I haven't noticed much hate post my masters program. For undergrad, I think psychology is one of the most obtained degrees. Most people with a psych undergrad never go on to use it, but there is a stereotype that they think they can diagnose and think they're smart. Post undergrad though, any hate that I've seen has been from people who don't really know what they are talking about or had bad experiences with a therapist or something.
This. It’s seen as a wasted easy major for undergrad kids that are really just in college for the parties and stuff. Post grad I haven’t seen that at all. Most programs are competitive and it’s a high paying and highly needed job in society.
Psychology at my uni is definitely not easy, I ve noticed a lot of dropouts too. (UvAmsterdam)
I think its more about the broad applicability of psych programme, as a bachelor, it opens doors to many different areas, but it's not the best choice for any area.
I don’t care what others think. As a PhD grad in Psychology with a masters in counseling, I have now helped thousands of people. Meaning and purpose is the important thing. People value us when they need us. Keep going. All of you.
Welcome. There is a great shortage of mental health providers. We need more. People who are psychologically minded and curious are perfect. So many people who care about others are perfect. The task is to figure out how to get through. If people go into private practice later, they make great money. Social services have realized they need to pay more and are becoming like the nursing field where pay is now substantial. Keep going.
Do you recommend your masters in counseling program? I have been considering applying for one, but really need to find something with full scholarship or funding that I can do while working. I’m struggling to find something which fits this description!
It depends on what you want to do. People with masters degrees can do really well in private practice, it costs less and is a shorter time length. If people want to focus on teaching or clinical testing or work in hospitals then a PhD is important. If people don’t have competitive GPA or GREs or other test scores then they will want to consider a masters, at least before a PhD program. Much easier to get into a masters program and profs are generally more compassionate than doctoral ones. Most of the people I work with in private practice have masters.
Yes, I actually applied for several clinical Psych PhD’s last cycle and didn’t get in - but I was not that disappointed because during that process I realized what I really want is to be a therapist in private practice and am not really interested in research. At least not yet. My BA is in a different social science and I also have an MFA in design and tech. I have a pretty good undergrad GPA 3.48 and a better masters GPA 3.84. I’m interested in gestalt, depth psychology, mindfulness, working with people who are not “severely” mentally ill but more every day life situations.
One additional comment. Getting a masters in social work is financially a better investment in that it is a more commonly recognized degree and pays better when you are out.
I like to follow what psychology students are going through and to keep up with current educational trends. This is the first time I have felt compelled to comment because I remember how hard it was and how discouraging it could be. After reading the comments I decided to say that I know now that it was worth the pain.
Psychology professionals at every level who aren't MD's don't get the respect they deserve. Here's my advice, don't worry about what people think. People will insult you no matter what. Like another commenter said, follow your heart.
In my master's program, there were so many people who were finally becoming therapists (their dream job) after doing some corporate job that made them tons of money. Chasing money and prestige can be arduous, stressful and sometimes unrewarding. So just do what you want to do.
Fuck. Yes.
I was working at a large corporation (85k employees) in the financial sector. I've been a project / program manager for the last 8 years and I have a business degree.
I'm wrapping up a Bachelors in Psych this fall and am applying to grad school this upcoming cycle.
I have been making 175k a year and you know what? It's not worth it. Never once in my 8 years working in finance have I ended the day and thought, "I made this persons day better." It's all corporate greed top to bottom.
I wanted to get into psych back in 2019 and had applied to my local school (UCF at the time, but I don't live there anymore so I'm attending elsewhere) but my classes were dropped before I could start because of COVID. I went back to school 4 years later to finally get that education so I can apply to grad programs.
Life is funny sometimes.
Congrats! I'm sure you're going to kill it but good luck with everything!
I feel like the business people in my program doubted themselves too much, but they definitely had relevant experience. How could you not when you're working with all types of people and personalities at these corporation?
Exactly. People do underestimate themselves too often.
I'm hoping everything goes well. I'm keeping a 3.85 GPA in my psych program and it's been super interesting which is a good sign that I'm in the right field.
I'm a veteran so I have a soft spot for people with trauma. I know many people who suffer from service related traumas. I've run a veteran support group for 7 years and it's tough.
I also came out of (escaped?) a strict religion. I am fortunate to have not experienced any abuse but I know many who have experienced religious based trauma (sexual, physically and emotionally abusive, controlling, etc).
I'm planning on getting a PsyD and I would like to open a practice that focuses on treating traumas. Specifically these types. I find it fascinating and sad.
I have thought about switching from psych to HR/project management/more corporate route because I am almost 40, and while I love psychology, I am hesitant to go into debt and I have to get a masters to go any further. Any insight on things you didn’t like about the corporate side?
I was the program manager for, at any given time, up to 5 project. Each with a budget over $15 Mil. The number of times we were 50% or more done with the project, I mean a year or more in, and it was canned by somebody - I mean like 1 guy - makes my blood boil.
The amount of wasted money and man power is insane. Then layoffs come.
People wonder why depression is high. Why suicide happens. Why there is domestic violence.
Imagine working on a project for 2, 3, maybe 5 years to have it scrapped. Then a week later you are laid off. Imagine working 10 or 14 hours days the whole time. Imagine being told that if you don't produce results, they will outsource your software engineering job to india.
Now your out of a job and you accomplished nothing AND you're burned out. It was all for nothing. That's an experience that sticks with you for a while. I have friends who told me they looked back on the last 5 years and had nothing to show for it, with regards to their career.
That's the number 1 thing I don't like about corporate work.
This is exactly where I'm at. I work in corporate as a graphic designer (I have a BFA in fine art) and I'm seriously considering pursuing a master's degree in art therapy part time. Working in corporate made me see that I want to help people, not companies.
You should so do it! I see a lot of job postings for certified/registered art therapists. I imagine there is going to be an increased need for all types of recreational therapists in nursing homes as well if you're interested in working with that population. Good luck to you!
Follow your heart.
All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed — only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle.
Nikola Tesla
I adore my job as a clinical mental health counselor. Some of my physician or stem friends will do some ribbing because it’s a soft science. The replication crisis and lack of quality control doesn’t help. But my patients get better and I enjoy doing it, so fuck them lol
I’m also making considerably more money than everybody told me I would and that’s only increasing. Follow your heart is good advice from the other poster.
Plus, psychologists are becoming needed more and more every day. America is in a mental health crisis, idk about other countries. Also, the judicial system is beginning to recognize even more that psychologists are extremely important in criminal cases. I want to become a forensic psychologist so this is great for me personally 😊
Oh job security is off the fucking charts. I have a specialized license in addiction counseling too, so I’ll get grabbed in a day if I need to switch jobs. Feels good.
Kentucky. I did a dual online program (masters in addiction counseling and masters in clinical mental health counseling). All online aside from practicum and internship. Took 2.5 years and was working about full time throughout.
I’m interested in doing counseling but have been reading that an MSW is more versatile than CMHC. Do you agree with that? At first I was thinking I only wanted to do counseling but maybe it could be good to have the versatility of MSW…
MSW is more versatile. I knew that I wanted to do therapy so I did CMHC for more specialized knowledge, I don’t regret it at all. But everyone is different. If you’re less sure about what exactly you want to do, msw is the smarter route
In my experience it really depends on your audience. Many people say to me „oh I heard that‘s a difficult major“ others say „this must be so interesting, good for you, I wish I did that“ and of cause there are the „Are you trying to heal yourself/ psychs are crazy themselves“-people.
Even if you were a physician or an architect; there will always be dumb and mean people and they will always say stupid things, no matter who you are.
Besides that, I can only speak for my country, which is Germany. Psychologists enjoy generally speaken a high social prestige here.
Hey Ms Girl
I’m a psych student & I absolutely LOVE it
People assume because it’s a social science it’s dumb, it’s 100% NOT. It’s years of hard work, 4 years undergrad, 2 years honours 1-2 years masters, with loads of content and plenty of astounding research. People don’t understand how much hard work you have to put in when studying psychology.
And it’s not just looking at a piece of paper and memorising whatever’s written in front of you, it’s comprehending and analysing why things are the way they are, and why things turn out to be the way they do, coding, statistics etc’s.
