is, these careers lack advancements unless you pursue a professorship. Besides, if you ever wish to escape academia and get into research in the commercial sector, depending on your specialty it may not be easy to find any project that matches your skillsets and experiences.
Afterthought
The limited career prospects force many graduates to switch fields, myself included. The positive aspect is that a Psychology degree is versatile, you can get into advertising, recruiting, UI/UX research, teaching, etc. The negative aspect is that you really have to put in some extra work to demonstrate that you know how to do these things, not to mention that most recruiters’ understanding of psychology is mental health and understanding of human beings, it’s an uphill battle.
Takeaway Messages
The career prospect of a Psychology degree is limited. The typical career paths include becoming a psychologist (which typically requires post-graduate studies), working with people (HR, hospitality, etc.), and research. Pursuing anything else will require a lot of extra study and proving to recruiters that you are capable.
In spite of this, Psychology is a worthwhile study. It develops your scientific thinking and critical thinking skills, teaches you about the wonders of the human mind, and allows you to become more empathetic to other people, all incredibly valuable skills.
Reflecting on my studies, if I could go back and change my study path, I would have chosen a major that is more career-driven, and took a minor in Psychology. Another alternative would be to take a taught Masters in Psychology for self-betterment. That being said, I don’t have huge regrets about my choices. Hope this post helps anyone who is feeling the confusion about pursuing Psychology as your major.