[jgc99]

It seems like whenever I tell people that I want to major in psychology, they tend to criticize it?
I've been told it too unrealistic, too difficult to find a job, too much competition, worthless degree, etc..
I genuinely love psychology. It fascinates me and I don't what else I'd major in because I fallen in love with this so much.
However, I don't get why people diss it so much?? Anyone else experience this? Is it true that it's a worthless degree? I guess I'm just confused.

[Skeezyks]

Hello jgc99: I don't know the answer to your question. But I saw no one had replied to your post. So I thought I would.

I'm an older person now. So it's been many years since I was making career decisions. But way back then, the common wisdom seemed to be... just go to college... it doesn't matter what you study... you'll be set for life. It was absolutely not true. Many of us studied English, philosophy, history, etc. And, in my case at least, my B.A. degree wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. I ended up going to graduate school & became a vocational rehabilitation counselor (which is part of the reason I was interested in replying to your post, I guess.)

I don't know why people scoff at the idea of studying psychology. Perhaps it's a corollary of the "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality... the idea that mental illness is just a matter of being too self-absorbed & so people just need to "snap out of it". From that kind of perspective, psychology might seem to be a valueless profession.

It is true though, I believe, that a 4 year degree in psychology doesn't really qualify you to do much of anything really. So I think, if a person is going to study psychology, they really have to presume that they will go on to get a master's degree or doctorate. And (again from my perspective) I think it would be important to think seriously about what one wants to do in the field of psychology & to prepare specifically for an eventual career in that field.

You wrote that you genuinely love psychology. And, personally, I believe that one should pursue what one loves. Might you have better employment opportunities, with higher income potential, if you were to study mechanical engineering or computer science? Yes, that may well be true. But if you don't like those subjects, studying them anyway is simply a prescription for frustration, to my way of thinking. So what I would say is... if you love psychology... study psychology... a pox on the naysayers! But do it intelligently. Realize that when your studies are complete you're going to have to go out & earn a living. So you need to pursue your studies with an eye toward what specific type of job, within the field of psychology, you intend to pursue.

This brings up one other thing I want to mention. My perspective is that what type of employment a person should prepare for is inextricably tied to where one is going to live. One can choose to pursue a particular type of career, & be willing to move to wherever there are appropriate employment opportunities available. Or one can choose to live in a certain city, town, or other area & accept whatever type of employment one can get in that area. For some people, it is important that they live close by family & friends. So they have to accept whatever type of employment they can qualify for & get in order to make that possible. For someone else, her or his career may be important enough that s/he is willing to move wherever employment opportunities exist even if it is far away from family & friends. And so, as you consider your career path, I think one thing you need to think about is which type of person are you; & what does that mean in terms of what you study & what types of jobs you are going to prepare for. There are no hard-&-fast answers to that question. But I think it's something that is important to take into account. I wish you well...

[wildflowersinmytea]

The problem here is that, a bachelors in psychology only qualifies you for positions which are not well-paying and the market here is totally saturated with therapists. In my area we are in dire need of more mental health professionals who can treat with medication, which psychologists cannot do. We need more psychiatrists.. So much that my state now allows Behavioral Health Nurse Practitioners to diagnose, admit, treat/prescribe, etc. You can search for the jobs in your area that you'd be able to apply to with a degree in psychology and see what they pay.. If you are satisfied with the salary range, then stick with what you're doing. If you find the pay is too low, maybe look into also taking RN co-requisites as part of your psych degree. If you did that, you could finish your psych bachelors, take Nursing courses to obtain that degree, work as a RN in mental health and get paid a lot better; you could afterwards do a bridge program to become a Nurse Practitioner with a Behavioral Health focus and have a very high salary and likely reimbursement for your tuition. A lot of this is relevant to your area though so do some research if it's concerning you. Best of luck!

[TishaBuv]

Originally Posted by wildflowersinmytea

The problem here is that, a bachelors in psychology only qualifies you for positions which are not well-paying and the market here is totally saturated with therapists. In my area we are in dire need of more mental health professionals who can treat with medication, which psychologists cannot do. We need more psychiatrists.. So much that my state now allows Behavioral Health Nurse Practitioners to diagnose, admit, treat/prescribe, etc. You can search for the jobs in your area that you'd be able to apply to with a degree in psychology and see what they pay.. If you are satisfied with the salary range, then stick with what you're doing. If you find the pay is too low, maybe look into also taking RN co-requisites as part of your psych degree. If you did that, you could finish your psych bachelors, take Nursing courses to obtain that degree, work as a RN in mental health and get paid a lot better; you could afterwards do a bridge program to become a Nurse Practitioner with a Behavioral Health focus and have a very high salary and likely reimbursement for your tuition. A lot of this is relevant to your area though so do some research if it's concerning you. Best of luck!

This information might help my son, who is graduating this year with a BS in Psychology/English. He needs more research experience before he can realistically apply to grad school to be a PhD, which was his goal. But Nurse Practitioner may be a good alternative!

[Travelinglady]

Hi, jgc99, and welcome to Psych Central! I love psych, too, and earned a double major in it and in English. It is true that a bachelor's degree in psych in itself is not a good choice for jobs. I went on and earned my Ph.D. in social psych. I taught at the college level for many years.

I encourage you to add a second major. In fact, I think that's good for all students.

If you want to talk psych, then feel free to post on my page or send me a private message. Again, welcome!

[ken9018]

I say major in something you love, because why spend money on something you don't!. With that said what do you want to do with you psychology degree? Because its undergrad, there are not many high paying jobs for someone with a bachelor's in psychology. Master's degree or higher will def improve job prospects. Like someone said before try double majoring that way employers will see your well rounded interests. Also the internet is wonderful for searching these type things! And I love searching on the internet aswell especially when it comes to school type stuff, PM me if you want to know anymore.

[CyclingPsych]

Hey! I am finishing my BA in Psychology this may. I went in for the same reason, it is fascinating and I thought it was a good idea. Now, I am sort of regretting it. If I don't get into grad school itll be very difficult to find a job that isn't something worthwhile. It's to late to turn back now. But, I loved school/learning. The statistics class and science based courses were a bit difficult but overall I loved it.
Currently, I am applying to graduate school with the hope of going in.

Major in something you love to enjoy school, if you major in something you don't like you will not like college.

[AlittleUnsteady]

I'm majoring in psychology. There are actually more options than people realize with this degree. You can be a psychiatric tech, which doesn't necessarily pay the best, but you'd get clinical experience. If that's not appealing, you could go into administration and get decent pay. You aren't confined just to psychology jobs. My goal is to become an LCSW once I finish my bachelors. This degree will be hired over other mental health degrees, like an LPC, because the training is more extensive. I work with a lot of LCSW's and they definately recommend getting that degree. There are many more options. Don't let other people talk you out of what you are passionate about. I allowed others to talk me out of it. I wasted my time trying to go to school for nursing, when that's not what I wanted. I just switched back, and am frustrated because I could have been done by now. If you love it, stick with it. There are also a lot of people who say things about psychology degrees, and they have no idea what they are talking about. Research all of your options with a bachelors in psychology, it will show you everything available to you.