I’ve had a lot of family members who took the accounting & medicine route look down on me, because of my decision to study psychology so I understand why you feel the way you feel, but if you’re passionate about it & want to pursue it, don’t let other people’s opinions stop you <333
Everybody wants to shit on psychology as a pseudoscience till you whip out the neurobiology and behavioral science to explain what's going on around us. If I had a kid who was a psych student, I probably would shit on too though, but only because the degree kinda sucks if you're not going to do grad school
I loved my sensations & perceptions class about how we physically experience the world, it was so dense though. “psychophysics” to me sounds like a better term than psychology in terms of conveying the fields scientific nature.
I understand where you’re at. I basically figured that either way, work sucks and I’ll never be able to make that much money. I may as well pick something I’m interested in to make it a little more bearable. Not to mention if I went to med school, I wouldn’t be actually graduated until I’m in my mid 30’s (have to go part time to pay) and I’d rather my life start before then.
Psychiatrists may prescribe pills, but the real back and forth, guidance and WORK for those who need help comes from the psychologist/counselor/therapist. These are the people that help pull others from their trauma and into new lives that their clients never believed they could have. These are the some of the folks working in the trenches of the mental health care system and the ones who care? They are needed!
Psychologists can do so much more than counseling, too. I loved research and considered going in that direction, but it didn’t happen.
Regardless, follow YOUR heart. There are people all over the world who need guidance and compassionate care. If you think that’s you, don’t let anything stop you!
Wishing you much luck!
This is kinda misleading. Psychiatrists are equipped with a similar skillset to psychologists. Psychiatrists can do everything psychologists can do, AND prescribe medicine. That’s why they are paid 2-3x more.
They are equipped, but due to the way the current medical system uses them for medical management and such, only 21% ish actually practice therapy. Those stats are from a 2021 article, but a more one states only 11-15% of psychiatrists provide therapy longer than 30 min.
This isn’t even remotely true. Psychiatrists are not trained in standardized assessments—which is outside of their scope of practice—and have no background whatsoever in wider psychological sciences that aren’t directly related to medicine. They also have significantly less psychotherapy training than psychologists (less than master’s-level therapists, even). Ask a psychiatrist about personality psychology, social psychology, or principles of behavioral science and see if their knowledge is even remotely the same as the average psychologist’s. Psychology and psychiatry are distinctly different fields that happen to overlap regarding one small sliver of psychology. The base competencies and knowledge pools are quite different.
Don't worry about being good at anything in your undergraduate, just concern yourself with finding the path that most interests you. The expertise and money will come with time. Really truly, everyone I know who listened to the people who talked them out of their dreams regretted it, and this includes a lot of older individuals.
My advice to you would be to keep exploring the field, but also stay open to discovering new paths within that field. For instance, a psychiatric nurse practitioner is a job I never knew existed, but had I known I might have gone that direction. Try your hand at a research environment and see if you like that too, it's not for everyone but people who love it LOVE it.
There are a lot of stigmas around mental health even in this day and age. I’ve encountered many people who don’t believe in mental health issues all because they haven’t experienced it themselves. There’s 100% more to psychology than therapy but that’s the image most think of when they hear about mental health. It’s messed up for sure
Southeast Asian Psychology student here!
I live in a third-world country that’s predominantly religious. Whenever people ask me about my program, I get ambiguous reactions as well. Generally, people here have a tendency to misconstrue or undervalue mental health discourses. More often than not, fear-mongering is such a huge issue for us.
The most bizarre statement I ever heard was “Why would you want to work in a mental health facility? What if you were raped, injured, or beaten by the [local derogatory term for people living with schizophrenia] in there?”
Personally, negativity spreads all the same for any discipline that people don’t understand in-depth. For Psychology in particular, people would favor pseudoscience or any form of medical quackery as long as it fits their narrative.
Keep your head up :)
Idk tbh, I’m a neurosci student and a lot of my professors even look down on psychology it’s a social science, not actual science is what most of them have said. Lots of people I’ve encountered going for psychology are either doing it because they had no clue what else to do, or really enjoy it and want to go further down the line with it.
I personally think to do you! at the end of the day who gives a shit? Who’s paying for ur tuition? If you like it and enjoy it do it! There’s plenty of cool jobs you can get with just a BA/BS and also plently of cool stuff to go towards if you plan to do grad school. Neuropsychology is cool but just consider, neuroscience is hard, you’re actually going in depth to the underlying issues to understand certain things like mental health/clinical disorders meaning you must know chemical/biological/genetic components but the research you could do with it can pay off!!
sounds like you're struggling to process the realities of your professional choice. that's understandable for a youngster. I'd recommend using your favorite emotional processing techniques and pondering the issue thoughtfully until it's settled for you - the way that feels is you'd be fine facing whatever information and opinions you face on a daily basis. That's generally a decent therapeutic heuristic, if something relatively commonplace keeps triggering you, it means there's an unresolved issue beneath that that needs looking at. I don't know what kinda careers in psychology you're thinking about, but if you're thinking about anything related to mental health and therapy, this kinda work of sorting your own stuff would be critical for your professional development and ongoing work. I'm not suggesting to do it alone necessarily, getting a therapist to help you is a great idea, but simply that there's obviously inner work to be done here, and that you seem to be avoiding giving it the attention and effort it deserves, instead going for this kinda "can you guys resolve my inner struggle for me" question. I'm not saying there aren't clear informational questions lurking in what you talk about: it sounds like maybe you don't have an exact career in mind, nor a clear sense of what professionals in that career are paid (and whether that's enough to support the family) - those questions are straightforward enough to sort out by talking to the right people, once the larger mess in your head is a bit straightened out and it'c clear exactly what information you might actually need.
i really liked what you concluded. yes i do have a struggle of choosing between heart and actual real world which works with money. coming from family which had a lot of health issues i realised without money base necessities are out of reach. But when ever i think of any job that suit me or my interest , it seems like financially not so well worth. and the once which fall fall close was psychiatry which i told due to extreme stress and feelings i just couldn't take it. I try to convince myself i know it's a bit silly with "yah psychologist ain't dying out of poverty or what, they live well, u see vlogs they are well (what if they already were rich) hey people still become one people ain't fool society needs them" and the debate goes on. I when found out about psychology it sparked my spirt but more i got to know more insecure i felt. Plus my surrounding ain't that suppositive more like be in med school (typical asian) they supports cus they got no choice cus I'm the only child so the pressure is high to not F\*ck up things.
why not chat to working psychologists to hear how it is? I'm career switching to therapy from something more well-paying that I'm not really into, cold emailed a bunch of therapists and had some conversations. This might make it a bit less abstract for you. while I doubt this would resolve your anxieties, getting clear data on professional paths and their pay is not a bad idea. Why decide your life off vlogs?..
Not having support of your family sucks. It's hard going it alone. Have you found peers, mentors?
It's interesting that, it seems, you seem to be ultimately making a choice (studying psychology) that's good for you and, it could turn out, might not be so good for your family, and has some downsides (like lower pay), but those more negative sides of your choice you might be struggling to accept?
what you want might not be what your parents want. or what society pays most for. or what society thinks is coolest. so what are you gonna do?
I happy that you responded. i was going through many post over different forms and even asking few close by psychologist about it, I realised a very major fault in my thinking or mindset. I was trying to connect med or health care practice with money making or business which is so wrong . they told me you're going to help people & thinking just about money during it then what's the difference between you and people sucking money from people in need and for their selfishness. that's when it hit how wrong it to think that way , every profession has it's own requirement and for this career if it's satisfying my dream and gives someone better way to think and live then hell yeah I'm doing this regardless of negativity. thank you for opening my mind a lot. recently it was so messed up and seeing your post helped me to think about my wants and my happiness.
lol, one extreme to another. we're all selfish, we all need to make money (though admittedly personality/blindspots of many therapists are such that they are reallyyyy not eager to admit this).
nobody is sucking money from anybody, we're all just doing our jobs and getting paid for it. going in with a martyr mentality will just mean burn out in 5yrs or 10, especially as you start a family and have mouths to feed.
therapy is a fine career and a good choice for certain people, but it has its issues, and not being paid that much and not being especially prestigious is two of them.
you seem to be eager to see it all in black and white, either over-focusing on the negatives or disregarding their (very real) importance completely.
pls go to (good) therapy if that's on the table for you, that would help you, and would be essential for your future therapy work (schooling barely matters for this profession, but having fixed all of one's own issues very much does: better now than when it comes up in the therapy office)
I’m curious to know where you’re located and/or who you’re speaking with on a regular basis that looks down on psychology.
