Careers in Psychology

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Careers in Psychology

• LaNae Jaimez, PhD Pat Harrington, PhD

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Introductions

• Who are we?
• Who are you
• What would you like to hear about?

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General Information

• A Psychology degree is versatile and flexible and
  can lead to careers in many fields and settings
  even at the undergraduate level
• Examples of skill sets you can learn
• Express ideas effectively
• Demonstrate listening and helping skills
• Use information technology successfully
• Work comfortably in collaborative settings
• Operate from an ethical framework
• Understand issues from a variety of perspectives
• Think critically about complex issues
• Gather and organize information from multiple
  sources
• Perform and interpret descriptive and inferential
  statistics

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Do You Need a PhD?

• Many careers are available for those with an
  undergraduate psychology degree
• You have more career options and gain increased
  training with additional education Masters or
  Doctoral Degree

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Undergraduate Career Possibilities

• Human Services
• Caseworker, Youth Counselor, Probation/Parole
  worker
• Business
• Salesperson, Human Resources Manager, Research
  Analyst
• Education/Communication
• Trainer, Teacher (some areas), Researcher, Public
  Relations
• Public Administration
• Community Organizer
• Policy Analyst
• Affirmative Action Officer

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Graduate Career Possibilities

• Includes all the undergraduate opportunities
  plus
• Clinical Opportunities
• Therapy
• Assessment
• Teaching Opportunities
• Research Opportunities

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Examples of APA Professional Divisions

• Clinical Psychology
• Counseling Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Occupational Psychology
• Sport Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• Teaching Research

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Psychology
• Industrial/Organizational
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Military Psychology
• Rehabilitation

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Real World Career Experiences

• Besides being parentswhat do we do with our time?

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The Future
Employment of psychologists is expected to grow
much faster than the average for all
occupations. U.S. Dept. of Labor Beyond
that, ask yourself these questions 1)Is
there any evidence that the world is getting
saner? 2)What are the major challenges
that face society?
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Psychological Challenges that Face Us in the 21st
Century

• Current leading causes of death have
  behavioral/lifestyle components
• Mental health disorders
• Aging population
• Pollution
• Racial/ethnic prejudice
• Conservation/energy consumption

• Violence in society
• Education reform
• Parent training
• Addiction
• Relationship stability
• Coping with technology
• Training for a changing job market

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Summary

• Psychology is an area of study that can be
  rewarding at a personal level as well as helpful
  for others within the community
• Because of the many possibilities of career
  options, it is hard to get bored!
• The APA has recently (2006) released a report
  entitled Debt, Salary, and Career Data in
  Psychology What You Need to Know
• This is available online through the APA Research
  Office http//research.apa.org/2006Presentation.pd
  f
• A Career in Psychology is fun!

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Questions?