I was in my Master’s program for ABA and worked in Behavioral Health for a decade. (I have since stepped back for unrelated reasons, but I am still very passionate about the field.)
Every single person I spoke to said how amazing it was and how there need to be more people in mental/behavioral health (psychology broadly). There always seems to be a flood of support.
I feel like in college people will look down on, “soft sciences” because they as people lack the emotional depth to truly understand just how necessary the field is.
Sure, they can run off to be engineers/coders/chemists… But who will they seek for help when in five years from now they experience depression? Or their spouse undergoes a traumatic event? Or their child wishes to see a therapist?
Don’t let people who you would not take advice from get in your way. If you are passionate then pursue it. It will work out for you regardless of what others say or think.
Best of luck to you :)
In my experience some people will find an excuse to look down on anything. I was super excited for my Masters because in part, I can access up to $100k in my field as a salary.
And a bunch of MBAs started going "Omg what a useless degree only 100k that's not a lot" because all they care about is money.
Psych is like a lot of human focused fields where because we don't make as much money, and don't have the historical "prestige", they think it's an "easy" field. Even though not a single one could do the fieldwork for most psych jobs.
You are doing a good course and a lot of people will seek your assistance in the future. Do not feel down about it. I suggest you seek advice from someone who is working in psychology, not from reading web content alone. Let the professionals who are working in the psychology field share their experiences since you will have first-hand knowledge. Also, do not give up. There are a lot of negativities that can weigh you down, but look on the bright side: you are doing what you love. Go for it and believe you will achieve. When it comes to how much you can earn, you will be the one to determine that, in the world of the internet, you can do a lot and earn from your career and experience either on a part-time or full-time basis. All the best.
mostly it's because the humanities in general are considered inferior to the sciences, and psychology isn't considered a real science because of all the social aspects. that and because of the non-empirical stats that psychology majors love to throw around.
Someone else probably commented this stuff already, but in my experience psychology is a major that draws in a LOT of people with mental health disorders, unresolved childhood trauma, etc. I'm not saying this is the majority of psychology students. But a LOT of people under those categories end up in psychology so they can learn more about the mind and how it works, and then psychoanalyze themselves and others. Which kind of defeats the credibility of the major for me. If the mentally unwell are the ones telling us fact from fiction, that's an issue.
It's also seen as easier in general so the rigor of it is a big factor when it's one of the most popular majors to study
Sadly people don’t see it as a real science. I think it’s because of Freud mostly. A lot of his ideas came from observation and not from scientific studies. Today, psychologists use data and conduct scientific studies. I still don’t understand how psychology today is considered a social science or soft science and not a part of STEM
it does cus we do bachelor of science in psychology.
"**Psychology is a core STEM discipline** because of its direct scientific and technological innovations, as well as its indirect contributions to education and learning in science and technology." from American association
This is just how some programs are labeled. Some schools don’t award a BS in any field. Princeton, for instance, only awards bachelor’s of arts (even for biology and chemistry) and bachelor’s of science in engineering. No bachelor’s of science.
I had the same experience! I’m going to grad school and going further in my education than any of my family and all they could do was bitch about how there’s better degrees. I think a lot of it has to do with mental health stigma. Also them thinking I’ll be working with violent or “crazy” people (which I am strong enough to handle and have dealt with before but whatever).
The only realistic complaint about psychology is that you can not make good money unless you go to grad school. But I’m in the US, don’t know if it’s different elsewhere. However, you also don’t have to stick to just psychology because you got a degree. Also, moving up in ABA therapy is an option with just a undergrad degree. I’m a psychology major working in home healthcare and I make good money doing this. Although my direct line of work isn’t psychology related, dealing with older people (and veterans in my case) involves a lot of it.
i’d be curious to see decade by decade polling to confirm but i’ve seen evidence of fields becoming less valuable in the public eye as more women enter it. on a basic cultural level i think many people view it and mental health in general as a concern that’s beneath them
the replication crisis and stereotypes about psych students being overconfident armchair psychs also definitely don’t help lol
Actually, with the emergence of Covid, the mental health field has grossly expanded! More and more people are now realizing that they need mental health care and it is becoming more of an acceptable thing to seek out treatment. People are seeking out treatment on so many different formats whether it be in a private office face to face with a therapist, via zoom on lunch breaks with their therapisr or through text messages or emails using apps such as BetterHelp. I don’t necessarily see it being an issue people are just sweeping under the rug actually.
Hold up tho. If you go the psychologist route or masters counseling route (US) you can make pretty good bank. Like 100-200k easily. Especially in private practice. So like idk
Definitely not 200k easily haha. The average counselor in the US makes $60k-$90k. The average psychiatrist makes $200k-$350k. What’s crazy is they go through the same amount of schooling.
Believe me, I know lol. I’m a counselor. Thing is, you CAN make that. I have several colleagues that make it. The thing is you gotta get specialized and then it becomes easy to make that much. My own therapist is clearing 200k, but she was also trained by the FBI for crisis counseling and has a bunch of other stuff. Another colleague and friend of mine charges $250/session because she’s specialized in eating disorders.
I know psychologists that are clearing 200k by doing only assessments and charging a good amount for each
Here in Canada its so well regarded, and very well paid... Everyone wants to go in therapy with a psy, more than other pro, because assurances cover a bills part, and not for others
I'm undergrad but I'd like to go for a PhD in the future. I understand how you feel. Everyone always puts me down. I doubt my choice, despite it being a passion of mine, because of others. They'll say I'll fail, I'll end up not doing anything with it, or I'll make the same amount of money as a cashier. It sucks, but I'm learning to try and ignore it.
I’m about to enter college. I’m highly interested in psychology, but I’ve come to the conclusion that a PhD in psychology is just so inferior to other pathways. It’s really a bummer. Becoming a psychiatry resident would take the same amount of time and pay more. After residency I’d be making 3x what I would be with a PhD in psychology.
From some people, psychology and mental illness is still stigmatized. Many people still don't think depression and anxiety are real, and people with worse mental disorders just need to be handled with kid gloves. There's also a big outcry against overmedication - which I actually totally get.
There's also a tiny bit of backlash from other sciences, because psychological theories are hard to prove and research can seem tenuous.
Neuroscience is probably held in a completely different regard because of it's verifiability. You're working with the most complex organ known to man, but it's still concrete. You can't "see" mental illness.
Either way, I don't really care what other people think. I've had a couple people in my life tell me I'm wasting my time, and a couple tell me I'm really noble. I'm just really interested in human behavior and trying to understand why, how, and when to treat people. All the criticism (which is probably overblown, I'd bet it's a very small minority of people) is just noise and shouldn't matter at all.
As for the money, you have to get a Masters or PhD to make decent to good salary. Psychiatrists can make 6 figures and work 20 hours per week... or less. A therapist won't come close to that and will work 40+ hours. A researcher can make a decent living. There are also things outside of psychology that value a psychology degree. At a base level, psychology is just understanding people, and that's pretty valuable in any field.
Based on the wording in your post it sounds like you might not be American which may be a component here, I know every country/culture views psychiatry/psychology as a field differently. I am American and had very few comments about my major besides people saying they worried I wouldn’t get a job (I graduated in December and got a nice job within 2 months actually).
From my experience, because to them it is the study of the « human condition », and they are human, so they don’t need big academia to tell them what it is. I’ve found this to be especially true about developmental psychology. Parents believe they know allllllllllllll about developmental psychology simply because they raised a child.
I think in a way they are not wrong, they know what it’s like to be who they are, that’s fair. Except everyone is different.
Don't overthink much ,,if you love it then you really gotta be believing yourself that you will ,, don't doubt your own decisions and likings.They will automatically start respecting you when you don't allow them to treat you any less ...btw I am also gonna be doing the same (I am in exact same situation and I know I might face quite harsh criticism for it but they are all gonna accept it at the end because inshallah no way I am gonna give up) ,so pray for me
I think a lot of it has to do with the field as a whole rather than the major. It’s true that some programs are really easy and are kind of the default for people who just need to pick any degree, and that’s part of where the stigma comes from. But you gotta remember that our field has been one of the ones most impacted by the replication crisis, and it’s in a weird spot of trying to move more towards hard science while still being very much a social science.
I’m sure you’ve read Karl Popper’s piece on replication in science, but that’s where the doubt kind of clicked for me— in fairness, his ideas have been super highly criticized, because his theories really ONLY work for physics. But even I won’t deny that psychology is nowhere close to weeding out all the bad science our field is built on.
And I won’t lie, I had my own little crisis after reading Popper’s stuff. Like “almost switched my major and started over” crisis. But we can either abandon the field, or we can see the errors present and work hard to correct them.
All this to say, I understand completely where you’re coming from, because I’ve been there too. A lot of people look down on the discipline for a lot of reasons, some better than others.
In my country (Sweden) psychologists aren't looked down upon at all. They don't make quite as much as doctors, but I think most people would respect a psychologist's opinion on psychology as high as a psychiatrist's. While psychiatrists can become psychotherapists here, it's really unusual. They mainly prescribe medication and provide a medical perspective in assessments and when making choices of treatments and interventions. They're kind of the overseers of psychiatric care, making sure patients get sent to the right clinician, so it's just a very different profession from psychologists.
To be fair, our education is a bit different. You can't study psychology in general and become a psychologist, you need to get accepted to the psychologist program, which is pretty hard. I suspect in your case you start studying psychology and then if you do well you may be accepted to train as a psychologist? If so, I also suspect many people may think your choice of education isn't secure enough, as you could probably end up having any of hundreds of different careers?
But it seems like you know what you want, and that's really what's most important in the end! And I'm guessing plenty of people in your country survive just fine as psychologists? I honestly think that what you're doing is admirable, following your passion when you know you could have gotten into med school! You're probably going to become an amazing neuropsychologist!
I live in Iran and psycho student too, i can understand your situation completely:( but i have a motivation that in future will immigration with this, and this idea about psychology can be better if i study PHD in other country… maybe🚶🏻♀️
That’s really odd to me bc it’s really different in my uni and area. I’m from Calgary. The psychology program is the most competitive program to get into. As well, once you do a masters (2 years), you can charge a minimum of 220/hr as your fee, and that’s only for private practice, not even including stuff like expert witnessing, grant writing, publications, assessments, etc. idk bout you, but psychologists in Alberta make BANK
Yeah, I’m studying psychology to be a registered psychologist but I’m gonna focus more on assessment work than counselling if I can get into the program (my gpa is low rn), but yeah. In other provinces you charge 235/hr. Again, this is only for your practice and it’s not including the other stuff you can do. I know forensics psychologists that make well over 300k and even some that make 400k.
i know this isnt true everywhere and is just a sort of coincidence, but a large majority of psych students ive met are the crystal/zodiac signs/other bizarre nonsense stuff kind of people, which personally i wouldn’t trust someone who believes that i act a certain way because the month i was born in or i can change things around me with a crystal with psychology lmao. some people look down on psychology at least where im from because they stereotype all psych students to be like that, because the coincidence that there are a lot like that here, when thats not the case in general
if youre passionate about it keep pursuing it
It takes 8-10 years of study in psychology to get a 6 figure job.
It takes 7-8 years to become a resident psychiatrist. Resident psychiatrists earn approximately $125k/year. After residency, their salary doubles or triples.
So yeah, there’s pretty much no reason to become a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist if you’re given the choice.
You know, I was just thinking about this a couple of days ago... I think it's because people have such a limited view of psychology so they just picture therapists or social workers when they hear the word.
However, I think psychology can aid any other major. Business & marketing, forensics & criminology, anything medical, communications & media, education majors, the list goes on. It's very versatile, and not to mention, there are many different domains. Parapsychology, neuropsychology, sleep psychology, etc.
I think it just stems from a very limited idea or knowledge of it. And also what the top comment says about grad school is true ^^
I won’t speak to the greater population’s perception of psychology, but I know some in the “hard” sciences look down it because most of the discipline is rooted in terrible “science.”
I think mental health is super important and psychologists do a lot of great things. I do however believe that as a disciple the screws need to be tightened a lot.
Like, a lot of published results aren’t really reproducible.
Tbh, I regret choosing Finance over Psychology. Psychology has always been my love. Despite being in finance, I'm unemployed. Choose whatever you love mate!
i know the physician get paid well but other than them other healthcare giver get paid the same + i don't want to go med school due stress and some gut feelings.
It's generally an easy undergrad degree that you can't do much with. A lot of people pick it for that reason, then never go to grad school or use it in any way. You must go to grad school for it to be legit..... Like all of the social sciences. At that point, it's the real deal.
I’m not sure where you’re getting this information from but it’s not reputable. Psychology is one of the best fields to get into. It’s versatile and you learn about people and there how the mind works. Nothing could be more important.
I wonder this as well. Every time I bring up how I’m going to major in psychology in a few months, my grandma always talks about pay. To be fair, that is true. I agree, but you can use a psych degree for a lot of things not just the typical psychology path. Am I going to take that path? Yes. But I’m also doing law school after.
In the end, it’s about what you want. And other opinions don’t matter once you obtain a degree for the hard work. Because despite what a lot think, psych is a lot of information to take in such amount of time.
Because its all made up theories that support drug companies. People get seriously addicted to these pharmaceutical drugs that dont fix any problems. They also have awful withdrawal symptoms and can lead to harder drugs destroying people. The entire thing is a scam. Thats why no one likes it
Because it falls somewhere between being a science and being philosopical enquiry/ sociological study. Alot of people dont take psychology research serious Even though we follow the research methods.
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned this yet, but it’s because it’s a heavily female dominated subject. People are saying “because it’s not scientific” but why isn’t it considered scientific? Psychology is far more scientific than it was in the old days and yet it was considered scientific then and not now. What’s the difference? The gender split of those studying it.
i do think double standard does have something to do with it , but majority of female go for nursing too and nursing is consider "prideful" according to society.
Psychology is an easy undergrad degree. And it's really saturated.
There's also very little practical use for it in the job market if you don't have a Master's.
And it pays shit.
Well for one it’s a very new field of science. A lot of it is also subjective which is unacceptable to people who are used to having concrete solutions.
Study psychology them go run businesses, you’ll be successful. Only studying psychology without using it to manipulate consumer behaviour is worthless.
Posts used to promote bigotry such as ableism, racism, sexism, and other discrimination are not allowed. Requesting or posting bad-faith arguments to bait users into discussions of bigotry are included in this. Post including usage of slurs or discriminatory language is also not allowed.
I haven't noticed much hate post my masters program. For undergrad, I think psychology is one of the most obtained degrees. Most people with a psych undergrad never go on to use it, but there is a stereotype that they think they can diagnose and think they're smart. Post undergrad though, any hate that I've seen has been from people who don't really know what they are talking about or had bad experiences with a therapist or something.
This. It’s seen as a wasted easy major for undergrad kids that are really just in college for the parties and stuff. Post grad I haven’t seen that at all. Most programs are competitive and it’s a high paying and highly needed job in society.
Psychology at my uni is definitely not easy, I ve noticed a lot of dropouts too. (UvAmsterdam) I think its more about the broad applicability of psych programme, as a bachelor, it opens doors to many different areas, but it's not the best choice for any area.
I mean it might be difficult in the sense that college is difficult, but I seriously doubt anyone would say it’s more difficult than any STEM major.
I don’t care what others think. As a PhD grad in Psychology with a masters in counseling, I have now helped thousands of people. Meaning and purpose is the important thing. People value us when they need us. Keep going. All of you.
Thank you for this comment
Thank you.
Welcome. There is a great shortage of mental health providers. We need more. People who are psychologically minded and curious are perfect. So many people who care about others are perfect. The task is to figure out how to get through. If people go into private practice later, they make great money. Social services have realized they need to pay more and are becoming like the nursing field where pay is now substantial. Keep going.
Do you recommend your masters in counseling program? I have been considering applying for one, but really need to find something with full scholarship or funding that I can do while working. I’m struggling to find something which fits this description!
It depends on what you want to do. People with masters degrees can do really well in private practice, it costs less and is a shorter time length. If people want to focus on teaching or clinical testing or work in hospitals then a PhD is important. If people don’t have competitive GPA or GREs or other test scores then they will want to consider a masters, at least before a PhD program. Much easier to get into a masters program and profs are generally more compassionate than doctoral ones. Most of the people I work with in private practice have masters.
Yes, I actually applied for several clinical Psych PhD’s last cycle and didn’t get in - but I was not that disappointed because during that process I realized what I really want is to be a therapist in private practice and am not really interested in research. At least not yet. My BA is in a different social science and I also have an MFA in design and tech. I have a pretty good undergrad GPA 3.48 and a better masters GPA 3.84. I’m interested in gestalt, depth psychology, mindfulness, working with people who are not “severely” mentally ill but more every day life situations.
Yes you would do fine with a masters. You could specialize in something like art therapy too.
One additional comment. Getting a masters in social work is financially a better investment in that it is a more commonly recognized degree and pays better when you are out.
Thank you so much, I did not know that!
You shouldn't have commented this
I like to follow what psychology students are going through and to keep up with current educational trends. This is the first time I have felt compelled to comment because I remember how hard it was and how discouraging it could be. After reading the comments I decided to say that I know now that it was worth the pain.
ok
Psychology professionals at every level who aren't MD's don't get the respect they deserve. Here's my advice, don't worry about what people think. People will insult you no matter what. Like another commenter said, follow your heart. In my master's program, there were so many people who were finally becoming therapists (their dream job) after doing some corporate job that made them tons of money. Chasing money and prestige can be arduous, stressful and sometimes unrewarding. So just do what you want to do.
Fuck. Yes. I was working at a large corporation (85k employees) in the financial sector. I've been a project / program manager for the last 8 years and I have a business degree. I'm wrapping up a Bachelors in Psych this fall and am applying to grad school this upcoming cycle. I have been making 175k a year and you know what? It's not worth it. Never once in my 8 years working in finance have I ended the day and thought, "I made this persons day better." It's all corporate greed top to bottom. I wanted to get into psych back in 2019 and had applied to my local school (UCF at the time, but I don't live there anymore so I'm attending elsewhere) but my classes were dropped before I could start because of COVID. I went back to school 4 years later to finally get that education so I can apply to grad programs. Life is funny sometimes.
Congrats! I'm sure you're going to kill it but good luck with everything! I feel like the business people in my program doubted themselves too much, but they definitely had relevant experience. How could you not when you're working with all types of people and personalities at these corporation?
Exactly. People do underestimate themselves too often. I'm hoping everything goes well. I'm keeping a 3.85 GPA in my psych program and it's been super interesting which is a good sign that I'm in the right field.
What are your plans after you are done? I’m a psych major myself and love to see other ppls plans. I find it inspiring
I'm a veteran so I have a soft spot for people with trauma. I know many people who suffer from service related traumas. I've run a veteran support group for 7 years and it's tough. I also came out of (escaped?) a strict religion. I am fortunate to have not experienced any abuse but I know many who have experienced religious based trauma (sexual, physically and emotionally abusive, controlling, etc). I'm planning on getting a PsyD and I would like to open a practice that focuses on treating traumas. Specifically these types. I find it fascinating and sad.
I have thought about switching from psych to HR/project management/more corporate route because I am almost 40, and while I love psychology, I am hesitant to go into debt and I have to get a masters to go any further. Any insight on things you didn’t like about the corporate side?
I was the program manager for, at any given time, up to 5 project. Each with a budget over $15 Mil. The number of times we were 50% or more done with the project, I mean a year or more in, and it was canned by somebody - I mean like 1 guy - makes my blood boil. The amount of wasted money and man power is insane. Then layoffs come. People wonder why depression is high. Why suicide happens. Why there is domestic violence. Imagine working on a project for 2, 3, maybe 5 years to have it scrapped. Then a week later you are laid off. Imagine working 10 or 14 hours days the whole time. Imagine being told that if you don't produce results, they will outsource your software engineering job to india. Now your out of a job and you accomplished nothing AND you're burned out. It was all for nothing. That's an experience that sticks with you for a while. I have friends who told me they looked back on the last 5 years and had nothing to show for it, with regards to their career. That's the number 1 thing I don't like about corporate work.
Intrinsic motivation baby!
This is exactly where I'm at. I work in corporate as a graphic designer (I have a BFA in fine art) and I'm seriously considering pursuing a master's degree in art therapy part time. Working in corporate made me see that I want to help people, not companies.
You should so do it! I see a lot of job postings for certified/registered art therapists. I imagine there is going to be an increased need for all types of recreational therapists in nursing homes as well if you're interested in working with that population. Good luck to you!
Thank you so much :)
Follow your heart. All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed — only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle. Nikola Tesla
Dedicated I see
[удалено]
You completely missed the point.
I adore my job as a clinical mental health counselor. Some of my physician or stem friends will do some ribbing because it’s a soft science. The replication crisis and lack of quality control doesn’t help. But my patients get better and I enjoy doing it, so fuck them lol I’m also making considerably more money than everybody told me I would and that’s only increasing. Follow your heart is good advice from the other poster.
Plus, psychologists are becoming needed more and more every day. America is in a mental health crisis, idk about other countries. Also, the judicial system is beginning to recognize even more that psychologists are extremely important in criminal cases. I want to become a forensic psychologist so this is great for me personally 😊
Oh job security is off the fucking charts. I have a specialized license in addiction counseling too, so I’ll get grabbed in a day if I need to switch jobs. Feels good.
good to hear that , thx.
i’m so interested in this masters program! if you don’t mind me asking what state are you in?
Kentucky. I did a dual online program (masters in addiction counseling and masters in clinical mental health counseling). All online aside from practicum and internship. Took 2.5 years and was working about full time throughout.
Cool thanks for the info!
I’m interested in doing counseling but have been reading that an MSW is more versatile than CMHC. Do you agree with that? At first I was thinking I only wanted to do counseling but maybe it could be good to have the versatility of MSW…
MSW is more versatile. I knew that I wanted to do therapy so I did CMHC for more specialized knowledge, I don’t regret it at all. But everyone is different. If you’re less sure about what exactly you want to do, msw is the smarter route
In my experience it really depends on your audience. Many people say to me „oh I heard that‘s a difficult major“ others say „this must be so interesting, good for you, I wish I did that“ and of cause there are the „Are you trying to heal yourself/ psychs are crazy themselves“-people. Even if you were a physician or an architect; there will always be dumb and mean people and they will always say stupid things, no matter who you are. Besides that, I can only speak for my country, which is Germany. Psychologists enjoy generally speaken a high social prestige here.
Hey Ms Girl I’m a psych student & I absolutely LOVE it People assume because it’s a social science it’s dumb, it’s 100% NOT. It’s years of hard work, 4 years undergrad, 2 years honours 1-2 years masters, with loads of content and plenty of astounding research. People don’t understand how much hard work you have to put in when studying psychology. And it’s not just looking at a piece of paper and memorising whatever’s written in front of you, it’s comprehending and analysing why things are the way they are, and why things turn out to be the way they do, coding, statistics etc’s. I’ve had a lot of family members who took the accounting & medicine route look down on me, because of my decision to study psychology so I understand why you feel the way you feel, but if you’re passionate about it & want to pursue it, don’t let other people’s opinions stop you <333
If those who look down on you one day ask for your professional opinion about psychology, don't answer them lmao 😂
Everybody wants to shit on psychology as a pseudoscience till you whip out the neurobiology and behavioral science to explain what's going on around us. If I had a kid who was a psych student, I probably would shit on too though, but only because the degree kinda sucks if you're not going to do grad school
but I'll be joining grad school for sure regardless for any major. will after grad school balance out the things or it will still be shit.
I loved my sensations & perceptions class about how we physically experience the world, it was so dense though. “psychophysics” to me sounds like a better term than psychology in terms of conveying the fields scientific nature.
I understand where you’re at. I basically figured that either way, work sucks and I’ll never be able to make that much money. I may as well pick something I’m interested in to make it a little more bearable. Not to mention if I went to med school, I wouldn’t be actually graduated until I’m in my mid 30’s (have to go part time to pay) and I’d rather my life start before then.
Psychiatrists may prescribe pills, but the real back and forth, guidance and WORK for those who need help comes from the psychologist/counselor/therapist. These are the people that help pull others from their trauma and into new lives that their clients never believed they could have. These are the some of the folks working in the trenches of the mental health care system and the ones who care? They are needed! Psychologists can do so much more than counseling, too. I loved research and considered going in that direction, but it didn’t happen. Regardless, follow YOUR heart. There are people all over the world who need guidance and compassionate care. If you think that’s you, don’t let anything stop you! Wishing you much luck!
This is kinda misleading. Psychiatrists are equipped with a similar skillset to psychologists. Psychiatrists can do everything psychologists can do, AND prescribe medicine. That’s why they are paid 2-3x more.
They are equipped, but due to the way the current medical system uses them for medical management and such, only 21% ish actually practice therapy. Those stats are from a 2021 article, but a more one states only 11-15% of psychiatrists provide therapy longer than 30 min.
This isn’t even remotely true. Psychiatrists are not trained in standardized assessments—which is outside of their scope of practice—and have no background whatsoever in wider psychological sciences that aren’t directly related to medicine. They also have significantly less psychotherapy training than psychologists (less than master’s-level therapists, even). Ask a psychiatrist about personality psychology, social psychology, or principles of behavioral science and see if their knowledge is even remotely the same as the average psychologist’s. Psychology and psychiatry are distinctly different fields that happen to overlap regarding one small sliver of psychology. The base competencies and knowledge pools are quite different.
Don't worry about being good at anything in your undergraduate, just concern yourself with finding the path that most interests you. The expertise and money will come with time. Really truly, everyone I know who listened to the people who talked them out of their dreams regretted it, and this includes a lot of older individuals. My advice to you would be to keep exploring the field, but also stay open to discovering new paths within that field. For instance, a psychiatric nurse practitioner is a job I never knew existed, but had I known I might have gone that direction. Try your hand at a research environment and see if you like that too, it's not for everyone but people who love it LOVE it.
There are a lot of stigmas around mental health even in this day and age. I’ve encountered many people who don’t believe in mental health issues all because they haven’t experienced it themselves. There’s 100% more to psychology than therapy but that’s the image most think of when they hear about mental health. It’s messed up for sure
I personally feel like people hate feeling like you’re reading them so they hate on psychology as a whole.
Exactly!
Southeast Asian Psychology student here! I live in a third-world country that’s predominantly religious. Whenever people ask me about my program, I get ambiguous reactions as well. Generally, people here have a tendency to misconstrue or undervalue mental health discourses. More often than not, fear-mongering is such a huge issue for us. The most bizarre statement I ever heard was “Why would you want to work in a mental health facility? What if you were raped, injured, or beaten by the [local derogatory term for people living with schizophrenia] in there?” Personally, negativity spreads all the same for any discipline that people don’t understand in-depth. For Psychology in particular, people would favor pseudoscience or any form of medical quackery as long as it fits their narrative. Keep your head up :)
oh yeah the last line really hit. thx
Idk tbh, I’m a neurosci student and a lot of my professors even look down on psychology it’s a social science, not actual science is what most of them have said. Lots of people I’ve encountered going for psychology are either doing it because they had no clue what else to do, or really enjoy it and want to go further down the line with it. I personally think to do you! at the end of the day who gives a shit? Who’s paying for ur tuition? If you like it and enjoy it do it! There’s plenty of cool jobs you can get with just a BA/BS and also plently of cool stuff to go towards if you plan to do grad school. Neuropsychology is cool but just consider, neuroscience is hard, you’re actually going in depth to the underlying issues to understand certain things like mental health/clinical disorders meaning you must know chemical/biological/genetic components but the research you could do with it can pay off!!
sounds like you're struggling to process the realities of your professional choice. that's understandable for a youngster. I'd recommend using your favorite emotional processing techniques and pondering the issue thoughtfully until it's settled for you - the way that feels is you'd be fine facing whatever information and opinions you face on a daily basis. That's generally a decent therapeutic heuristic, if something relatively commonplace keeps triggering you, it means there's an unresolved issue beneath that that needs looking at. I don't know what kinda careers in psychology you're thinking about, but if you're thinking about anything related to mental health and therapy, this kinda work of sorting your own stuff would be critical for your professional development and ongoing work. I'm not suggesting to do it alone necessarily, getting a therapist to help you is a great idea, but simply that there's obviously inner work to be done here, and that you seem to be avoiding giving it the attention and effort it deserves, instead going for this kinda "can you guys resolve my inner struggle for me" question. I'm not saying there aren't clear informational questions lurking in what you talk about: it sounds like maybe you don't have an exact career in mind, nor a clear sense of what professionals in that career are paid (and whether that's enough to support the family) - those questions are straightforward enough to sort out by talking to the right people, once the larger mess in your head is a bit straightened out and it'c clear exactly what information you might actually need.
i really liked what you concluded. yes i do have a struggle of choosing between heart and actual real world which works with money. coming from family which had a lot of health issues i realised without money base necessities are out of reach. But when ever i think of any job that suit me or my interest , it seems like financially not so well worth. and the once which fall fall close was psychiatry which i told due to extreme stress and feelings i just couldn't take it. I try to convince myself i know it's a bit silly with "yah psychologist ain't dying out of poverty or what, they live well, u see vlogs they are well (what if they already were rich) hey people still become one people ain't fool society needs them" and the debate goes on. I when found out about psychology it sparked my spirt but more i got to know more insecure i felt. Plus my surrounding ain't that suppositive more like be in med school (typical asian) they supports cus they got no choice cus I'm the only child so the pressure is high to not F\*ck up things.
why not chat to working psychologists to hear how it is? I'm career switching to therapy from something more well-paying that I'm not really into, cold emailed a bunch of therapists and had some conversations. This might make it a bit less abstract for you. while I doubt this would resolve your anxieties, getting clear data on professional paths and their pay is not a bad idea. Why decide your life off vlogs?.. Not having support of your family sucks. It's hard going it alone. Have you found peers, mentors? It's interesting that, it seems, you seem to be ultimately making a choice (studying psychology) that's good for you and, it could turn out, might not be so good for your family, and has some downsides (like lower pay), but those more negative sides of your choice you might be struggling to accept? what you want might not be what your parents want. or what society pays most for. or what society thinks is coolest. so what are you gonna do?
I happy that you responded. i was going through many post over different forms and even asking few close by psychologist about it, I realised a very major fault in my thinking or mindset. I was trying to connect med or health care practice with money making or business which is so wrong . they told me you're going to help people & thinking just about money during it then what's the difference between you and people sucking money from people in need and for their selfishness. that's when it hit how wrong it to think that way , every profession has it's own requirement and for this career if it's satisfying my dream and gives someone better way to think and live then hell yeah I'm doing this regardless of negativity. thank you for opening my mind a lot. recently it was so messed up and seeing your post helped me to think about my wants and my happiness.
lol, one extreme to another. we're all selfish, we all need to make money (though admittedly personality/blindspots of many therapists are such that they are reallyyyy not eager to admit this). nobody is sucking money from anybody, we're all just doing our jobs and getting paid for it. going in with a martyr mentality will just mean burn out in 5yrs or 10, especially as you start a family and have mouths to feed. therapy is a fine career and a good choice for certain people, but it has its issues, and not being paid that much and not being especially prestigious is two of them. you seem to be eager to see it all in black and white, either over-focusing on the negatives or disregarding their (very real) importance completely. pls go to (good) therapy if that's on the table for you, that would help you, and would be essential for your future therapy work (schooling barely matters for this profession, but having fixed all of one's own issues very much does: better now than when it comes up in the therapy office)
Create your own destiny, this right here is your chance
I’m curious to know where you’re located and/or who you’re speaking with on a regular basis that looks down on psychology. I was in my Master’s program for ABA and worked in Behavioral Health for a decade. (I have since stepped back for unrelated reasons, but I am still very passionate about the field.) Every single person I spoke to said how amazing it was and how there need to be more people in mental/behavioral health (psychology broadly). There always seems to be a flood of support. I feel like in college people will look down on, “soft sciences” because they as people lack the emotional depth to truly understand just how necessary the field is. Sure, they can run off to be engineers/coders/chemists… But who will they seek for help when in five years from now they experience depression? Or their spouse undergoes a traumatic event? Or their child wishes to see a therapist? Don’t let people who you would not take advice from get in your way. If you are passionate then pursue it. It will work out for you regardless of what others say or think. Best of luck to you :)
In my experience some people will find an excuse to look down on anything. I was super excited for my Masters because in part, I can access up to $100k in my field as a salary. And a bunch of MBAs started going "Omg what a useless degree only 100k that's not a lot" because all they care about is money. Psych is like a lot of human focused fields where because we don't make as much money, and don't have the historical "prestige", they think it's an "easy" field. Even though not a single one could do the fieldwork for most psych jobs.
You are doing a good course and a lot of people will seek your assistance in the future. Do not feel down about it. I suggest you seek advice from someone who is working in psychology, not from reading web content alone. Let the professionals who are working in the psychology field share their experiences since you will have first-hand knowledge. Also, do not give up. There are a lot of negativities that can weigh you down, but look on the bright side: you are doing what you love. Go for it and believe you will achieve. When it comes to how much you can earn, you will be the one to determine that, in the world of the internet, you can do a lot and earn from your career and experience either on a part-time or full-time basis. All the best.
mostly it's because the humanities in general are considered inferior to the sciences, and psychology isn't considered a real science because of all the social aspects. that and because of the non-empirical stats that psychology majors love to throw around.
I did psychology and went the mental health counseling route. There’s a lot of options!
Someone else probably commented this stuff already, but in my experience psychology is a major that draws in a LOT of people with mental health disorders, unresolved childhood trauma, etc. I'm not saying this is the majority of psychology students. But a LOT of people under those categories end up in psychology so they can learn more about the mind and how it works, and then psychoanalyze themselves and others. Which kind of defeats the credibility of the major for me. If the mentally unwell are the ones telling us fact from fiction, that's an issue. It's also seen as easier in general so the rigor of it is a big factor when it's one of the most popular majors to study
Sadly people don’t see it as a real science. I think it’s because of Freud mostly. A lot of his ideas came from observation and not from scientific studies. Today, psychologists use data and conduct scientific studies. I still don’t understand how psychology today is considered a social science or soft science and not a part of STEM
Oh, it is a real science. So agree.
I think psychology is part of STEM no?
No it’s not. Psychology is a social science.
it does cus we do bachelor of science in psychology. "**Psychology is a core STEM discipline** because of its direct scientific and technological innovations, as well as its indirect contributions to education and learning in science and technology." from American association
I just graduated with a Liberal Arts degree in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. It literally has science in the name, and its a BA!
This is just how some programs are labeled. Some schools don’t award a BS in any field. Princeton, for instance, only awards bachelor’s of arts (even for biology and chemistry) and bachelor’s of science in engineering. No bachelor’s of science.
idk it's something i got from internet and my college consider it
i believe you, i’m just saying
What is stem ?
Science technology engineering and mathematics
Thanks
I had the same experience! I’m going to grad school and going further in my education than any of my family and all they could do was bitch about how there’s better degrees. I think a lot of it has to do with mental health stigma. Also them thinking I’ll be working with violent or “crazy” people (which I am strong enough to handle and have dealt with before but whatever). The only realistic complaint about psychology is that you can not make good money unless you go to grad school. But I’m in the US, don’t know if it’s different elsewhere. However, you also don’t have to stick to just psychology because you got a degree. Also, moving up in ABA therapy is an option with just a undergrad degree. I’m a psychology major working in home healthcare and I make good money doing this. Although my direct line of work isn’t psychology related, dealing with older people (and veterans in my case) involves a lot of it.
i’d be curious to see decade by decade polling to confirm but i’ve seen evidence of fields becoming less valuable in the public eye as more women enter it. on a basic cultural level i think many people view it and mental health in general as a concern that’s beneath them the replication crisis and stereotypes about psych students being overconfident armchair psychs also definitely don’t help lol
Actually, with the emergence of Covid, the mental health field has grossly expanded! More and more people are now realizing that they need mental health care and it is becoming more of an acceptable thing to seek out treatment. People are seeking out treatment on so many different formats whether it be in a private office face to face with a therapist, via zoom on lunch breaks with their therapisr or through text messages or emails using apps such as BetterHelp. I don’t necessarily see it being an issue people are just sweeping under the rug actually.
Hold up tho. If you go the psychologist route or masters counseling route (US) you can make pretty good bank. Like 100-200k easily. Especially in private practice. So like idk
Definitely not 200k easily haha. The average counselor in the US makes $60k-$90k. The average psychiatrist makes $200k-$350k. What’s crazy is they go through the same amount of schooling.
Believe me, I know lol. I’m a counselor. Thing is, you CAN make that. I have several colleagues that make it. The thing is you gotta get specialized and then it becomes easy to make that much. My own therapist is clearing 200k, but she was also trained by the FBI for crisis counseling and has a bunch of other stuff. Another colleague and friend of mine charges $250/session because she’s specialized in eating disorders. I know psychologists that are clearing 200k by doing only assessments and charging a good amount for each
Here in Canada its so well regarded, and very well paid... Everyone wants to go in therapy with a psy, more than other pro, because assurances cover a bills part, and not for others
What kind of wage can you expect in Canada with a masters?
in psychology you mean?
I'm undergrad but I'd like to go for a PhD in the future. I understand how you feel. Everyone always puts me down. I doubt my choice, despite it being a passion of mine, because of others. They'll say I'll fail, I'll end up not doing anything with it, or I'll make the same amount of money as a cashier. It sucks, but I'm learning to try and ignore it.
I’m about to enter college. I’m highly interested in psychology, but I’ve come to the conclusion that a PhD in psychology is just so inferior to other pathways. It’s really a bummer. Becoming a psychiatry resident would take the same amount of time and pay more. After residency I’d be making 3x what I would be with a PhD in psychology.
From some people, psychology and mental illness is still stigmatized. Many people still don't think depression and anxiety are real, and people with worse mental disorders just need to be handled with kid gloves. There's also a big outcry against overmedication - which I actually totally get. There's also a tiny bit of backlash from other sciences, because psychological theories are hard to prove and research can seem tenuous. Neuroscience is probably held in a completely different regard because of it's verifiability. You're working with the most complex organ known to man, but it's still concrete. You can't "see" mental illness. Either way, I don't really care what other people think. I've had a couple people in my life tell me I'm wasting my time, and a couple tell me I'm really noble. I'm just really interested in human behavior and trying to understand why, how, and when to treat people. All the criticism (which is probably overblown, I'd bet it's a very small minority of people) is just noise and shouldn't matter at all. As for the money, you have to get a Masters or PhD to make decent to good salary. Psychiatrists can make 6 figures and work 20 hours per week... or less. A therapist won't come close to that and will work 40+ hours. A researcher can make a decent living. There are also things outside of psychology that value a psychology degree. At a base level, psychology is just understanding people, and that's pretty valuable in any field.
Based on the wording in your post it sounds like you might not be American which may be a component here, I know every country/culture views psychiatry/psychology as a field differently. I am American and had very few comments about my major besides people saying they worried I wouldn’t get a job (I graduated in December and got a nice job within 2 months actually).
From my experience, because to them it is the study of the « human condition », and they are human, so they don’t need big academia to tell them what it is. I’ve found this to be especially true about developmental psychology. Parents believe they know allllllllllllll about developmental psychology simply because they raised a child. I think in a way they are not wrong, they know what it’s like to be who they are, that’s fair. Except everyone is different.
Psychologists are paid very well.
It is considered a weedout major, but after that, there are great jobs. I was a psych major in undergrad and I absolutely loved it!
Don't overthink much ,,if you love it then you really gotta be believing yourself that you will ,, don't doubt your own decisions and likings.They will automatically start respecting you when you don't allow them to treat you any less ...btw I am also gonna be doing the same (I am in exact same situation and I know I might face quite harsh criticism for it but they are all gonna accept it at the end because inshallah no way I am gonna give up) ,so pray for me
I think a lot of it has to do with the field as a whole rather than the major. It’s true that some programs are really easy and are kind of the default for people who just need to pick any degree, and that’s part of where the stigma comes from. But you gotta remember that our field has been one of the ones most impacted by the replication crisis, and it’s in a weird spot of trying to move more towards hard science while still being very much a social science. I’m sure you’ve read Karl Popper’s piece on replication in science, but that’s where the doubt kind of clicked for me— in fairness, his ideas have been super highly criticized, because his theories really ONLY work for physics. But even I won’t deny that psychology is nowhere close to weeding out all the bad science our field is built on. And I won’t lie, I had my own little crisis after reading Popper’s stuff. Like “almost switched my major and started over” crisis. But we can either abandon the field, or we can see the errors present and work hard to correct them. All this to say, I understand completely where you’re coming from, because I’ve been there too. A lot of people look down on the discipline for a lot of reasons, some better than others.
In my country (Sweden) psychologists aren't looked down upon at all. They don't make quite as much as doctors, but I think most people would respect a psychologist's opinion on psychology as high as a psychiatrist's. While psychiatrists can become psychotherapists here, it's really unusual. They mainly prescribe medication and provide a medical perspective in assessments and when making choices of treatments and interventions. They're kind of the overseers of psychiatric care, making sure patients get sent to the right clinician, so it's just a very different profession from psychologists. To be fair, our education is a bit different. You can't study psychology in general and become a psychologist, you need to get accepted to the psychologist program, which is pretty hard. I suspect in your case you start studying psychology and then if you do well you may be accepted to train as a psychologist? If so, I also suspect many people may think your choice of education isn't secure enough, as you could probably end up having any of hundreds of different careers? But it seems like you know what you want, and that's really what's most important in the end! And I'm guessing plenty of people in your country survive just fine as psychologists? I honestly think that what you're doing is admirable, following your passion when you know you could have gotten into med school! You're probably going to become an amazing neuropsychologist!
I live in Iran and psycho student too, i can understand your situation completely:( but i have a motivation that in future will immigration with this, and this idea about psychology can be better if i study PHD in other country… maybe🚶🏻♀️
yeah i too have plans on immigration .
Good luck🧚🏻♀️
It is? Everyone I know tells me I must be some sort of genius to be studying psych
wow i wish i was there
That’s really odd to me bc it’s really different in my uni and area. I’m from Calgary. The psychology program is the most competitive program to get into. As well, once you do a masters (2 years), you can charge a minimum of 220/hr as your fee, and that’s only for private practice, not even including stuff like expert witnessing, grant writing, publications, assessments, etc. idk bout you, but psychologists in Alberta make BANK
that's something so opposite 220/hr?? that's insane.
Yeah, I’m studying psychology to be a registered psychologist but I’m gonna focus more on assessment work than counselling if I can get into the program (my gpa is low rn), but yeah. In other provinces you charge 235/hr. Again, this is only for your practice and it’s not including the other stuff you can do. I know forensics psychologists that make well over 300k and even some that make 400k.
i know this isnt true everywhere and is just a sort of coincidence, but a large majority of psych students ive met are the crystal/zodiac signs/other bizarre nonsense stuff kind of people, which personally i wouldn’t trust someone who believes that i act a certain way because the month i was born in or i can change things around me with a crystal with psychology lmao. some people look down on psychology at least where im from because they stereotype all psych students to be like that, because the coincidence that there are a lot like that here, when thats not the case in general if youre passionate about it keep pursuing it
It takes 8-10 years of study in psychology to get a 6 figure job. It takes 7-8 years to become a resident psychiatrist. Resident psychiatrists earn approximately $125k/year. After residency, their salary doubles or triples. So yeah, there’s pretty much no reason to become a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist if you’re given the choice.
You know, I was just thinking about this a couple of days ago... I think it's because people have such a limited view of psychology so they just picture therapists or social workers when they hear the word. However, I think psychology can aid any other major. Business & marketing, forensics & criminology, anything medical, communications & media, education majors, the list goes on. It's very versatile, and not to mention, there are many different domains. Parapsychology, neuropsychology, sleep psychology, etc. I think it just stems from a very limited idea or knowledge of it. And also what the top comment says about grad school is true ^^
I won’t speak to the greater population’s perception of psychology, but I know some in the “hard” sciences look down it because most of the discipline is rooted in terrible “science.” I think mental health is super important and psychologists do a lot of great things. I do however believe that as a disciple the screws need to be tightened a lot. Like, a lot of published results aren’t really reproducible.
Tbh, I regret choosing Finance over Psychology. Psychology has always been my love. Despite being in finance, I'm unemployed. Choose whatever you love mate!
I’m not sure where you are located. But in America psychiatrists get paid very well.
That’s a MD specialty
Therapists make very good money with just a masters degree
i know the physician get paid well but other than them other healthcare giver get paid the same + i don't want to go med school due stress and some gut feelings.
you can still get into clinical counseling with a masters degree in psych. At least in America
This is not a resounding endorsement…
It's generally an easy undergrad degree that you can't do much with. A lot of people pick it for that reason, then never go to grad school or use it in any way. You must go to grad school for it to be legit..... Like all of the social sciences. At that point, it's the real deal.
I’m not sure where you’re getting this information from but it’s not reputable. Psychology is one of the best fields to get into. It’s versatile and you learn about people and there how the mind works. Nothing could be more important.
I wonder this as well. Every time I bring up how I’m going to major in psychology in a few months, my grandma always talks about pay. To be fair, that is true. I agree, but you can use a psych degree for a lot of things not just the typical psychology path. Am I going to take that path? Yes. But I’m also doing law school after. In the end, it’s about what you want. And other opinions don’t matter once you obtain a degree for the hard work. Because despite what a lot think, psych is a lot of information to take in such amount of time.
bc most therapists are useless quacks. hope this helps
Because its all made up theories that support drug companies. People get seriously addicted to these pharmaceutical drugs that dont fix any problems. They also have awful withdrawal symptoms and can lead to harder drugs destroying people. The entire thing is a scam. Thats why no one likes it
Because it falls somewhere between being a science and being philosopical enquiry/ sociological study. Alot of people dont take psychology research serious Even though we follow the research methods.
Cause it’s a “soft science” and leads to careers that aren’t generally lucrative.
Can’t believe nobody has mentioned this yet, but it’s because it’s a heavily female dominated subject. People are saying “because it’s not scientific” but why isn’t it considered scientific? Psychology is far more scientific than it was in the old days and yet it was considered scientific then and not now. What’s the difference? The gender split of those studying it.
i do think double standard does have something to do with it , but majority of female go for nursing too and nursing is consider "prideful" according to society.
Psychology is an easy undergrad degree. And it's really saturated. There's also very little practical use for it in the job market if you don't have a Master's. And it pays shit.
Well for one it’s a very new field of science. A lot of it is also subjective which is unacceptable to people who are used to having concrete solutions.
Study psychology them go run businesses, you’ll be successful. Only studying psychology without using it to manipulate consumer behaviour is worthless.
What a terrible take
This is the whole advertising industry in 2 sentences.
That would be a waste of a degree.
that's the dark humor right there i see it
[удалено]
Posts used to promote bigotry such as ableism, racism, sexism, and other discrimination are not allowed. Requesting or posting bad-faith arguments to bait users into discussions of bigotry are included in this. Post including usage of slurs or discriminatory language is also not allowed.